The Argosy March 14th, 2013

ARGOSY

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THE March 14, 2013

Comfotable in our own skin since 1872

SAC votes for change

Vol. 142 Iss. 18

Less councillors for South side and off-campus constituents Richard Kent

Political Beat Writer The Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU) Students’ Administrative Council (SAC) just got smaller.

In a tense vote on March 6, the SAC pursued sweeping changes to its form, reducing its size by four voting members, and opting to elect most of its members in March, rather than September. The reforms followed the final recommendations submitted to Council by the Ad-Hoc Committee on Summer Executive Accountability from Committee Chair Michael Watkins. However, several councillors objected to the changes, and the restructuring passed narrowly, with seventeen votes in favour and seven against.

The SAC eliminated residencespecific council positions, opting instead to have three councillors elected to represent the ‘North side’ and three to represent the ‘South side’, with the number of off-campus councillors reduced to six to ensure equality. Council also voted to elect councillors representing geographic constituencies during spring elections.

Two seats for first-year representatives, to be elected in fall, were also added.

Following the hour-and-ahalf long debate, Council voted by ballot, so that each councillor’s name would be recorded in the minutes along with their vote.

The main points of contention were whether the Committee’s proposals would negatively affect residence representation, and whether the proposals would, in fact, ensure that Council would retain oversight of the executive during the summer months. Watkins maintained that the changes in the election schedule, meeting quorum, and Council size would make oversight possible.

“The biggest and most tangible benefit that relates most directly

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Actors in The Full Monty played the roles of factory workers turned strippers in the hilarious and provocative comedy. (Lea Foy/Argosy)

Black Tie show bares it all Mt. A students flaunt it in The Full Monty Brandon Williams

Arts & Literature Contributor All was bared for Black Tie Productions’s presentation of The Full Monty, and it was memorable, to say the least. A critically-acclaimed movie-turned-musical written by Terrance McNally, The Full Monty tells the story of six unemployed steelworkers from Buffalo with low self worth, no future prospects, questions of gender roles, and pressure from their loved ones. The men decide that things have got to change.

The opening scene portrays a group of men receiving their last pay before

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they are laid off, and it is in this scene that we hear the opening to a great night of music, with the song that poses the question, “What is a man?”

Among that group of men was Jerry Lukowski, played by Ben Winn, whose character is currently divorced and facing outstanding child support payments for his son, played by Max Beaver. Dave Bukatinsky, played by Colin Frotten, is a character who faces body image issues and recent unemployment, which are hurting his marriage. It is then that Jerry and Dave notice an ad of a touring Chippendale group and notice the loving reception the group receives, something Jerry and Dave so desperately want. Jerry, then, commits to creating his own Chippendale group to save his relationship with his son, only, instead of the traditional getup, he plans to go the “full monty”—bare everything!

From there, they recruit fellow unemployed steelworker Malcolm

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Macgregor, played by Nick Vince, who they find trying to take his own life, until they befriend him and sing one of the stand-out tunes of the night, titled “Big-Ass Rock.” The tune’s witty lyrics tell of the different ways you could assist in a friend’s death other than having them commit suicide.

It had the whole crowd breaking out in laughter. They then recruit fellow unemployed steelworker Harold Nichols, played by Tom Hearn, who needs the quick cash to keep up with his wife’s expensive lifestyle.

Tryouts are then held to find the final pieces of the group, coined “Hot Metal,” where they find Ethan Girard, played by Zack Kennedy, who has “the goods” to be in the group, and Noah “Horse” T. Simmons, played

by Winton Brangman who, although unemployed and in his fifties, impresses the group with his charisma and audacity in the song “Big Black Man.” By facing problems of fears and

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anxieties, the production showed that “sexy [does] take practice.” The men are then ready for the final number, which culminates in the group raunchily going the “full monty”.

The last number was one of the many highlights of the show, with the stage lighting and fluid dance number created by Emma Fowler-Ross coming together perfectly. Brangman, a fourth year student, said “The Full Monty has been the best show I’ve been a part of here in my time at Mt. A. There were a number of nervous days. However, come opening night, there was an energy and feeling that took over, and I feel this resilient cast pulled together for an amazing show.” Portraying the characters in The Full Monty required a large amount of courage and professionalism, and the whole cast, with help from director Karen Valenne, did a great job in bringing their characters to life. Altogether, it made for a hilarious, enjoyable experience.

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March 14, 2013

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Mt. A’s Global Brigades travel to Honduras

Thursday March 14, 2013 volume 142 issue 18 Published since 1875

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Carly Levy

NEWS EDITOR Emily James

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Ninety-four Mount Allison students travelled to Honduras with Global Brigades for reading week. (Jessica Sharp/Submitted)

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Students strive to provide better lives for others

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Caroline Duda, Kevin levangie, Alex Thomas, Rev. John Perkin, Melanie Wagner, Martin Omes, Allison o’Reilly, Marryl Black, Patric Losier, Ciera DeSilva, Alex Francheville,

CIRCULATIONS Kent Blenkhorn Patrick Allaby, Taylor Losier, Steph Pringle, Alex Bates, Amber Tucker, Erica Cronkite, Melissa Meade, Cameron McIntyre, Jennifer Singh, Emily Hogan

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News Writer

Most people dream of going somewhere warm and sunny during reading week, but developing countries do not usually come up on their list.

Students in Mount Allison’s Global Brigades had no such reservations. A group of over ninety-four students travelled to Honduras over reading week to work with rural communities in Honduras. The goal of the brigades is to improve living conditions and community life in rural areas of the South American country.

Leaving Thursday night, Global Brigades caught connecting flights to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. From there they drove to their compounds in small, rural villages where they spent the rest of the week.

The students in the Mt. A chapter of Global Brigades are organized into five brigades: medical/dental, public health, water, micro-finance, and architecture.

Each attempts to address different problems within the villages they visit.

Mt. A Global Brigades is funded by a program fee paid upfront by each student.

Although the fee varies, it is usually in the neighbourhood of 2000 dollars which is primarily for flights. The remaining money accounts for travel and accommodations in Honduras, with a final 100 dollars going towards a community investment fund.

Paras Satija, a fourth-year chemistry student and this year’s President of Global Brigades Mt. A, outlined the steps that the program takes in each village.

First, the medical and dental groups go into villages and set up clinics to treat townspeople.

They see around 250 to 300 people a day. The brigade program takes doctors to perform the actual diagnoses and treatment, but students run the entire clinic, organizing papers, taking basic readings such as blood pressure and glucose levels, and filling prescriptions.

Many of the medical problems they see are gastrointestinal issues caused by parasites that villagers have picked up by drinking unclean water. To prevent further infection from the water, the brigade installs a clean water system with the help of technicians. Students digs trenches, lay piping, and set up a clean water source.

