The Gateway Magazine - January 2021

JANUARY 2021

Published since November 21, 1910 Circulation 1750 ISSN 0845-356X Suite 3-04 8900 114 St. NW University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2J7 Advertising execdirector@ gateway.ualberta.ca Website www.gtwy.ca

RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

Editor-in-Chief Adam Lachacz

Opinion Editor Mitchell Pawluk

Magazine Editor Tina Tai

Staff Reporter Rachel Narvey

Art Director Sofia Capettini

Webmaster Hugh Bagan

Photo Editor Christien Ford

Executive Director Emma Jones

Online Editor Pia Co

Business Administrator Sukhmani Kaur Saggu

News Editor Khadra Ahmed Arts & Culture Editor Tom Ndekezi

Marketing & Outreach Coordinator Shenin Mehnaj

Contributors An Bui Travis Erickson Disha Hazra Jin He Jenna Jaikaran Christian Sanchez Ortiz Snigdha Widge Emily Williams Cover Sofia Capettini

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NEWS • OPINION • ARTS & CULTURE • PHOTOGRAPHY • ILLUSTRATION

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ILLUSTRATION TINA TAI, "PROTECT YOURSELF BY PROTECTING OTHERS"

DEAR READER, Dear Reader, Welcome to the beginning of a new year. For this edition of the magazine, our writers explore what it means to be a resilient community. The past year has shown us there is resiliency everywhere — in our teachers providing education and a sense of normalcy, in racial minorities bearing the brunt of resurging prejudices, and in every single one of us who continue on despite all the unfair challenges throughout last year.

As you flip through these pages, we hope you find strength, support and resilience in those featured. Change is not achieved by one person alone — It takes a community to move mountains.

Tina Tai Magazine Editor

Sofia Capettini Art Director

We dedicate this edition to the victims of Flight PS 752 who lost their lives on January 8, 2020.

Many were members of our U of A community.

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REQUIRED READING 4 16

Learning to Teach Within a Pandemic World Read about how teachers have come together to provide the best learning experience possible for their students while living in a pandemic.

Pushing Back From the Margins COVID-19 has highlighted the racism and discrimination faced by Asians — how can the community push back against the injustice?

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COLUMNS 32

Humans of UAlberta: Chanpreet Singh Meet Chanpreet Singh, the president of the International Students’ Association.

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In Memoriam: The innocent lives lost on Flight PS 752 A photostory tribute to the Edmonton victims of Flight PS 752.

DIVERSIONS 34 36

ILLUSTRATION JENNA JAIKARAN, "HELPING HANDS"

Where We Gather: The Ongoing Evolution of Edmonton's Queer Spaces The LGBTQ2S+ community has a rich history in Edmonton; read about its resiliency through adversity and how the community continues to grow today.

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THE STUDIO i can't breathe A poem inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Grief & Resilience: Flight PS 752 Read about how family, friends, and the greater U of A community came together to grieve for the lives lost one year ago.

Horoscope Find out what the new year has in store for you!

Crossword Test your knowledge on the makeup of resilient communities.

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Learning To Teach Within a Pandemic World

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TEXT JIN HE ILLUSTRATION TRAVIS ERICKSON

S

ince the pandemic started, almost everything has moved online to help curb its spread. Education is no exception. For many of us at university, lectures have been exclusively online, but students in K-12 education have been tossed back and forth between online schooling and in-person classes.

Their instructors have had to adapt to a constantly changing situation — many of them teaching online for the first time. It’s difficult enough to adjust to the pandemic as a student, so the flexibility of teachers is an outstanding feat.

Robert Van Winkle is one of many teachers under the jurisdiction of the Calgary Board of Education, which oversees public schools from kindergarten to grade 12. He has been teaching elementary school for years and currently teaches fifth grade. For Van Winkle, online teaching is his new reality, and the pandemic has forced him to meet his group of energetic elementary school students online.

Van Winkle initially approached the pandemic with a positive attitude, but it quickly deteriorated. As quarantine lengthened, constant changes damaged the mental well-being of many teachers.

These educational changes often occurred without warning, and were vague in nature.

Van Winkle described his situation to be the same as “building a plane while you’re flying it.”

“There were a lot of times where I felt pretty frayed, and stretched pretty thin — mainly because we were finding out information as we went along, instead of knowing in advance what to do. A lot of the times we would tell the kids, and the parents, ‘I’ll find out for you.’ In my head, I’m thinking I have to find out; these are things I should know, but I don’t. A lot of things were done on the fly because we had to,” Van Winkle said.

For someone who values a student’s presence in the classroom as much as Van Winkle does, the most challenging part of

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teaching is upholding enthusiasm even when feeling a disconnect between teachers and students.

“In terms of a connection with the students, eye contact and hearing their voices makes a huge difference for me,” Van Winkle says. “You don’t get that youth infusion into your job, and that’s usually the best part of your day — working with the kids.”

However, Van Winkle explains that teachers have been doing their best to enhance the learning situations at home by integrating active parts of regular school life into online learning. “Every Thursday afternoon, it’s phys-ed. They can count on that routine, and I can hopefully help them with their stress levels. The other routine I always infuse is art or music. Those classes are there; they’ll be infused into it, but if I was to ignore that, I feel like I’d be taking away a lot of their education. Grade five is meant to be a fun year of learning.”

Van Winkle explores the idea of

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strength in unity through education. With teachers being overwhelmed by the limitations of education during the pandemic, Van Winkle integrated nine students from another school into his own class. He noted that doing so was an interesting chance to interact with students from other schools, made possible by online learning. Another opportunity made possible by the pandemic was increased parental involvement. He explained during parent-teacher conferences, one father said it was the first time he had been able to be a part of his child’s education; he was from Nigeria, and the use of the internet to communicate with students and their parents — or learning coaches, as Van Winkle calls them, allowed him to be involved.

For Van Winkle, the shift online was practically without warning; his adaptability and compassion towards his students has given hope to not only his students, but also their parents and himself.

Shauna Arrell is a high school English

teacher working with the Calgary Board of Education, and she describes her experience to be eye-opening.

“I was reminded that in order to stay current in our practice we must embrace technology or be left behind!”

Arrell also noted that during the pandemic, educators are fully aware of the stress students face. Like Van Winkle, she modified her delivery to fit online schooling. She explains in order for students to adapt to online education, teachers must be flexible and accommodating.

“I think the pandemic has just increased the number of students requiring ‘extra-compassionate’ grading. Students are struggling right now with not being able to be regular kids engaged in a regular school experience and teachers are aware that they need to offer varied learning opportunities and have compassionate due dates for assignments,” Arrell said.

Earlier this year, Arrell took a break from education; she mentions that her

REQUIRED READING

temporary distance from instructing allowed her to fully appreciate the support she received from students and her colleagues. For Arrell, the collaboration of educators was what ultimately allowed them to navigate the situation.

“Teaching during a pandemic is something none of us formally prepared for in university, but we pulled together and supported each other; together we created the resources necessary to provide our deserving students with a meaningful online teaching experience and we created a virtual space where they continued to feel safe and valued. No one can know what this was like except for a classroom teacher,” Arrell commented.

Finally, I interviewed a third teacher, who opted to stay anonymous due to fear of reprisal for speaking out. They expressed feelings of frustration stemming from their administration’s handling of the pandemic, as well as worries for their students.

This educator experienced stress due to

their work environment, which lacked adherence to Alberta’s health regulations.

“It's super weird that we had to keep coming into the [school] building this week… there have been clear restrictions that everyone should be working from home where they can. It's definitely not following the new restrictions to have us coming in,” they commented. “Five to ten teachers eating in the staff room each day is definitely a gathering — with no masks of course, because it's a time where people are eating.”

