The Fulcrum - Vol 77 Issue 10

stop the silence. pg. 4, 19.

VOL. 77 ISSUE 10

nov. 3, 2016

In this week’s fulcrum

University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic

www.commonlaw.uottawa.ca/community-legal-clinic/information-clients We provide FREE legal advice & representation and FREE notarial services to undergraduate students Law students, supervised by lawyers, offer help with: 

Criminal Offences, such as ... o Drug offences o Theft o Fraud



Some provincial offences



Family law, such as… o Spousal and child support o Custody and access o Restraining orders



Tenant law, such as ...



Applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board

o Repairs o Evictions o Rent deposits

U of O students arrested during protest P.4 Protest of pipeline expansion through indigenous land sees turnout of 200+

Notary hour: Wednesday 2:00-3:00pm

Dress appropriately P.7 When the only thing scary about halloween are the culturally offensive costumes

Services offered: Affidavits Statutory declarations Certified true copies of original documents

  

Syrian refugees, one year later P.8 How are they adjusting to life in the Great White North?

Drop-in hours:

Gee-Gees rugby strikes gold—again P.10 Third consecutive championship title sends the Gees to nationals in B.C.

Monday 7:00 – 9:00 pm Wednesday 7:00 – 9:00 pm Thursday 2:00 – 4:00 pm

Electoral reform is still a priority P.12 Poland a perfect demonstration of successful protest

Location: 17 Copernicus (Corner of King Edward and Laurier) Tel: 613-562-5600

Love your bust P.16 Don’t be swayed by popular fads

[Type text]

TAs, RAs, Proctors, Markers & Lab Demonstrators

DON’T MISS YOUR

FALL GENERAL ASSEMBLY NOVEMBER 16 CAFÉ NOSTALGICA

DOORS OPEN AT 5:30PM

BARGAINING Get the answers to all your questions:

What’s this “bargaining” thing? What are we asking for?

What’s the University proposing? Are we going on strike?

NEW BYLAWS That’s right. New bylaws. Exciting, right?

We’ve been updating our bylaws to make them better. Faster. Stronger.

And now you can see them for the first time!

AND MORE! Snacks. Refreshments. Union Business.

What more could you ask for? ONE FREE DRINK!

IN B Union of Student Workers at uOttawa 613.562.5345 . info@2626.ca . 2626.ca . UCU 303

AR

NIN I A G

G!

NEWS

NEWS EDITOR

Graham Robertson news@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0061 @_grahamr

Online motion rejected for upcoming GA

BOA chairperson clarifies reasoning behind rejection of petition graham robertson news editor

T

he upcoming fall General Assembly (GA) for the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) will take place on Nov. 12, with the deadline for submitting motions having already passed on Oct. 21.

However, one student’s motion was rejected by the SFUO due to it being in an online format.

On Oct. 14, Marcus Mattinson, a fourth-year public administration student at the U of O, started a Facebook campaign asking students to sign his petition to remove the levy for Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), saying that students “should not be forced to fund extremist political groups.”

Mattinson’s post further explained that OPIRG collects $150,000 from the SFUO each

year, which comes from students themselves. According to the post, the U of O has a “politically diverse student population” and “OPIRG uses students’ money to fund various far-left, including Marxist and anarchist, groups, such as the Revolutionary Students’ Movement, who describe themselves as ‘revolutionary, combative, militant and anticapitalist.’”

The post then went on to say that “the possibility of opting out from OPIRG has been greatly under-promoted,” and that “it has been years since the last time students were given the chance to vote on OPIRG funding.”

Mattinson therefore proposed to have the following referendum question included on the winter 2017 election ballot: “Do you support the removal of the automatic Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) fee charged to all students at the beginning of every term in exchange for the ability for students to voluntarily contribute to OPIRG

The fall term GA will take place on Nov. 12.

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

should they feel this external organization represent their values?”

The petition was made available via a Google document for U of O students to sign by logging in with their school email.

Mattinson later contacted the Fulcrum, saying that the online petition was “blocked”

by Jesse Root, executive coordinator of the SFUO. “It is important to note that there are no guidelines provided by the SFUO for petitions to bring forward motions to the

GA other than the following,” Mattinson wrote in an email to the Fulcrum, highlighting article 3.13.8.2 of the SFUO constitution, which states that all motions require a petition signed by 100 members of the student body, or a two-thirds vote of the Board of Administration.

Mattinson said that it was “absurd” that the word “signed” in the constitution referred only to paper copies of motions, rather than online motions.

“It comes from an unelect-

ed paid staff member of the SFUO. Root has reserved the right to interpret the constitution in whatever way pleases him the best, no appeal process, no chance to appeal to elected officials,” Mattinson wrote. “His word is being considered final.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not the only student to be affected by this, hundreds of students are being muzzled by Root’s ruling through other rejected petitions,” Mattinson continued.

“Online petitions are still petitions. They are also more accessible and can even be safer depending on the parameters set by the petition’s creator.”

The Fulcrum spoke with Shawn Philip Hunsdale, chairperson of the SFUO and the BOA, who clarified the reasoning behind the decision not to accept the motion.

According to Hunsdale, the petition was not accepted due to the fact that it was not substantive enough and did not contain enough signatures. Furthermore, Hunsdale

explained that paper copies of motions are considered more legitimate than online petitions, since it is easier for someone to retract their signature in an online petition.

In response to this, Mattinson told the Fulcrum that “117 signatures were submitted and (Root) has ignored my email for clarification. I believe he meant that since all the signatures were online there were not enough valid signatures. At least that is how I interpreted his email.”

According to Mattinson, however, “There is no legal precedent for Mr. Root to decide that the word ‘signed’ implies the requirement of a paper and pen petition to be presented.”

“With no proper criteria to ban online petitions and no constitutional text to support Root’s ruling, the federation must honour my petition.”

Mattinson has also said that he is prepared to take legal action if the SFUO chooses not to accept his online motion for the Nov. 12 GA.

U of O prof to stand trial at social justice tribunal

Crowdfunding campaign raises $12, 670 to pay for legal fees graham robertson news editor

On Oct. 23, several websites shared articles which indicated that University of Ottawa English professor Janice Fiamengo is set to stand trial at the Social Justice Tribunals Ontario.

The trial comes after Fiamengo was accused of a human rights violation by a former U of O student.

The U of O is the co-defendant in the case and is represented by their own lawyer who, according to the men’s right group Studio Brulé, will not be representing Fiamengo, since the complainant is asking

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that the university punish Fiamengo for her actions.

The Fulcrum reached out to both Fiamengo and the university’s media relations department for a comment. However, both parties were unable to provide any information or statements on the case, since the university cannot comment on individual student cases and Fiamengo is unable to speak on the issue until her hearing is over.

Over the past couple years Fiamengo has received a great deal of criticism for her anti-feminist statements, instead advocating for a number of

The date of Janice Fiamengo’s trial has yet to be set, but is expected to be in 6-12 months.

like Studio Brulé have launched campaigns to raise funds for Fiamengo’s

men’s rights groups. As a result of this, many men’s rights websites and blogs

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

costly legal fees.

“Janice has contacted a lawyer, so legal costs

will begin immediately.

The tribunal will be in 6–12 months and will last 5–10 days. Expenses could mount very quickly, however we will post updates,” reads the fundraising page on Studio Brulé’s website.

As of Oct. 30, Fiamengo’s legal funds were successfully raised through the crowdfunding website GoGetFunding, with 226 backers donating a total of $12, 670.

According to Studio Brulé founder Steve Brulé, this money will allow Fiamengo to retain legal representation for her upcoming trial.

NEWS | 3

Dozens of students arrested at pipeline protest Select U of O students banned from Parliament Hill for three months Graham Robertson News Editor

On Oct. 24, approximately 200 members of the Ottawa community, including 100 youth and students from across the country, rallied on Parliament Hill to protest the Kinder Morgan pipeline— only to be met with arrests by police.

The existing 1,150 km pipeline, built in 1953, has been approved for a 980 km expansion between Strathcona County, Alta., and Burnaby, B.C. However, many groups are in opposition to the pipeline since it will pass through the land of several Indigenous communities.

Aside from the effects this will have on First Nations groups, concerns also arose due to the potential effects of the pipeline on marine life, along with other environmental concerns. According to the group 350.org, Sophie Birks, a student from McGill

The Oct. 24 protest has been called “the largest act of youth-led climate civil disobedience in Canadian history.” Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

University who attended the rally, summed up the event by saying, “climate leaders don’t build pipelines.”

The Oct. 24 rally began at the University of Ottawa campus, where students, Indigenous groups, and

other community members marched to Parliament Hill.

Lisa Gunn, a masters student in international development with women’s studies, was one of the students present at the rally who was arrested.

“Everyone was excited to be there, to take a stand on something we believe in and care about,” said Gunn, recalling how she had originally found out about the protest during a previous conference on pipelines or-

ganized by the 350.org.

According to Gunn, “there were a couple points when (the protesters) were interacting with police,” which involved intentionally crossing a police barricade.

Approximately 100 students ended up crossing the barricade, and Gunn said that she was among the last 10 to do so.

Following their arrest, Gunn said that the police took her and the other protesters to the side, took down their names, read them their rights, and issued trespassing warrants. Now, Gunn and the others arrested at the protest are banned from Parliament Hill for the next three months.

The Oct. 24 protest has been called “the largest act of youth-led climate civil disobedience in Canadian history” by 350.org and despite the arrests, Gunn is hopeful about further steps you can take on the issue.

“I know that there will be follow-up action, just to hammer home the (Kinder Morgan) pipeline,” she said.

Gunn believes that there will be a lot of pressure on the federal government regarding the pipeline, since 350.org is now asking all the protesters who were arrested to write a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the back of their trespassing warrants, in response to the protest and in opposition to the pipeline.

“We (the youth) were one of the main demographics that brought the Liberal government into power,” Gunn said. And because of this, she hopes that this demographic will have their voices heard.