The public health brigade builds water storage units and hygiene stations, called ‘pillas’, in each house. This eliminates back problems that come from bending over to wash clothes in rivers, as they can now be washed on each pilla at eye level. The brigade also installs cement floors and eco stoves, which can burn wood more efficiently and prevent cases of asthma by directing the exhaust smoke out of the building. “Most people don’t know the conditions these people are living in,” said Satija. “These people are coffee farmers who make most of their income during the two-week harvest. They live in houses with dirt floors and tin rooves, usually with two bedrooms and a kitchen. They usually house five to fifteen people, and there’s no latrine.”

These public health improvements also require households to contribute around ten

percent of construction costs, which they can meet by taking out a micro loan from the town bank. They also have to dig a threemeter latrine hole, which is good for ten years.

The micro-finance brigade works to make these types of micro-loans possible. They set up or improve the community bank, which can offer these loans to households and small businesses.

Global Brigades also seeks to improve future prospects for these communities. “Most villages have no education past grade eight,” Satija explained. “Architecture brigades work to build high schools, which are then staffed by teachers provided by the government. It’s only a matter of having a building,” he said.

Tessa Morris, a second-year International Relations student and a member of the microfinance brigade, was excited about her second trip with Global Brigades, this year. “It’s been so amazing to watch the change in the community of El Cantín from year to year. Since we’d left, the community bank had funded a bakery, which is now a fully functioning business. Even better, it was done by thirteen new female shareholders in the local bank.”

During her time in the village, Morris also helped lead workshops at each of the two schools and talked with the bank about future projects, the biggest of which was the construction of an actual building to house the bank, which currently meets in the community church. The building will double as a community centre and house a library.

“Brigades takes a holistic approach,” said Satija. “After we leave, each community has the tools and the training to continue to better their lives.”

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SAC cuts councillors in close vote Continued from Cover to the mandate of the Committee is that the Council will be elected in the spring, which means that throughout the summer months, the executive will be held to account by elected officials, so no decisions will be made that don’t have at least some level of student consultation,” he said in an interview.

Watkins was also hopeful that electing students who had already experienced a year of university would

improve the quality of Council. “We’re hoping to have a more experienced Council that has more knowledge of university practices and what goes on here, while still maintaining that first-year perspective,” Watkins said.

Throughout the proceedings, several councillors admonished the committee for “overstepping its mandate.”

MASU Vice-President, Academic Affairs, Kylie de Chastelain, who was not present for the vote, sharply criticized the reforms via Twitter. “I really think the ad-hoc committee stepped outside its mandate in proposing the

changes to Council. It’s not what we asked them to do. And furthermore, if it was something we were going to look at, as a Council, it should have gone through [the] Operations [Committee], and it should have gone through our Policy, Research and Archiving Officer, Evelyn Wainwright, because it has to do with electoral representation,” de Chastelain said.

The changes to Council structure and election schedule took effect last Thursday, March 7. MASU’s spring elections will see races to fill thirteen positions on Council.

Coffee House for awareness

Caroline Whidden

Katrina Zidichouski

Venezuela sets election date Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez passed away last Tuesday at the age of fifty-eight. Chavez suffered a heart attack after a two-year battle with cancer. Venezuela honoured the president with a seven-day period of mourning, and a funeral on Friday. The government has announced that his body is to be embalmed and put on eternal display. President Nicolas Maduro, who is expected to become the candidate of Chávez’s socialist party, has been sworn in as acting leader. An election date for a successor has been set for April 14. The opposition has pointed out that this date falls outside of the constitutional mandate that an election be held within thirty days of Chávez’s March 5 death. Many have voiced mounting concerns about the deep political polarization gripping Venezuela.

North Korea – US Tensions rise Alfredo Barahona and Luke Trainor perform at the recent coffee house. (Kory d’Entremont/The Argosy)

‘We Stand Together’ coffee house full of music Emily James News Editor

As part of Free The Children’s two-week-long campaign, which concerns Aboriginal rights and issues across Canada, Mount Allison’s Free The Children group hosted a coffeehouse last Thursday in the chapel entitled We Stand Together.

Addressing the rationale behind the campaign, the group’s president, Joanna Perkin explained, “It is primarily to raise awareness to get [people] talking about Aboriginal history in Canada, Aboriginal downfalls and successes, and primarily Aboriginal issues in present-day Canada, such as high levels of alcoholism, high levels of incarceration, and lack of governmental support.”

Perkin said the goal of the coffeehouse was to show the importance of Aboriginal rights through music and foster discussion facilitated by guest speakers at the event. As part of the coffee house, Mt. A’s geography and environment professor, Dr. Bradley Walters, and the coordinator of the Migrant and Indigenous Rights Program for Kairos, Alfredo Barahona, spoke at the coffee house.

Walters gave a similar speech to the one he delivered at the Idle No More event that occurred this past month in Sackville. In February a group blocked the highway to protest for Aboriginal rights, this was especially

poignant after the disappearance of Aboriginal Mt. A student Chris Metallic. Walters spoke about the environmental impact of taking Aboriginal lands and not abiding by historical treaties. Walters began by stating, “first, I would like to thank our First Nations brothers and sisters for having the courage and showing the leadership to stand their ground in protection of their rights and of the environment.” Walters said this is not an Aboriginal issue, but an issue that all Canadians should care about and be willing to stand-up for. Throughout his speech, Walters put the focus on Stephen Harper and the Canadian government.

“The Harper government’s assault on our environmental laws and institutions is unprecedented. What has taken this country four decades to build in the form of robust laws, policies, and capacities, is being torn-down under the stealth cover of two reckless budget bills. Stephen Harper is dragging our country backward to advance the agendas of a narrow sector of corporate, industrial interests,” he said.

Walters asserted that Canada needs straightened environmental policies and laws. “What we are getting from our government, instead, is the gutting of our most important federal environmental laws: the federal Fisheries Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, and the Navigable Waters Protection Act,” said Walters. “We can thank Idle No More for reminding all Canadians that we do not have to sit idly by and tolerate this.”

Barahona spoke a few words on how First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in Canada continue to face serious inequities which are borne by the most vulnerable people in our society. He continued along the same line as Walters, but focused

more on treaty rights in Canada and the Canadian government’s apology to former students of residential schools. Barahona performed two music pieces, improvising with Mt. A student Luke Trainor.

Kairos is a nondenominational church organization across Canada.

The main campaign they have spearheaded is Truth, Reconciliation, and Equity. Across Canada there has been a demand for truth and reconciliation for Aboriginals and Kairos has stated, “we need the truth about what happened to Aboriginal culture traditions and we need reconciliation.”

In 2008, the Canadian government apologized to former students of residential schools for the abuses that they endured under the Canadian government and from which generations continue to suffer.

First Nations schools on reserves receive at least 2,000 dollars less per student than non- Indigenous schools. Only forty-one per cent of students graduate and First Nations children are six to eight times more likely than others to be placed in foster care, due in part to insufficient child welfare funding on reserves.

“These inequities contribute to terrifying suicide rates for young Indigenous people in Canada,” states Kairos’s website. “The reality is that inequity can mean the difference between life and death.”