Much like Arrell, this teacher regarded the mental health of students to be an utmost priority for educators. For them, the pandemic does nothing to alleviate their concern for students outside of school. “I just worry about kids who are cooped up in homes that aren't the safest or make them miserable,” they said.

Despite this, they explained that the consideration of their colleagues stunned them. “Some teachers who couldn't teach, like music teachers, were going out of their

way to help other people and make complementary class shells and videos for kids to learn cool things in new ways.”

Just like the previous interviewees, this teacher also felt that the unity of their colleagues was invaluable to their adaptation to the pandemic. By bridging the gaps left by administrators through their own actions, they were able to create a more cohesive and supportive environment for students.

While we adjust to online learning, we should also be reminded of the labour that goes on behind the scenes by educators. The teachers that drive our education forward have been through just as much as we have — all while improvising with little certainty to relieve our concerns. It’s especially important now to recognize and commend them for their hard work. What they teach extends beyond the classroom, and their resilience during the pandemic has proven that support and unity matter even beyond our computer screens. g

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TEXT ADAM LACHACZ ILLUSTRATION SOFIA CAPETTINI

GRIEF & RESILIENCE: FLIGHT PS 752 By now everyone is familiar with the saying that 2020 was a terrible year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But eight days into last year there was an event that instantly took the lives of 176 innocent people: the tragedy of Flight PS 752.

Javad Soleimani, a graduate student in the school of business at the University of Alberta, was in the Fishbowl on campus studying on January 7, 2020. He was prepared for a late-night study session of going through academic articles when he would have his life forever changed by a social media notification.

His wife, Elnaz Nabiyi was on Flight PS 752 and was bound to return to Canada after visiting family in Iran during the holiday break. A Telegram message popped up out-of-the-blue on his screen indicating a plane crash occurred.

He immediately thought, not her plane. He had only just texted her to confirm boarding her flight from Tehran to Kyiv, the first of three arduous flights back to Edmonton.

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Then he read closer and saw the flight number, five characters that would change everything for him and crash his entire world: PS 752.

He turned to his friend studying alongside him and asked, can you check this?

“I looked into his eyes and asked, am I seeing this right? There’s no way it's 752. I am mixing the numbers up. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘Javad, that is the plane.’”

I. Absolute tragedy The entire flight of 176 people, including the nine crew members, were killed. Canada had the second highest loss of life after Iran, with 63 citizens or permanent residents onboard. 13 Edmontonians were lost forever, including 10 University of Alberta members.

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“It was as if someone poured a bucket of ice down my back,” Daniel said. “I was just thinking, there must be survivors. This can’t be happening.”

Daniel Ghods-Esfahani, a first-year medical student at the U of A, lost his girlfriend Saba Saadat. Prior to the accident, Daniel had been texting Saba. The Tehran International Airport had free WiFi available for passengers waiting in the terminals but only for an hour. Daniel wanted to make use of all that time to catch up. It was at that moment he had seen the news of a series of missile strikes occurring.

On January 7, Iran fired retaliatory missiles onto United States military bases and positions in Iraq five days after a U.S. targeted drone strike killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Qasem Soleimani.

Daniel informed Saba about the strikes and asked her what was happening at the airport. She described to him an anxious and tense environment. Many expected they would not take off due to the military actions playing out in real time.

“Saba kept telling me how she hoped that her family would be able to fly and just get away from this evolving situation.

I kept reassuring her and telling her I was praying for her return and that the airspace would remain safe.”

Saba was to depart at 5 a.m. Iranian time. At around 4:30 a.m.

Daniel’s messages stopped delivering to Saba’s phone. He assumed it was due to her being disconnected from the public WiFi. Daniel kept checking the flight updates to see if it had taken off. He saw that it had been delayed an hour and that it had finally taken off at 6:12 a.m. He went back to studying feeling reassured his girlfriend was on her way back home.

Less than three minutes later the flight was hit by the first of two short-range missiles. 23 seconds later a second missile detonated, forcing the plane to bank heavily to the right for a few seconds before it became completely engulfed in flames. Flight recorder analysis showed the three crew members in the cockpit trying to maintain the aircraft’s altitude for 19 seconds after the first missile strike until the recordings ended. The aircraft was completely destroyed on impact with the ground.

Daniel was nose-deep in his studies when his mother called later that evening asking what flight Saba and her family were on. He told her, Flight PS 752. Daniel didn’t think anything of it as his mother remained silent on the other end of the phone call. After the call, one of his close friends messaged him with the same question.

His friend then said, ‘did you hear what happened?’

“I thought he was just referring to the missile strike on the American bases,” Daniel said. “They then told me about the plane crash… In that moment I was filled with dread as I put the pieces together of why two people were asking me what flight Saba was on.”

He quickly Googled ‘Tehran plane crash’ and was greeted with a video from social media of Flight PS 752 exploding and crashing to the ground.

“It was as if someone poured a bucket of ice down my back,” Daniel said. “I was just thinking, there must be survivors. This can’t be happening.”

David Turpin, president of the university at the time and now president emeritus, woke up to early morning texts on January 8, 2020 from his chief of staff. He had been alerted that a plane crash had occurred in Iran and that many staff had taken time during the break to go visit family in Iran. While the team did not know specifics yet, they knew it was likely members of the U of A were onboard.

“We knew pretty early on that there would be a significant impact,” Turpin said. “We just did not realize it would be this massive. We were stunned. Absolutely stunned at the scale of this awful tragedy.”

The university’s crisis management team was mobilized and went to work. Within hours, crisis counsellors were set-up across campus and support and quiet rooms were created. Student Services readied itself to assist the grieving U of A community through counselling, accommodations, and extensions. The faculties of engineering and science quickly developed plans to support all the affected faculty, staff, or students. Chaplains readied themselves to meet with grieving members of the extended U of A community. Both the Students’ Union (SU) and Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) prepared to meet what would become the darkest day in the U of A’s history.

Fahed Elian, then GSA president and PhD student in medical genetics, was at home when he received a call from an Iranian friend of his. Immediately, he started looking at news from the Middle East and saw that a plane crash had occurred in Tehran.

“I had heard that there were passengers on that flight that had very close ties to Canada. At that time, that was all we knew.”

He recalled immense stress and anxiety as the wait for more information to emerge progressed. He received a call from Turpin around 7:30 a.m. on January 8, 2020.

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“When I was campaigning to become president of the GSA I said that a problem to one student is one too many. Here I was now facing an immense tragedy that would redefine the lives of so many.”

Turpin told him that there are likely individuals with strong ties to the U of A onboard and that he would be there to support Elian and the entire GSA in any way.

“That was the first sense of the tragedy,” Elian recounted. “I was in shock mode. I was trying to convince myself that the information was wrong. That there were survivors.”

Elian quickly made his way to campus and assembled the GSA executive and board together. His first request was to ensure the organization was not involved in sharing any information unless they knew it was verified.

“There was so much being shared around on social media. There were names and so much uncertainty,” Elian said. That all changed when Ukrainian International Airlines posted the official flight manifest of PS 752 showing all crew and passengers onboard. Hours later, The Gateway published an article at 10 a.m. showing the ten U of A members lost on the plane after fact-checking and verifying.

Other media outlets followed suit.

“Hearing then that we lost five graduate students and one alumnus was way too many,” Elian said. “When I was campaigning to become president of the GSA I said that a problem to one student is one too many. Here I was now facing an immense tragedy that would redefine the lives of so many.”

“One flight, but immeasurable ripple effects throughout the world; ones leading right to the University of Alberta,” he added.

Seeing the manifest with Saba, her sister Sara, and her mother Shekoufeh listed on it destroyed Daniel. He could not sleep for days and was unable to do anything. The only saving grace in the hopeless situation he faced was when friends came to his place to work through the grief together.

