The Fulcrum- Volume 77, Issue 24

VOL. 77 ISSUE 24

mar. 30, 2017

unimpressed Pg. 19.

In this week’s issue...

Food for thought P.4 How can we combat the stigma of accessing campus food banks?

Trade in your tequila shots for espresso shots P.7 Get your caffeine fix and learn about the beans behind your favourite brews

fill a gap in your program

Populism, immigration, and nationalism, oh my! P.8 Why you should be paying attention to the upcoming French Election From the office of the director P.10 Sue Hylland reflects on her first season with the Gees

Athabasca University has over 850 courses for you to choose from to meet your needs. Monthly start dates of undergraduate courses fit into your schedule so that you can work at your own pace.

What’s a fair price for plagiarism? P.14 Threats of a criminal record could help deter cheating

Fill the gap and save a semester.

go.athabascau.ca/online-courses open. online. everywhere.

We won’t be silenced P.19 A reflection on our commitment to you, after student federation action

NEWS

NEWS EDITOR

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

SFUO president delivers notice of action to federation VPs, the Fulcrum Allegations by VP university affairs prompt threat of legal action by president against six parties chel Antoun.

Ahimakin’s allegations of defamation stem from a public executive update given by Dorimain at the March 5 BOA meeting, where she alleged that Ahimakin “is a violent misogynistic person who likes to control his surroundings,” and “shuts down women and tries to overpower in most if not all conversations.”

“He has put his hands in my face like he was going to hit me, he has yelled at me, been dismissive to my concerns, ignored directives on how to support, missed important meetings with me and other stakeholders on campus or the CFS (Canadian Federation of Students),” Dorimain’s statement further alleges.

These statements by Dorimain have not been proven, and are vehemently denied by Ahimakin as being false and defamatory.

Wais is listed in the notice of action for reading the report during the BOA meeting as a proxy for Dorimain, who was not present at the meeting.

Incoming SFUO president Wess has been named in the notice for adding

Savannah Awde Editor-in-Chief

O

n Wednesday March 22, the Fulcrum received a notice of action from the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa’s (SFUO) current president, Roméo Ahimakin. This notice alleges defamation by six different parties, including three executives, one incoming Board of Administration (BOA) member, a proxy, and the Fulcrum.

The notice lists current SFUO vicepresident of university affairs Vanessa Dorimain, current vice-president social and incoming president Hadi Wess, current vice-president equity Morissa-Dalhia Ellis, Dorimain’s proxy for the publicly held March 5 Board of Administration (BOA) meeting Faduma Wais, and incoming BOA Faculty of Science representative Mi-

The Fulcrum received the notice on March 22.

by Ahimakin.

In addition, Antoun is named in the notice for live streaming the public sessions of the BOA meeting via Facebook. It was during this live stream that Wais made the statement in question on Dorimain’s behalf.

Finally, the Fulcrum was listed in the notice of legal action for publishing quotes from Dorimain’s statement in coverage of the March 5 BOA meeting. The Fulcrum can confirm that all allegations quoted in the original article were in fact made during the meeting, as they have been cross-referenced with Antoun’s video recording of the meeting.

Ahimakin, contacted via his lawyer, did not provide comment to the Fulcrum by the time of this publication. His conditions for a comment were that the Fulcrum interview all executives named in the notice, obtain comment from a witness to the executives’ comments, and provide an “admission” of unfair reporting in the article in question. All parties named in the notice declined to comment to the Fulcrum on the matter.

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

to Dorimain’s allegations by saying that “it’s been extremely difficult to work with (Ahimakin) for the past few months,” and alleging that Ahimakin “yelled at (Wess) in front of staff.” Wess also alleged that executive meetings have become a very “unsafe space” because “every agenda point has to become an argument with (Ahimakin).”

As with the statements made by Dorimain, these statements by Wess have not been proven and are strongly denied by Ahimakin.

The notice also mentions Ellis, who alleged during the meeting that there were moments where she was “silenced by the president,” as well as “laughed at” and “tone policed.” Again, these statements are strongly denied

SFUO execs allegedly attempt to obtain board seats at student newspaper “The SFUO does not respect student press,” says la Rotonde editor-in-chief Savannah Awde Editor-in-Chief

On Tuesday, March 21, the University of Ottawa’s independent Francophone student newspaper la Rotonde held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Tabaret Hall.

Midway through the meeting the attendees were joined by multiple incoming and current Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) executives, who were allegedly there to obtain seats on the newspaper’s board of administration.

According to la Rotonde editor-in-chief Frédérique Mazerolle, the SFUO members in attendance at their AGM included current SFUO vicepresident social and incoming president Hadi Wess, returning vice-president finance Rizki Rachiq, incoming vicepresident of university affairs Axel Gaga, and outgoing vicepresident of university affairs

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Vanessa Dorimain. Mazerolle noted that some newly elected SFUO Board of Administration (BOA) members were present as well.

“The AGM was going, and we got to the point where we had to elect our new board,” Mazerolle told the Fulcrum.

“All of a sudden some exec members, current and incoming, came around with their friends, and there was about 15 of them.”

Shortly after their arrival, Mazerolle said that the SFUO executives began asking questions about whether they would be eligible for seats on the newspaper’s board.

“We just found it really problematic that they all came around, this big group of them, because we knew that the intent was, give or take, to intimidate us,” said Mazerolle.

La Rotonde’s board ultimately found that all current and incoming executives, as well as the incoming BOA

members, were not eligible for board seats. According to Mazerolle, this prompted remarks by the SFUO group that this decision was “unfair.”

“One thing I think they didn’t understand about wanting to be on the board is that our board doesn’t have any right or say in what gets published in the paper,” she said.

Ultimately, two students from the group that entered the AGM with the SFUO executives were voted into open seats on the la Rotonde board. Mazerolle believes that although the newly elected board members came in with the SFUO executive, there won’t be a cause for concern unless it becomes clear that they have “external interests” to the newspaper.

Given la Rotonde’s recent conflicts with the SFUO, particularly in light of a statement made in response to the paper’s SFUO U-Pass scandal

article during a March 12 BOA meeting by Wess and Dorimain, suggesting that la Rotonde should go work for Donald Trump, Mazerolle said that this latest “stunt” indicates that “the SFUO does not respect student press.”

“We are there for a reason.

Any newspaper, news organizations, we’re there to act as watchdogs of our surroundings, that’s the key role of journalism. And the fact that they were there, essentially what it says is they don’t respect the role that we play on campus,” she said.

In regards to the statement relating la Rotonde to Trump’s White House press office, Dorimain told the Fulcrum that she felt there was not enough research done by la Rotonde prior to the publication of their U-Pass article.

“La Rotonde wrote a bias(ed) article with the intention to create controversy as they referred to me in my (chief re-

turning officer) capacity during elections season and Hadi as president nominee (elect).

This was done with a purpose to make the elections also look illegitimate by tainting our names as corrupt leaders.”

Mazerolle maintains that la Rotonde, before publishing their U-Pass article, had reached out to both Wess and Dorimain several times, and “also spoke with elected officials of the SFUO, sources close to the case who chose to remain anonymous for safety reasons, as well as officials of the U of O and OC Transpo.”

“Just because we don’t write articles in the name of the SFUO status quo, as we have been fully independent from the federation since 2008, does not mean we are being bias(ed),” said Mazerolle.

Despite the disagreement over this article, Dorimain said in her statement to the Fulcrum that this was not the

reason that the SFUO executives showed up to the AGM. She said that she is “in the process of transitioning the incoming VP (university affairs) and encouraging that they work closely with the student newspapers next term.”

All incoming SFUO executives mentioned in the Fulcrum’s interview with Mazerolle were contacted for comment, but none of the newly elected executives have responded as of the date of this publication. “(The AGM) does give us the feeling that next year … the communication between the SFUO and la Rotonde or even the Fulcrum, just press as a whole, might be difficult,” said Mazerolle.

“By showing up to our AGM, and trying to make this statement that they tried to make, it really didn’t fix the problem.

Because, in the end, if you try to blacklist media it’s not going to fix anything.”

NEWS | 3

Rideau-Vanier ward may host pilot for licensing landlords

City of Ottawa councillor Fleury to explore further protection of tenant rights Zainab Al-Mehdar Associate News Editor

Ottawa city councillor Mathieu Fleury for the RideauVanier ward is exploring the idea of launching a pilot project to start licensing landlords in order to better protect tenants’ rights, an idea he has mentioned previously but has yet to implement.

This change may have a direct effect on students living in close proximity to the University of Ottawa as Fleury is interested in testing this pilot project in the Rideau-Vanier ward, which encompases Sandy Hill, Lowertown, Vanier, the ByWard Market, and campus.

“The reality is that 99 per cent of landlords are great and 99 per cent of tenancies are good,” Fleury told the Fulcrum on March 13. “But when we dig down to the one per cent and try to find out what’s the system, and how does it work, and how as a city we protect vulnerable tenancies,

we come across situations that are challenging.”

According to Fleury, some issues faced by tenants include mould and insect infestations, which need to be addressed in a timely manner.

“If we recognize an issue, why allow it to slip away?”

The premise of Fleury’s pilot project would be similar to the licensing process that is currently in place for rooming houses, and he is currently looking at “all sorts of operational measures in the terms of our bylaws.”

Fleury’s comments come after the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) published a survey that suggests that Ottawa residents are widely dissatisfied with their living situation and interactions with landlords.

Declan Ingham, a fourthyear political science student at the U of O, has found himself in that camp. In September 2016 Ingham moved into his apartment at Lees Avenue,

The pilot project would be tested in the Rideau-Vanier ward.

only to discover that it was infested with cockroaches.

Ingham brought the matter to the attention of his landlord, who dismissed it and refused Ingham’s request for the return of his rent deposit and an early termination of his lease.

Photo: Marta Kierkus.

The case was brought to the U of O’s legal aid clinic and later to the Landlord Tenant Board. Ingham eventually got in touch with the building’s property inspector who offered to fix the solution, but never did.

“Eventually, after stum-

bling through the City failing us, we turned to Ottawa ACORN who decided to help us out,” said Ingham.