“We [Free the Children at Mt. A] are slowly starting up, and it hasn’t been easy,” Perkin said and continued, “but we have been getting a lot of awareness this year and awareness is our goal this year.

Perkin says that she looks forward to next year when the group will be taking on more initiatives.

Free the Children Mt. A are also planning to go to 2014 We Day, which will be held in Halifax next year.

Tensions have escalated with North Korea over the passage of new UN sanctions. The Security Council approved a new round of sanctions drafted by the United States in response to North Korea’s third nuclear test last month.

Last Thursday, the North Korean regime said it would cancel its non-agression pacts with South Korea and cut off a hotline between the two countries. It also threatened to launch preemptive attacks on the United States.

Kenyatta wins Kenyan presidency Uhuru Kenyatta won the Kenyan presidential election by 8,000 votes, carrying past the fifty per cent threshold needed to avoid a second round.

Kenyatta faces charges of crimes against humanity issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague after 1,200 deaths during the 2007 elections. Raila Odinga, the prime minister, came second with 43.3 per cent. Claiming that there was rampant illegality in the electoral process, Odinga said he would challenge the results in court.

Syrian rebels free peacekeepers A rebel group in southern Syria released twenty-one UN peacekeepers after holding them hostage for four days. The Filipino peacekeepers were abducted on March 6 by one of the rebel groups operating in southern Syria near the Jordanian border and the Golan Heights, where UN forces have patrolled a cease-fire line between Israel and Syria for nearly four decades. This marked the first time in nearly two years of violence in Syria that UN personnel have been threatened.

Greeks protest planned Canadian mine More than 10,000 people protested in the streets of Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, last Saturday, against the environmental consequences of a planned gold mine. Eldorado Gold Corperation, based in Vancouver, has been granted rights to the gold mine in Halkidiki peninsula, east of Thessaloniki. The company has already established a camp employing 1,200 people and plans to begin operation soon. The issue has bitterly divided Halkidiki residents, with some claiming that the mine will harm tourism and release toxic substances, and others claiming that new jobs are crucial now more than ever during Greece’s severe economic crisis.

Shark conservation Delegates at a conservation meeting in Thailand are expected to vote to extend protection to three vulnerable species of sharks. These particular species are some of the most endangered, and are highly valued for their fins in Chinese cuisine. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed by commercial fishing every year. The amendments would not ban the fishing of these species, but would regulate the process by requiring permits from importers and exporters. However, voters claim that China and Japan are using their trade connections to pressure nations in Africa and the Middle East that do not have any great interest in the shark trade. Voters believe that a successful shark vote could set a precedent for regulation of other fish species.

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Habitat for Humanity headed south this Feb. Students helped build home in Alabama Robert Murray Sports Editor While most students at Mount Allison headed home for reading break at the end of February, Mount Allison’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity packed themselves into a bus and traveled to Mobile, Alabama—a twenty-nine hour drive.

The week-long excursion, which saw Mt. A students donate their time and energy, helped to speed up the construction of a house that will be a new home for a family of eight from South Africa.

Bryce Works, a former executive member of Mt. A Habitat for Humanity commented, “This was the first time that I got to actually work with the person that was going to own the house, so that was really cool to me.”

The group, led by Mt. A’s Habitat for Humanity President, Laura Boyd, and other executive members, worked for four days at the site.

When they arrived, the majority of

Mt. A’s Habitat for Humanity travelled to Alabama during reading week. (Pat Losier/Submitted) the framework for the house had been completed. The group was able to take care of the majority of the siding and completely finish the roof.

“It’s always interesting to get involved in Habitat [for Humanity] because you never know who you’re going to help,” noted Habitat’s Vice President of Fundraising, Curran Tompkins.

The tasks were a change of pace from what the group

experienced last year. “We did the ground up in third year and this year we did siding and roofing,” said one member, Julia Kontak.

The group did not spend their whole time at the housing site.

The first full day in Mobile, rain prevented the group from working on-site. Instead, they spent the day working at a ReStore, which Boyd called “a thrift store for your home.” The store sells donated

Model UN simulates crisis Experiential learning exposes students to situation in Syria John Trafford Opinion Editor This past Saturday, Mount Allison’s own Model United Nations team organized a simulation of negotiations surrounding the ongoing Syrian Civil War and the international issues stemming from it. The event was open to the entire student body and was aimed at generating discussion around the ongoing crisis in Syria. Taking the form of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Saturday’s event attempted to create a realistic portrayal of the negotiations currently taking place on the international stage. To date, it is estimated that the Syrian Civil War has claimed the lives of over 70,000 Syrians and it was evident – though these were not real negotiations – that this disturbing fact was on the minds of the delegates.

When asked about her thoughts on the mock negotiations, Sarah McNeil, who represented Malaysia, said that she had never actually participated in a model United Nations event before, but also said that with regards to the crisis in Syria, “I’m here to learn more.” After some debate the delegates concluded that the refugee crisis resulting from the Syrian Civil War was the most pressing issue and would be the first topic discussed and debated.

Throughout the discussions that followed, the Syrian delegate repeatedly affirmed that the Civil War in his country was an internal affair and that this also applied to the situation created by the thousands of refugees fleeing the violence. This view was strongly contested by representatives from states such as Qatar and many others. The representative from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) even went as far to say that, “I would argue… that there can be no effective solution to the refuge crisis without an end to the Assad regime.” Other states such as Iran, however,

saw regime change as totally unnecessary and unrelated to the refugee crisis currently plaguing the Middle East. The Syrian representative didn’t miss an opportunity to criticize what he saw as attempts to pry into the affairs of his country and charged the OIC member states of having “conveniently forgotten” the Palestinian refugees.

Just as a draft resolution was being debated upon, Mt. A political science professor Dr. James Devine entered the room with a crisis situation report that had the effect of derailing discussion among the delegates and providing a realistic portrayal of how actual internal organizations respond to developing crises.

Lebanon had slid back into violence and various local actors, including Israel and Syria, found themselves militarily involved in Lebanon.

Toward the end of the simulation, two resolutions dealing with the developing crisis in Lebanon and the refugee crisis began to take shape. The resolution regarding the refugee situation was almost unanimously adopted and called for. Among other things, the resolution mapped out several possible solutions; a cooperative fund to aid refugees, the removal of Syrian landmines that pose a dangerous hazard to those affected by the conflict in Syria and the creation of a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria in order to ease tensions between the two countries. The delegates addressed the developing violence in Lebanon by calling for Iran to immediately cease any support for terrorism in Lebanon, for the creation of a fund to improve infrastructure at refugee camps, and for general support for those feeling the violence in Lebanon.

The simulation was radically changed by the introduction of the outbreak of violence in Lebanon, but in the end, the delegates were able to agree on several resolutions. Rob Borroughs, who represented Turkey, commented that, “this simulation shows just how complex the Syrian crisis is.” Palestinian student Osama Alnammary said that the simulation was “actually quite a bit of fun, academic and fun at the same time.” This simulation provided a forum for students to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria in a dynamic and experiential way. The delegates took full advantage this past Saturday.

household items at reduced prices and generates revenue for projects carried out by Habitat for Humanity.