“It was my family, community, and friends that helped me — and quite frankly continue to assist me — through this heartbreak,” Daniel said.

Jamie Hogan, an assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering, was set to receive Amir Hossein Saeedinia as his PhD student. Some of his other graduate students were going to pick Saeedinia up from the Edmonton International Airport once he landed. He learned about the horrific news from this group of students set to welcome a new colleague.

“It is a horrific tragedy,” Hogan said. “Amir was excited to come to Canada and start the next chapter of his academic and professional life. He was full of promise. That is the true tragedy here, the loss of so much potential.”

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II. Reacting to the loss After that fateful early morning in the Fishbowl, Javad Soleimani returned to his home and descended into a tearful sorrow.

He recounted in his head how in 23 hours Elnaz should have been back in his arms after her three weeks away — the longest time they had been apart as a couple. He booked a haircut for their reunion.

He planned to tidy up their apartment. Now nothing made sense.

“I cried, a lot,” Javad said. “The next morning, I am not sure where this feeling emerged, but I just knew I had to go to Iran.”

Russ Greiner, a professor in the department of computing science at the U of A, worked with Pouneh Gorji in his lab. Pouneh was travelling back to Canada with her husband Arash Pourzarabi after recently getting married back home in Iran. Both were graduate students at the U of A focusing on finishing their research to complete their theses.

“Pouneh was such a joy to be around,” Greiner said. “She brought such enthusiasm to the laboratory. She had a special relationship with Arash — one that was supposed to just be starting a new chapter, but Flight PS 752 robbed them of that.”

When he first heard about the loss of Flight PS 752, Greiner immediately thought about how he had a 25-year old daughter — the same age as Pouneh. She too was about to fly on a trip of her own. He couldn’t come to grips with the idea.

“I couldn’t keep the thought of the horror of what Pouneh’s parents must have gone through out of my head,” Greiner said.

“The utter shock of losing someone so quickly.”

Greiner said the lab was never the same after losing Pouneh. She was a positive upbeat person who was also vice-president of fun. She was charged with organizing team-building and social activities for the laboratory colleagues to enjoy together.

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“How could someone so full of life be gone forever? She didn’t even get to have a full life. She just had the happiest day of her life at the wedding of her dreams. But she lost her life. That brightness she brought to the world is gone forever.”

For Fahed Elian, January 8 represented the most painful day of his life. “I had never had to deal with a tragedy of an airplane crash, especially with folks that I had direct ties with. Now I had to do that and direct a team that represented all graduate students at the U of A while remaining composed. It was an impossible task.”

The first two days post-crash for the GSA were centered around fact-gathering about those lost and providing support to those immediately affected and the greater Iranian-Canadian community in Edmonton. “Whatever resources or support we could provide, we did,” Elian said confidently. “Doing all of that was an immense challenge. I had to be strong and available to my team and any graduate students, while also grieving the loss of the flight.”

Jamie Hogan said he was overwhelmed by the moment of loss. He did “dozens upon dozens” of media interviews for local to international news platforms to scientific outlets after the tragedy to share Saeedinia’s story.

“At that time, I felt it was incredibly important to share Amir’s story. I didn’t want people to get lost in the overwhelming number of over a 100 people lost on this flight. I wanted to show that each of those people meant something.”

“I didn’t really process what was happening until after. Once the interviews stopped, that’s when it hit me,” Hogan continued.

“By constantly talking about the tragedy, it helped me to cope.

To not bury those feelings.”

Hogan added that he had many graduate and undergraduate students at the time as well who were deeply affected by the loss of Flight PS 752.

“I had to put on a smile and brave face. By helping them [my students] through it, it actually helped me a lot as well. It helped me to internalize it and move forward.”

Reflecting on the events that transpired, Elian said he believes he has become stronger and more resilient as a person. “At the time, I thought the more I gave the better,” he said. “What I realize now is that as a leader you need to take time to heal as well, to grieve personally, so that you have things left to give to those who will need support.”

Angelina Salvador, a recent U of A graduate applying for medical school programs, was lab partners with Saba Saadat.

“I couldn’t believe the news when I heard about her death,” Salvador said.

“Sara was so smart and was the best partner I could have asked for. She always talked about her dreams of going to medical school.

It just feels wrong to be applying and going through the process of getting into medical school without her.”

For Daniel, seeing the community support from fellow Iranian-Canadians, Edmontonians and the whole country offered some strength to him. While attending the vigil outside the Alberta Legislature Building in the evening on January 8, 2020 Daniel felt the communal sense of loss and grief, but it helped him realize he was not alone.

In the days leading up to the memorial service at the University of Alberta Saville Centre, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland visited campus. The private event was meant to show support for the tragic losses of innocent life and have the families of Flight PS 752 passengers have their stories heard.

Turpin said the meeting was somber and heartbreaking. ` “Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland very quickly came to campus after the tragedy of Flight PS 752 occurred and the full scope of loss was beginning to be understood,” Turpin said. “She was supportive and gave everyone a chance to speak. She wanted to know every detail of each of the lives forever lost to this tragedy.”

“The grief and loss being expressed was overwhelming in every regard. Her warmth and caring was palatable. She offered a sense of compassion and purpose. She reinforced to the families in the end that this tragedy was something the government was actively trying to get answers and justice for.”

The memorial service at the Saville Centre on January 12 had well over 2,500 people in attendance, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, and Mayor of Edmonton Don Iveson. The overflow capacity for the Saville Centre even filled up past its own capacity, with hundreds lining the hallways watching the service through their phones. Thousands watched the stream from homes across the world.

“Pouneh was such a joy to be around,” Greiner said. “She brought such enthusiasm to the laboratory. She had a special relationship with Arash — one that was supposed to just be starting a new chapter, but Flight PS 752 robbed them of that.”

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For Turpin, the event highlighted the unique threads connecting the University of Alberta to the world and how in that collective moment of utter sadness the world was united in support. “That event showed the beauty of what it means to be a Canadian,” he said. “That we are a collective of people who have come from places spanning the whole globe, but we live, work, learn together and from one another. We respect together. Together we find our purpose.”

“The scale of this tragedy of horrendous proportions never ceases to amaze me,” he added. “Iran is half a world away. Yet in that moment, there was this large community in mourning for individuals who had come so far. It really showed to me that Canada and the University of Alberta play such an important role.”

Daniel ended up taking an entire year off from his studies after completing his first seven months of medical school so he could focus on rebuilding a semblance of his life. While he originally was accepted at the University of Calgary, Daniel ended up being granted a transfer to the U of A to complete his medical studies once he was ready again.

Javad also dropped out of his academic programming for the rest of Winter 2020. For him, restarting his studies seemed like a painful endeavour since he met Elnaz while attending university for his MBA at Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology. For a time, he could not pick up a book because it brought back the memory of how he first met Elnaz at a library.

“I did therapy, counselling, and am on medication,” Javad said.

“My heart remains broken. There are days that are better than others.

Sometimes I just feel like I am moving but don’t actually know how.”

III.Fighting for answers A year later, the university is planning to continue to honour and memorialize the lives of the students, colleagues, and loved ones lost on Flight PS 752. A virtual memorial book will be open to anyone to share their memories, recollections, and grief. At the time of publication, the university said it was planning a virtual memorial

event and a series of multimedia reflections about the tragedy.

Jamie Hogan said that the best way to memorialize those on Flight PS 752 is to never forget the individual stories of those onboard.

“Throughout the month of January, we need to have conversations about this. We cannot forget what happened and the scale of this horrific tragedy.”

Not knowing what truly transpired on January 8 in the moments leading up to the fateful tragedy of Flight PS 752 has led Javad to relive the events in his mind countless times.

“I keep thinking and spinning ways of how this tragedy and senseless loss of life occurred. In some ways I feel perpetually stuck on January 8. Until we know the truth, I will not have closure,” Javad said. “This is the reality we are living day-by-day.”