After being in contact with ACORN for four months, along with enlisting the help of city councillor David Chernushenko, Ingham was able

to have the lease terminated without any penalties.

“After four months they still hadn’t fixed our unit or solved our cockroach problem, and probably never will,” said Ingham. “Sadly, the next person that lives there will have the same problem.”

Ingham sees this as an issue because landlords “can violate a contract by not upholding their responsibilities, but if you do anything around leaving or not paying rent you are entirely at fault.”

According to Ingham, licensing landlords would move things away from a complaintbased system and push for landlord penalties and annual inspections of units, as well as more accountability from the landlord.

Even though landlord groups have called this kind of pilot project redundant, Fleury believes that this is more than a landlord-versus-tenant issue. Instead, it is all about “a community having that conversation.”

Equity week panel discusses financial barriers to education

SFUO food bank hosts Paul Dewar to talk unpaid internships, food insecurity news editor & associate news editor On Tuesday, March 21, as part of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa’s (SFUO) Equity Week, the SFUO food bank hosted a panel discussion on financial barriers to post-secondary education.

The event featured former NDP MP Paul Dewar as a member of the panel, who said that universities are raising the cost of post-secondary education each year because they aren’t receiving enough funding from the government for programs and services. Dewar contrasted this with countries such as Germany, which receive more government funding, allowing for free tuition.

The panel also featured Vanessa Dorimain, vice-president of university affairs for the SFUO, who shared the “perspective of the student movement,” and discussed her identity as a student parent.

According to Dorimain, taking classes and working part-time, along with family and other commitments, can pose challenges to students who want to be part of movements but simply are unable to.

On this same topic was a discussion of unpaid internships, which students often undertake in order to gain relevant work experience.

“I see this as a human rights issue,” said Dorimain. “If you are working, you should be compensated for your work.”

“There’s a whole issue on what is modern slavery,” said Dewar, noting that unpaid internships can

4 | NEWS

Forty per cent of Canadian post-secondary students are food insecure. Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

be seen as similar to the labour that produces food and cell phone parts, which often goes without proper financial compensation.

The discussion then shifted to the topic of food insecurity at the U of O and on Canadian university campuses in general.

“We’ve seen growing inequality over the years,” said Dewar. “Food banks are absolutely critical for

puses, because there are some students that can afford to do unpaid internships, and then there are some students who can’t.”

For students who want to get involved in fighting food insecurity, Leblanc advises that “it’s important to firstly be aware of where the barriers are because students might not really notice where the gaps are, so reading more up on food banks and food security is a good place to start.”

Leblanc also suggests contributing to food banks in small ways, such as by raising money and donating food items, as well as raising awareness to combat the stigma of accessing food banks.

“There are so many people who could benefit from our campus food bank but they don’t feel comfortable doing that. That’s why I think it’s so important for us to normalize the idea that it’s okay to need help and it’s okay to receive help, and that relying on a food bank shouldn’t be a sense of shame.”

Please visit the SFUO food bank’s website for more information about their services, or email foodbank@ sfuo.ca.

(some) people.”

Dewar also emphasized that we need to look at the root causes of why we have food programs and “change the way we’re doing things.”

Dorimain then discussed the demographics of students accessing the SFUO food bank, noting that there is a disproportionate number of international students, students of colour, and student-parents who require its services.

In a follow-up interview with the Fulcrum, SFUO food bank event organizer Kathryn Leblanc, who is also the incoming vicepresident of services and communications, discussed how “it was important to not only advance the scenes of food security, but to also talk more broadly about the issues that cause a lack of food security on college campuses.”

Leblanc believes that students facing food insecurity “suffer from these issues in silos because of the stigmatization.”

On the topic of unpaid internships during the panel, Leblanc told the Fulcrum that they “really worsen the class divide, which is already quite big on college cam-

Graham robertson & zainab al-mehdar

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A&C EDITOR Anchal Sharma arts@thefulcrum.ca

ARTS&CULTURE Service coordinators come together to promote intersectionality (613) 695-0062 @imtherocks

SFUO execs emphasize need for U of O to be held accountable to marginalized students Anchal Sharma Arts & Culture Editor

O

n Monday, March 27, as part of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa’s (SFUO) Equity Week, coordinators from various services on campus were invited to speak in a panel discussion to help bring intersectionality to the forefront of the equity services on campus.

The panel was introduced by current SFUO vice-president equity Morissa DaliaEllis, and led by SFUO vicepresident of services and communications Francesco Caruso and U of O student Faduma Wais.

Representatives from the Food Bank, the Pride Centre, the Women’s Resource Centre, the Centre for Students with

Disabilities (CSD), the Bilingualism Centre, and International House all posed different questions centered around justice, accessibility, and the much-needed changes that they hope to see within the University of Ottawa.

“I think that something that’s very important, especially on our campus, is to differentiate between equity versus equality,” explained Ellis.

“So, ensuring that we realize how when we’re speaking specifically about equality which is something that we are prone to do, how we’re really prioritizing and normalizing white supremacy and how we’re making people who fall under the margins, be forgotten.”

While the students in attendance asked specific questions relating to subjects that are, in their minds, often overlooked, a lot of issues saw considerable overlap.

For example, Caruso’s ques-

The event took place in the University Centre.

tion to International House focused on the difficulties faced by international students when they are trying to acquire health-care services.

This opened up discussion about the rising tuition fees at the U of O, and how this impacts various students’ ability to afford education, housing, food, school, and healthcare all at the same time.

Photo: Anchal Sharma.

Other key issues discussed were language barriers, institutionalized discrimination, and the university’s dedication to social movements such as Black Lives Matter, and how these issues can be accounted for by all services.

“Black Lives Matter is a disability issue. For example, we know that 52 per cent of the black folks that are killed,

murdered, by the police are disabled, said Patrick Teed, service coordinator for the CSD. “Disabled black lives are disproportionately targeted by the state. Every service centre should be looking at how blackness intersects with their services.”

Solutions such as lowering tuition, creating safe spaces for students on campus, like the

proposed racialized student centre, offering more French events and courses, and holding the university accountable for a lack of accessibility on campus were all put on the table.

While the different coordinators had specific goals in mind related to their services, they all agreed that in order to be called an equitable school, university operations, studentrun organizations, and all associations working within the U of O need to be held accountable to marginalized students.

One way to ensure this calls for collaboration between the services.

“I think the very fact that we’re here means that we understand … the intersections between class and other various forms of discrimination,” said Kathryn Leblanc, representing the Food Bank, adding that in the future she would like to work with the CSD to optimize food security.

U of O’s Food Lab introduces a new kind of market crawl

Tour serves as information session for local Ottawa coffee and tea shops, fair vs. direct trade Iain Sellers

Fulcrum Freelancer With finals season around the corner, ditch the drunken pub crawls, and try Ottawa’s newest attraction—coffee shop crawls.

On Sunday, March 26, University of Ottawa students took to the streets of Sandy Hill and the ByWard Market to learn about Ottawa’s local coffee industry.

The event was organized by students volunteering with the university’s Laboratory for the Interdisciplinary Study of Food (Food Lab).

According to Olivia Leon, one of the event’s organizers and a second-year visual arts student, this market crawl “is about local businesses and promoting them in the city and informing people about sustainable food and fair-trade coffees.”

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While the market crawl was primarily composed of U of O students, it was open to the public so that everyone could tag along and learn about Ottawa’s best coffee shops.

“It’s really good to take a peek behind the curtain a little bit and see what’s going on, where they get their coffee from, and how they get it roasted,” said Mark Slodki, a third-year biopharmaceutical science student who attended the crawl.

Throughout the tour, students were given free coffee, tea, and baked good samples from five different coffee shops. After starting at Happy Goat Coffee on Wilbrod Street, students traveled to Origin Trade, Tea Party, Planet Coffee, and then arrived at their final destination at Bridgehead on Dal-

Students sampled drinks from various local coffee shops.

Photos: Marta Kierkus.

“I think that they were really into it,” explained Meaghan Lucas, another event organizer and a fourth-year student studying international studies and modern languages. “They were interested and wanted to teach a little bit about (cof-

housie Street.

Throughout the tour, local business owners eagerly spoke to the U of O students about their beginnings in Ottawa, coffee brewing methods, and the different means of obtaining coffee beans.

fee and tea), which was nice.”

While the local shops all touted their desire for the best beans possible, one of the larger inconsistencies between different owners was their preference regarding fair trade or direct trade standards.

Fair trade coffee shops obtain their beans through farmers who have paid for a certification that proves that they meet certain industry standards. Direct trade is when coffee shops interact directly with coffee plantations to purchase their beans, which allows these farmers, who can not afford the fair trade certification, to earn a living.

Slodki, like other students on the tour, learned about the distinction between the two forms of acquiring beans from the different local shop

owners and formed his opinion from their speeches.

“I think that direct trade is a great way to do it because you still ensure quality, proper pay (and) proper conditions,” explained Slodki.

“It’s not held up to certain standards like Fair Trade certification system, but also there’s no certification fees and bureaucracies.”

All in all, despite a little trekking in the rain, Lucas felt the day was a success. “(Students) are examining (the shops) a little bit more and seeing the choices that are available to us,” explained Lucas. “It’s a small thing, but it adds up when it’s a big part of your life.”

For more information on the local food industry, please visit the U of O Food Lab website.

ARTS & Culture | 5

ABODE explores relationship between geography and home U of O students bring talent to crossprovince culmination at Gallery 115 Ryan Pepper

Fulcrum Freelancer When University of Ottawa’s art history students put forth an open call for artwork that evokes a sense of home, artists from across Ontario responded with photo installments for a new exhibition at the student-run Gallery 115.

This exhibition, titled ABODE, features University of Ottawa students and other Ontario artists from Toronto and Hamilton, who aimed to explore the concept of “home” and whether or not that idea is tied to a specific place or emotion.

“We came up with the concept ‘ABODE’ to kind of explore the spaces and geography of what home is, (and whether it’s) stable or unstable,” said Beatrice Au, a fifth-year art history major at the U of O and one of the three curators of the event.