“In my opinion, everything’s fun when you’re down there,” said Tompkins.

There were plenty of jobs available to all students who took part in the trip. Some were more inclined to work with constructing the roof or the siding. Other students got a chance to help paint a house at another site.

Despite the short time frame, the group will be able to see the fruits of their labour in the long term. Boyd and Kontak mentioned that just like many of the previous projects Mt. A’s Habitat group has undertaken, they will remain in contact with the homeowner and be able to see the home when it is completed.

While the group accomplished a lot during the week, several aspects regarding the construction of the house, such as electrical and plumbing, will be contracted out.

The house will not be livable for a few more months until the final pieces of construction are taken care of, but Kontak is optimistic about the situation for the future homeowners. “You know that farther in life that they’ll be okay,” she said.

Regardless of construction ability, Boyd and Kontak recommended the experience. They noted that they were not the handy type of people when they joined, but they have learned a lot about construction and a lot about themselves.

The trip to Alabama has added to the tour of the Southern United States taken by Mt. A’s Habitat group.

Two years ago, the group traveled to Laredo, Texas, and last year, they traveled to Pensacola, Florida.

Small residences set to close Anchorage, Carriage to close due to lack of demand for small residence experience Richard Kent Political Beat Writer Mount Allison University will lock the doors of the Small Residence Community at the end of this academic year, citing a lack of demand for oncampus accommodation as the rationale behind the decision. Several residents are concerned that the cost-saving measure will destroy an integral part of the social fabric at Mt. A and remove a valuable residence choice for those who feel less at home in larger residence settings.

Mt. A Vice-President Administration David Stewart said that the residences, which can house thirty-two students between them, were not financially sustainable while larger residences were operating with rooms available. “It’s a matter of a decreasing percentage of residence students returning to residences the following year,” Stewart said.

“Next year, we’re not going to require the other beds that are in the satellite houses, being the Anchorage and Carriage Houses, so, in accordance with our institutional practices, in order to keep our expenses to the lowest level possible, we made the decision to shut those buildings down,” he said.

Stewart said that only five students from both houses had demonstrated an interest in returning to the Small Residence Community, and that Mt. A was working with those students to find other accommodations for them in other residences. “If we are going to close a building, and there are people in that building, we try to arrange for alternate accommodations for them before the general room draw, so that they get the same benefits that any other current residence student has in terms of selecting a room.”

Anchorage and Carriage residents were

united in their disappointment that the Small Residence Community would not operate next year, but the news did not come as a surprise.

“Everyone kind of knew what was happening.

It was really disheartening to get that official seal of ‘That’s it, closed,’” first-year Carriage resident Chris Zinck said, in a statement echoed by many.

“I was shocked at first. Not that I didn’t see it coming, I just really hoped it wasn’t going to happen. I was pissed off, frankly,” said Anchorage resident Leena Godsoe.

Residents were also united in their assessment of the unique value that the Small Residence Community holds for the Mt. A community and for other stakeholders as well. Both residences provide an intimate and tight-knit environment for students, while Carriage also provides housing for animals in partnership with the Moncton SPCA. “These animals provide love and compassion for any student who wants to come here and walk them. It really makes a home away from home for anyone who came from a house with pets, and it creates a great bond between our university and the Moncton SPCA, which is a very important local operation that we should be supporting,” Zinck said.

First-year Carriage resident Kimberley Paletova felt the same way. “It’s just nice to not be in a massive residence, to be in a tight-knit community where you know everyone, so it’s a shame that it’s being taken away,” she said.

Godsoe concurred. “The satellites are the only place I think I would have been happy these past few years,” she said.

Residents were frustrated by what they saw as poor communication from Mt. A. Each of the residents The Argosy interviewed knew that their own house was scheduled to close, but all were surprised by the news that the Small Residence Community as a whole would no longer operate.

While the Small Residence Community will be closed next year, Stewart said that it would likely reopen in the future. He said that the residences would remain on hand if Mt. A needed to perform renovations on one of the larger residences, or if a larger number of students wished to return to residence.

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Violence from the state, sex, and resistance International Women’s Week Mt. A hosts guest speaker Jessica Danforth Gavin Rea News Writer

Crabtree auditorium buzzed last Wednesday as students piled into the crowded room for guest speaker Jessica Danforth as part as International Women’s Week at Mount Allison. Some students were there at the behest of their professors, some out of academic or personal interest, and some because they simply wanted to make a difference.

Danforth took the stage. Instead of plunging right into the lecture, she asked the audience to consider what they would actually do after the talk. One student in the front cut to the chase, “As a white male settler I feel guilty for many of the problems First Nations face, and I want to learn what I can do to deal with that.”

“All we get to hear about are the sob stories,” said Danforth as she began her speech, “but for every one of these there’s fifty

about resistance, but it’s just not a sexy story.” goals are really a matter of priorities. “You might Throughout her talk, Danforth quoted think we should focus on an issue like HIV, but from First Nations activists and scholars. that’s impossible when some people don’t have She also praised her role model and mentor clean drinking water—not in some third-world Katsi Cook, an Akwasare Mohawk midwife. country. Here! In Canada!” Danforth said.

“Without taking control of our lives, starting “Marginalization happens on purpose,” said with our own bodies, we Danforth, “That’s would simply be wards one of the most of the state,” Danforth uncomfortable said, quoting Cook. It All we get to hear about are the discussions of all.” was these words around sob stories, but for every one of She stressed the which Danforth built these there’s fifty about resistance, difference between her speech. “There’s m a r g i n a l i z at ion but it’s just not a sexy story. an old First nations and exploitation. saying: ‘Woman is the She explained that Jessica Danforth m a r g i n a l i z at ion first environment’,” said Danforth.

“If Keynote Speaker states the existence we want to change of margins, the world, we have to but forgets the start with ourselves.” how or why.

Danforth started the Native Youth Sexual She commented that we often forget that Health Network when she was sixteen, in her margins are not pre-existent. Danforth basement. “It was definitely grassroots,” laughed says, we cannot just ignore the past Danforth. “We’re a youth organization run by because it makes us uncomfortable. and for youth.” The communities kept asking According to Danforth, First Nations the organization to do workshops, and it grew were extremely forward-thinking in terms into something more formal that could support of gender. She explained that Aboriginals communities. But unlike similar organizations, recognized people who did not fit into male said Danforth, “We don’t only exist to control or female categories as being two-spirited. disease. We believe everyone needs access to “We talk about when gay marriage became their gender and sexuality.” The organization’s legal,” said Danforth, “but when did it

5

become illegal? That law didn’t just fall out of the sky.” Settlers made the laws from the strict traditions they brought from overseas.

The most oppressive law against Aboriginals to date was the Indian Act, explained Danforth, which did not even include women as Indians.