On January 11, 2020 IRGC officials stated that prior to the downing of Flight PS 752, Iran remained at its highest state of defensive alert and was adopting a “wartime” posture. This admission came after days of Iran purporting the loss of the flight to “mechanical error” and that suggestions of the plane being shot down by Iran were an “American lie,” despite publicly available video clearly indicating missile strikes on the plane. Additionally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on January 9 that Canada possessed military intelligence, corroborated by allied nations, indicating PS 752 was shot down.

The IRGC had instructed its missile operators to remain alert and expect missiles launched by the United States. Yet, Iran never closed its airspace despite global civil aviation’s best practice of closing an airspace when military activity was expected or occurring.

Hence Flight PS 752 was permitted to takeoff into an airspace dripping with geopolitical tensions at a penultimate high.

Quickly after the downing of Flight PS 752 an association of those family members and loved ones left behind emerged as a support network challenging Iranian officials for answers. The international movement transcended borders, political beliefs, and diverse religious backgrounds to find justice.

Both Javad and Daniel joined The Association of Families of Flight PS 752 Victims without hesitation. The two are part of the collective

“The scale of this tragedy of horrendous proportions never ceases to amaze me,” he added. “Iran is half a world away. Yet in that moment, there was this large community in mourning for individuals who had come so far. It really showed to me that Canada and the University of Alberta play such an important role.”

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trying to glean answers and ensure the perpetrators of the crime behind the downing of PS 752 are brought to justice.

“I lost everything on PS 752; the love of my life, my plans for my future, a part of my family, and the life I was living to the fullest with Saba,” Daniel said. “Not only did I have to process that but digest the fact that the entire sequence of events of what led to this incredible tragedy was not known or being lied about.”

Javad also decided to create a documentary to capture the love story he shared with his wife and to bring greater awareness to the PS 752 tragedy. He partnered with Mania Akbari to craft Dear Elnaz, a raw film depicting the cycle of pain, anger, and suffering he experiences while trying to find answers for her death. The pair completed the film in October of this year and immediately submitted it to the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) — the biggest documentary film festival in the world — where it was featured as part of the 2020 World Frontlight Premiere series on November 23.

“I wanted to show the heinous crime of downing Flight PS 752… and how such an action changed the lives of countless people around the world, including mine.”

“It’s not just about Elnaz. It really is a way for the suffering of the Iranian people over the past 42 years to be shown.”

Making the documentary assured Javad because of its permanence: it would be able to be viewed around the world for hundreds of years so that Elnaz and all the other innocent victims of the senseless downing of Flight PS 752 would be remembered.

“People say as time goes on, our loss will become normal,” Javad said. “Honestly, that will not happen for us because we did not have any closure. We do not know the truth.” g The Gateway interviewed dozens upon dozens of people to help share this story. Many only provided background information, others checked facts while some felt comfortable with going on the record.

The Gateway would like to heartfully extend gratitude to everyone who participated — in any form — to share their experience of this tragic event.

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TEXT ADAM LACHACZ VISUALS SOFIA CAPETTINI

IN MEMORIAM The innocent lives lost on Flight PS 752 Photos supplied by The Association of Families of Flight PS 752 Victims

Mohammad Mahdi Elyasi

Amir Hossein Saeedinia

Pouneh Gorji

2017 University of Alberta alumnus with a Master of Engineering degree in fluid turbulence.

Doctor of Philosophy student within the department of mechanical engineering set to begin his studies in January of 2020. Worked on finite element modelling of the material behaviour of coatings.

Graduate student completing a Master of Science in the department of computing science.

Elnaz Nabiyi

Nasim Rahmanifar

Arash Pourzarabi

Doctor of Philosophy student within the department of accounting, operations and information systems at the University of Alberta School of Business.

Graduate student pursuing a Master of Science within the department of mechanical engineering.

Graduate student completing a Master of Science in the department of computing science.

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THE GALLERY

Saba Saadat

Sara Saadat

Shekoufeh Choupannejad

Undergraduate student completing a Bachelor of Science majoring in biological sciences with a minor in psychology and conducted honours research.

2019 University of Alberta alumna with a Bachelor of Science majoring in psychology.

Had just been accepted into the clinical psychology program at Alliant University in San Diego.

A renowned Edmonton gynaecologist who worked at the Northgate Medical Clinic known to help new IranianCanadians locate health-care options in the city. She was Sara and Saba’s mother.

Mojgan Daneshmand

Pedram Mousavi

Daria Mousavi

Professor of electrical engineering who held the Tier II Canada Research Chair in radio frequency microsystems for communication and sensing.

Member of the faculty of engineering’s department of electrical and computer engineering.

Professor of mechanical engineering who was the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in integrated sensors and antennas.

Member of the faculty of engineering’s department of mechanical engineering.

Daughter of engineering professors Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand.

Dorina Mousavi

Remembering the 176 lives, including the 13 Edmontonians, lost on January 8, 2020.

Daughter of engineering professors Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand.

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REQUIRED READING

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TEXT DISHA HAZRA ILLUSTRATION AN BUI

REQUIRED READING

Pushing Back From the Margins

It’s been more than a year since COVID-19 made its unwelcomed world debut. In the past year, we have come to learn a lot as a society, whether that be about the virus itself or how communities come together to overcome endless challenges posed by the pandemic. Suffice to say, we have come a long way from the panic-induced toilet paper hoarding catastrophe of January 2020. Yet, despite our immense progress, a seemingly archaic issue continues to plague our society: racism. If there is one unnerving truth the pandemic has shined a spotlight on, it is that even a progressive and diverse country such as Canada is not immune to inequality.

Discrimination and racism were an everyday reality for marginalized ethnic groups even before we went into lockdown and it is these same communities that have taken the brunt of the pandemic’s blows. In particular, research done by the University of Alberta has seen a significant increase in instances of racially-motivated hate crimes directed against individuals of the East Asian community. Individuals report experiencing everything from verbal and physical assaults, to being wrongfully held responsible for the pandemic, or even denied services because of their ethnicity.

To better understand the hardships faced by ChineseCanadians I reached out to Lianna Xiao, a graduate

student studying education. She shared her all too familiar experiences with racism and how it has taken a new and ugly form in the recent months. We discussed the underlying prejudices at the heart of bigotry, how the media fuels these misconceptions, as well as how adversity has brought her community together to take action when not enough is being done.

Xiao’s experiences with inequality began at the age of eight, when she immigrated to Alberta from China and found herself in a predominantly Caucasian neighbourhood, attending elementary school with primarily Caucasian students. The lack of resources provided by the school at the time, such as an English as a second language (ESL) program, hindered her ability to communicate with fellow peers and make friends. She was made painfully aware of the difference between her and her classmates at a young age through a particularly disheartening encounter she had in school.

“There was this one time in elementary school where there was this kid I really liked and I wanted to be friends with him so I approached him, and he just called me racial slurs, and that really stuck with me because I was only nine,” she explained. “That was one of my defining moments, [when I thought] that I am different from other people.”

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REQUIRED READING

For Xiao and her family, occurrences such as this one became the status quo and navigating a system which put her at a disadvantage because of her ethnicity became a way of life. Having consistently faced similar incidents all her life, Xiao had come to understand the recent rise in anti-East Asian sentiments was not inherently due to the pandemic, but rather an outburst of internalized prejudice just waiting for the perfect opportunity.

“I think that this sort of attitude does not just spawn out of nowhere,” she commented. “They usually have some deep-rooted, stereotypical beliefs that were not necessarily considered as harmful and they just perceived themselves as not being racist, but then [the pandemic] happened and it gave them a bandwagon excuse to be racist and be able to justify it too.”