“We came up with our curatorial concept and then we put out an open call to the university,” said Phoebe Sampey, a fellow curator and a fourth-year art history major. “We also went on Artengine.ca, so you can post submissions to people from all across Canada.”

The six artists recruited for this project communicated this theme through a variety of mediums, including photography, sculptures, and site-specific installations.

The idea of relocation and diaspora appeared in many of these artists’ works.

Ghanaian immigrant Daniel Effah captured photos that evoked his home country, while Six Nations artist Alex Jacobs-Blum did the same for his Indigenous community near Grand River.

“Different factors can affect how people associate notions or feelings of home with particular geographic spaces and how that can be complicated by relocations and displacement, and perhaps diaspora,” added Golland.

“I think it was kind of a subset of what we envisioned home to be,” Au explained on the theme of relocation. “Being Canadian, and especially featuring six Canadian artists, there is that element of diaspora in people of colour.”

As a bachelor of fine arts student, and upcoming grad show curator, Rebecca Bair caught her native Jamaica on camera. She arranged the photos as an installation, giving the viewer the chance to walk around the pictures, to sit

at the table laid out with Jamaican cuisine, and feel as if you can take a book off the shelf, even if it’s just a photo.

“You can walk through the space of the photographs,” said Au. “She came to us with the images and also how she envisioned her work being installed, so we worked with her with that.”

Master of fine arts student Sarah Fuller also displayed her photography, which captured a vanished town by projecting buildings onto a screen in the Yukon forest.

“Sarah’s series is documentation of a site-specific installation which she created, which was creating a sort of almost ghostly presence or remnant of buildings that used to be in that particular location,” Golland explained.

“A central idea within the statement we created is that home doesn’t have a singular stable definition,” Golland summarized.

“And because of a whole variety of factors, it means very many different things to different people.”

ABODE runs until March 31 in Gallery 115 at the Visual Arts building from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free.

CAMPUS STYLE: How to dress in this God awful weather in various lengths from knee-high styles to ankle size, and in even more colours, so take your pick and hit the streets.

Perushka Gopalkista staff contributor

It’s spring time in Ottawa, which means that birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and heaps of snow are still littering our sidewalks. But just because the weather is miserable, doesn’t mean your fashion choices have to reflect that.

Even though this kind of forecast calls for more layers, that isn’t inherently a bad thing. Here are some ways you can experiment with different pieces to accommodate for this unpredictable weather.

These boots are made for walking Before we spring into layers, we have to start from the bottom up— meaning boots, boots, and more boots. There are so many types of transitional footwear to invest in during this season, from kneehigh models to ankle snow boots.

6 | ARTS & CULTURE

Bring on the layers.

Photo: Amitesh Malhotra.

For snow, rain, and that awful mix in between, combat boots are a good choice, and Dr. Martens are a classic bestseller.

While they can be slightly expensive, it certainly is a great investment, both weather and style wise.

To achieve a similar look,

Another fun spring style that never gets old are rain boots. If you’re feeling fancy, Hunter Boots are the way to go, but you can always opt for a non-brand name option too! Anything with a rubber sole is fair game, as long as your feet stay dry. These boots come

on a tighter budget, you can also look to get a store brand version of popular styles. Call it Spring has a great selection of good quality shoes for a fraction of brand name prices and offers various distinct styles from combats to chelsea boots.

Working with layers With the unpredictable weather, it’s often hard to find pieces of clothing that are suitable for all day wear, and this is where layers come in.

If you’re opting for a more prominent “college look” try layering a sweater on top of long sleeved collared tee. Depending on the forecast, your sweater could either be a cozy winter knit or a loose-fitting cardigan.

Cardigans are ideal for a quick pop on when things get chilly, but they’re also easy to shed in times of unexpected sunshine. You also have the option to pair it with your favourite scarf and top it off with leggings or jeans.

This option will help accentuate your style, thanks to its neatness and chic factor, and the layers won’t feel too heavy. It can also help minimize the need for a heavy coat.

However, if you’re hesitant to drop the coat all together, you can always opt for a spring jacket in denim or leather to throw on top of your layers when the weather jumps into the negatives. This way you won’t be sacrificing your style or your core body temperature.

For the last look, if you already own a long tee and a cropped sweater or hoodie, you’re in luck. Start with the long tee as a base and add the cropped hoodie or sweater on top. This look creates an illusion of double colour, and adds personality to your style.

If you’re not feeling the cropped hoodie, keep the sweater and trying pairing it with an infinity scarf.

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It’s lit in the library: Hag-Seed | Margaret Atwood Kyle Darbyson Managing Editor

During the school year, when you feel like readings are piled up to your ears, reading for fun can seem like a ridiculous idea—but it shouldn’t. Reading is the fastest way for you to make an escape into the world of your choosing, and expand your vocabulary without even knowing it. The underappreciated world of literature offers endless benefits, so without further ado, check out this week’s read.

If you’re looking for a fun, breezy way to brush up on your Shakespeare before exams roll around, don’t bother dusting off that old Coles Notes pamphlet that’s stashed under your bed. Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed has got you covered.

In her latest novel, Atwood tries her hand at conjuring up a modern retelling of The Tempest, which holds the distinction of being the last play that William Shakespeare ever

wrote. The plot of this 2016 interpretation follows the beats of the original text in broad strokes: a beardy old man, Felix, is banished from his domain as the arts director of a theatre festival and takes 12 years to get back at the backstabbing politicians who wronged him.

But instead of summoning a storm to wreak havoc like his Shakespearean counterpart, Felix is content with getting a bunch of prisoners to reenact The Tempest and using that production as his tool of revenge.

It goes without saying that wackiness ensues from this point on.

Of course, repackaging Shakespeare into a modern setting can be a disastrous project, especially if the person in charge doesn’t fully grasp the intricacies of what makes the original play work in the first place. Luckily Atwood definitely knows her stuff, and utilizes this intimate understanding of the text to drive the plot forward.

Since Felix’s cast of prisoners lack formal education he’s forced

to give them a crash course in the play’s plot, characters, and themes before they can start acting it out. This means a large chunk of Hag-Seed consists of scenes that wouldn’t seem out of place in an introductory Shakespeare class in high school, where a quirky English teacher tries to get his students invested in a 400-year-old play by bringing it down to their level.

One of the more endearing examples of this dynamic is when Felix bans conventional profanity in class and forces these hardened criminals to swear using archaic terms from the play, like “plague” and “poxy” instead.

Admittedly, this meta element does get tiring at times.

Atwood has an irritating habit of bringing the revenge plot to a screeching halt so her characters can get into the kind of high-minded literary debates you might overhear at your local hipster coffee shop.

But thankfully, underneath that veneer of literary pretension, Atwood manages to inject the rest of the novel with

enough humour and easy-toread prose to make this story accessible to non-Shakespeare fans. At the same time, the text is full of plenty of winks and nods to The Bard’s legacy, which should satisfy even his most ardent fans.

In the end, while Hag-Seed comes off as being more of an edutainment product rather than a standalone novel, it’s still relentlessly engaging and fun to read. But that doesn’t mean it is devoid of any deeper meaning, since Atwood manages to make a great case for the rehabilitatory potential found in literature and the arts.

Also, for those of you who skipped Jacobean Shakespeare this semester because you were too busy having a social life, reading this novel might give you a fighting chance at passing that final exam.

For extra credit, you can check out the other novels distributed by Hogarth Shakespeare, a company that specializes in publishing modern retellings of The Bard’s classic works.

This modern retelling of The Tempest is part of an ongoing series published by Hogarth Shakespeare.

Photo: CC, Knopf Canada.

ALBUM REVIEW: Drake • More Life | Republic Records| 6.6/10 Parker Van Wyck fulcrum contributor

It’s a mystery how one of the most popular artists in the world manages to sound like a guest on his own project. Maybe it’s the features, since almost half of the tracks on Drake’s new playlist, More Life, have some sort of guest verse.

Not that this makes the album any less relevant. It shattered Drake’s own streaming records, receiving almost 100 million streams within the first 24 hours of being released on Apple Music—proving once and for all that Drake could release white noise and still sell.

More Life tends to go in one ear and out the other, flowing cohesively from track to track. Drake often lets the beats play themselves out for 30-40 seconds before jumping in with a verse or a hook. Perhaps this is what he meant when he defined the project as a “playlist” and not a new album. Although, you could be more cynical and argue that this is nothing more than a marketing ploy to excuse laziness.

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Drake’s playlist was streamed close to 100 million times on Apple Music within 24 hours.

Photo: CC, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, Republic Records.

Sonically Drake’s latest project is a lot like Views, with its Caribbean-influenced dance hall tracks and the occasional banger keeping the listener light on their toes. At this point we all know the sound, since

every artist looking for some mainstream appeal is trying to replicate Drake’s chart-topping success. Whether you like the sound or not is another matter entirely. However, I will say that songs like “Passion-

fruit” and “Blem” are catchy improvements to tracks like “One Dance.”

In terms of its lyrical content, Drake has slightly stepped up his game and removed all trace of the struggle bars that plagued Views (no more “Chaining Tatum”). Instead we are given some Drake relationship bars and generic pop lines with some patois slang. The hook on “Get it Together” illustrates the change well: “You need me to get that shit together/ So we can get together.” It’s not memorable when compared to the corny “you toyin’ with it like Happy Meal” line on last years’ “U With Me?” which is for the best. Still, it’s disappointing that Drake can’t find a middle ground between corny and generic.

Let’s talk about the features, which are the best part of the album (playlist).

U.K. acts like Skepta and Sampha get their own tracks, which serve as fantastic displays of their talents. Sampha’s track “4422” ends up being the best song on the mixtape (sorry,

“playlist”).

Quavo of Migos’ fame comes on and delivers a passionate hook on “Portland,” and his performance with Travis Scott makes for an infectiously upbeat track. “Sacrifices” features Young Thug without his signature melodic screams, and he delivers a verse that you never knew you wanted. These amazing guest spots make you forget that industry greats like Kanye are also on the same album (er, “playlist”).

More Life’s central flaw is its lack of memorability. And I’m not just talking about the lyrics. The beats, while unified in sound, are done so to a fault, and tracks become forgettable unless you check their name after every listen. It’s far from awful, but it’s not the confessional Drake that made personable tracks like “Marvin’s Room” such a success.