Other threats to the First Nations included residential schools (which declared Indian women unfit for child rearing) and the sterilization and removal of children from their families. “Today,” said Danforth, “this has essentially been replaced by the child welfare system. Over forty per cent of kids in state schools are Aboriginal.”

In the end, said Danforth, we need to support people rather than save them. “There’s no such thing as a risk factor: it’s racism, colonialization, and a lack of resources that make our life unsafe.”

Danforth’s talk was one of the crowing events of International Women’s Week at Mt. A. Commerce professor Dr. Gina Grandy’s speech Managing the stigma of ‘dirty work’ surfaced some of the complexities surrounding exotic dancing as sex work and how a group of dancers manage the stigma they confront in their professional and everyday lives.

Additionally, put on by Marilyn Walker and friends, Night of Women (and Men) and Music celebrated women through music. All of the events throughout the week focused on the recognition and celebration of women.

Climate change worrisome for Tantramar region First Climate Change Week held in Sackville Emily James News Editor

This past November marked the completion of the Regional Adaptation Collaborative project in the Tantramar region, which found the area vulnerable to climate change and the effects it will bring, particularly with respect to flooding.

To bring the issue to the public’s notice, the Mount Allison class, Community Adaptation to Climate Change, developed a Climate Change Week, running March 11 to March 15 to raise awareness about climate change and sustainability in the Tantramar region. One student from the course, Melanie Wagar, said, “the whole purpose of this week is awareness… and a lot of people don’t know that we are at risk of flooding - not even in the future but today.” The objective is to turn knowledge about the region’s vulnerability to climate change into action.

The main focus of the week is the future of Sackville and the Tantramar region. The Tantramar area is a rich cultural and ecological feature of the region. A system of historic dykes protects farmland and properties in the area, including Sackville. According to the Regional Adaptation Collaborative report, the earliest of the dykes were developed

and more powerful storm surges is

by Acadian colonists between expected to substantially increase 1671 and their expulsion from the extent of coastal floodplains the region in 1755. Sackville, the throughout the province. The largest community in the Tantramar report says, ”Currently, one-inmarshlands, was slowly formed in ten-years storm water levels would 1762 because of a huge storm that be expected to overtop existing breached the dykes and temporarily dykes and cause extensive flooding prevented the resettlement of in Tantramar. Researchers expect the land formerly owned by the a one-metre sea level rise to affect Acadians. Then, soon after, settlers much of the region by 2100.” from New England occupied the Dr. J. Bornemann from the farms and in 1815, constructed department of geography and a new canal to drain additional environment at Mt. A completed marshlands for hay growing. a map scenario projecting the So, why the history lesson? This consequences of not preparing for a system of dykes that was developed flood event to the year 2055. Wagar by the Acadian colonists is essential explained that a in preserving one in ten year the Tantramar storm means that region. The dykes The whole purposes of there is a ten per prevent the land this week is awareness.... cent chance of from flooding. and a lot of people don’t a severe storm With climate happening every change, the sea know that we are at risk year which could level is rising, of flooding... mean flooding precipitation in Sackville, patterns are Melanie Wagar changing, and Mount Allison student overflowing the existing dykes. temperatures “That is a pretty are increasing, big probability as well as the just for today, and that will just frequency of extreme weather events. keep growing and growing every Researchers expect climate change to year,” Wagar said.

Bornemann’s map impact agricultural production in the revealed water covering the TransTantramar region. According to the Canada Highway, the railway, and report, while increased temperatures Lorne Street, surrounding Bridge might lengthen the growing season, Street. In this scenario, flooding farm animals and crops may not could greatly impact the regional respond well to altered temperature transportation system. The report ranges, and there are concerns claims that 13,500 vehicles per day over the spread of invasive species use the Trans-Canada Highway and unfamiliar pests and diseases. in the region. Serious flooding of However, the main concern is the Tantramar marshlands could flooding. The combination of rising lead to transportation disruptions, sea levels and increasingly frequent

with economic consequences affecting multiple sectors across the entire Atlantic region.

Wagar explained that there is one last component that is influencing the possibilities of flooding. “It is called subsidizing where Atlantic Canada is sinking by ten centimetres a century - but it all adds up.” She said it is because in the Ice Age, a huge mass of ice was pushing the centre of Canada down, forcing the east and the west coast to rise up. “But now it melted and now it is reversing,” Wagar said.

New Brunswick researchers recommended some short-term adaptation options, including updating emergency response plan scenarios to include dyke system breaches; making improvements to the dykes, especially by vegetating exposed sections; and conducting public outreach to raise awareness of the potential risks. As for longerterm adaptations, they suggested using regulations to prevent further development of areas at risk of flooding; relocating or replacing vulnerable infrastructure; and identifying which dykes to raise in order to better protect critical infrastructure that cannot be moved.

They additionally proposed restoring salt marshes to introduce a natural buffer zone to absorb the most powerful and erosive storm waves.

Mt. A geography and environment professor, Dr. Bradley Walters said the medium to long term risks associated with climate change are very serious. “I don’t think that we can fend-off the effects of slowly rising sea level and increased projected storm activity for much more than a decade or two longer by

simply raising the dykes. Eventually, several decades hence, much of the low-lying land around Sackville in what is the historical extent of the Tantramar Marshes is likely to be subject to intermittent flooding.”

Walters believes that a smarter, long-term response is to pro-actively zone development away from lowlying areas and implement a staged, “managed retreat” scenario in which Sackville channels their investments in a way that focuses protection of key farm lands and infrastructure and leave much of the rest to gradually return to marsh as the tides reclaim it. “It is going to be too expensive to continue raising and maintaing all of the existing dykes,” Walters said.

As of now, the staff of Sackville and of the provincial and federal government departments are reviewing the outcomes of climate change in the area. The report says it will take various levels of government some time to make the appropriate adjustments to land use plans and regulations, public education campaigns, capital works and maintenance processes, and other operations that could be affected by the increased flooding scenarios.

The research findings could be used to help shape the future of Sackville and the Tantramar Region.

“The big thing we want to prepare people for is to be prepared for a flood,” said Wagar, “so, to not leave expensive technology in the basement and have emergency kits, and have a family plan. When you look at the future though, it get a bit tricky... and right now it is a bit iffy.”

For more information, visit atlanticadaptation.ca.