Discrimination directed specifically towards Xiao, her family, and friends have made them more cautious of going out in public. She explained a recent encounter during which a family member attempting to acquire

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a service was denied the assistance and verbally abused over the phone. Their concerns and experiences reflect similar circumstances of many ChineseCanadians, who have had to adapt to their increasingly hostile environment.

“We are also more nervous when we go out just because of how many [racist encounters] we’ve noticed.”

Despite this surge in discrimination, Xiao believes the struggles faced by Chinese-Canadians have been, as she put it, “swept under the rug,” especially with regards to mainstream media reporting on the subject.

Over the course of the past year, the media has been a key player in keeping people informed with the latest pandemic related news, yet disappointingly, only a small portion of that coverage has been dedicated to highlighting instances of anti-East Asian discrimination. Xiao took note of this blatant lack of reporting and believes the media has the potential to be an essential asset in confronting racism because of its extensive influence. Along with sufficient representation

REQUIRED READING

of Chinese-Canadians in the media, it is also imperative to have constructive representations of the community to combat the misconceptions that arise when discriminatory voices are given platforms.

“Many people, including myself to an extent, form our opinions based on what we consume in the media,” Xiao explained. “If someone is consuming media, for example, that is portraying this virus as a Chinese virus or if someone closely follows a figurehead who explicitly calls it the Chinese virus and insists there is nothing wrong with that, I feel like it’s obviously going to influence their views a lot.”

In particular, Xiao has noticed an obsessive need on social media to hold the East Asian community responsible for the pandemic by shifting blame onto the Chinese government and, subsequently, anyone of Chinese ethnicity. She touched on how such sentiments and associations only function to blur the lines between a government and the individuals.

“Especially since the pandemic started, every time I see a video of random Chinese citizens being kind to each other or having a celebration all the comments say ‘Your country started this virus,’” she explained. “There is no clear separation between how people perceive the [citizens] versus how people perceive the government.”

The East Asian community have been combating the pandemic on more than one front, yet, if there is one ray of light shining through these dark times, it is that marginalized communities have exhibited incredible resilience and united together to confront racism.

Where the mainstream media has failed, the East Asian community has compensated out of necessity. Internal media networks dedicated to reporting on community-centered stories have taken up the mantle and given stories of racial discrimination and inequality muchdeserved representation. Xiao and fellow members of her community have also taken to social media to raise awareness about the discrimination they face everyday.

Although there is still much progress to be made in addressing racism, Xiao was encouraged to see other minority groups come together in support of a common cause.

“I feel like a lot of East and Southeast Asians have put aside their differences and recognized this is such a forefront, important issue that needs to be addressed,” she stated. “We all collectively recognize this is an issue we are all dealing with, and if mainstream media is not going to do anything about it then we need to push back as much as we can with our smaller platforms.” g

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The Ongoing Evolution of Edmonton's Queer Spaces TEXT MITCHELL PAWLUK ILLUSTRATION SOFIA CAPETTINI

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lobally, the number of permanent spaces serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two spirit (LGBTQ2S+) individuals have declined over the past two decades. Amongst the most important places closing their doors are queer bars, which were community staples throughout the late twentieth century. An estimate from Socius predicts around 37 per cent of gay bars in the United States closed between 2007 and 2019. With the COVID-19 pandemic, last year will likely be even worse.

Many long-standing bars, such as Halifax’s Menz and Mollyz, shut their doors for good.

The disappearance of these spaces are leaving cities across North America without any

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permanent queer spaces.

In Edmonton, our circumstances are similarly diminished. Whereas Edmonton was home to some of the most popular queer clubs in the 1980s and 1990s, we now only have one permanent queer club, Evolution Wonderlounge, which is closed for the foreseeable future. Beyond losing queer clubs, our city has gone without a Pride Parade for two years and 2021 could be our third consecutive year without the formative event.

The cancellations of the Pride Parade also occurred alongside queer and trans activists of colour expressing concerns over exclusion within community events, only further adding to the decline of queer spaces.

For many — myself included — these spaces and events are more than just parties.

Rather, they were our introduction to the LGBTQ2S+ community; the first spaces where we could come together to celebrate a collective culture and history which is too often marginalized. As an openly queer teenager, Pride was my first space where I met and connected with other queer and trans folks. For others, it was a space where they first felt comfortable holding their partner’s hand in public or where they could express their authentic gender identity without fear of retribution. Regardless of who you were, queer spaces were supposed to welcome you to our community with open arms.

“For me, and the people who came out in the 70s, 80s, 90s, we never had that opportunity to be part of a group...that’s a tremendously empowering experience,” says Rob Browatzke. As the owner of Evolution Wonderlounge, Edmonton’s only queer club, and as someone who worked in Edmonton’s LGBTQ2S+ nightlife for over 20 years, Browatzke understands the importance of queer spaces. While other bars and venues in the city have begun to host queer events, he emphasizes that queer clubs have a substantial responsibility to the community, making them significant staples for LGBTQ2S+ Edmontonians. Beyond holding parties, these bars hold events, such as drag shows or fundraisers, which aim to give back to the broader community.

“It’s part dance club, part community centre, part non-profit organization.

It really is a catch-all for everything,” Browatzke explained.

Browatzke acknowledges numerous challenges facing queer clubs and venues today. He has watched numerous venues close their doors in Edmonton over the decades. Some have blamed the invention of queer social dating apps, such as Grindr, for the recent demise of queer spaces, as they claim the app has eliminated the need to go to queer spaces to meet other LGBTQ2S+ individuals. Yet, Browatzke attributes the decline in queer and trans

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bars to another cause — an increase in mainstream societal acceptance. Nowadays, a variety of bars in Edmonton advertise themselves as “queer friendly” and hold specific event nights for the community.

Despite being the only queer club in the city, Browatzke says the competition for booking local drag queens has never been higher. In many ways, this decline may be the ultimate result of mainstream acceptance.

Even as the number of these bars decreases, queer spaces continue to play an important role in our lives. While COVID19 has brought new challenges for venues, the pandemic has also demonstrated the importance of LGBTQ2S+ safe spaces and the community they create. Prior to the pandemic, Browatzke would’ve said the most important contribution Evolution made was financially giving back to the queer community. However, the pandemic has emphasized the importance spaces like Evolution Wonderlounge hold for us in community-building.

“COVID has reopened my eyes to the importance of just needing the space for the people in the community who don’t have other places to go,” Browatazke says.

This was most clear for him when Evolution briefly reopened for eight weeks, before shutting down again when the second wave hit Edmonton. “The people who were coming out were the people who really needed the space. It was their only source of connection to a greater community.”

The pandemic has, undoubtedly, destroyed numerous organizations and venues. Yet, by helping us recognize the importance that these spaces play in our lives and communities, COVID-19 may provide us with a pivotal opportunity to rebuild these spaces better than before. After all,

Edmonton’s queer community is not static — it has consistently adapted to the needs and challenges of our community. We’re facing a situation where we have the chance to invest in each other. ●●●●●●●●

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o understand the evolution and adaption of queer spaces, it’s important we look back at our history. Sadly, these are perspectives and stories we don’t learn enough about, as LGBTQ2S+ people have been written out of mainstream accounts of our history. Yet, we’ve always been here — prior to colonization, two spirit peoples existed for generations in the Indigenous communities that travelled through, met on, and inhabited the land our city was built upon. While systemic oppression caused us to lose countless stories from our communities, Edmonton’s modern LGBTQ2S+ history begins in the mid-1960s.

During this time, queer and trans folks lived in consistent fear of societal retribution. At the time, bigotry was legal, institutional, and commonplace. LGBTQ2S+ Edmontonians had a barrage of discrimination to overcome: landlords could evict people for being queer, bosses could fire trans employees, social venues could refuse service to queer Edmontonians and LGBTQ2S+ individuals were substantially more likely to be targets of violence, while police regularly harassed and surveilled queer individuals.