At the end of the day, for someone who defined so much of what it means to be a pop/ hip-hop superstar, I think it’s fair to expect more.

ARTS & Culture | 7

Somewhere over the rainbow The global impact of the upcoming French election April 23, 2017—a date that might very well be the most important of the year. For it is on that day that the people of France will go to the polls, and vote in the first round of their presidential elections.

In a political atmosphere dominated by debates over identity, Europe, and populism, the election is still a toss up between five candidates, all polling above 10 per cent in the first round. Each candidate is taking advantage of the stormy state of European politics to promise voters a pot of gold.

France, a country of 66 million people and a $2.5-trillion economy, is organized politically under the semi-presidential Fifth Republic, with the executive power split between the president and the prime minister.

Unlike most other European republics though, where the president is a symbolic position, the French president has real power. For example, they have the authority to name ministers and other officials, they serve as commander-in-chief of the army, and they have the power to return laws to the National Assembly for another reading.

The president serves a five-year term, renewable once, and is directly elected. The elections are conducted under a direct run-off system, where, if no candidate gets at least 50 per cent of the vote in the first round, a second round is held between the top two candidates from the first round.

The current president, François Hollande is currently polling at record low numbers, which led him to not seeking a second term—a rarity for French presidents.

“Charisma, ethics and justice, setting the example: those should be what a country is looking for in a government,” said Alexandre Hénoud, a third-year student in translation at the University of Ottawa. Hénoud, who originally hails from Paris, said he’s “surprised at the fury” in France in these elections.

But even if the skies clear before election day, the way the voters will swing could be anybody’s guess.

The leprechauns One of the names on everyone’s lips throughout the election cycle is, of course, Marine Le Pen of the rightwing National Front (FN). She’s the daughter of the party’s founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and took over the party in 2011 with the aim of detoxifying the party’s public image by tuning down some of the most overt extremism within the party and its platform. This included kicking out her anti-Semitic father from the party in 2015.

According to André Lecours, a professor of political studies at the U of O, the FN’s last strong showing was in the 2002 elections “Even that year it wasn’t that really the Front Nationale had increased its support, it was rather that parties on the left were divided,” said Lecours. “So a scenario not unlike what we’re seeing this year.”

In her bid for the presidency this year, Le Pen has also adopted a new logo, branding her as just “Marine,” and with a blue rose. She is still very conservative, with a platform based on protectionism, nationalism, more government intervention in the economy, a referendum on French membership of the European Union (EU), democratic reform, severely curtailing immigration, and a tough-on-crime approach.

She has consistently led the polls for the first round, hovering around 30 per cent of the vote, but is projected to lose in the second round to Emmanuel Macron.

Hénoud points out that, often, as in the 2012 elections, “most people don’t vote for someone in the second round, and I don’t think we should have the same spirit in 2017.”

“The favourite now seems to be Emmanuel Macron,” said Lecours. “He’s really fracturing this kind of left and right divide which has really structured French politics ever since the French Revolution.”

A 39-year-old former banker, Macron had been the minister for the economy under President Hollande before quitting the government, and forming his own independent political movement En Marche!

Where Le Pen is from the far-right, Macron is an outspoken liberal centrist, strongly pro-European, socially liberal, and is also promising major liberalization of the economy, reforms to the French education system, and democratic reform. On the issue of immigration he also sits opposite of Le Pen, being solidly pro-immigration having said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s controversial decision to open her country’s borders to refugees “saved Europe’s dignity.”

Since declaring his candidacy he has risen steadily in the polls, to the point where he would now just finish first in the first round, and beat Le Pen in the second, with over 60 per cent of the vote.

Macron has been helped in his quest for the presidency by the fall of François Fillon, the Republican candidate.

nicholas robinson Staff Contributor Fillon, a former prime minister under Nicolas Sarkozy often described as a Thatcherite, won a surprising victory in the Republican primary, easily beating the favourite and more moderate Alain Juppé.

After winning the nomination, he at first seemed like the favourite to win the presidency, but has since been hit by a series of scandals, and has been placed under formal investigation for allegedly having paid his wife and children hundreds of thousands of Euros for fake government jobs.

On the far left, the field is divided between two candidates: Benoît Hamon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Hamon, the Socialist Party candidate, comes from the left-wing of the Socialists, and is proposing a number of progressive measures such as a universal basic income, legalizing marijuana, and a robot tax.

Mélenchon, running with the recently formed Unsubmissive France movement, is a left-wing populist, calling for a Sixth Republic, more government intervention in the economy and is Eurosceptic. Hamon and Mélenchon are both hovering around 12 to 13 per cent each in the polls.

However, according to Lecours, the socialists won’t be a significant force in 2017.

“Right now the legacy of the President Hollande is not good for the socialist party, and maybe that’s why it’s a significant election, because it’s one of these rare time(s) we’re not going to have the moderate right against the moderate left.”

Crying lightning No matter who you support in this race, April’s election is definitely a game of high stakes, since the results could lead to the unravelling of the European Union (EU) or give it a new lease on life.

“If you’re a Euro-enthusiast the worst result would be a Front Nationale president, because the Front has obviously expressed fairly harsh anti-EU rhetoric,” said Lecours.

In other words, a Le Pen victory could significantly weaken the EU, and if France was to leave the Euro or even the EU, it could prove fatal to the European project.

On the other hand, a victory by someone like Macron could significantly strengthen the EU, especially if paired with a pro-EU result in the German elections later in the year.

With Theresa May leading the United Kingdom out of the EU and facing the prospect of having to renegotiate 40 years of deals and legislation with Europe and a trade deal with Canada, the U.K. could also face the secessions of Northern Ireland and Scotland. As a result, Canada risks having its hands full dealing with unstable European countries, and probably won’t benefit from France throwing itself into instability on top.

it would probably be in Québec, a province where debates about identity are common and where the French-style secularization is viewed more favourably (as evidenced by the Charter of Values debate a few years ago). One theme in the election that Trudeau ought to watch out for in particular is the anti-establishment theme.

In fact, the effects of the election on the EU bring maybe the biggest potential impact for Canada. The EU is not only Canada’s second-largest trading partner, but is it also one of Canada’s closest allies and friends on the world stage.

As the Trudeau government backed off from electoral reform, despite a solid pledge that was prominently featured in their election campaign, the Liberals risk undermining trust in government and in the political institutions of Canada. And when trust in government and political institutions is undermined, the potential for populism grows.

In addition, with the emboldened actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and increasing Russian political aggression, a pro- or anti-Putin France could be a crucial factor in shapeshifting world order.

As well, a Le Pen government would be closer in ideology to Trump and Putin than to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, so it would be expected that the current Canadian government would probably like to see someone other than Le Pen win.

Plus, Trudeau has already said as much in the past, calling for a strong EU and speaking out against Brexit.

Sunny Canadian ways?

The election could send shockwaves within Canada, as we also struggle with our views on identity, immigration, and populism. It’s tempting to see the state of politics today and conclude that the populist far-right is running towards inevitable victory.

One just has to look at Brexit and Trump, and, as Dr. Benjamin Zyla, a U of O professor of International Development and Global Studies, points out, “even Canada isn’t immune to those forces, as we see with the Conservative Party leadership race.”

Le Pen’s brand of populism has proved a significant force in Conservative circles in Canada, but she herself has failed to make a mark. Last year, when Le Pen visited Québec neither Premier Philippe Couillard or any of the opposition leaders chose to meet with her—a far cry from when former president Charles De Gaulle visited Québec in 1967 and shouted “Vive le Québec libre!” to thunderous applause.

If Le Pen could make an impact in Canada though,

The recent popularity of Conservative leadership candidates Kellie Leitch and Kevin O’Leary provides a clear example of how this “anti-establishment” strain of populism is seeping into Canadian politics.

Lecours, on the other hand, is more skeptical about the impact of populism in Canada, mainly because Canada has a better integration system for immigrants.

“I think in Western Europe of course immigrants have not been well integrated, and part of this is because they don’t have the type of immigration system we have in Canada,” he said. “Canada takes immigrants who are fluent in English and in French, educated with a business plan.”

He notes that Canadian politicians have flirted with populist rhetoric in the past, specifically in regard to the Reform Party, but to no avail.

“Maybe times have changed, but I’m skeptical that this would play well in Canada.”

Pot of gold or pandora’s box?

These days, the news is dominated with headlines about the EU falling apart, refugee crises on a vast scale, economic depression, rampant racism and sexism, democracy fading away in Russia and Turkey, war and terrorism, and so on and so forth.

While worries abound that the French election could be the next domino to fall, it could also fit into the growing trend of a pushback against the populist far-right.

In the Netherlands the farright Party for Freedom (PVV) had been leading in the polls for months. Yet, in the elections in midMarch, they finished a distant second to the ruling People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Even if the PVV did make gains, the biggest winners in the elections were the socially liberand outspoken pro-EU parties Democrats 66 and the GreenLeft.

al

In Germany, Martin Schulz, former president of the European Parliament and outspoken pro-European, has injected new energy into the Social Democratic Party, and could very well beat Angela Merkel (hardly populist or extremist herself) in the German election in September.

With so much on the line, and with so much of the future that could be determined, Zyla said it is very important that younger voters turn out in large numbers.

“The youth vote will count. It could swing the pendulum.”

If anything, the success of Brexit and Trump have invigorated people around the world to stop the the thunder and lightning of populism from clouding their skies.

French citizens living in Canada can vote at the French Embassy here in Ottawa.

—With files from Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi.

Illustrations: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

SPORTS

SPORTS EDITOR Nico Laliberté sports@thefulcrum.ca

(613) 695-0062 @FulcrumSports

Sue Hylland talks her first year on the job in Sports Services New director outlines how to improve Gee-Gees program going forward “I also think there’s the pride in team with our alumni. That links in there. So not only across this university do we want to build that we’re all Gee-Gees. We want to make sure all the alumni who come through our programs have that sense of belonging too.”

In terms of sporting events, Hylland mentioned Capital Hoops and the Panda Game as prime examples of how to unify people on campus.