Write for the News section Meetings on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. - 3rd floor of the WMSC

The Ship’s L g An Argosy run down of coming events in Sackville Thursday President’s Speakers Series - Stéphane Dion March 14, 7:00 pm Brunton Auditorium

Friday Re-Making Memories in Montreal: The Museumification of Sir Georges-Étienne Cartier’s Houses March 15, 4:00 pm Crabtree 304 Annual Atlantic Undergraduate English Conference March 15, 16, 17, 7:00 pm Crabtree Army Dreamers Exhibition Opening March 15, 7:30 pm Owens Art Gallery Student Recital: Scott Cuzner, percussion March 15, 8:00 pm Brunton Auditorium

Saturday

Next Week Student Composition Concert March 18, 8:00 pm Brunton Auditorium Paved With Good Intentions: Canada’s Development NGOs from Idealism to Imperialism March 19, 7:00 pm Wu Centre, Dunn Building Lenten Organ Reflections March 20, 12:00 pm University Chapel Collegium Musicum March 20, 4:00 pm Brunton Auditorium Peace and Justice Coffee House March 20, 7:00 pm Gracie’s Windsor Theatre Presents: All For Love; Or, The World Well Lost March 20, 21, 22, 23, 8:00 pm Con Hall

Student Recital: Justine Koroscil, soprano, with Michael MacMillan, piano March 16, 8:00 pm Brunton Auditorium

Big Hanna Naming Competition

Sunday Student Recital: Blair Ellis, guitar, and Mackenzie Stone, soprano, with Aude Urbancic, piano March 17, 3:00 pm Brunton Auditorium

96 Main St. Sackville, NB

536-5000

VESPERS March 17, 6:00 pm University Chapel

W e e k d a y

Student Recital: Holly Hagerman, soprano, with Helen Tucker, piano, and Isaac Adams, piano March 17, 8:00 pm Brunton Auditorium

FREE Garlic Fingers or Cheese Pizza With order of 12”, 16” or 18” Pizza

MOSAIC society of MTA is hosting the MOSAIC Banquet on March 16 in Jennings Dinning Hall, serving foods from all over the world to promote multiculturalism.

Join the event on Facebook for more details!

S p e c i a l s

i d a y (Untill 11) •

March 11th – 22st

96 Main St. Sackville, NB

W e e k d a y

5

S p e c

i d a y (Un

March 11th – 22st

FREE Garlic Fingers or Chee With order of 12”, 16” or 1

Chicken Wings - 10 Leave your mark on Mount Allison’s Wine And Dine - 18” 5-Topping Wine And Dine - 18” 5history.

Pizza & Bottle of House Wine Pizza & Bottle of House $35 $35 Name the new composting machines Try our NEW Lebanese Try our NEW Leb installed in Jenning’s Falafel Sandwich $6.50 Falafel Sandwich Dining Hall Chicken

Wings - 10 for $6

Hours:

Sun 3:00pm – 10:00pm Mon 3:00pm – 9:00pm Tues 3:00pm – 11:00pm Wed 3:00pm – 11:00pm Thurs 3:00pm – 12:00pm Fri 3:00pm – 3:00am

Hours: For more information or to make a submission Sun 3:00pmto – 10:00pm the contestMon contact 3:00pm – 9:00pm

Tues 3:00pm – 11:00p

email: rburroughs@mta.ca Wed 3:00pm – 11:00p Twitter: #bighanna Thurs 3:00pm – 12:00p

Fri 3:00pm – 3:00am (Photo by Kory d’Entremont/Argosy)

The Argosy

OPINIONS

www.argosy.ca

Questioning the security at Mount Allison’s campus pub After attending an event at The Pond on Saturday, January 26, a friend and I were approached by two girls who claimed that their friend had drank too much and was in the bathroom and needed help. Upon seeing this girl in the washroom it was quite apparent, to myself anyway, that she was requiring fairly serious assistance. We attempted to contact a ride home for her but she had difficulty standing or even communicating with us. I went back to The Pond to get help from the security as I assumed they would be better qualified than I to deal

with a situation such as this, but that was not the case. They contemplated for, in my opinion, much too long on whether or not to contact an ambulance for this girl. As well they did not think to contact her RA or Don, as that was something that I took upon myself to do.

I am writing to express my disappointment with the way this situation was handled and how there seemed to be no procedure in place to deal with a crisis situation. The staff ’s unwillingness to phone for an ambulance placed emphasis on the arbitrary cost for the ambulance

rather than her safety and well being. Student’s safety should be a priority within all parts of student life at Mt. A, and on that night there was a blatant disregard of that.

I had emailed a number of members of the administrative staff at the school about the events that had taken place that night, and the responses I received back were even more disappointing.

From Student Life I received the following: Good Afternoon, Thank you for bringing this incident to my attention as well as contacting the student’s Assistant Don as to the

situation. Students’ safety and wellbeing is a priority at Mount Allison and so it should be for every one of us. That being said taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of everyone falls to anyone and everyone who is on the scene where help is needed. Thank you for doing your part. Sincerely Gayle Dan Wortman did offer to meet with me in his office, which was a better response then what I had gotten from others. However, when I met with him I got the impression that by having been drinking my account of the evening was not accurate.

What was most frustrating about

the situation is the responsibility which seemed to be placed upon myself, rather than on the staff who are being paid and have been “trained” to respond in the event of a crisis. It seems to me that the security are only put in place for the reasons of liability, rather than actually protecting student’s well-being.

I felt this matter should be brought to the attention of the student body.

-Hillary Thomson

SAC should have consulted students on council changes During the last SAC meeting, council approved a by-law change that altered the structure of the SAC. While each residence currently has its own representative, students will now elect three councillors to represent their newly created constituency next year.

These constituencies are North Side (Windsor, Harper, Campbell) and South Side (Edwards, Thornton, Hunton, Bigelow, Bennett).

Furthermore, students living off-

campus will now be represented by only six councillors instead of the nine elected presently Voting for these councillors will take place in the spring rather than in September.

This means that future residence councillors will all be second- or upper-year students. Two studentsat-large elected in September will represent first-year students.

I am appalled that council approved this new by-law without formally consulting students on this subject.

Changing the structure of council is a major project that requires extensive consultation with all students. It requires the discussion of a variety of possible council structures. Moreover, it should ultimately be approved through referendum.

Instead, students were not consulted on the changes. No focus groups were held on the topic and off-campus students were not even advised of the issue through the weekly SAC emails.

It is imperative for students to

be the ones to directly approve of changes to the structure of council, as it is a conflict of interest to allow those voted in to choose how future elections would be held. A referendum would provide a fast, effective, and democratic manner to ensure that the opinions heard are not only those of students in positions of power. Students have already proven their ability to think critically in regards to the SAC when they voted down the proposal to lower the

quorum for a SAC meeting in the last elections. Council needs to stop their paternalistic attitude and let the MASU decide for themselves how council should be structured.

- Natalie Brunet

Discrimatory institutions shouldn’t recieve public funds “The Crandall Scandal”: That’s how Jody Dallaire, Dieppe City Councillor referred to Moncton’s monetary largesse towards Crandall University. Crandall is a small, 1100-student campus in Moncton.

Crandall refuses employment for staff and faculty positions to overtly gay persons. A private Christian institution, it operates within the parameters of the Human Rights Act of New Brunswick.

Moncton’s annual grant of $150,000 was first brought to light in 2009 by the Times & Transcript’s Brent Mazerolle. A pair of gay rights advocates noted it negatively; but a Crandall staff person scornfully retorted, “Nobody at Crandall pays any attention to those letters.”