For students wishing to get involved with this initiative, and others of the same nature, Gunn suggests joining local divestment groups like Fossil Free uOttawa.

U of O student starts fundraiser for Yemeni refugees

Initiative expected to raise awareness, $8,000 by December 2016 Zainab Al-Mehdar

associate news editor Zein Ahmed, a fourthyear biomedical sciences student at the University of Ottawa, wants to make a difference in the lives of Yemeni refugees settling in Djibouti—and to do so, she’s started a fundraiser that will run until Dec. 22.

“For a while I’ve been thinking of just doing something, heading to Yemen trying to help them out,” Ahmed told the Fulcrum.

“But unfortunately, due to the crises, they shut down all airports, so no commercial sites are accepted.”

The Yemen Civil War has claimed over 10,000 lives since it started a year and half ago, and it has also forced 120,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti.

Of these 120,000 refugees, 35,000 Yemeni citizens have found refuge in Djibouti due to its proxim-

4 | NEWS

ity to their home country, and approximately 3,000 have been placed in a refugee camp in a town named Obock.

After doing some research, Ahmed learned about the refugee camp in Obock and decided to start a fundraiser by reaching out to the United Nations Refugee Agency in Djibouti. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Canada has also helped Ahmed get in contact with representatives at the camp to inform her about logistics and travel plans.

Ahmed plans on flying to Djibouti on Dec. 24, and she hopes to raise $8,000 by Dec. 22.

In the meantime, Ahmed has already planned out how she will distribute the funds and supply refugees with resources.

“Out of the $8,000 I will use a portion to buy medication here … just to be safe.

I would rather buy medica-

tion here because we can’t play with people’s health— it’s a moral issue as well.”

Other supplies such as food, clothing, toys, and educational items will be purchased in Djibouti.

Through this fundraiser Ahmed also wants to raise awareness on the crisis in Yemen, because she believes it is not getting enough coverage in the mainstream media.

“Yemen is a country that is sustained on its own, so there are no resources it gives out to the Western world,” said Ahmed. “Yemen is a country that lives on its own, on its own resources and I feel that is a big issue and the reason why it hasn’t been going on the news lately, or even before the war started.”

According to Ahmed, the lack of awareness about the crisis in Yemen has proven to be one of the challenges facing her fundraising initiatives.

Zein Ahmed plans to travel to Djibouti on Dec. 24 to give resources to refugees.

“It saddens me to the point where even when I started the fundraiser people asked ‘What is happening in Yemen?’ or ‘Where is Yemen?’ They were questioning the country and honestly I don’t blame them at all, because it’s all up to the media.”

While raising $8,000 is definitely an important part of her campaign, Ahmed said that raising awareness about this ongoing conflict will hopefully have a longer lasting impact.

“Once they are informed, the best thing they can do

Photo: Courtesy of Zein Ahmed.

is not only donate to the fundraiser, but also spread the message that this is happening in this country.

We have to do something about it.”

If you would like to donate to Ahmed’s fundraiser, please visit her Go Fund Me page.

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Student health-care conference pushes for female speakers Club president hopes to raise awareness for gender equality on campus gloria charles-pierre fulcrum contributor

Six years ago, Actions for Healthcare, a student-run, non-profit organization, started up at the University of Ottawa with the purpose of raising money for healthcarerelated charities such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

This year, club president Linxi Mytkolli, a fourth-year U of O biopharmaceutical science student, is doing things differently by placing women speakers at the forefront of the group’s largest event—an annual conference on healthrelated issues.

Mytkolli told the Fulcrum that 60 per cent of U of O graduates are female, yet they are not getting senior positions in the workforce. According to Mytkolli, it’s “all boys clubs,” a trend which starts right here at the U of O. “Gender equality is an issue on this campus,” Mytkolli said.

She further said that “women in positions of leadership get

congratulated, but not men,” wondering if this is because people are surprised that women are attaining prominent positions in the field, or if it is because they are skeptical about these women.

To publicly address the issue of inequality in the field of healthcare, Mytkolli submitted a piece to the Ottawa Citizen on Oct. 24, highlighting that in previous years her club has only featured male speakers at the annual conference.

The piece discussed Mytkolli’s story, and her desire to push for more female speakers at the conference.

“At last year’s conference, we were unable to acquire a female speaker, which unfortunately happens more often than not in the world of academic conferences, which are heavily dominated by male speakers,” she wrote in the Citizen.

“I am especially excited about the event because we are also trying to debunk the

The upcoming Actions for Healthcare conference will take place Feb. 19-20, 2017.

modern ‘myth’ that conferences are dominated by male speakers. We aim to have more than 50 per cent of our speakers be female.”

“This is supposed to be the land of equal opportunity and yet, as an aspiring physician, I am often confronted with the

Photo: CC, Ilmicrofono Oggiono.

reality of a male-dominated field,” Mytkolli wrote.

According to Mytkolli, she has received a great deal of backlash following her publication, such as emails saying, things such as “females cannot work as hard as a man, that is why they

cannot advance.”

Mytkolli has been involved with Actions for Healthcare for four years, and she hopes that by being club president she will be able to use her leadership position to raise awareness on gender inequality.

“Gender equality is not just a female issue,” said Mytkolli. She believes that more students need to discuss this topic, which she believes has gotten “better (in) the last 10 years, but there is so much more to be done.”

For students looking to get involved with the upcoming conference in February 2017, which Mytkolli hopes will feature more female speakers, she is currently looking for diverse volunteers whose backgrounds will allow for growth within the organization itself.

Currently, Actions for Healthcare is working to secure speakers such as Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, and Jane Philpott, Canada’s minister of health.

Students wishing to register for the conference, held on Feb. 19 and 20, 2017, can do so on the Actions for Healthcare website.

U of O student wants you to discuss mental health

Chris Hadfield, Roméo Dallaire, Jacques Frémont engaged in initiative Zainab Al-Mehdar

associate news editor Have you seen a plate circulating around the University of Ottawa campus?

Jolene Hansell, a second-year common law student at the University of Ottawa, hopes to raise awareness for mental health issues through her ConvoPlate initiative.

Launched in May 2016, ConvoPlate is part of the Paul Hansell Foundation, which was founded in memory of Jolene Hansell’s late brother who died of suicide in December 2010.

Hansell told the Fulcrum about the importance of one’s choice of words when discussing suicide.

“The language there is important. We are very adamant about using the word ‘died’ of suicide, rather than ‘committed’ suicide, because of the negative connotations that surround the word ‘committed,’” said Hansell.

The plates used in the ConvoPlate project are made as part of an art therapy program called Art Break,

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through the Art Gallery of Burlington. Young people come into the gallery and they make hand-painted stoneware plates, one of which goes into circulation and is trackable by the artist, and the other is taken home.

According to Hansell, the idea to create the plates came from her father Brian, who is the president of the foundation.

“The idea with these plates is that it’s a conversation starter, it gets people to talk about something they may not have otherwise talked about,” said Hansell. “And it doesn’t always have to be this dark and twisty thing.

Mental health is something that we all have, we all need to nourish every day.”

“It shouldn’t be something that as a society is a taboo to discuss.”

Once someone receives the plate, they register it online, and from there they can track how it is being passed on to people around the world. Individuals can also post photos and stories about the plate on social me-

Brian Hansell believes that mental health shouldn’t be a taboo topic to discuss in society.

dia platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to continue the conversation around mental health, which is the foundation’s main goal.

“The focus of Paul Hansell Foundation is youth mental health, so we really want youth to be having this conversation,” said Hansell.

“That’s why we want to be engaged on these social media platforms.”

Currently, there are more than 50 plates in circulation and they have already fallen into the hands of notable individuals such as astronaut Chris Hadfield and humanitarian Roméo Dallaire.

Photo: Courtesy of Jolene Hansell.

A plate has also recently managed to reach U of O president Jacques Frémont and is currently circulating the university’s campus.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is also the first government agency to receive a plate, and Hansell hopes to one day

see the plate in the hands of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“We really have found that they spark very interesting conversations about mental health within the people who get them and their families and friends, and that’s the feedback we have been getting which is awesome,” said Hansell.

Currently, Hansell is working to organize a ConvoPlate project in local schools, with lesson plans revolving around how the plates can be passed from school to school. She is also working on creating tailormade ConvoPlates, such as plates for specific industries.

“Just like you do things for your physical self, you need to be doing things everyday for your mental health— making sure that you find the time to do that and to talk about those things that you do to help support your mental health.”

For more information on the ConvoPlate initiative, please visit the Paul Hansell Foundation’s website.

NEWS | 5

A&C EDITOR Anchal Sharma arts@thefulcrum.ca

ARTS&CULTURE

(613) 695-0062 @imtherocks

JumpstART retrospective comes full circle at SAW Video Media Art Centre

Event celebrates 35th anniversary, screens past films born of grant program Anchal sharma arts & culture editor

O

n Nov. 11, SAW Video Media Art Centre, located in the Arts Court building, is holding film screenings of work produced out of their grant program, JumpstART, to celebrate their 35th anniversary.

The non-profit organization has helped local artists produce over 100 films of varying genres, from dramas, to quasidocumentaries, to experimental films.

Michele Wonzy, the curator of the media centre, explained that the variety comes from the evolution of digital technology used to produce films.

“The tools have changed,” she said. “In this exhibition you’ll see very performative work, artists who place themselves at the centre of the piece and ex-

Still from Kurayami No Wa (Circle of Darkness) by JumpstART grant recipient Morgana McKenzie. Photo: Courtesy of SAW Video.

plore themselves through video and sound (and) as the works become more digital, there’s an incredible use of editing.”

SAW Video’s origins are as unique as the work that they produce. Started by a group of artists in 1980 as a grassroots organization, the centre received official funding from the Canada Council for the Arts two years later after submitting a video application.