The second goal Hylland outlined was to continue striving for excellence.

For her, sports play a key role in cultivating the best on-campus student experience.

“We want to show the impact that participating in, whether our sport varsity, club, or campus rec programs, it helps make friends and creates this sense of community on campus, promotes the school–life balance, and it helps integrate people socially into the campus.”

Hylland would like to see Gees varsity and club teams be perennial national contenders, and she feels it’s up to

Nico Laliberté Sports Editor

I

n August of 2016, Sue Hylland was brought in as director of the University of Ottawa’s Sports Services.

Far from being a simple administrative pencil pusher, Hylland comes from a vast sports background. Not only is she a former university athlete, but she has also spent time working for the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport, and the Canada Games Council.

Hylland’s first months with the program were a feeling-out process, where she tried to absorb as much as she could to help her integrate into the existing Gee-Gees program.

“I think basically what I needed to do was to get on the treadmill with everybody and see how it all works,” she said. “So I have really spent six months jumping on the treadmill, getting to know people, see how we operate here, see how the rest of the university operates, (and) begin to understand the people I work with and work for.”

While Hylland spent her first months getting to know people and the culture of the university, that doesn’t mean she’s short on ideas for how to improve the Gee-Gees program.

Hylland laid out four main goals for the program moving forward, and the first of these is a greater sense of campus unity and pride.

“A big piece of it is working with our other sectors and build this pride in team. We’re all Gee-Gees. It’s not student athletes who are Gee-Gees.

There’s 43,000 Gee-Gees on this campus.”

More specifically, Hylland said she would like to establish a university sports atmosphere that’s similar to what they have south of the border.

“When you go down to the states and you go to a big university down there they’re all ‘Wolverines!’ … We need to create that notion—that pride in team—that the Gee-Gee brand is across the university, basically.”

Hylland also mentioned that former students aren’t left out of her vision for the future.

10 | SPORTS

Sports Services to give them the support they need.

“I really want to focus on building those programs. They’re at the hub of what we do. That’s why we exist ... that’s the service excellence we want to provide.”

The third key focus for Hylland moving forward is to strengthen Sports Services’ partnerships with the other services offered on campus, such as food and housing.

The recently unveiled Gee-Gees waffle is just a taste of what Food and Sports Services can accomplish together.

Hylland acknowledges that revenue generation is part of the equation, because that’s how they support the teams and the student athletes.

“I think we’ll be working hard in that area too. And that’s going to require great partners. It’s going to require media exposure. We’ve got to build that profile and visibility of the U of O better, in my mind.”

The final goal for Hylland is to evaluate the internal workings of Sports Services.

“We don’t have the right protocols in place necessarily. Or we do the right thing, but sometimes you’re doing it just by instinct, not by the fact that this was documented and very clear. So we need to get our ducks in order there. So we’re hosting this mental health session.

We’re bringing many of the partners around the university to come and talk about what it is they do.”

Now that she has one academic year under her belt, Hylland continues to push the program forward. She understands that the role of sports on campus is to serve the students, and being around young athletes and fans remains the most enjoyable part of the job for her.

“I love going out and supporting our teams. Because I know those young student athletes are giving a lot of their time and energy to represent our school. So I love to go out there and show appreciation to them and watch them play and see them grow as young studentathletes.”

“The fourth area … is really how we work together internally in Sports Services in a very strategic way to build this continuous improvement model, where we’ve got our programs at the core of what we do and on the outside we’ve got all the services we want to provide to our core programing.”

Hylland believes it’s important to be in close contact with Student Services and the other areas of campus so that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

“It’s a big machine, and it’s trying to weave your way through and understanding ‘do we need to do this, or does this already exist?’ because I find there’s a lot of really good things going on. It’s just trying to find out, ‘do we need to lead this or do we just need to fall in line with what everybody else is doing on campus?’”

Hylland brings up Sports Services’ mental health policy as an example of a case where they want to learn from what’s already being done around campus.

“We’re all GeeGees. It’s not student athletes who are Gee-Gees.

There’s 43,000 Gee-Gees on this campus.” —Sue Hylland, director of Sports Services

Hylland loves playing the role of “cheerleader” to the Gee-Gees sports teams.

Photo: Courtesy of Ellen Bond.

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Varsity update: Gee-Gees football prospective roster Men’s football team in the thick of 2017–18 season recruiting zack goobie

associate Sports Editor This past year, the University of Ottawa men’s football team finished with a solid 6–2 regular season record in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference. However, for most fans, the 2016 season will be remembered for two devastating losses to cross-town rival Carleton Ravens, including the one that eliminated the Gees from the playoffs.

But with that behind them, the Gee-Gees are already in the process of figuring out what their lineup will look like for the 2017–18 season.

This process is a year-long affair, and with big players graduating, such as U Sports second team All-Canadians like quarterback Derek Wendel and wide-receiver Mitchell Baines, the Gees are looking for a big recruiting year.

Nathan Taylor, the Gees’ recruiting and special teams

coordinator, provided the Fulcrum with an update on how the process is going.

“So far we think we’ve done a pretty good job. Coach Barresi has a lot of experience recruiting with 20 years in the NCAA,” said Taylor.

“That went a long way going into how we are trying to develop a really solid plan going forward, targeting certain players.”

With quarterback Derek Wendel graduating, Taylor addressed who Gees fans should expect to suit up under the centre.

“For us, quarterback, we didn’t need to replace Derek (Wendel) (with a recruit) because we have a lot of confidence in Victor Twynstra, who is going into his fifthyear now.”

The air-attack will obviously take a hit, since both Baines and Wendel led the OUA in receiving and throwing this year. But head coach Jamie Barresi has been

This year will offer a number of young players the opportunity to step up in a big way.

known for his great offensive mind, having experience with multiple NCAA and CFL teams.

Addressing the defensive side of the ball, Taylor feels that the Gees have some young, promising talent.

“We’re kind of hoping that we brought in some young talent to help out. We also have guys like Charles Goulet and Parker Bolton, who are second years that have played with us as freshmen.”

The Gees had three first-

Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

year linemen named to the OUA all-rookie team: Patrick Spelman and Piri Sinnathurai on the offensive side, and Tramayne Clarke-Stephen on the defensive side. These rookies have shown promise in their first year, and may

prove to be impact players down the road.

Taylor indicated that they have between 34 and 36 recruits signed for the upcoming season. He suggested that number could definitely grow, since the Canadian process allows recruits to sign up mere days before training camp starts.

“We’re trying to really fill some holes, so it’s been a good class so far. We’re really happy with it. There is still a couple of players out there that could be impact players for us.”

Despite the loss of superstars Wendel and Baines, the future still looks bright for the Gees going forward, with a big recruiting class this year.

Hopefully the Gees will manage to build on their record from last year, and have a better showing against their arch-rival Carleton Ravens in the 2017–18 season.

Gees hockey alumna Émilie Bouchard on high-performance goaltending Visualization, resilience after failure, and great teammates key to on-ice success zack goobie

associate sports Editor Before transferring to the University of Ottawa to pursue a degree in physiotherapy, Émilie Bouchard played hockey for l’Université de Moncton for four years, where she attended two national championships and was named an All-Canadian goalie.

But after playing with one team for so long, it can be difficult for student-athletes to make the change to another team for their fifth and final year of eligibility. Bouchard spoke to the Fulcrum about the change of scenery after spending almost half a decade playing hockey in Atlantic Canada.

“It was definitely a big change. After playing for years in Moncton you sort of get used to everything,” said Bouchard on her transition into the U of O women’s hockey team. “The girls really helped me adjust to life in Ottawa.”

For Bouchard, who had a career 1.79 goals against average and a 0.933 save percentage with Moncton, the

change not only brought on a new team, but a new league of competition.

“It’s definitely an adjustment. The calibre is a notch above in the RSEQ (Réseau du sports étudiants du Québec),” said Bouchard. “When you are playing teams like McGill with Olympians like Mélodie Daoust, it’s different for sure.”

The mental aspect of play is crucial for high-performance goaltenders around the world and Bouchard is no exception, as she credits that aspect for helping her develop into the goalie she is today.

“Mental preparation and visualization are big aspects of my preparation before games.

Before games I like to get in my zone and step away from the other players so I can get ready to play,” said Bouchard. “I also like to practice my hand-eye coordination prior to puck drop.”

It goes without saying that goaltenders have a tough job, and have to deal with an enormous amount of pressure. The burden of a loss can often fall on the one stand-

ing in between the pipes, and some might argue that it is the toughest job in sports.

One of the keys Bouchard has learned is to not dwell on past performances.

“When you let in a goal you need to recoup and forget about it. I think I’ve definitely gotten better at that over the years.”

Her contributions to the Gee-Gees in her final year did not go unnoticed. Even though her team got prematurely booted from the playoffs, Bouchard still posted a 0.909 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average for the regular season.

Quick foot speed and powerful lateral movements are of utmost priority for highcaliber goalies, and it is something Bouchard has constantly strived to improve.

“I definitely consider foot speed as one of my strengths.

It’s something that I have worked hard on in the off-season over the years.”

Overall, Bouchard was really happy that she got the chance to use her fifth year of eligibility at the U of O. Besides her two national champion-

ship appearances and winning the Atlantic University Sport conference, she stated that beating McGill on Jan. 8 this year was one of the highlights of her university career.

“Being able to beat McGill in my last year was special. They beat me in the (U Sports) championship a couple years ago, so it was nice.”

As Bouchard continues to

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finish up her graduate degree, she has not ruled out the possibility of continuing to pursue hockey, with her dream goal being to play in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

Sports | 11

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Participez à l’Assemblée générale anuelle!/Attend the Annual General Meeting!

GRIP Ottawa

Participez à l’Assemblée générale anuelle!/Attend the Annual General Meeting! Centre th Universitaire 215, 5 avril à 16:00/215 University Centre, April 5 at 4:00pm!