A mere minor Moncton matter.

Discordant voices slowly increased..

Not politicians.

Moncton’s Mayor George LeBlanc solidly backed the contribution. Carl Bainbridge, running against him, was critical of supporting Crandall’s sexual orientation discrimination LeBlanc was overwhelmingly reelected in May 2012; though it was mooted that some new councillors were questioning the policy.

The Chignecto Presbytery of the United Church introduced a motion cognizant of Crandall’s discriminatory practice in 2012: the motion was tabled Greater Moncton’s River of Pride organization, speaking for gays along the Petitcodiac River in the three communities of Riverview, Moncton, and Dieppe, issued a press release sharply critical of Moncton’s contribution to Crandall and its spurning a segment of its own citizenry.

The CAUT had commissioned an investigation of Crandall, carried out by Professors Berkeley Fleming of Mount A and Jenny Hornosty of UNB. The CAUT report of June 2010 noted that Crandall’s Statement of Moral Standards made clear that same gender sexual behaviour is unacceptable for staff or faculty at the institution; though not for students entering the school.

Jillian Duplessi of Miramichi was accepted in Crandall’s education program early in 2012 When the 22-year old heard about Crandall’s hiring policy she withdrew. “If there is a student in my class that is gay,” she said, “I don’t want them to feel more isolated than they already do.

I don’t want them to think that I’ve judged them because I have Crandall on my record.” In Miramichi, support blossomed, became celebrative: federal Conservative MP Tilly O’Neill Gordon phoned Jillian’s somewhat startled father to commend her courage.

Crandall’s own students joined in. Ian Pilkey, student president at Crandall, distanced himself from the policy that bans the hiring of gay staff and faculty.

Speaking over the CBC, he noted an overwhelming number of calls from fellow students who agreed that the personal lives of their professors shouldn’t affect the hiring process.

Regionally, phone-in calls and letters were no longer restricted to tiresome diehards. A wide range of persons reacted - public funds going to an institution which would not hire its gay citizens, to teach classes, mop floors, clear snow.

Global TV featured the reaction.

Questions arose about Crandall’s standards, particularly in regard to credentials for post-graduate study.

Something needed to be done. Dr. Bruce Fawcett became new President August 1, 2012. Moncton-born,

Fawcett had been a highly esteemed local Baptist minister for a decade, and a part-time teacher at the Atlantic Baptist University (Crandall’s earlier name). Following study abroad, including a degree from Harvard, Fawcett returned. It became known that he was looking for a way forward.

“Three years into a controversial funding agreement with the City of Moncton Crandall University has told the city it won’t be asking for the city’s annual contribution of $150,00 to the university,” Fawcett told reporter Mazerolle in November 2012. Fawcett had discussed it with the Crandall board. It was the right thing to do, for a number of reasons.

The key reason?

Considering all the good the university was doing, the issue was a distraction.

The distraction led to a retraction Fawcett ventured further. First, there was the incipient mention of a proto-apology: Fawcett expressed sympathy for an already ‘marginalized group, though there was no hint of a return to the city of its ill-bestowed and wrongly-received $300,000, nor any suggestion that a portion of it go to River of Pride.

Second, Fawcett noted, the

provincial Human Rights Act gives the university the right to set standards. And freedom of religion is protected - Crandall bases its opposition to homosexual behaviour on deeply held religious beliefs.

The people of New Brunswick, with its large Roman Catholic population, understand: some faith communities deny women equal rights. Likewise, Crandall does not want a professor to be sexually active with someone of the same sex.

In New Brunswick, the Human Rights Act protects the province’s women and gays against discrimination.

Understanding of that same act permits Roman Catholics to discriminate against women and Crandall University to discriminate against gays.

Will Crandall’s retraction be retained? Fawcett spoke of reviewing the matter again next year: but in New Brunswick, the days of a private discriminating institution receiving public funds are over.

Hopefully, the Crandall Scandal is forever scuttled.

Dr. Janet Professor Emeritus

Hammock, of Music

8

OPINIONS

March 14, 2013

argosy@mta.ca

How to avoid the summer job hunt stress Finding summer work doesn’t have to be that difficult Caroline Duda

Opinions Contributor “Aggravating,” “rage-inducing,” “effin’ chaotic,” “discouraging.”

Sound familiar? When several Mount Allison students were asked to sum up their search for summer employment in one word, these were the ones they chose. Although many students are able to find work, a large number of students struggle to find a summer job every year.

According to MacLean’s Magazine and Statistics Canada, only 58.9 per cent of students were employed during the summer of 2012, down from 60.8 per cent during the summer of 2011. And while the rates of student summer unemployment are much lower in Canada compared to many other countries, this does not bring comfort to the students looking for work in Canada.

When asked why they believe it is so difficult to find a summer job, Mt. A students came to the same general conclusion that there are just NO jobs! The decline in summer jobs is linked to the unfortunate state of our economy. The bad economy has caused cuts in funding for many summer student positions. As one Mt. A student points out: “without government support, the school alone doesn’t have enough funding to pay many students for summer positions.”

In addition, the state of the economy has forced newly graduated young adults with fresh skillsets to take jobs typically held by students because there are not enough jobs available

Summer unemployment is around forty per cent(Lea Foy/Argosy) for them within their field. “A lot of students who have graduated stay in town [Sackville] and take jobs working as bartenders, etc.,” says another Mt. A student. This leads to less summer job opportunities for students wishing to work in Sackville for the summer. And this problem is not restricted to Sackville, it is a problem faced by university students all across the country.

The summer job hunt stress can make exam week stress seem pleasant, but there are several tips that can help you find success.

Start early! Although many employers do not look for applicants until spring, it doesn’t hurt to start looking as early as the December break.

Just taking note of early application deadlines can help you avoid missing possible job opportunities.

Connections are key! According to a Mt. A student, “I’ve always been able to get a job, but it’s always through people I know. I’ve never been able to get a job without knowing someone.” Ask the people you know if they or the place they work are hiring students for the summer.

This can include family members, professors, and past employers.

Get creative! One Mt. A students says “be creative when it comes to looking for a job, think outside the box!” For example, many employers post job openings on their own websites or do not advertise them at all. So instead of solely relying on job websites, make a list of any potential employers within your neighbourhood and send a direct email asking if they have summer student opportunities.

This may help you find hidden gems that are your ticket to a summer job!

And finally, is PERSISTENCE! Do not be afraid to call and follow up with jobs you have applied to and haven’t heard an answer from yet. It makes you more memorable and helps you stick out amongst all the applicants.

Despite the statistics and the stress, there is hope for students seeking summer employment. Continue being positive, creative, and persistent, and something will come your way!

Good luck and happy job-hunting!