While some brave Edmontonians chose to be openly queer, many remained in the closet for their own personal safety.

In the face of a homophobic and transphobic society, however, LGBTQ2S+ Edmontonians still found ways to come together as a community. Prior to the estab-

lishment of formal queer clubs, certain bars were known to be frequented by gay and lesbian patrons, such as the Mayfield Hotel bar and the Corona. Other locations in the city, such as the riverbanks and the city's bus station washrooms, were known as cruising spots, where men could seek out intimacy with other men. Many community members also regularly held private house parties outside of the city to avoid confrontations with police.

More permanent queer spaces and groups began to form in the late 1960s and early 70s.

The first queer bar, Club 70, opened in 1969 and the Edmonton Gay Alliance Towards Equality (GATE) formed in 1971. Due to Club 70’s “members-only” policy, the space provided a rare opportunity for queer and trans people to safely gather and socialize.

“COVID has reopened my eyes to the importance of just needing the space for the people in the community who don’t have other places to go... the people who were coming out were the people who really needed the space. It was their only source of connection to a greater community.”

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GATE also held drop-in meetings, while providing early activism on human rights issues.

Soon afterwards, other clubs were established beyond Club 70 and GATE. The most iconic of these clubs would be Flashback and the Roost Nite Club. Beyond providing liquor and plenty of dancing, these clubs provided legendary social events from the LGBTQ2S+ community, including annual drag queen pageants, theatrical plays, and leather events. The clubs quickly became two of the most prominent clubs in town by the 1980s, with Flashback even being named one of the top ten clubs in North America

by Billboard magazine.

Ultimately, the venues provided spaces for LGBTQ2S+ people to come together and form tight-knit communities in the face of hostile hatred. At a time where openly queer and trans individuals were treated as outcasts in Edmonton, spaces such as gay clubs provided fertile ground upon which strong relationships, and even chosen family, could be nourished.

According to Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, these spaces tended to not focus on overt political activism in the 1970s.

While GATE’s initial founder, Michael Roberts, advocated for Alberta to amend the Individual’s Rights Protection Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, other GATE members wished for the group to focus more on social activities and events.

As years went on, GATE prioritized providing social services over political advocacy work, even developing and running a comprehensive peer counselling program. These programs may not have led to direct legislative change, but they served the needs of the LGBTQ2S+ community and ensured people had reliable community supports, changing the lives of many.

However, queer spaces changed considerably in the 1980s, after the Edmonton Police raided the Pisces Health Spa, a bathhouse frequented by gay men. Throughout queer history, bathhouses play a vital role. In the early 19th and late 20th century, when

same-sex relations were illegal, certain bathhouses became spots where queer men could meet with each other for physical and emotional intimacy. In the face of overwhelming isolation, these spaces were as significant as bars, offering a safe environment for queer romance and desire.

In North America, these places were sadly not free of police harassment and surveillance. While many owners attempted to keep patrons safe from police enforcement, numerous establishments were the targets of police raids. A prominent example of this behaviour is the Toronto bathhouse raids in 1981, where the police raided four bathhouses and arrested 304 men.

Police justified these arrests through legislation meant to regulate sex work, specifically the “common bawdy house” provision. Under the Criminal Code, bawdy houses were defined as places used for prostitution or “other acts of indecency.” Law enforcement took advantage of the ambiguous meaning of “indecency” to target and regulate non-normative forms of sexuality, cracking down on one of the few spaces queer intimacy and friendship flourished.

Prior to being raided, the Pisces Health Spa operated without overt hassle from the police and was considered a safer place to gather for queer intimacy. Yet, on May 30, 1981, at 2 a.m., the Edmonton Police burst into the spa and arrested approximately 56 men as “found-ins'' under the bawdy house laws. Those arrested were photographed and taken to the courthouse within a matter of hours, where they appeared without counsel before two judges. Eventually, every man arrested would be found guilty.

Amongst the found-ins was Michael Phair, one of Edmonton’s most prominent queer activists. Looking back at the raid, Phair remembers the outrage he and other LGBTQ2S+ Edmontonians felt over the Pisces bathhouse raid. Specifically, Phair was upset that this discrimination was legal and that he didn’t know more about his rights when the police arrested him.

“I was annoyed with myself that I didn’t

know anything, that I was so stupid about all of this,” he recalls. As a result, Phair was motivated to understand how this police oppression could’ve been possible and he wasn’t alone in this desire.

Following the police raid, Phair and other queer Edmontonians became involved in community activism, propelling the establishment of many Edmonton-based advocacy groups. A notable group, created by Phair and others, was the Gay and Lesbian Awareness (GALA) Society, which advocated for changes to human rights laws in Alberta. In these efforts, GALA pushed numerous elected officials, as well as the Alberta Human Rights commission, to protect the rights of sexual minorities through legislative changes.

The Pisces raid was a defining moment for Edmonton’s queer community, one which motivated many to become more outspoken in their advocacy efforts. “Going out to bars, meeting people, socially staying under the radar wasn’t going to work,” Phair says.

“After the raids, there began to be a sense that this wasn’t good enough and that we’ve got to do things to make changes so this can never happen again.”

To accomplish these changes, Edmonton activists took inspiration from other LGBTQ2S+ communities from across North America. Many were specifically influenced by the Stonewall riots in New York City, which were a series of demonstrations undertaken by queer and trans individuals in response to police raiding the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. Notably, the people leading the riots were Black and Latinx, gender non-confirming activists, such as Martha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. These riots are often credited with starting the queer liberation movement and resulted in the first Pride celebrations.

Soon afterwards, other cities followed suit and Edmonton was no exception. Phair remembers Edmonton Pride celebrations happening as early as 1978 or 1979, consisting of events like community picnics, art shows, and drag performances in bars. Initially, these weren’t public events — instead,

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they happened within the community and word was spread through spaces like queer bars. “None of it was public, none of it was in the media. You wouldn’t have known about it unless you were a part of the community,” Phair recalls.

Following the raids, Pride became a formative event in Edmonton. In 1982, the theme was “pride through unity” and an array of LGBTQ2S+ organizations partook in the celebrations. The Gay Gleaner, a community newsletter, praised Pride for bringing together different segments and organizations from every corner of the LGBTQ2S+ community. According to the newsletter, the 1982 Pride marked “the first time Edmonton’s gay community really was a community in the full sense of the word; a group of people sharing, cooperating, supporting.”

The emergence of these queer organizations and events ultimately led to a stronger community and, eventually, a massive societal shift in attitudes towards LGBTQ2S+ individuals in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Some key events signify these changes — for example, in 1992, Phair was elected to Edmonton’s City Council, becoming Alberta’s first openly gay elected official. In the 1997 Vriend v. Alberta ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Finally, in 2005, Canada legalized same-sex marriage, marking a significant step forward in the fight for LGBTQ2S+ equality. ●●●●●●●●

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ooking back at our history, it becomes clear that LGBTQ2S+ spaces in Edmonton have changed and adapted over time. Facing an accelerating decline of permanent queer spaces, it may be more important now than ever to ask what Edmonton's Queer community needs, and how staples of queer life can meet those needs better in our future than they have in our past.

Arguably, nothing reflects the need for reinvigoration and improvement of queer spaces better than the cancellation of the Edmonton Pride Parade in 2019. The

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decision, while difficult, arose from complex discussions over the future of Pride, which represent broader issues facing our community. Specifically, critics raised concerns that our modern Pride parade had moved too far away from its original purpose — instead of advocating on LGBTQ2S+ issues or building community, many felt that Pride had become a corporatized block party and didn’t give enough back to the community.