Le Groupe de recherche d’intérêt public de l’Ontario (GRIPO) à l’université d’Ottawa a pour mission de rassembler et de construire une communauté dévouée à la justice sociale, économique et environnementale, GRIPO Ottawa s’intéresse aux contributions des étudiantEs et de la communauté universitaire qui visent le changement social.Nous sommes financés par les étudiantEs ce qui signifie que le GRIPO vous appartient. A vous de de vous engager, de proposer un groupe d’action, d’emprunter des ressources, de lancer un projet de recherche, de fabriquer des macarons, de faire des copies, des affiches... et on passe. Le GRIPO se veut un espace et un regroupement accueillant tant pour les nouveaux membres que pour les anciens. Un lieu pour travailler sur des campagnes, d’œuvrer en tant que membre du Conseil d’administration, en tant que bénévole ou en tant qu’individu.Depuis notre fondation, nous avons traité d’enjeux d’intérêt public (droits de scolarité, environnement, justice sociale, guerre et occupation, sexisme, racisme, souveraineté autochtone, etc.) par l’entremise d’événements tels les soirées cinéma, les conférences, les forums et les débats publics, les journées d’échange communautaire, les cafés équitables et les kiosques d’information. Nous avons aussi appuyé le travail de dizaines de groupes d’action sur ces problématiques et bien d’autres à travers les années.

PIRG

The mandate of OPIRG (Ontario Public Interest Research Group at the University of Ottawa) is to bring together and build upon a broad-based community dedicated to social, economic, and environmental justice. OPIRG- is concerned with the contribution that students, the university and the community can make towards social change. We are students funded which means that OPIRG is yours. Yours to engage with, to start a group through, to borrow resources from, to pitch a research project to, to make buttons, copies, banners with...and the list goes on. OPIRG as a space and as a group is meant to welcome friends new and old, to work on campaigns, to work as a board member, as a volunteer, or as an individual. Since our foundation, we have addressed issues of public concern such as tuition fees, environmental justice, social justice, war and occupation, sexism, racism, Indigenous sovereignty, and more through events like movie nights, guest speakers, forums, debates, clothing swaps, fair trade cafés, and information tables. We have supported the work of dozens of action groups on these and other issues throughout the years. As an organization, we exist to support student initiatives and projects by contributing financial and non-financial resources to their development. Any student or student group is welcome to submit proposals to OPIRG.

OPINIONS

OPINIONS EDITOR Eric Davidson

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

Should the university get involved in SFUO affairs?

With all the controversy surrounding the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) lately, people are starting to wonder what exactly the student union’s role should be. With the U-Pass and health plan being the two biggest budget lines under the purview of the SFUO, it’s worth asking: should the university administration step in and clean up the mess that their students have made?

The university should not step in

We have all heard the rhetoric before: “Students should be the centre of the U-Pass” or “Students should represent themselves in U-Pass negotiations and not have to deal for the university administration.”

We’ve also read recent headlines about how members of the SFUO executive, depending on how alternative your facts are, either allegedly stole U-Passes for their own use or had “access” to them through a “grey zone” in the contract with OC Transpo.

Either way, this opens a discussion of whether the U-Pass—and by extension, the health plan—is best left in the hands of students, or is best handled by the university administration. But before we can get to that question, we have to ask ourselves, when it comes to the U-Pass, are we getting a good deal?

Short answer: no.

Let us begin by examining other U-Pass plans. At the University of British Columbia the U-Pass is $38 a term, or $76 a school year. We don’t even have the option to choose one semester, let alone a similar price for a major city.

In Montreal, the Société de Transport de Montréal, McGill, and Concordia University all partnered to provide a 40 per cent discount on an OPUS pass for the Metro. This reduced Montreal’s fare from $83 to $49.50 a month, and students have the option of buying a convenient $197 semester-long pass.

By contrast, the U of O’s U-Pass will set you back around $200, with limited flexibility in sight. And let’s not forget the disorganized U-Pass distribution this past fall on the U of O campus, which left students in line for hours. This situation should not be repeated, especially considering the number of students living outside of Sandy Hill that need to take transit into campus to pick up a U-Pass.

There’s also the problem of the health plan, which continues to cost the SFUO more than anticipated. And according to the current SFUO budget, we aren’t yet in the clear from future financial problems.

What I’m trying to say is that the U-Pass and the health plan are too important to be run by an organization in danger of bankruptcy.

But what can we do about it? Well, by allowing the university administration the rights to U-Pass distribution, they will undoubtedly be able to work out a better system where the passes are handed out through a machine like that of Flex Dollars—no ugly photos required. These machines could be across campus, meaning no long lines through the University Centre.

University administration might not be the best negotiator in the world, but it can at least offer the average student a better service than the SFUO. Worried about how we can hold the university accountable? Our student representatives at the Board of Governors and the Senate can advocate for our rights. They are better able to negotiate than the Board of Administration representatives who discuss the running of the SFUO. If the only reason we keep the U-Pass and the health plan with the SFUO is for accountability, then let’s look for a better deal with the administration.

The university administration intervening in SFUO affairs would be a significant blow to the autonomy of our student movement, and would likely limit our potential for advocacy success.

Don’t believe me? Well, this school’s history paints a pretty vivid picture of what a student experience run by administrators would look like.

Until 1970, the university had extensive control over our student federation, with a Department of Student Affairs (DSA) to oversee student operations and the allocation of funds to student activities. Instead of a higher quality of extracurricular structure, this oversight only served to hinder student life and prevent any kind of substantial advocacy.

In the first half of the 20th century, a number of students who publicly dissented to the administration’s views, which at that time coincided with Catholic and British Imperial doctrines, were expelled.

The student federation executive was dominated by unelected, nonstudent supervisors from the DSA and had little power beyond planning social activities.

To make matters worse, any changes made to the student union constitution could be vetoed by the administration in direct contravention of the student voice. It became so bad that in a 1964 letter to the student union president, a student described the then-named Student Union of the University of Ottawa as “only a puppet of the administration.”

This problem started to escalate in the early 1960s when student union president David Casey and his executive pleaded with the administration to let them add another executive position, since they were swamped with work, yet all constitutional amendments the students passed were denied.

By 1964, student union president Robert Campbell became so frustrated after the administration continuously denied student requests and took months to respond to the union’s proposals that he sent a very strongly worded letter to BOG. This letter caused so much turmoil that he was impeached by the Grand Council (now the BOA), whereupon his entire executive resigned with him in solidarity.

This crisis made it clear that the student union needed to be autonomous, and there was talk of dissolving it entirely.

After this, students worked tirelessly to increase their autonomy and pave the way toward incorporation.

With all it took to get this far, we cannot afford to go back.

History tells us that the administration is more concerned about the bottom line than students, and its total control would suppress our voice and further exploit us. Just look at what they’ve been trying to do recently with mandatory meal plans and student codes of conduct.

We are here at university to find truth and purpose through education, not to spend ourselves broke conforming to a conventional mould.

POINT

COUNTERPOINT

The university should step in

—Peter Baccin-Smith, Staff Contributor.

thefulcrum.ca

—Justin Patrick, Staff Contributor.

OPINIONS | 13

Criminal records for plagiarism might be a good thing Problem of plagiarism is under-addressed, and more consequences are needed Neha Virk

Fulcrum contributor A criminal record is nothing to joke about. They follow you everywhere you go, to every job you interview for or relationship you enter.

Yes, many people can look past it, but many others cannot.

In the United Kingdom, they are now cracking down on lawbreakers in a surprising way. The government is working in collaboration with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and university regulators to tighten the rules regarding academic fraud, which could potentially leave students who plagiarize with criminal records.

Speaking as a student this may surprise you, but I think that having significantly tougher standards to punish plagiarists could be a good thing.

The U.K. has been facing a

problem known as “contract cheating”—AKA academic fraud—for a period of time now. According to documents released by U.K. universities, there are around 20,000 students that spend over £6,000 ($10,009 Canadian) on pre-written essays per year.

These numbers are disheartening, as they show the lack of quality that is put into many British university degrees. These students are not fulfilling the authentic requirements of the degree, which makes the whole thing much less useful.

The QAA, the university, and the government are all hoping to at least change the university guidelines for this upcoming September school year. The law will most likely start out as a fine, but will end up leaving a mark on permanent records.

The students will be charged with a fine, and services that helped student

The United Kingdom is looking at new ways to punish those who plagiarize.

Photo: CC, Jobs for Felons Hub, John Purray Publisher. Edits: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

plagiarize will be charged with “aiding or enabling for financial gain individuals to commit acts of academic dishonesty.” The university is trying to deter the students

with the threat of suppressing their future.

This tactic could work because, as previously established, a criminal record will last forever. If a student’s

goal is to better their future at university, they know the opposite will happen if they plagiarize. Only in a student population could you apply this approach, because the

people that are attending university are doing it for the sole suppose of obtaining better career opportunities in the future—and a criminal record will diminish that.

This method could be applied in Canada as well. Even at the University of Ottawa, plagiarism cases rose by almost 50 per cent between 2008 and 2013. And such examples can be found across the country. The problem of plagiarism isn’t unique to the U.K., it’s something we need to worry about here at home as well.

At the end of the day, academic fraud is a serious crime that has been neglected by students for years. It’s time universities take action and show what the seriousness of this act. If you do not have the time to write an essay, then hopefully you have time to deal with the lifelong implications of a criminal record.

“Elite” dating apps aren’t a cause for concern Most people don’t rely on one small dating app, exclusivity among apps already exists Eric Davidson Opinions Editor

Lately, it seems like there are more and more “exclusive” dating apps popping up.

For example, there’s the League, which mines sites like LinkedIn for “successful” people. And don’t forget about Tinder’s new Tinder Select option, which bills itself as an exclusive service for elite members.

Some are concerned this rise in selective dating apps will lead to an “us versus them” mentality, where people think of themselves in different classes, which will be detrimental to how people meet.

However, that belief simply doesn’t match up with how most people use dating apps these days.

If people are using a dating app, they may very well be using more than one, or even way more than one, or alternating between them.

Why limit their choices?

And let’s not pretend most

14 | OPINIONS

of these apps aren’t exclusive in one way or another.

For example, there’s a dating app designed specifically for bacon lovers called Sizzle.