JumpstART was introduced five years later in 1987 to give

budding filmmakers a foundation for their passion, provide them with the tools they need to dip their toes in the art of video production, and offer financial assistance for the production of their work.

“SAW Video has an interesting history. They emerged from Galerie SAW Gallery, (a) collective (that) was embedded in sharing space and stages (as well as) performance artists and dancers” Wonzy shared, describing it as a “disciplinary

zeitgeist.”

She explained that this collective of artists wanted to explore media art, and helped make SAW what it is today.

Since its creation, the production fund has also evolved into a mentorship program to give artists extra support. Up to six grants are awarded each year, and completed works are shown a year after the participants join the program so they may jump-start their careers.

“It encourages artists of all

walks of life,” said Wonzy, adding that the hands-on mentorship guidance was recently introduced in 2009. “It’s always been a mentorship program, (and) not everyone who applies has worked with video before.”

One restriction of the program is that works must come in during the pre-production phase, and all post-production and editing must be done at SAW video.

Penny McCann, director of the centre, started out as a grant recipient and shared her experience with the program in her introduction for the screening catalogue.

“My start as a media artist came with the JumpstART grant I received in 1989, with which I made my first experimental video, Marching to Pretoria,” said McCann. “My JumpstART video introduced me to video production, SAW Video Co-op (so named at the time), the artist-run centre movement, and the world of media art.”

“For me, as for many others, the program was truly a defining moment in my life.”

For this year’s festivities, Wonzy chose which works to play for the screening and gave some insight to the decision in her curatorial essay.

“This curated programme of 15 media artworks is but one framed sample of work that has been created over the past 3 decades—a program that I believe demonstrates the ART in JumpstART.” She encourages those interested in media art to play around with camera techniques and to go to as many exhibitions as they can, and one place to start is the upcoming retrospective.

“Come to the show. It’s an awesome piece of history, and it’s gonna be a great party.”

Catch the show on Friday, Nov. 11 from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the Arts Court building. Tickets are $8 at the SAW Video office or $10 at the door.

Arts Day on the Hill rallies for more public funding

Canadian artists participate in fifth lobby day to advocate for investment in arts Anchal Sharma

Arts & Culture Editor It’s time we put the age-old stereotype that Ottawa is the city that fun forgot to rest.

Sure we’re a government city, but that has its benefits, as was witnessed by the Canadian Arts Coalition (CAC) on Oct. 25 when they had their fifth Arts Day on Parliament Hill.

The call for Arts Day on the Hill was a public one, with support from art lovers flowing in through social media.

The reception was held in the East Block building, and the event hosted up to 160 arts advocates that came in from across the country to speak to Members of Parliament about the necessity of their work and to lobby for a raise in public funding.

“We were overjoyed and overwhelmed by the response of the arts community who were absolutely eager to speak

6 | ARTS & CULTURE

with MPs in 2016,” said Kate Cornell, co-chair of the CAC. For her, “artists are absolutely essential of defining who we are as Canadians.”

“I believe that artists reflect our society back to us on our stages in their works of art and we need artists to help us be better Canadians,” said Cornell.

The CAC, which is made up of various national arts groups, describes itself as a non-partisan collaborative movement, dedicated to advocating for the arts in Canada. It came together in 2005 to lobby for more public funding from the federal government, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canada Council for the Arts in 2007.

Cornell explained that “the original focal point of Arts Day was to ask for increased funding for the Canada Council. It has evolved since then

but it really has been about the Canada Council.”

Arts Day has been held every few years since then, and this year Cornell said that the gathering carried a different purpose.

“This version of Arts Day was primarily to say thank you for (the federal) budget 2016, which included a commitment to double the operating budget of the Canada Council by 2021.”

The 2016 federal budget includes $1.87 billion in arts funding. Cornell went on to share that this has been especially exciting year, since the doubling of the Canada Council budget has been one of the CAC’s main requests since its inception.

“In terms of expectations and results, we’re absolutely thrilled with the show of force and the appreciation that was shown by the MPs for the arts

The CAC is a non-partisan collaborative movement.

and culture sector,” she said.

“We felt heard. I think this

Photo: Courtesy of the Canadian Arts Coalition.

government understands the essential role of the arts and

we look forward to continued conversations with these MPs

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Do-It-Yourself Drinks

Three drink recipes to warm you up this winter Nadia drissi el-bouzaidi staff contributor

It’s only November, and Ottawa has already seen its first snowfall of the year. But don’t fear, we’ve got you covered with some easy winter drink recipes to keep you warm all season. So whether you’re planning a holiday party, or just looking to skip the line at Starbucks, get comfy and get brewing.

To enhance these recipes, you can check out our website for a super easy guide to home coffee essentials.

Recipe 1: Steamy, creamy tea latte

Recipe 2: Pumpkin spice life

Recipe 3: Egg nog latte

• 1 tea bag • ½ cup of milk • 1 tablespoon of vanilla syrup

• 1 cup of milk • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin spice syrup • 2 shots of espresso

• ½ cup of eggnog • ½ milk • 2 shots of espresso

Steep the tea in a mug, covered for three to five minutes, and steeping it longer if you like a stronger taste. Use a black tea, I’d recommend an earl grey or chai tea but don’t feel confined to those options. Steam the milk to 140 degrees fahrenheit, then add the vanilla and milk to the tea.

Pour the syrup into a mug, and then shoot the espresso shots on top of it. Steam the milk to 140 degrees fahrenheit. Swirl the espresso and syrup together until it’s combined.

Swirl the milk until it’s silky. Pour the milk onto the espresso and pumpkin spice, and top it off with some cinnamon.

Shoot the espresso into a mug. Steam the eggnog and milk together until it reaches 140 degrees fahrenheit. Swirl the milk until it’s smooth. Pour on top of the espresso and enjoy.

Photo: CC, Jerome Paz.

A lesson on cultural appropriation

What’s the matter with trying on another culture for the evening? angry at someone appropriating Canadian culture by dressing as a hockey player.

One popular faux-pas on Halloween is the use of “blackface,” or dark makeup by non-black people.

This is a problematic choice because black people suffer from social and institutional systems of oppression in almost every aspect of their lives.

While you might return to your privileged position as a white person once your “costume” comes off, black people obviously don’t have the choice of washing off their skin colour at the end of a night out to enjoy those same privileges.

Simply put, by using pieces of a culture that go hand in hand with oppression, you participate in the erasure of that culture’s authentic experience. By purchasing that Aboriginal costume as a non-Aboriginal, you perpetuate the injustice of turning someone’s culture into a commodity. When this happens, the real image of a culture becomes distorted.

The suffering of Aboriginal peoples across Canada due to increased alcoholism, suicides, school dropout rates, and more, becomes obscured and forgotten among a slew of Instagram photos that feature glammed up renditions of our Indigenous communities. Isn’t there a sad irony in the fact that one of the few times people are interested in Indigenous tradition, it’s only so that they can find a cute costume to wear to a party?

Often, Halloween costumes

Savannah Awde Editor-in-Chief

Upon sifting through your Halloweekend memories—assuming they aren’t too blurry—you probably remember meeting a white man dressed as an Indigenous person, or a white woman dressed up as a geisha. But maybe you’re wondering why you would even take note of these costumes in the first place. After all, they’re just costumes. Nothing special, right?

Not quite—cultural appropriation is a big deal. And before you start making loud jokes about how you get “SO offended” as a Canadian when you see people around the world donning hockey player costumes, take a second to read up on what cultural appropriation really means, and why we should all avoid it. That way, everyone from your roommates to Chris Hemsworth can be more considerate next Halloween and in their everyday fashion choices.

Cultural appropriation means that you’ve adopted part of a culture for temporary personal use.

While that in itself may not sound too sinister, it becomes a problem when you choose to borrow elements from a group in society that has suffered hardship as a direct result of the elements of their identity that you’ve chosen to borrow. Canadians do not experience institutionalized or social discrimination due to the fact they play hockey, so no, you cannot justify getting

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In fashion and on Halloween, we need to be aware of cultural appropriation.

evidence of that you don’t have to look much further than music festivals like Coachella.

aren’t the only culprit. Again, the Indigenous are often victim to appropriation in fashion, and to see

Photo: CC , Sea Turtle.

A big problem with commercialization of Indigenous culture is that often the members of the groups that are being represented are not benefiting from the commercial use of their culture, or even consulted on the representation in the design stage. This means that the fashion ads you see in magazines might not even match the culture it features in its catchy tagline.

This again leads to not only the erasure of authentic cultural experiences, but a societal emphasis on superficial aspects of a culture, like clothes, while failing to recognize the multitude of social issues faced by the group the attire originates from. Once again, hockey players would not fall into this category.

The lesson to take away? Cultural appropriation is an issue that only affects marginalized groups in society, and results in the erasure of authentic cultural elements of those groups while ignoring the suffering and system of oppression that members of the culture routinely face. When you dress up as these groups it is inconsiderate and ignorant, no matter what your white friends say.

The good news is that there are still hundreds of fashions and Halloween costumes out there for you to wear for a cute Instagram photo.

Believe me, the ordeal of finding an alternate will be a lot less difficult than explaining to a person of a marginalized group why you think that their culture is something you can turn into a gimmick.

ARTS & CULTURE | 7

A house without a home How Syrian refugees are adjusting to life in Canada one year later Ever since the Syrian Civil War erupted in March of 2011, an estimated 11 million Syrians have been displaced worldwide. Of that number, 4.8 million have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries. Inside Syria, 6.1 million have been displaced, with another 13.5 million still in need of humanitarian assistance.

In 2015, then newly minted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to resettle 25,000 refugees by February 2016 and has since welcomed more than 33,239 Syrian refugees into this country, with thousands more still being processed.

However, while Canada has committed to resettling more Syrian refugees than any other country besides Germany, has it been able to provide them with a true home?