Browatzke elaborated on this feeling, explaining that, despite being Edmonton’s only queer bar, Evolution Wonderlounge hadn’t participated in the Pride parade for four years prior to its cancellation.

“Pride wasn’t working,” Browatzke says.

Looking back at his first Edmonton Pride Parade in 1999, Browatzke remembers the event as much smaller, but heavily community-based, with LGBTQ2S+ businesses and organizations marching. In comparison, Browatzke sees the modern Parades as overfilled with big companies, many of whom lack a strong connection to our community. “All of it is corporations, so it’s a big, giant, commercial.”

While bigger companies became included, queer and trans activists of colour simultaneously expressed frustrations over being excluded. Shay Lewis, a trans activist of colour, is unfortunately familiar with the unique barriers that minorities face in queer spaces.

For racialized minorities, Lewis outlines

and ask for experiences which people of colour typically lack, creating new barriers for their participation. As a result, racial minorities tend to be underrepresented in queer spaces, which can lead to misconceptions about their eagerness to participate in queer events. “Folks will be like ‘Oh, we don’t have anyone who is racialized who is here. They just didn’t care enough,’” Lewis explains.

Within these spaces, transphobia emerges in different, but equally damaging ways. “It’s just a feeling of unwelcomeness,” Lewis explains. At certain events, she describes how other queer people have questioned her personal identity and belonging in community spaces. “It’s not always, but it happens often enough.”

Discussions of inclusivity within the queer community moved to the forefront when Lewis, alongside other queer and trans activists of colour, briefly stopped the 2018 Edmonton Pride festivities by protesting mid-parade. As they demonstrated, the activists handed out sheets of paper with a list of demands on them.

Among the demands were uninviting police and military members from participating in the parade, and creating more well-funded spaces for trans people and people of colour during Pride.

The Edmonton Pride Festival Society, the body responsible for organizing the parade, agreed to their demands. After 2018’s parade

“Pride wasn’t working... all of it is corporations, so it’s a big, giant, commercial.” how exclusion often results from passive discrimination. “It’s not strictly open discrimination on the streets. It’s the lack of opportunities, it’s the lack of experiences being built out of those opportunities,” she says.

One way this lack of opportunities manifests itself in organizations is through complex application processes. According to Lewis, these applications are often lengthy

was over, the Society entered conversations with activists, including Lewis, in an attempt to create more inclusive spaces. Lewis was someone who sat on an internal committee within the Society which was devoted to solving the issues, but she remembers core challenges with the process. Specifically, she recalls difficult discussions with other committee members about whether or not

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issues of inclusion existed at all. “Pride got very focused on activists who are requesting change needing to provide evidence of the change being needed,” Lewis outlines. “Why can’t we believe the experiences of our community members?”

Community discussions reached a climax in early 2019. Two organizations representing communities of colour, Shades of Colour and RARICANOW, co-authored a list of new demands, which included opening Pride with a protest and having the Society allocate more funding to community organizations.

On April 4, 2019, the Pride Festival Society had a pivotal meeting, where they planned to discuss these demands, but the meeting ultimately left attendees disappointed.

According to CBC, four representatives from Shades of Colour and RARICANOW were invited to speak but, when roughly 30 members showed up to support them,

for 2019, citing the “current political and social environment.”

The meeting was a pivotal point for LGBTQ2S+ communities of colour, according to Lewis. “I think it broke what little trust more marginalized community members had in the Pride parade,” Lewis explains. “It made it impossible for [the Edmonton Pride Festival Society] to really participate in trying to make it better.”

Although the Edmonton Pride Festival Society, as of December 2020, is still registered as a non-profit organization, their online presence has disappeared and it's unclear if they have had a meeting since 2019. Other organizations have emerged to try and hold Pride, such as the Capital Pride Society, but the future of Pride continues to remain uncertain. ●●●●●●●●

“Pride got very focused on activists who are requesting change needing to provide evidence of the change being needed,” Lewis outlines.

“Why can’t we believe the experiences of our community members?” the Edmonton Pride Festival Society stopped them at the door, preventing them from entering the meeting. When some members pushed their way in, Society board members began to feel unsafe and called the police — the very institution activists had criticized earlier.

“It was a mess,” Lewis recalls. “I never really understood what happened there except that everyone was unhappy and no one wanted it to happen that way.” Six days later, on April 10, the Edmonton Pride Festival Society decided to cancel the Parade

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nstead of bringing the end of LGBTQ2S+ spaces, the global pandemic may be the opportunity we’ve needed to transform existing spaces and create environments suited to the current realities of our community. Although societal acceptance has increased, there is still no shortage of barriers queer and trans Edmontonians must overcome. As LGBTQ2S+ individuals, we continue to face higher rates of homelessness, mental illness, and violence. Most of these obstacles additionally increase for community members whose identities exist

at the intersections of other forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, or transphobia.

One only needs to look at the disproportionate rates of sexual and physical violence against trans women of colour to understand the severity of these problems.

Beyond addressing these issues, any attempt to create queer spaces and events in Edmonton seems likely to fail unless they are fully inclusive of all members of our community. Ultimately, the problems of our most marginalized members must be treated as collective issues facing our community.

For Lewis, a renewed focus on activism is key to addressing issues of inclusivity. “The best way to know that any queer organization is inclusive of trans folks, is that it is actually trying to do activism for the trans community,” Lewis says. Additionally, Lewis affirms that advocacy cannot be one-dimensional and should partner with other community organizations. “Even though we’re queer organizations, we can’t only care about strictly queer issues. It needs to be a more intersectional form of advocacy.”

Although spaces are predominantly white and cis-gendered within Edmonton’s LGBTQ2S+ community, Lewis recognizes certain spaces trying to improve. “Within those spaces that we do have, like the Pride Centre [of Edmonton], like Evolution, you have events and organizations that try to be intentionally inclusive.”

The legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic will, doubtlessly, be one of loss: losing gathering spaces, losing livelihoods, and losing loved ones. A vital takeaway from this will be the importance of building a community resilient to the challenges we face. In a time where many of us find ourselves alone and isolated, we need to create new spaces for us to come together in a post-lockdown world.

Although the road ahead seems uncertain, it is simultaneously filled with numerous possibilities for community-building. We cannot return to the past — but for the LGBTQ2S+ Edmontonians, we can build a brighter future. g

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THE STUDIO

TE XT SNIGDHA WIDG

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Photos supplied by Christien Ford

“I can’t breathe.”

Said a fellow Black man.

The man who endeavours ceaselessly The man whose dynamics are peerless As Michelle Obama says, “All you can do is the work.”

So a Black man labours sprightly to satiate his family And with a Black man, comes a beautiful Black woman Who is fearless and stronger than she appears She embraces her family with pride Toiling, enjoying and grieving, With Black skin they achieve the unachievable They fight iniquity with solidity And etch their names in history.

Who doesn’t know Richard Allen, Arthur Ashe or Viola Davis?

A Black man is an epitome of triumph They have upskilled ingenuity, forbearance, tolerance and aplomb And we are yet to learn.

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TEXT EMILY WILLIAMS VISUALS SOFIA CAPETTINI Pulling an all nighter to finish an assignment is one thing, but attending lectures at 2AM for an entire semester is something else entirely. While this last semester wasn’t easy for anyone, international students have faced many unique challenges. Chanpreet Singh is the President of the International Students Association, and like other international students he has not had it easy these last few months. Chanpreet is a third-year computer engineering co-op student at the University of Alberta and has spent the past year bringing the ISA back to life.

Chanpreet was born in India, but grew up in Dubai where he began his career in student government at his high school. At UAlberta, Chanpreet noticed there was no association on campus for Middle Eastern students and that there were many gaps for international students that needed to be filled. “We have a lot of associations like Indian, Chinese and so many other associations,” he said. “But we don't have something especially for international students.”