If you use that app, you’re going to miss out on a lot of connections, even if you are spared a date at a vegan restaurant. But I’m willing to bet most people aren’t lining up to put all their eggs in this bacon-filled basket—as delicious as that sounds. It’s just a fun option.

This example shows that exclusive doesn’t have to be elitist, it can be fun and quirky too. Even though the bacon dating app excludes a whole lot of people too, it’s not controversial. It’s hilarious.

And the list goes on. Did you know, there are also dating apps for farm hands only? That sounds pretty exclusive to me. And of course, there are plenty of matchmaking tools that filter by religion. Exclusivity already exists everywhere in our online dating universe, so

why draw the line when it comes to a certain income bracket?

In fact, you could argue that even using a dating app in the first place limits your dating pool significantly. If you relied only on meeting people through your phone you’d miss out on tons of people in the “real world.”

But that doesn’t happen, because a dating app is just one tool that people have at their disposal, and the romance of meeting drunk people at a bar lives on.

And sure, if you bite down hard on the idea that you’re an “elite” person who deserves the cream of the crop of Internet-dwelling strangers, then these apps will reinforce your flawed belief system.

But do we need to scorn these dating apps because shallow people exist? No. They’re just one of many options people have, and if you approach them in an open-minded way it’s all the better.

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thefulcrum.ca

SFUO calls out the Tomato for being FAKE NEWS Antipathy towards the student press leads to confusion and chaos Eric Davidson Tomato Editor Antagonism between the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) and student media is reaching unprecedented heights, and the Tomato is right in the thick of it.

Tensions began to rise after incoming SFUO president Wadi Hess publically called out French-language newspaper la Rotonde over the calibre of their reporting.

But it didn’t stop there. Oh no.

At a recent SFUO board meeting, Hess stood up and exclaimed, “The Tomato is fake news! It’s the fakest of them all!”

Students everywhere were floored by this bold accusation.

“I can’t believe anyone would question the integrity of the Tomato,” said Robert Grahamson, a fourth-year criminology student. “They broke the story

about Justin Trudeau speaking Klingon, for crying out loud!”

“The Fulcrum and la Rotonde, sure, they’re sketchy at best,” said Darby Kyleson. A third-year chemistry student. “But I consider the Tomato to be the paragon of student—nay, Canadian—journalism.”

“People don’t realize how serious we are here at the Tomato,” said David Ericson, the paper’s editor-in-chief. “We’ve actually won 200,000 pulitzer prizes, three Golden Globes, and a Dongle Award. How’s that for fake news?”

But Hess wasn’t the only SFUO exec to take issue with the Tomato’s editorial decisions.

“I mean, the stuff they report is wildly innacurate,” said vicepresident finance Richie Lachic.

“I’m honestly starting to think they just make this stuff up.”

Vice-president of services and communications Crancesco Fa-

The integrity of the Tomato is being called into question by the SFUO.

ruso also took issue with some of the Tomato’s work.

“Okay sure, their articles about spying microwaves and political handshake courses were on point, but what they wrote about people tampering with the SFUO election? Ridiculous!”

Photo: CC, Nick Youngson.

“It’s about time someone called those guys out,” said Avannah Sawde, a fourth-year communications student. “They wrote an article about a prof named “Roland Paris”... That’s not a real name!”

In the end, the SFUO decided to take matters into their own

hands—they would try and take control of the Tomato by getting on its board of directors.

Lachic said that after much consideration, it was a necessary move.

“They’re just collecting student money and flouting the rules for their own personal gain, with lots of students speaking out against them,” he said.

“Like, who does that?”

However, the SFUO plot ended in confusion when the directions to the Tomato’s board meeting lead the executives to the produce section of the Rideau Loblaw’s instead. Since it wasn’t student discount day, everyone went home in a sour mood.

“I’m not paid enough to deal with all this nonsense,” said Lachic.

“Whatever, I’m done with this,” said Hess. Keeping Up with the Boardashians is on soon, and I never miss an episode.”

The real reason they banned cardboard cut-outs of Trudeau Diplomatic incidents and lack of government efficiency figured heavily into decision Eric Davidson Tomato Editor The government of Canada has landed itself in hot water for making liberal use of cardboard cut-outs of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After concerns about how the cut-outs were being used in diplomatic settings, the department of global affairs banned them. But writers at the Tomato knew that this wasn’t the whole story, and set out to find the whole truth.

Several sources close to the prime minister said that when Trudeau was just a member of Parliament he saw a cardboard cut-out of Justin Bieber at an HMV and got severely jealous.

“He promptly ordered 1,000 of them for when his career took off,” said a source who wished to remain anonymous. “Oh my

The department of global affairs decided to ban cardboard cut-outs of Justin Trudeau.

Photo: CC, Presidencia de la Republica Mexicana, GravizZro.

husb… I mean that guy!”

Many think banning the cutouts was a mistake in the first place.

“Instead of having to install our prime minister at all these boring events, we could just have a cutout stand quietly by,”

thefulcrum.ca

said Gertrude Phillips, an analyst at global affairs. “What better way to project the image of the reserved, polite Canadian than that?”

Philips continued to spill the beans on how these cutouts factored into the government’s

plans for international diplomacy.

“Remember that big visit with Trump? Yup, that was just a flimsy, two-dimensional facsimile of a human ... and a cardboard copy of Trudeau was there as well.”

According to sources, the cutouts also gave Trudeau time to focus on the important parts of his life.

“Having the cardboard Trudeaus attend events really freed up his time,” said another anonymous staffer. “He was able to better serve our country by keeping up his boxing regimen and personally buying his hair products.”

But sometimes the cut-outs may have actually worked too well.

“One of the cardboard copies actually got kidnapped in Malaysia,” said Tom Hills, a director

at global affairs. “We weren’t sure what to do, so we paid the ransom in Monopoly money.”

Others are saying the cut-outs resulted in all kinds of misunderstandings.

“All those photos of Trudeau on the Aga Khan’s private island were actually just the cardboard versions,” said Shawn Collins, a government spokesperson. “What a prankster that Aga Khan is!”

Another anonymous staffer said that the presence of the cutouts has been a real drag on government efficiency.

“The prime minister would stare at his cardboard copies for hours and just say ‘Wow, I’m hot,’” they said. “We thought we solved this problem when we destroyed all the mirrors on Parliament Hill, but that just brought our party a lot of bad luck.”

THE TOMATo | 15

DISTRACTIONS Dear Di,

Dear Di

FEATURES EDITOR Nadia Drissi El-Bouzaidi

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

Dear Di,

My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost two years now, and I don’t plan on breaking up with him anytime soon. But I’ve constantly been told that the best way to live out your university experience is to be single and to date multiple people. As a result, I’ve started to doubt my long-term relationship, and I don’t know if I should sever ties with my boyfriend for the sake of living my university experience to the fullest. Any advice?

I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I’m having a hard time coping with it while being in school. My grades are suffering, and I’m worried that I’ve jeopardized my CGPA. Finals are coming up and I’m starting to stress over whether or not I can even pass my exams. What should I do?

-Fear of Missing Out

-Heartbroken Academic

Dear FOMO,

Dear HA,

Your concern is shared by many students, so it’s completely normal that you’re asking yourself these questions. I think the most important thing for you to do in this situation is to stick with what makes you happy. If that entails breaking up with your boyfriend, then so be it.

However, I will say that your university experience doesn’t rely solely on your relationship status. It’s all about what you make of it. Some people want the more casual lifestyle when it comes to their romantic life. Not being tied to anyone and having the ability to have both romantic and sexual relationships with multiple partners is what fulfills them. Maybe that’s not for you, and that’s totally fine.

After all, there are a lot of advantages that come with being in a long-term relationship in university, one of them being the moral and emotional support that is often needed as you try to juggle school, work, and your social life. If you’re lucky enough to have someone by your side to support you and comfort you throughout your academic career, make the most of it.

With regards to sexual experience, it’s important to remember that having one partner doesn’t mean that you can’t try new things in bed. In fact, if you’re with someone you love and trust, trying new things and learning what turns you on might be a little easier than if you were to do it with a stranger.

Overall, don’t worry too much about pursuing the cookie-cutter “college experience.” As long as you feel fulfilled both inside and outside of your bedroom, your time in university will be just as satisfying as that of someone else.

Love, Di

16 | DISTRACTIONS

No matter what anyone says, breakups are always hard to overcome.

With school, work, friends, and family also causing a lot of stress, being heartbroken can become almost paralyzing.

If you haven’t already, try to go talk to someone in depth about what happened between you and your girlfriend, and how you’re currently feeling. Sometimes venting can make a world of difference. It takes a certain weight off your shoulders, and allows you to receive some sort of validation from whoever you’re speaking to. The most important thing we need to be reminded of when we’re going through something like this is that our feelings are valid, and that we are justified in feeling the way we do.

Don’t hesitate to visit the U of O’s Student Academic Success Service.

Not only can they help you study for your exams via workshops and one-on-one visits, they also offer a variety of mental health services free of charge.

As you study for your finals, make sure you put yourself in situations where you’re surrounded by people. Go to the library, a random building on campus, a coffee shop, or a friend’s place. Being around people who are also studying will help you stay motivated to keep your books open.

It might also distract you from thinking about your ex, and will remind you that even though you’re single, you’re definitely not alone.

In the end make sure you are taking care of yourself, both emotionally and mentally, Try not to lose sight of what’s important to you, such as school, as you deal with this hurdle.

Love, Di

thefulcrum.ca

March 30–April 6, 2017

THRYLLABUS

MUSIC arts Sports

FUN Thinking

Thursday, March 30

Sports Services job fair, free admission, Minto Sports Complex (Mezzanine)—10 a.m.

Thunder From Down Under (erotic dance show for women), Centrepointe Theatre— 7 p.m.

Vigliante, National Arts Centre—7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 31

Pet Therapy, free admission, 90 University (room 152)—11 a.m.

Poutine Festival (final day), Social Sciences Building—11 a.m.

I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin documentary) ByTowne Cinema—9:10 p.m.

Saturday, April 1

Ottawa Antique and Vintage Market (opening day), Carleton University Fieldhouse—10 a.m.

War of the Buttons, Irish

Film Festival Ottawa, Arts Court Theatre—2 p.m.