Since Nov. 4 marks the one-year anniversary of Syrian refugees arriving in Canada, I’ve interviewed three separate stakeholders of the refugee crisis to get the inside scoop on some of the unique obstacles that they still have to overcome.

Coming away from these talks, it’s obvious that while integrating Syrian refugees into Canadian society is a high priority for the federal government, these newcomers still

have to face many challenges when it comes to issues like sponsorships, resources, and opportunities.

Lack of even ground Of course, one of the biggest ongoing challenges associated with the successful integration of refugees fleeing the war is the huge gap that exists between how different groups of refugees are processed.

Much of this divide stems from the tensions that are felt between different ethnic and religious groups, which include Christian, Muslim, and Yazidi refugees. Although the government has expressed that they do not discriminate based on religion, there’s is a large divide between the experience of refugees who are privately sponsored (mostly Christian) and those who are government sponsored (mostly Muslim).

According to professor Elke Winter, a professor and researcher of sociology at the University of Ottawa, we must acknowledge the unique differences and experiences of refugees.

“We must not think that refugees are a homogenous group, many of them carry scars from the war, they may be suspicious of each other, and if they are being thrust together in small spaces with poor resources, of course there will be conflict.”

According to The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press released data that showed government sponsored refugees tend to have more children, lower language skills, and lower education levels than their privately sponsored counterparts. Refugees who are privately sponsored also usually have more direct support.

Tiyahna Ridley

Fulcrum Contributor

“There are tremendous differences between private sponsorship, government sponsorship and blended sponsorship,” said Winter. “Refugees who have been privately sponsored tend to be more educated, have a higher grasp on the English language, smaller family size and integrate a little more smoothly into Canada than refugees who the government sponsors.”

One of these privately sponsored refugees is Zuka, who arrived in Canada in January 2016 with her husband and two young daughters. While this matriarch is thankful that her immediate family was able to find safety in Canada’s borders and secure private sponsorship from a local church, she contends that Christian refugees like herself still face danger in the ongoing Syrian conflict.

She fears everyday for the safety of the rest of her Christian family, who can’t stay at a refugee camp, can’t afford to live in Lebanon, haven’t been able to get government or private sponsorship, and continue to live in Syria.

“I’m safe now, but my family is still in Syria and they’re not safe. The children can’t go to school, they hear bombs, they’re not safe. They can’t go to Lebanon because it costs too much money to live.”

Lack of resources If nothing else, Canada is renowned for our social safety net which covers a broad range of aid like housing, education, employment, and health services. While these services have been praised for their inclusivity compared to our neighbours to the South, the influx of refugees is really putting that sense of superiority to the test.

In fact, in the past 12 months, our safety net failed to accommodate this mass influx of refugees, making it very difficult for new arrivals to seek the support they need.

For example, initial medical assessments of refugees back in early 2016 revealed that 12 per cent of arrivals from Syria had at least one condition, the most common being diabetes, hypertension, and visual or hearing impairment.

Refugees get full interim health coverage for up to a year after their arrival, in addition to being eligible for health insurance in their host province. This can cover medical services, prescriptions, dental care, vision care, physiotherapy, psychotherapy and more. While this program has contributed greatly to the health of many arrivals, there are excessive wait times for services, in addition to language barriers that often make these services inaccessible.

Illustrations: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

In addition to dental care and general doctors, Winter said that a grave need for increased mental health services has been identified.

“Syrian refugees, including children, come to the country after witnessing horrible things and bring with them trauma, lack of certainty, and feelings of insecurity.”

Post-traumatic stress disorder is another recurring theme, particularly amongst male Syrian refugees due to prolonged exposure to the conflict. Yet, despite these needs, there are virtually no active programs that are efficiently tending to the specific mental health needs of Syrian refugees.

Housing resources pose another challenge to integration, where new arrivals share concerns over the lack of housing options, high rental prices, and lack of adequate space for large families.

In the eyes of Jan Underwood, a cultural awareness educator for the Central Alberta Refugee Effort, Alberta was a unique case because many Canadian families were already moving out of the province due to problems in the oil industry.

“Housing depends largely on the refugee situation, how many people are in their family, whether there’s an extended family member they can join,” said Underwood. “We found it was difficult at first when the large numbers of people needed accommodation but coincidently because of the other situation in Alberta and people leaving the oil slump, then it wasn’t so much of a problem.”

However, the same can’t be said for the rest of the country.

According to Jacquie Miller from the Ottawa Citizen, a family of four sponsored by the federal government might receive a monthly house allowance of $795, while the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is $1,159. Given that refugees have a wait time of five to seven years for subsidized housing, finding a job that can account for this cost is exponentially more difficult.

Lack of opportunity In her life before the war, Zuka was a teacher and enjoyed using the skills that she learned from being a mother to educate the youth of her community.

However, now that she is living in Canada, it will be very difficult for her to find employment without a working level of English proficiency and some degree of Canadian work experience.

“I can work in the daycare and take care of the babies. I am a mother, I can do my job easily,” she said. “All of the people in the church help us with

food and housing, but I don’t need that. I am young and I need to work. It’s very easy for me to stay in my home but I need to work.”

Barriers to entering the workforce as a Syrian refugee include everything from language proficiency, not owning a driver’s license or vehicle, education program wait times and cost, Canada’s strict accreditation policies, and workplace discrimination.

Winter identifies language proficiency as a top challenge for refugees seeking employment.

over-packed and at the beginning of the transition, a lot of teachers didn’t know how to accommodate ESL students in the classroom.

“A lot of the classes became quite full, the ESL classes filled up, and some of the teachers had absolutely no idea how to deal,” said Underwood.

The light at the end of the tunnel

“Communication is a big issue. It makes it so hard for refugees to feel accepted or gain employment if they are not able to communicate with people.”

Bringing Syrian refugees into the country was the easy part. Making Canada an inclusive home for these newcomers, however, requires more dedication and resources that will meet the diverse needs of new arrivals.

Underwood agreed, adding “We didn’t realize that the literacy level of the Syrian refugees was so low. So a lot of them are definitely not employable and they are going to be dependent on government assistance for quite a long time.”

Thankfully, one year into the integration, we have seen many services sprouting out across the country to fill in the gaps.

Not only are most Syrian refugees not proficient in the English language, there are also not enough services to adequately educate these new arrivals.

One year into the arrival of Syrian refugees, and only approximately 5,400 of 33,239 Syrian refugees are enrolled in federally funded language courses since last year due to excessively long waiting lists.

Even for those who have been lucky enough to secure spots in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, the level of English taught is not enough for many employment opportunities.

New Canadians are taught basic English, but for anything more advanced they have to attend postsecondary level courses, which are usually more about literature than obtaining a high level of English language proficiency.

Underwood said that there is a need not only for more ESL programs, but also for higher-level English programs that are both relevant and affordable.

“We need to bridge that gap—creating a program for them that’s relevant and also cheap enough that they can afford to do it.”

While school-aged children are able to enrol in schools, Underwood said classrooms are often

According to Underwood, there are currently over 244 agencies offering over 1,380 different services for refugees. Some of these programs help with job development, writing Canadian-style resumes, or even offering free courses for professional English language development.

While these programs have been able to target the needs of refugees—accommodating varying schedules, locations, and needs such as child care— they often fill up quickly, have very long waiting lists, and fail to reach the majority of refugees who would benefit from these services.

Canada prides itself on its diverse, multicultural society, yet the act of simply bringing refugees to our country is not enough to pat ourselves on the back.

“It’s important to remember that refugees are people,” said Winter, “They all have different experiences and needs, but at the end of the day they are people and they need to be treated as such.”

Hopefully in the coming years we’re able to make Canada more than just a place to live for these newcomers—we’ll be able to make it a home.

As Underwood said, “Diversity is a word, inclusion is an action.”

SPORTS

SPORTS EDITOR Nico Laliberté sports@thefulcrum.ca

@FulcrumSports

Women’s rugby wins third consecutive RSEQ championship Gee-Gees move on to nationals, look to improve on last year’s third-place finish I haven’t seen us play like that this year. Our backs did such a great job— it’s incredible.”

It was a hard-fought battle, but the Gee-Gees prevailed, proving why they’re the best team in their conference and perhaps the nation.

Fifth-year front row player Simone Savary had two tries in the victory, with Danarae Sommerville and Alex Ellis each getting one try apiece.

From Nov. 3 to 6 both Ottawa and Concordia will be among seven teams competing at the U Sports (formerly CIS) women’s rugby national championship in Victoria, B.C. After finishing fourth and third in the tournament in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the Gees will be aiming for gold this year.

Currently, the team looks to be playing their best rugby of their season. Competing in the RSEQ they’ve had the benefit of playing seven regular season games, on top of exhibition match-ups and playoffs, meaning that they likely have the most in-game experience of any team.

Their biggest challenge at the tournament will likely come from Ontario champion Guelph and reigning national champion McMaster, both of whom had a perfect 5–0 record on the year and met in their conference final.

Last season McMaster dealt the

Nico Laliberté

Sports Editor

A

fter beating the Montreal Carabins 26–5 on Oct. 22 in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-final, the Gee-Gees defeated the Concordia Stingers 29–19 in the conference final on Oct. 28. This is the third straight year the GeeGees have taken home the RSEQ title.

It was not always easy for the Gees this season. Despite going undefeated, the team had a lot of young players, especially on the back line, who needed to learn and develop on the fly.

Head coach Jen Boyd has succeeded in incorporating the new players into the lineup and putting her team in a position to thrive this season, elements that came together for this thrilling final match-up.

“Everything just clicked tonight,” said Boyd in an interview with Sports Services.

“Concordia is really, really physical, and we just kept the pressure on.

U of O their fatal blow in the semifinals at nationals, and the Gees will welcome facing them in hopes of exacting revenge.

The team enters the tournament hosted by the University of Victoria ranked second and by means of an unlucky draw, will play the defending champion Marauders in the first round of action on Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. (2 p.m. PDT).