Chanpreet then turned to the all-knowing platform Reddit to find people interested in creating an international student group.

It was here he discovered that an ISA already existed; it had just died off a couple years earlier.

The ISA began on campus in 2013 after a protest regarding tuition increases for international students. By 2018, however, the ISA had slowly disappeared without anyone to replace graduated executives. As a potential alternative, a Cultural Committee made up of regional student groups was created.

“Within one year, the Cultural Committee failed because most of the regional student groups, they were not into advocacy,” Chanpreet explained. “We ended up with no Cultural Committee and no ISA.” “We restarted ISA just with four people,” Chanpreet said. What the ISA has achieved in the past year has been huge, and it’s hard to imagine what things would look like for international students right now without it. “People see it as really, really something that’s important on this campus.

It's almost everywhere.”

His own role as president in the ISA is focused primarily on advocacy and running the central unit, the Board. “As a new organization we are learning a lot,” he said.

“Doing it online was really, really challenging. Especially when we speak about international students.” “We have our VPs waking up early morning, at four o'clock to attend our board meetings.” “But I mean, people are really dedicated.”

In early November, the ISA finally became a Student Representative Association (SRA) after many months of discussion with the Students’ Council. This change gives the ISA more decision-making power for its members; it is no longer required to go through the Students Union. Many strong changes were made during the process including the creation of a Committee on Refugee Students’ Affairs (CRSA), changes to the ISA governance structure and new election processes.

However, the process was slow and painful. “Nobody knew it would become such a big issue. And the way it molded the international community was really, really devastating, to be honest — even now,” Chanpreet explained. During this time, many international students felt that they needed a strong ISA more than ever and became frustrated.

“The issue that international students had was, ‘Why are domestic students interfering in international student issues?’”

The ISA has been a strong advocate for international students studying outside of Canada this semester. One of the biggest issues they have been focused on is making recorded lectures mandatory. The U of A administration claims that due to privacy concerns and academic freedom this cannot be done. “There were some assurances that we can work something out in this way or that way. There were a couple of email chains, here and there, but nothing was coming out, to be honest,” Chanpreet recalled. “The soft side of internal governance, we tried it out.

The only way was to go public. And that’s where the whole open letter and everything came out.”

The ISA wrote an open letter to the university asking for all lectures to be recorded, remote proctoring services to be banned and in person participation grades to be banned.

“After the whole thing went public, I did get a lot of responses from international students — there was a lot of engagement,” Chanpreet explained. “Suddenly it became a conversation topic and people were like,

‘Oh, why? The lectures are not even being recorded, that is the minimum thing that anybody could do.’ And it did give us a good deal of pressure on the university administration to work on it.”

Chanpreet alluded to some changes for recorded lectures being made. “We do have some good news coming up. We have landed a temporary arrangement for this whole thing, but we are still looking for a permanent solution.” He was sympathetic, and hopeful, that a temporary solution will be worked out quickly. “I hope we release it soon, early next year, before the semester starts,” he said.

In the short time it has been brought back to life, the ISA has accomplished a great deal for students — especially during COVID. When international students were being kicked out of residence last May, it was a key moment for the organization. “The resident issue was the first time when ISA actually went active in terms of its advocacy role and that was when we found that this is that right space for ISA,” he explained.

Chanpreet and the ISA also fought for international students to receive access to an affordable U-Pass alternative along with domestic students going into the fall term. “International students always had issues but definitely this year, the issues barged into another level.”

For international students, this time has been especially challenging, and ISA has been a shining light. “We pushed for SRA in a really short timeline because we knew that this is the year when students need us the most. The SU was like ‘Oh after three years we can make you an SRA,’ but after three years there won't be a COVID, there won't be online learning, there won't be frozen food being served in residence. These things won’t be there. Students need ISA as an SRA now and that's why we were standing for it.”

The ISA has grown a lot this past year and has really discovered it’s role and importance on campus. “It’s the advocacy; that's where ISA truly belongs. That's why it was made and that is what we will be doing.” Chanpreet and the ISA had perfect timing bringing this organization back onto campus and its safe to say that international students need strong advocates now more than ever. g

JANUARY 2021 33

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DIVERSIONS

HOROSCOPE TEXT MITCHELL PAWLUK VISUALS SOFIA CAPETTINI

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

As a new semester begins, so does a new stage in your life. It’s time for your natural leadership to shine — unmute yourself, turn your camera on, and put yourself forward in online class discussions. You will be rewarded for your unparalleled bravery!

This month, you encounter a challenge that appears insurmountable. Don’t let your stubbornness stand in your way. Let it be your strength and fight for the respect you deserve. We all love a strong queen.

As we begin a new year, you will find a new you. Leave the dumpster fire that was 2020 behind and engage with every opportunity that presents itself to you. Your engagement will pay off in spades.

Entering our tenth month in quarantine, social isolation has beaten you down. Take this month as a break and pamper yourself.

Without the in-person support of others, now is the moment for you to connect with yourself.

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DIVERSIONS

LEO

VIRGO

Remember — you cannot do In 2020, the lack of routine you everything alone. Instead of experienced was bewildering and turning to White Claws and unbecoming for yourself. In the first despair, turn to the ones you few weeks of classes, use this time love for support. In your weakest to organize yourself. Get a daytime moments, family and friends planner,extra notebooks, and a will be your strength. fresh set of pens. The perfect GPA will follow!

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

Despite tempting opportunities to break quarantine, you must resist and stay safe! Online school presents unique challenges, but, with them, comes special opportunities.

Stay focused, as exciting and socially-distanced moments will present themselves to you. The safer you are now, the more adventures you can have in the future!

2020 brought with it many unexpected challenges. However, we are in a new year, one in which your determination will pay off. Resist the urge to skip all your asynchronous classes and sleep in. Instead, motivate yourself by looking towards the unstoppable and bright future you aspired towards.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Stop being so critical of yourself.

Take a second to breath. Don’t set arbitrary goals for 2021, such as meaningless New Year’s resolutions. Follow where the world leads you — new passions and situations await you.

While the endless barrage of Zoom meetings and awkward online conversations can be discouraging, don’t let it stop your inner spark.

With hard work and dedication, 2021 will be your year. Use this month to set an example and raise the bar for us all.

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Last semester brought unique acaStarting your new courses, you demic challenges for us all. Winter will be divided between your 2021 promises to be a better term, lofty ambitions and the isolated one in which you accomplish mean- reality you find yourself in. Don’t ingful, and lasting, change on your be discouraged, as your path academic practices. Stop staying is only just beginning. Make up until 4 a.m. binging The Queen’s decisions based on your feelings Gambit. Invest in your intellectual in the moment — this semester, well being and soon, you’ll have all your authentic feelings will lead your haters in checkmate. you to the truth. g

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DIVERSIONS

TEXT & PUZZLE CHRISTIAN SANCHEZ ORTIZ ACROSS 1. Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

7. Something that is your job or duty to deal with.

11. The basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work.

12. The condition of the body and the degree to which it is free from illness, or the state of being well.

13. Put something that is damaged, broken, or not working correctly, back into good condition or make it work again.

15. People all living within a particular area.

16. To build something that has been destroyed.

17. Great physical, moral or intellectual power.

Find answers on our website, gtwy.ca

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DOWN 2. A community in which its inhabitants seek to live in a way that has minimal impact to the environment.

3. Difficult or unlucky situation, like when you didn’t study for a final.

4. Capable of being modified or adjusted.

5. The ability to cause little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time.

6. Systems for growing crops, plants, etc. that cause little damage to the environment and can therefore continue for a long time.

8. Ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

9. To treat someone or something as if they are an outsider.

10. A group of people who work together in an organized way for a shared purpose.

14. Those who conform a community.

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2

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10 11

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JANUARY 2021 37