Sunday, April 2

Ottawa Antique and Vintage Market (final day), Carleton University Fieldhouse—10 a.m.

Ottawa Geek Market (final day), Nepean Sportsplex—10 a.m.

The 2017 Juno Awards, Canadian Tire Centre—6:30 p.m.

Monday, April 3

Power to the People (sharing economy documentary), free admission, registration required, Mayfair Theatre—6:15 p.m.

Hank Williams (The Lonesome Tour, starring Jason Petty), Algonquin Commons Theatre—7 p.m.

Tuesday, April 4 Turkey in Crisis:

Human Rights Violations, Tabaret Hall (room 083)—12 p.m.

Ottawa Senators vs.

Detroit Red Wings, Canadian Tire Centre—7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 5

Reptiles exhibit, Canadian Museum of Nature—9 a.m.

Neruda (starring Gael García Bernal) ByTowne Cinema—6:45 p.m.

Thursday, April 6

Exhibition: Michael Belmore mskwi•blood•sang, free admission, KarshMasson Gallery, Ottawa City Hall—9 a.m.

Vigliante (talk back show), National Arts Centre—7:30 p.m.

Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, Canadian Tire Centre—7:30 p.m.

thefulcrum.ca

DISTRACTIONS | 17

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Due process SFUO— do you speak it?

Dear Editor, The events of the last two or so weeks have been a whirlwind in Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) politics. The General Assembly (GA) was a success; people I’ve never even met have come to me and praised my letter; someone even presented me with a “the answer to 1984 is 1776” poster at the GA (the fact that people on campus are using that phrase to describe the SFUO blows my mind).

What also blows my mind is how, on March 22, the SFUO’s Constitutional Committee took a pass when asked to decide on numerous electoral offences committed by both the Elections Office and the slate “United.” Not wanting to ruffle any feathers, the committee referred the matter to the BOA. Our system has checks and balances written into it, but it doesn’t work when the checks and balances are too afraid to check and balance.

I know what you’re thinking: the elections were like six weeks ago—get over it. In my case, it’s a little different. During the election cycle, I’ve had just about every accusation lobbed at me. I’ve been called racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, and homophobic (the last one really caught me off guard) all because I hold very antiestablishment views. Let’s face it, when you can’t attack the facts you attack the presenter.

I suspect these false allegations were the reason behind my disqualification. I say that because I’ve never actually seen the evidence against me, and I haven’t been told exactly what I may have said or done leading to my disqualification. At no time was I ever afforded my right to due process, as per Electoral Regulation 18.2.4.

In preparing my defence, I was twice denied the opportunity to review evidence against me. This was my motivation for withdrawing my final appeal—how do I have any chance of properly defending myself when I don’t even know what to defend myself against?

As I’ve alluded to before, Qussai AbuNaqoos, this year’s Chief Election Officer (CEO), is a hatchet man for the SFUO establishment. Do you think he ever afforded me my right to due process? Well, he never interviewed me during his “investigation” nor did he even ask for my side of the story. I don’t know what kind of investigation you can conduct when you only seek out half the facts.

To his credit, due process is not defined in the Electoral Regulations—however, any neutral observer would agree that princi-

ples like the right to know the charges levied against one and the ability to challenge the evidence brought forward (at the very least, be presented with it) are all elements of due process. If anyone had any doubts as to the level of his incompetency, you can put it to bed.

When I appealed my disqualification, my right to due process was violated even further. The day before the hearing, I was alerted to the fact that two members of the Elections Committee, Caylie McKinlay and Mikayla Vattiata, had liked a Facebook post claiming I am racist and misogynistic, among a slew of other untrue things.

McKinlay (editor’s note: who uses they/ them pronouns) especially seemed to have it out for me. They offered to reveal the nature of my disqualification to other students before I even knew what they were—all while claiming the entire process is to be confidential (total hypocrite).

Bear in mind, all this is happening before my appeal hearing. The fact that they would so willingly and publicly offer such information to a third party before offering it to the accused is beneath contempt and a complete violation of my right to due process.

The fact that neither McKinlay nor Vattiata recused themself is shameful. Even more shameful is that McKinlay had the nerve to go around saying how they were totally impartial throughout the entire process (people even called them out on that). Their claim that they were unbiased is so phoney it doesn’t even pass the laugh test. All this to say— due process SFUO, do you speak it?

FYI—if anyone wants to see the screenshots of all this, I’ll gladly provide them.

So why am I bloviating about all this?

Well on April 2, the BOA is going to make the final decision on whether or not enough electoral irregularities occurred to warrant a new election. My story is just the tip of the iceberg. During this election, there were more violations than you could shake a stick at (I guess people in olden times shook sticks at things in large numbers).

I encourage students to write to their BOA rep and tell them to stand up to the corruption and vote for a new election.

This is how we take our election back.

If you’re reading this, you are the resistance.

—Michele Di Franco, fourth-year economics and political science student at the U of O.

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Regulating the Sharing Economy: Weighing in on the Costs and Benefits SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2017

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18 | LETTERS

thefulcrum.ca

Volume 77, Issue 24, mar. 30, 2017 Putting readers first since 1942.

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

Savannah “Pet People Meet” Awde Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Kim “Plenty of Fish” Wiens Production Manager production@thefulcrum.ca Kyle “Ok Cupid” Darbyson Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Graham “Grindr” Robertson News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Anchal “Sizzle” Sharma Arts and Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Nadia “Coffee Meets Bagel” Drissi El-Bouzaidi Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Nico “Cuddlr” Laliberte Sports Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca Eric “Hitch Me” Davidson Opinions Editor opinions@thefulcrum.ca Jaclyn “Boy Ahoy” McRae-Sadik Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca David “Tindog” Campion-Smith Social Media Coordinator social@thefulcrum.ca Zainab “Flirt” Al-Mehdar Associate News Editor associate.news@thefulcrum.ca Zack “Snog” Goobie Associate Sports Editor associatesports@thefulcrum.ca

EDITORIAL

We won’t be silenced

This past week, it is the opinion of the Fulcrum editorial board that campus press institutions have been subject to attempted pressure tactics by members of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) executive.

On March 22, the Fulcrum received a “notice of action” from SFUO president Roméo Ahimakin, which alleges that the paper has defamed his character by publishing quotes from a statement read in a public SFUO Board of Administration (BOA) meeting. Ahimakin strongly contends that the remarks made about him at the meeting are false and defamatory. The Fulcrum’s reporting is a reflection of what the allegations were, not that they have been proven.

The Fulcrum has since obtained legal counsel that the article we wrote is protected speech under the de-

fence of “reportage,” which has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The rest of our lawyer’s advice? That we were free to write a story about this notice of action, and publish it with the notice itself. And so, we have.

Public interest journalism is a cornerstone of any democratic and developed society. News organizations strive constantly to maintain an informed populace, thereby ensuring that society has the ability to hold governing bodies accountable. Repeating these allegations, made at a public meeting, allow students to know what is under deliberation at BOA meetings. In turn, this encourages public discussion of issues that are of public interest.

When the Fulcrum published an article on the March 5 BOA meeting containing the quotes in question, this was our intention. This is our intention

every time we sit down to write our next story. And if our student federation is to function democratically, this must remain our intention.

In an interview with the Fulcrum, la Rotonde editorin-chief Frédérique Mazerolle emphasized that the press is not the same as the public relations industry— and, je dois remercier ma rivale bien-aimée, because this idea is key to understanding the role of both the Fulcrum and la Rotonde on our campus.

We aren’t here to blindly celebrate our student federation. We’re here to make sure they’re representing the students who have placed their trust—and hard-earned money—into their hands. Students have the right to know what happens at the meetings of the SFUO’s BOA. And what about la Rotonde? This week, four SFUO executives, incom-

ing and current, along with roughly 15 of their friends, arrived midway through the Francophone newspaper’s Annual General Meeting and allegedly attempted to gain seats on their board of directors.

When asked directly by the Fulcrum about their intentions in doing so, all three incoming SFUO executives involved have failed to respond to all our requests for comment as of this publication date.

Regardless, attempting to become involved with the governing board of an institution that functions to hold the SFUO executive accountable is not only a conflict of interest, but it completely undermines the function of the media. The optics of this scenario suggest that the SFUO wants to have more control over the media organizations that are duty-bound to report on the good, the bad, and the ugly about the federation.

Even though these two events are different, they suggest that some members of the current and incoming SFUO executive are uncomfortable with being held to account by campus media.

The Fulcrum is passionate about informing its readership, and we don’t need any thank-yous for the work we do. However, efforts to silence our coverage, and coverage by our cross-campus comrades, will only cause us to speak louder. Our first priority is, and always will be, fairly reporting news to our readers.

This is why we urge you to consider the actions of our student federation in dealing with campus media during this past week, and in the next academic year.

We urge you to continue demanding truth, and we promise to continue delivering it.

Jodie ”Zoosk” Coté-Marshall Associate Features Editor associate.features@thefulcrum.ca Marta “Tastebuds” Kierkus Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Lucas “The League” Ghosn General Manager manager@thefulcrum.ca Shanèl “Too bitter to name one” Dear Advertising Representative ads@thefulcrum.ca Reine “Hinge” Tejares Webmaster webmaster@thefulcrum.ca

Contributors

Iain “Match” Sellers Ryan “Bumble” Pepper Perushka “Tinder” Gopalkista Parker “Happn” Van Wyck Nicholas “eHarmony” Robinson Justin “Badoo” Patrick Peter “At Hello” Baccin-Smith Neha “Skout” Virk Amitesh “How About We” Malhotra Parker “Grouper” Townes Rowan “Wyldfire” Markovich

Board of Directors

Raghad “Siren” Sheikh-Khalil Will “Down” Hume Kate “Mamba” Murray Jonathan “Luxy” Rausseo Mackenzie “Lovoo” Gray Niharika “Singles Around Me” Namulla Thivya “Lulu” Naganathan Julia “Hornet” Miraflores Fadi “3nder” Azzi Spencer “Subway Crush” Murdock Marguerite “Tagged” Gollish Cover: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

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Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.

EDITORIAL | 19

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