Live coverage will be available on Twitter @uOttawaGeeGees and broadcast information is to be announced.

“Concordia is really, really physical, and we just kept the pressure on. I haven’t seen us play like that this year.”—Jen Boyd, head coach.

Photos: Remi Yuan.

10 | SPORTS

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Gee-Gees end season in OUA quarters at Carleton Team’s disappointing finish not representative of solid season Spencer Murdock

OUTGOING Sports Editor After a solid 6–2 regular season, the Gee-Gees football team clashed with their most hated rival in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) quarterfinals on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The depleted and demoralized Garnet and Grey squad was unable to get any sort of momentum to swing their way in the game, resulting in a disappointing 45–9 loss.

The game hadn’t even kicked off yet before the bad blood between the teams boiled over, as sidelines emptied for a dust up at midfield.

The skirmish led to the ejection of second-year Gees linebacker Ricardo Lubin.

Once the game finally got underway, it was all Ravens from the start as they jumped out to a 17–0 lead before the Gees had a chance to respond.

A lone field goal would be all the Gees could muster up in the first half, as their passheavy offence was plagued by wet conditions.

Early in the third quarter, things went from bad to worse for the Gees when star fifthyear quarterback Derek Wendel injured his throwing arm, dashing any real chances of a comeback.

Fourth-year backup QB Victor Twynstra entered the game and took a little time to settle in. Meanwhile Carleton’s defence was relentless, continuing to rake over the Gees’ offensive line.

Twynstra, who will be preparing to take over the starting job from graduated Wendel next season, looked very effective using his legs to extend plays. The veteran showed off his ability to scramble rushing for 62 yards on eight attempts.

His passing numbers were less effective against the invigorated Ravens, tossing for 60 yards on 6–15 attempts.

Regardless of these shortcomings, he was still able to thread a nice pass to Luke Ffrench for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

While a slew of sloppy miscues and penalties plagued

Photo: Kim Wiens.

both teams, they specifically affected the Gees on either side of the ball and special teams throughout the game.

Injuries that held six Ottawa starters out of action, along with arguably the toughest schedule of any team in the conference, piled up to the point of a full breakdown in

season’s close.

“This is two years in a row now the OUA has not given us an off-week,” said Gee-Gees head coach Jamie Barresi.

“This is like being in a heavyweight fight. You go through stuff like (injuries) and you don’t get a break during the season … Give the team

we played a lot of credit … but the OUA needs to do something about this. It isn’t right.”

Scheduling doesn’t explicitly lead to a team’s success, but playing three teams off of a bye week and a run of nine consecutive weeks of football has given the Gee-Gees next to no time to get players the rest

they need.

“There were a lot of things that were kind of creeping up on us,” said Barresi. “To get to where we are, I give our guys a lot of credit to go 6–2 and end up like this.”

Although a fantastic career for Wendel comes to an end, his possible successor was prepared for his number to be called and looks forward to the opportunities of a new year in 2017.

“I always prepare as a starter, making sure I’m always in and involved with the offence,” said Twynstra.

“We have a good team coming back so we have to prepare, get better, and learn from our mistakes and we’ll be good for next year.”

The Gee-Gees have a young team that proved they can play with some of the best teams in the conference this year. Losing players like Wendel and receiver Mitch Baines will hurt, but just as most football teams do every year, they’ll figure it all out come late August.

Women’s soccer season comes to a close against Queen’s

Gee-Gees’ late-season struggles lead to disappointing early playoff exit Zack Goobie

Associate Sports Editor

The University of Ottawa women’s soccer season came to a disappointing end on Sunday, Oct. 30 against the Queen’s Gaels.

It was a tale of two seasons for the Gees this year. They started their season red hot, reeling off nine consecutive victories.

However, their success would not last as they went 0–3–4 in their final seven games, managing only four points of a possible 21 to cap off the regular season.

The Gees limped into their first playoff matchup on Oct. 26, but managed to beat the University of Toronto 3–1 in overtime and restore some optimism for their upcoming playoff game.

Following their big win

Gee-Gees lose OUA quarterfinal in heartbreaking fashion.

in the preliminary playoff round, the Gee-Gees

headed to Queen’s to face the Golden Gaels in the

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

Ontario quarter-final. The Gees were 1–0–1 against

Queens during the season.

It was a tight game that would require overtime after going scoreless in regulation.

The first overtime period ended with the game still tied at zero. With penalty kicks looming, the second extra frame commenced.

The Gaels scored the only goal of the game with less than 11 minutes left, ending the Gees’ season.

Despite the result, head coach Steve Johnson was pleased with the way his team played in the game.

“We played well in our game vs. Queen’s. Our effort was not lacking,” said Johnson. “We had two genuine scoring opportunities against Queen’s.”

The end came as a disappointment to some, since the Gees were

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ranked as high as second in the country at one point during the season.

Johnson said injuries to fifth-year striker Breanna Burton, second-year striker Thea Nour, and fourth-year midfielder Faythe Lou midway through the season definitely hurt the team.

Johnson thought his team played well all year, but often lacked the finishing touch.

“We led the country in shots and corner kicks, which are solid indicators of offensive play. But we did not match our scoring output to the number of opportunities we created.”

With a number of key players leaving this year, it will be up to Johnson to find a way to get more goals out of his team next year and lead them back into the playoffs.

Sports | 11

OPINIONS

OPINIONS EDITOR Eric Davidson

opinions@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @eric_davidson93

BOA’s fiduciary duty is destroying our voice

Poorly defined rules make it hard to enact real, student-driven change Justin Patrick

fulcrum contributor

W

hen you vote in the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) elections, you’re voting for someone to represent you and serve the best interests of students, right?

Well, not quite.

The SFUO’s Board of Administration (BOA)—made up of students elected to represent their respective faculties—is primarily bound to preserve the financial and corporate structures of the federation before serving the needs of students. In fact,

newly elected BOA members will have to take a special training course on their “fiduciary duty” to the SFUO as per section 3.1.13.1 of the federation’s constitution.

In simpler terms, if BOA members vote against these financial interests, they are liable to legal action brought against them by the SFUO’s lawyers.

This is one of the reasons why the SFUO has tended to resist organizational change and is at times disconnected from the student population—our representatives are forced to serve money, and not people.

Why is this bad? Well, let’s say one day our student federation is not working and we need to significantly change its organizational structure. Even if every student wanted this change, we would not be able to make it happen because the BOA has the fiduciary duty to preserve the current federation. In this scenario corporatism trumps

The SFUO’s rules of fiduciary duty can lead to lack of progress.

democracy, as any motion to make such changes would simply be called “out of order.”

This isn’t just theoretical.

There have been numerous instances throughout our federation’s history where fiduciary duty was called upon to deny students their rights.

In the mid-1990s when the

Photo: Eric Davidson.

Science Students’ Association and the Engineering Students’ Society were attempting to defederate from the student executive, SFUO lawyers told the BOA representatives that they weren’t allowed to vote for fed bodies to defederate, as this would violate their fiduciary duty.*

In addition, immense power is put in the hands of unelected non-students like the executive coordinator and the SFUO’s lawyers, whose job it is to interpret when student representatives are breaking their fiduciary duty.

Additionally, this kind of responsibility is not defined in the SFUO constitution, which gives these unelected nonstudents the power to call any motion they don’t agree with a violation of this rule. As the vast majority of students can’t afford defense lawyers, we’re left unable to fight back. The SFUO also lacks independent checks and balances, like a student court—ours was abolished without a referendum by the BOA in 2011.

This corporate way of doing business has no place in student government, since it violates students’ fundamental rights and makes a mockery of

what our student union truly should be: a democracy.

If fiduciary duty serves the requirement of some piece of corporate legislation, then a new type of organization should be created for student unions that respects the student voice. Fiduciary duty must be synonymous with the needs of students, and if there is ever a conflict between the two, the students should prevail.

The SFUO needs to put students first, not its own bureaucracy. Our representatives should be there to serve our interests, not the whims of unelected, behind-the-scenes actors who lack accountability. We need to take a stance against the corporatization of our student movement. *Referenced in an Editor’s Note from the Jan. 11, 1996 edition of the Fulcrum (written by Brett Ballah).

Canada’s electoral reform is still a priority No reason to suggest Canadians aren’t still on board with change Nicholas Robinson Staff Contributor

Through a very well-run and positive campaign, the Liberal Party of Canada was able to win a majority in last year’s federal election, and Justin Trudeau became prime minister.

One of the key promises in the Liberals’ platform was that 2015 would be the last election held under the much maligned firstpast-the-post system. Yet, Trudeau recently said that Canadians don’t want electoral reform as much anymore because the Liberals are in charge.

This attitude is shockingly undemocratic, it sounds way too much like a Donald Trump claiming that the system is rigged. This is especially true given that Trudeau was elected in part on a mandate of electoral re-

12 | OPINIONS

form and, when you count the NDP and Green votes, it’s clear that a large part of the population wanted that change.

What’s most troubling is that Trudeau’s claim that Canadians are no longer concerned about electoral reform is based on false logic.

First, there is no evidence to show that Canadians have fallen out of love with the idea of electoral reform.

Second, even if that claim was true, and the Canadian appetite for reform has been whetted, it probably isn’t because Trudeau is in charge. A Tory could just as well claim that the mood for change has declined because the Liberal government has done a terrible job of managing change.

Also, whatever Trudeau’s ideas on what Canadians

want or don’t want, the need to keep Canada’s democracy strong and vibrant is as present as ever. As much as Canada has so far managed to avoid the raging antiliberal populism spreading across Europe and the U.S., we aren’t immune and we shouldn’t get complacent.

Just look at what recently happened with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA): the Wallonian government saw a chance to pander to the populists, and almost blocked a vital free trade deal. For the Liberals to turn their back on reform would be to fall through the trap of typical politics, and would only serve to inflame mistrust in government and our political system.

Even then, getting rid of first-past-the-post is just one aspect of voting that

Justin Trudeau has distanced himself from reform.

the Liberals promised to study, and not studying it could set a bad precedent.

The Liberal government has also promised to study mandatory voting and online voting, among others.

Those reforms deserve just

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

as much scrutiny and just as much publicity, because they could also have a huge impact on our elections.

Imagine how much more accessible and easier voting would be online. In early 2015, the British Parlia-

ment’s Digital Democracy Commission found that the U.K. should adopt online voting for it’s next elections—why not Canada as well? Imagine how much better our democracy could be with other reforms like lowering the voting age to 16.

Canadian democracy isn’t broken—but it’s far from perfect, and it could definitely use some major reform and modernization.

This is a commitment that our government made.

Power doesn’t just corrupt— it turns us conservative, reluctant to change. If our government doesn’t honour their commitment, the need for electoral reform will be ever greater. Mr. Trudeau, it’s time to make real change a reality, and not just a dream.

thefulcrum.ca

SFUO should adopt bilingualism committee

Formation of committee could work to benefit SFUO and student body alike Nooria Rizvi

Staff Contributor At the recent Board of Administration (BOA) meeting, the board rejected the creation of a committee to examine bilingualism within the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO).

This was disheartening to hear, since a motion to create a committee to examine bilingualism in the SFUO is a very good idea. It’s especially important since the SFUO is supposed to represent the University of Ottawa’s policy to promote bilingualism, and all executive members should follow suit, especially since some candidates were unable to converse effectively in both English and French during last year’s debates.

That said, establishing a committee that could try and improve bilingualism in the SFUO would be a perfect way to correct this imbalance.

For example, the committee could organize special workshops for students that may need help to improve their French. Considering that there are only six executive positions, this promotion of bilingualism in the SFUO could even target individual roles.

But another method to ensure bilingualism in the SFUO is evaluating the effectiveness of standard spoken oral exam in both official languages.

Considering that the committee wouldn’t have much to do besides evaluating the test of some students’ spoken English and French, this isn’t a lot to ask.

After evaluating various methods to promote bilingualism in the SFUO via surveys, the committee would be then responsible for employing the most effective technique possible.

Now coming back to the main idea, why should there

The SFUO’s Board of Administration decided against a motion to create a committee on bilingualism.

be a committee on the SFUO that promotes bilingualism?

And what can be the possible downside to forming this committee?

Well, this committee should exist because more

exposure to French and French culture means more opportunities to learn new vocabulary, new expressions, and to experience a cultural backdrop that wouldn’t be there otherwise.

Photo: Marta Kierkus.

The way I see it, there can only be two possible downsides to this committee. First of all, it may be necessary to provide extra funding to this committee for their events, and sec-

ond, the executives may not have time for all the events held by the committee.

To be honest, I feel that these two negatives can easily be overcome. The promotional events done by the committee would not cost a lot, especially if the committee would target the SFUO executive specifically. Secondly, if for some reason the executives have a tight schedule, there are lots of other people on the BOA who could serve on a committee.

In conclusion, having an SFUO that is completely and fully bilingual is very significant because the student federation is supposed to represent the U of O. This is a bilingual university, and as such any effort to promote its bilingualism should be encouraged, not rejected.

Much more information needed on police mass texting Solid report on use, disposal of numbers, metadata is a must Eric Davidson Opinions Editor

Recently, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) used a mass text campaign to help them solve a yearold murder. While detective-superintendent Dave Truax with the OPP criminal investigation unit says that the move has helped propel the case forward, privacy experts like technology lawyer David Fraser are raising concerns.

The process is simple: police obtained a court order from a cell tower near the victim’s last known location, and texted 7,500 people whose phones contacted that cell tower. One could argue the process isn’t that different from knocking on doors and stopping people on the street in the vicinity of a crime scene. However, there is one significant difference, and it’s the reason the police needed a court order to access the numbers.

Today’s mobile devices aren’t just phone num-

In an unprecedented move, the OPP sent mass texts to 7,500 phone numbers to help solve a murder.

bers, they’re often tied to people’s online identities and showcase important metadata that tells the police where you’ve been, and who you’ve been talking to.

Another concern is that refusal to cooperate with police could be seen as a

presumption of guilt. If you have nothing to hide, why not answer? The OPP insists that answering the texts is completely voluntary, but it could still become a problem if this technique of mass texting becomes more prevalent.

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

Of course, it’s important to note that technology is rapidly advancing, and that this phenomenon can have an effect on police work, especially in a world where crimes involving technology are becoming a larger and larger threat. However,

it’s also important to protect civil liberties, especially when it comes to mass data collection on citizens who are not accused of any crimes.

Another issue with mass data collection is that Canada has already signalled that there are issues with the process. After legal concerns were raised by the government, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) announced that it has halted its bulk collection of data, at least for now.

Obviously, a single OPP investigation pales in comparison to the troves of data held by CSIS, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t similarities, especially if the OPP expands its use of bulk gathering phone numbers.

The benefit to using this technique in a smaller situation is that it can provide an effective test case. A main issue flagged by Fraser is that we don’t know how the information is

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being used, stored, and whether any metadata is obtained. But on a smaller scale this method can be studied, and a report should be presented to the public on exactly how the data was used, stored, and disposed of, and whether or not it was used in any contexts beyond this investigation.

Another thing to study is whether or not use of mass data is actually effective.

If it is an effective tool that can be proven not to violate civil liberties, then there shouldn’t be a problem. However, the government must be very stringent in examining how the techniques are used, and more data about the practice must be made available to inform public discussion.

While meticulous government reports aren’t the sexiest solution, it’s still important to give all parties the relevant information before a real debate can take place.

OPINIONS | 13

BOA candidate refuses to accept election results Candidate claims that election was marred by voter fraud eric davidson Tomato editor The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) by-elections have come and gone, but not everyone is ready to move on.

Andrew Acheson, a candidate for a seat on the Board of Administration (BOA) representing the Faculty of Engineering, is refusing to accept the results of the election after losing.

“I don’t know what else to tell you,” he said. “The whole system is clearly rigged.”

Acheson’s platform was centered around giving people free candy and putting Googleesque nap pods around campus. “I know for a fact bribery works, so I don’t understand how no one could have voted for me,” he said.

Acheson did admit that he didn’t use his time on the cam-

paign trail very effectively.

“Someone leaked the fact that I spent most of the time playing quidditch,” he said.

“What a snitch.”

When asked about his position on issues like SFUO finances, transparency, and accountability, Acheson said “Yeah, I didn’t really have time to come up with a plan to deal with that stuff. Nap pods though!”

Acheson also stirred up some controversy when he called all U of O students idiots and said all accounting students should be kicked off the campus.

After a final tally, Acheson received zero votes. He had initially been credited with one, but it was later ruled out when moderators realized that someone had actually written “NOT Andrew Acheson” on the ballot.

Because of this result, Acheson concluded that there must have been widespread voter

fraud.

“What’s happening is clear, people are voting multiple times for my opponents! It’s all a sham!” he said.

Roméo Ahimakin, president of the SFUO, roundly put down the complaint.

“People voting twice? We can’t even get people to vote once in these things!”

Upon hearing the SFUO’s reaction, Acheson was far from deterred.

“It’s more than voter fraud, okay? That’s right, Luxembourg is messing with our elections,” he said. “It’s all a big scam, our SFUO is weak, and Luxembourg is hacking our elections.”

When asked how one of the world’s smallest countries was hacking a paper ballot system in Canada, Acheson declined to answer.

Acheson also wants students to be wary of distance voting. “It’s definitely a scam.

Controversial BOA candidate Andrew Acheson is refusing to accept election results after a loss.

I heard that not one person used distance voting to vote for me,” he said.

Days after the election ended, Acheson says he’s taking the loss hard.

“To be honest, I tried to start a revolution on Tabaret Lawn, but nobody came,” he said. “That damn cold weath-

er, am I right?”

After taking a few days to cool off, Acheson said he had no further plans to protest the election.

“I did what I could, but I think I’ll just go home and watch Netflix,” he said. “I may also Tweet about it a bit.”

Illustation: Anastasiia Cherygova.

When asked about the possible impact of his rebuke of the democratic process, Acheson didn’t seem concerned.

“What’s the point of having a fair contest if I’m not going to win it?” he said. “I mean who cares if the SFUO runs well or anything?”

U of O opens innovative "YouTube drama" program

Department of Theatre takes students into the world of catty Internet shenanigans kyle darbyson managing Editor In light of escalating drama between high-profile YouTube creators, the University of Ottawa has decided to defy the conventional yet again and turn these antics into an opportunity for its students.

Starting in January 2017, the U of O’s Department of Theatre will be launching a YouTube drama program, where students will get the opportunity to learn about the art of whining in front of a camera for 20 minutes.

“Webcam confessionals aren’t that different from acting techniques that were popularized during the Elizabethan era,” said U of O professor Art Fartsy, who will serve as the head of this program for the upcoming winter semester.

The U of O presses play on YouTube drama program. Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik, via YouTube.

“Soliloquies and inner monologues are still some of the most powerful storytelling devices known to the world of theatre.

This program will operate under that same premise, except most of our performances will be centered around themes like ‘Who is talking shit about me on Twitter?’”

thefulcrum.ca

Thanks to the runaway success of YouTube personalities like Keemstar, Scarce, and LeafyIsHere, Fartsy explains that calling people names and digging into their personal lives is quickly becoming the most lucrative entertainment platform on the Internet. It also serves as an antidote to

today’s sterile job market.

“These days, most theatre majors will be lucky to find a job performing at a local Chuck E. Cheese once they graduate,” said Fartsy. “But now that YouTube drama is becoming a thing, many of them will be able to make a steady living by theatrically airing people’s dirty laundry in public.”

But Fartsy concedes that simply acting like an attention-seeking narcissist is only part of the whole YouTube drama experience. In order to truly immerse the audience in their performance, students should utilize every resource that the Department of Theatre has to offer.

“We have plenty of experienced script writers on staff who are more than willing to help students spice up their inflammatory social media posts,” said Fartsy.

“From what I understand, a good drama bomb on Twitter consists of exclamation points, liberal capitalization, and clapping emojis that punctuate every word. It’s poetry, really.”

Even though classes won’t be starting until the beginning of January, U of O theatre majors are already jumping at the chance to learn about this new emerging art form.

“I can’t wait to work oneon-one with the department’s stunt coordinator,” said Patrick Fall, a first-year drama student. “That way, I can really perfect my ‘faking a physical assault’ routine. That style of method acting has been making a comeback ever since fouseyTUBE resurrected it last summer.”

According to Fartsy, dramatic mood lighting also plays a large part in creating a compelling piece of YouTube

drama, which is why this new program will offer a course that’s entirely dedicated to proper stage lighting.

“The last time I posted a two-hour vlog about stubbing my toe, I made the rookie mistake of filming it in the dark,” said second-year theatre student Tess Pian. “Once I learn about how to add colour and texture to my set-up, I’ll be able to present my petty grievances with truly operatic flair.”

While Fartsy admits that it will take time before mainstream academics and theatregoers fully embrace this new style, he remains optimistic that YouTube drama is going to set the world of theatre “on fire.”

“If you think about it, YouTube drama is all about creating conflict where it doesn’t exist. What’s more creatively ambitious than that?”

THE TOMATo | 14

NOV 18–19 NAC Theatre 7:30 p.m.

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DISTRACTIONS Dear Di,

features@thefulcrum.ca (613) 695-0062 @aecart043

Dear Di

Dear Di,

When it comes to bra sizes, I’m on the smaller end of the spectrum. I try not to be self-conscious about it, but when I go to the bra store the salespeople are always trying to push more padding on me. All of this is making me question: am I not sexy without huge boobs?

-Boob Bummer

Dear BB,

I’m a Cleveland Browns fan, but my partner is a New England Patriots die hard. I get that the Patriots are a strong team, but does he have to harp on me so much for chearing on the Browns? It’s really starting to bother me. What should I do?

-Go Browns

Dear GB,

It is incredibly understandable to feel unsure about your own body image, especially considering the mainstream media’s projection of what defines sex appeal.

Don’t let photoshop, hours of makeup, and public relations magic throw you off your game. Real people do not look like models 24/7, which is why the undergarment, skin-care, makeup, and plastic surgery industries are all big money makers. Businesses will thrive off a person’s insecurities and self-doubt to sell you the next fad.

But you always have to remember that what defines sexy is entirely subjective. Even your own ideas about what you are attracted to may change if you meet someone that makes you happy.

If you let other people define who you are you will never be happy, because you are relying on other people’s opinions, something that is drenched in personal bias and is subject to change.

Instead, try and find what makes you feel sexy. That could be anything from a sports bra and hoodie, or the infamous padded push-up bra. It’s really a very personal choice and only you can decide what the best fit is.

Because at the end of the day, the sexiest attribute you can show off is the confidence in yourself. It says to everyone else that you know who you are and embrace who you are just as you are. That is sexy.

Love, Di

FEATURES EDITOR Alexa-Eliza Carter

Okay, so obviously relationships can get tricky when it comes to conflicting sports teams. But thankfully, if it’s just a case of miscommunication or light ribbing then the conflict should be easily resolved.

Now if he is so competitive that it crosses over into the realm of mean-spirited jokes and ad hominem attacks, then it’s time to sit down and have a talk.

Let him know that when he crosses this line it doesn’t make you feel respected.

So long as there is mutual respect then he should understand that it’s not teasing for you, but kicking someone when they’re down—like if your teams eats a humiliating loss—is always unnecessary and in poor character.

Of course, if this kind of belittling behaviour continues after your sit down, you may want to reconsider your relationship status.

When someone puts someone else down to make themselves feel better, whether it’s about sports, school, or any other area of life, it’s a tell tale sign that they lack confidence and emotional maturity.

He may just be goofing around, but if it’s actually making you feel bad about yourself then it’s up to you to confront him respectfully and take initiative to communicate. You may not be able to control whether your team wins, but if you can intercept this relationship problem early you’ll see all the difference.

Love, Di

To get all your sexy and saucy questions answered, email Di at deardi@thefulcrum.ca ;) 16 | DISTRACTIONS

thefulcrum.ca

Embassy Chef Challenge, Horticulture Building, Lansdowne Park—6 p.m.

Dane Cook, Just for Laughs Comedy Tour (2016), TD Place—7:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 4

Monday, Nov. 7

Ottawa Redblacks vs.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers, last game of the regular season, TD Place—7 p.m.

Close Encounters, The NAC Orchestra with the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, National Arts Centre—7 p.m.

Gee-Gees women’s volleyball vs. Université du Québec à Montréal, Montpetit—7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 8

Saturday, Nov. 5

arts

Ottawa 67’s vs. Guelph Storm, TD Place—2 p.m.

Sports

Gee-Gees women’s basketball vs. Université du Québec à Montréal, exhibition game, Montpetit—6 p.m.

FUN

Gee-Gees men’s hockey vs. Concordia, Minto Sports Complex—7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 6

Thinking Université d’Ottawa

|

Taste of Russia Festival, Pushkin Cultural Centre—11 a.m.

Ottawa Senators vs.

Vancouver Canucks, Canadian Tire Centre—7:30 p.m.

Gee-Gees women’s hockey vs. Université de Montréal, Minto Sports Complex—7 p.m.

MUSIC

Vintage Clothing Show, Shaw Centre—10 a.m.

Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp), TD Place—7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 Signatures Show, Ottawa’s premier holiday shopping event, Shaw Centre—10 a.m.

Thursday, Nov. 10 Amy Schumer, Canadian Tire Centre—8 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11 Remembrance Day Ceremony, National War Memorial—10:30 a.m.

Randy Bachman, free admission, TD Place—6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12 613flea market, Horticulture Building, Lansdowne Park—10 a.m.

CRB 3 Capital Punishment, Mavericks—8 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 13 Ottawa Pet Expo, last day, EY Centre—10 a.m.

Monday, Nov. 14 Sonata Arctica, Mavericks—7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 15 Shepherd’s Fashion FUNraiser, in support of OttawaReads, Shepherd’s Trainyards Drive location—6 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 16 The Eagle Huntress (documentary narrated

by Daisy Ridley), ByTowne Cinema—6:45 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 17 The Salvation Army’s Hope in the City Breakfast, featuring Major Danielle Strickland, Shaw Centre—7:30 a.m.

University of Ottawa

The Death and Rebirth of the Noble Savage Taiaiake Alfred

Charles R. Bronfman Lecture in Canadian Studies

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, at 5 p.m.

Tabaret, TBT112 (Hall Huguette Labelle) - 550 Cumberland, Ottawa, ON

Lecture in English only | Seating is limited | A reception will follow RSVP: arts.uOttawa.ca/Canada

Faculté des arts | Faculty of Arts

613-562-5111 | Canada@uOttawa.ca arts.uOttawa.ca/Canada

thefulcrum.ca

– Taiaiake Alfred

Crédit : Archives de l’Université d’Ottawa, Fonds 6, EL-6-204

Nov. 3–17, 2016

THRYLLABUS

Thursday, Nov. 3

Faculté des arts Institut d’études canadiennes et autochtones Faculty of Arts Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies

DISTRACTIONS | 17

LETTERs TO THE EDITOR Re: OPIRG Dear Editor,

I could overlook Mr. Mattinson’s rage against critical thinking, which is what the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) stands for, so long as derogatory terms such as “ripping off” were not used to describe a politically engaged and cutting-edge research organization.

After all, as a future scholar I know my battles! Nonetheless, as an elected board member, I find it is my responsibility to illustrate OPIRG’s activities and the hard work of our staff and our student volunteers.

OPIRG is a community research interest group that advocates for social, economic and environmental justice. We are a hub for projects and working groups that focus on issues that often go unnoticed and are under-evaluated by marketoriented policy and academic approaches.

Our activities range from community gardening, communal cooking, and community-oriented, accessible transportation, to research projects (some have been funded by renowned funding bodies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) including Statelessness Summit, Living and Coexisting Project and Critical Urban Research.

At OPIRG we support numerous action groups which pursue fighting against violence inflicted on the land by capitalist corporations, police brutality, rape culture, food insecurity, racist, ableist, and sexist discrimination and other forms of oppression. Through publications such as the Leveller, the Wrench (shared between OPIRG Ottawa and Carleton), and our newsletter, we encourage students and community members to get involved with OPIRG through volunteering, writing and art making.

Only this semester we have 40 students in placements, who contribute to our projects working under the supervision of their professors and in collaboration with OPIRG. Three out of six members of OPIRG’s research board and one of our staff members are university professors who dedicate their time for helping students learn and develop critical analysis and research capacity.

Our latest achievement was sponsoring Ottawa Healthy Transportation Coalition in establishing grounds for a low-income bus pass—a long, city-wide struggle in Ottawa, which would not have been possible without the contributions and dedication from OPIRG’s student volunteers.

Every year we hold an Alt 101 week which gives students a safe place away from the discriminatory and rape culture-famous environment of frosh week.

As one of the event organizers in 2016, I shall say that the resumé of the artists who performed at Alt 101 alone should disprove Mr. Mattinson’s argument altogether as to whether OPIRG should get

defunded to if it actually deserves more funding!

OPIRG is continuously involved in cultural activities; on Friday Oct. 21 for instance, we co-hosted Konnected TV’s documentary screening with the Department of Canadian Studies in Morisset 218. Our next step is to launch a radio program in collaboration with CHUO, beginning with program portions to air during Winter 2017.

Revolutionary Student Movement existed independently of OPIRG prior to acquiring the status of as an OPIRG action group. RSM continuously organizes reading groups, campaigns and book fairs to give students an insight towards the colonial and imperial context intertwined in Canadian history—what Mr. Mattinson calls essential steps in early Western civilization!

On a side note, Thatcher’s rule, an era stained by the death toll in Falklands war and police brutality during Poll Tax Riots does not seem to be a great justification for Mattinson’s “academically honest” argument. I must admire the consistency though—quoting such a mega capitalist/ neoliberal must be as exciting as killing innocent birds!

If anything, subjectivity to a “profit over people” view point is a universal problem, a contemporary colonial mentality that runs across many factions of states, and has been internalized by the majority of politicians.

What we all should be cautious about is that after nine years in the office, conservatives are now trying hard to take over academic institutions; as if higher education has not been commodified enough, as if there has not been enough hikes in the tuition fees in the past decade!

This has been done intensely by portraying activism as irrelevant and by tapping into the infamous austerity mind game. This begs the question, based on what logic can one encourage students to save a few dollars on their tuition fees for which they have such a priceless resource centre like OPIRG on campus to provide opposition to the ridiculous tuition hikes across the province and the country?

Nonetheless, unlike some recent scandals and controversies for which voters and “tax payers” have no chance of opting-out (including a weapon’s trade with Saudi, one that even the new government cannot opt out of!), OPIRG has a levy policy that allows every individual student to ask for their levy back.

To conclude, we always welcome students in our office and will be more than happy to walk anyone who is inspired to know more about OPIRG through our activities and working groups.

for the sake of transparency Dear Editor,

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) controls almost $20 million worth of students’ money and has its fingers in almost every facet of our experience as students. It is supposed to be a democratic student government, run by and for the students.

At the last Board of Administration (BOA) meeting, I was one of roughly nine non-members of the BOA who were at the meeting. So far, after four General Assemblies (GA), none have met quorum. I can’t help but wonder why turnout for SFUO meetings is so low.

The SFUO has a duty to properly promote and inform students of all its meetings, including BOA and committee meetings, as well as the GA. However, it clearly isn’t doing so, and this is a failing on the part of the executive.

Under the bylaws they have a duty to inform the students of activities that take place concerning the students on campus. Bylaw 3.3.1.2.5 states that “the publicity of regular federation meetings including but not limited to, BOA, standing committees, roundtables, annual general meetings and ad hoc committee meetings” is the president’s duty. Has Roméo Ahimakin, our president, or the executive done that? From what I’ve seen, no they haven’t.

Or how about the upcoming GA on Nov. 12: have we seen one poster promoting it? Despite promises being made by members of the

GA committee that there were supposed to be posters up around campus, and a Facebook event page set up to inform students about this upcoming GA meeting.

So why haven’t they done it?

A common refrain from our student politicians is that students are apathetic on this campus, with our 7.87 per cent voter turnout in elections, and our lack of interest in student politics. Those politicians also like to say that promotion is up to individual students, because the exec can’t do it alone.

Instead of complaining about students and evading responsibility, perhaps they should focus that energy on actually doing a better job of promoting the SFUO and its democratic structures. How hard is it to put up some posters, talk to students, create a Facebook event and actually do the job that students expect you to do? Especially when you are getting paid over $30,000 a year to do so.

Perhaps what you didn’t know is that at these meetings there is an open question period where you can ask the BOA anything that you want to ask and make any comments you may have. The next BOA meeting is on Nov. 6. It’s time that students show up to the BOA meetings. It’s time that we ask questions, that we get engaged and that we hold our executive accountable for the decisions they make and the very real consequences those decisions have on students.

—Jordan Kent, political science and Canadian history student at the U of O.

—Golbon Moltaji, PhD candidate in Canadian studies at the U of O, board member of OPIRG.

18 | LETTERS

thefulcrum.ca

Volume 77, Issue 10, nov. 3, 2016 Raising our voices since 1942.

Phone: (613) 695-0061 | Fax: (613) 695-9006 631 King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Recycle this, or we’ll start a Twitter war.

Savannah “Vimy Ridge” Awde Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Kim “Siege of Detroit” Wiens Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Kyle “Dieppe” Darbyson Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Graham “St. Lawrence” Robertson News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Anchal “Juno Beach” Sharma Arts and Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Alexa-Eliza “War of 1812” Carter Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Nico “Bellewaerde Ridge” Laliberté Sports Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca Spencer “D-Day” Murdock Outgoing Sports Editor Eric “Battle of Beaver Dams” Davidson Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Passchendaele” McRaeSadik Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Allegra “Givenchy” Morgado Social Media Coordinator social@thefulcrum.ca Reine “Bazentin Ridge” Tejares Webmaster webmaster@thefulcrum.ca Zack “Fromelles” Goobie Associate Sports Editor Zainab “La Coulotte” Al-Mehdar Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca

EDITORIAL Stop asking students to

foot the bill for education

It’s late August. You’re on a dock, a patio, or maybe globetrotting, all in the name of soaking up the last few weeks of summer. But then your phone buzzes to notify you of an email from the University of Ottawa. Your tuition is due next week, and—lucky you—it’s increased again. But does the scenario have to play out this way?

On the contrary, free tuition is a concept that has been implemented in countries like Finland, Germany, and Norway, but has yet to make a full appearance in Canada. The Ontario government has recently made strides in the same direction, with changes in its 2016 budget to improve access to education for those whose parents collectively make under $50,000 in annual income.

But is it enough to only subsidize tuition for those coming from a low-income background? The Fulcrum’s editorial board thinks we need to go further. With

the Canadian Federation of Students’ nation-wide Day of Action event to fight for free tuition taking place this past week, we believe it’s an ideal time to look at why Ontario should make free tuition standard practice— not just for low-income families, but for all.

For one thing, Ontario’s current provision in the name of free tuition is inherently inadequate, since the wealth of parents cannot be assumed to translate directly to student wealth.

Many students are required to come up with the money for their own education due to anything from family values to poor family relations.

The state of the Ontario government’s assistance is only made worse by the tuition increases seen in universities. Tuition rates at the University of Ottawa have increased every year for the past decade. Combined with major decreases in government funding over the years, this situation makes

it extremely difficult for students on a budget to further their education.

Not convinced that students deserve more government funding? Well, then just try getting through the next few decades without us.

With baby boomers retiring en masse, there’s more demand now than ever to fill the spaces that skilled workers are leaving behind as they head towards retirement. And, with the declining birth rate in Canada in recent years, it’s likely that our age group will be relied on for a greater span of time.

With that in mind, educating as many students as possible is key to sustaining and strengthening Canada’s economy.

Even with free tuition there remains a slew of barriers to obtaining a university degree. As the Canadian dollar depreciates relative to the U.S. dollar, it becomes even more costly for students to buy the books they need. Not to mention costs

for rent, groceries, laundry, the opportunity cost of not working full time... you know the rest. These costs add up, and if the government provides free tuition, this would tip the scales for more people in favour of attending.

Providing free tuition is also a mechanism for alleviating the wage and educational attainment gaps seen in disenfranchised groups of society. According to Statistics Canada’s most recent report comparing median incomes in 2010, Indigenous people as a whole earned a median income of $27,866, while non-Indigenous people earned a median income of $38,657.

These income levels are reflective of the educational attainment levels reported

by Statistics Canada in 2011, which show that nearly 30 per cent of Indigenous people in Canada held no certificate, diploma, or degree. This highly contrasts with the non-Indigenous population, where only 12.1

Remi “Souchez River” Landry Yuan Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Syed “Polygon Wood” Zeehad Multimedia Coordinator multimedia@thefulcrum.ca Lucas “Somme Crossings” Ghosn General Manager manager@thefulcrum.ca Shanèl “The Lys” Dear Advertising Representative ads@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors

Gloria “Hazebrouck” Charles-Pierre Nadia “Messines” Drissi El-Bouzaidi Tiyahna “Kemmel Ridge” Ridley Justin “The Scarpe” Patrick Nick “Havrincourt” Robinson Nooria “Epehy” Rizvi Anastasiia “Beaurevoir Line” Cherygova

Board of Directors

Mackenzie “Canal du Nord” Gray Kate “Valenciennes” Murray Carolyn “The Sambre” Mutis Jonathan “Grande Honnelle” Rausseo Raghad “Capture of Mons” Sheikh-Khalil Will “Drocourt-Queant Canal” Hume Niharika “Avre” Namulla Thivya “Rosières” Naganathan Julia “First Bapaume” Miraflores Maggie “Pozières” Gollish Cover: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

thefulcrum.ca

Photo and edits: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

per cent held no certificate, diploma, or degree.

A conclusion made in this same 2011 Statistics Canada report is that employment rates and median total income increase with education. It seems that a major key to improving the socioeconomic status of Aboriginal people in Canada is to increase the access to education—and what better incentive is there to finish high school and attend university than a $0 bill?

Free tuition could also help the Canadian government save on its social assistance program expenses in the long-run. It was reported by Historica Canada in 2012-13 that Aboriginal people are more likely than non-Aboriginal Canadians to rely on social income assistance, with only 5 per cent of Canadians receiving assistance that year. In contrast, the same report shows 33.6 per cent of First Nations people received this aid, and in some Aboriginal communities that number can rise to highs of 80 per cent.

Despite this increased use of social assistance, 60 per cent of First Nations children are currently living in poverty.

With the introduction of free tuition in Canada, we would likely see positive changes in all of the aforementioned variables, regardless of the demographic of Canadians studied. Educational attainment and consequently Canada’s median income would likely see an increase. On the other hand, poverty and use of social assistance or unemployment programs would likely be drastically reduced.

Free tuition would strengthen the abilities of our youth and ensure equal opportunity for people of all backgrounds, creating a better Canada for generations to come. So, what is Canada waiting for?

EDITORIAL | 19

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