Binge drinking does little good Drinking should be done on your own terms John Trafford

Opinions Editor When I first arrived at Mount Allison as a nervous first year student I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

I soon came to realize that when it came to the ins and outs of campus life I was greener than grass. One thing I did learn very quickly, however, is that socialization and copious amounts of drinking often go together. And did I ever embrace this. I spent much of my first year drinking to the point that I developed a reputation as the drunken buffoon at every party. It’s taken the better part of two years for me to get rid of that reputation and in some ways it follows me still. In short, heavy drinking did me very few favours. Unfortunately, this story applies to many other students at Mt. A who get caught up in university drinking culture.

St. Patrick’s Day has historically gone hand in hand with copious

amounts of alcohol consumption and this year will likely be no different. Many a student will find themselves having drunk too much this Sunday, and for a vast majority the lasting consequences may only be as trivial as a mean hangover and skipped Monday morning classes.

Something that always needs to be remembered though is that excessive alcohol consumption can result in a consequence that is very much permanent: death. Students at Acadia are acutely aware of this after 2011’s death of a first year student after an episode of binge drinking. Alcohol can be a lot of fun and if used properly, it can be completely harmless. If used improperly, it can destroy a reputation, empty a bank account, lead to alcohol poisoning, a trip to the hospital, and in very extreme cases it can result in death. We need to start to rethink how we view alcohol and ask ourselves why it is such a large part of university culture.

Many who know me personally may read this and cry hypocrisy. I have drank myself stupid in the past but this has done absolutely nothing positive for me. Don’t make these same mistakes. If you don’t feel like drinking on a Friday night don’t allow yourself to be pressured into doing

something that you don’t want to.

Contrary to popular belief there is nothing lame about watching a movie in your pyjamas on a Friday night, sans liquor. However, there is something very lame about a person who lets themselves be pushed around and pressured into drinking. If you drink, do so because it is your own choice and don’t do it to such a degree that you have difficulty remembering the events of the previous night. I’m going to drink on St. Patrick’s Day this year and I’m going to have a lot of fun, but it will also be my own choice to drink and luckily I have good friends that know if it’s time for me to go to bed.

Alcohol can make for some good times but it can also turn a normally reasonable person into someone that they are not. Don’t be pressured into the consumption of what amounts to a poison if it isn’t your idea of a good time. And if you do choose to drink, don’t drink to the point that you find yourself getting intimately acquainted with your toilet. Above all, don’t make the same mistakes I did in my first year when I was often that guy whose drunkenness was the talk of the town the next morning. Take it from me, you don’t want to be that guy.

In opposition to the oligarchs of empire Kevin Levangie

Opinions Columnist The death of Hugo Chavez marks the loss of one of the most stalwart anti-imperialists of recent history.

His famous condemnation of George W. Bush as “the Devil” at the United Nations was one of a series of moves that placed him in direct opposition to the interests of the United States in Latin America, and elsewhere. His policies improved the lives of Venezuela’s poorest citizens, sharing the oil wealth of the country with all, and inspiring the “Pink Tide” of democratically elected socialist governments in Latin America. His sometimes strong-arm tactics and occasional repression of the opposition, as well as his anti-US rhetoric, made him a target for criticism by human rights organizations, and vilification by supporters of neo-liberalism.

By nationalizing the oil wealth of Venezuela, Chavez moved towards what he called “Socialism in the 21st Century,” which emphasized participatory democracy using citizens councils, free education and health care, and a Pan-Latin American system of alliances to limit the influence of foreign powers, such as the United States.

This program was reminiscent of the actions of Venezuela’s liberator from Spanish possession, Simon Bolivar. Chavez referred to his program as the “Bolivarian Revolution,” and never missed an opportunity to draw parallels between the two movements.

As seen before around the world, the leftist and populist programs of Chavez provoked a coup by reactionary, US-sponsored forces within the Venezuelan military.

Popular demonstrations by mostly poor citizens demanding the reinstatement of Chavez were effective, and the President moved more to the left, continuing and enhancing his application of reforms to the country.

Since 2004, the poverty level in Venezuela fell just under 50 per cent, while the level of extreme poverty fell by almost

70 per cent. These improvements don’t take into consideration the massive programs put into action to provide free, universal health care, and the leaps in education.

The percentage of people enrolled in college doubled since 2004, ensuring a permanent and stable source of economic development, less volatile than oil, for the country.

While Chavez did win several elections considered “free and fair,” Amnesty International documented some of his questionable actions of repression. Pro-government gangs have been known to harass opposition figures with relative impunity, opposition candidates have been banned from participating in elections, journalists had been intimidated, and radio stations shut down. These allegations certainly run against a democratic spirit, but it is important to consider the comparable actions of politicians closer to home. US President Barack Obama’s extrajudicial killings with drone strikes certainly run counter to constitutional supremacy, and Stephen Harper’s parliamentary prorogation stunt was an embarrassment for Canadian democracy. In the case of Chavez, perhaps the authoritarian actions are closer to justifiable, as he had barely held on to power during a coup attempt, instead of Harper’s nearly falling victim to a legally assembled opposition coalition.

One of the greatest concerns about Chavez was his choice of allies. Perhaps the application of an old adage, slightly adapted, is useful: “anti colonialism makes for strange bedfellows.” Chavez was infamously on very good terms with the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and, of course, the Cuban Castro brothers. It was clear that he believed “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and such attitudes meant, for better or for worse, he was willing to support anyone who incurred the wrath of the US media and political machinery.

The words of Bolivian President, fellow democratic socialist and ally to Chavez, Evo Morales, best capture his legacy. Speaking about Chavez’s death, Morales said, “the oligarchs of empire are certainly having a party.” As the oligarchs throw a party, the oppressed and poor people of Venezuela, Latin America, and the world should be mourning the loss of an imperfect, but true, ally.

ATTIC TRANSMISSIONS

THE CHMA 106.9 FM CAMPUS & COMMUNITY RADIO BULLETIN

MARCH 14, 2013

THE HIGH KICKS EDITION

CAMERA” IDENTITY REVEALED! THE CHARTS “THIS LOCAL VIDEOGRAPHER EXPOSED FOR GENERAL AWESOMENESS FOR THE WEEK ENDING TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2013 RANK

ARTIST

TITLE

Jess Palmer

(LABEL)

01 JACK WHITE Blunderbuss (Columbia)

02 YUKON BLONDE* Tiger Talk (Dine Alone)

03 MONOMYTH* Monomyth (Self-Related) 04 HANNAH GEORGAS* Hannah Georgas (Dine Alone) 05 HAYDEN* Us Alone (Arts & Crafts) 06 INGRID GATIN* 1,000 Lives (Pipe and Hat) 07 GRIMES* Visions (Arbutus) 08 GREAT BIG SEA* XX (Warner)

09 TEGAN AND SARA* Hearthrob (Warner) A still from Kramer’s footage for “Bender” by The Mouthbreathers featuring Lucy Niles in a dynamic aerial rock move 10 LES HAY BABIES* Folio (Self-Released) 11 OLD MAN LUEDECKE* Tender is the Night (Disintegration) 12 YELLOWTEETH/ASTRAL GUNK* Gets in Car/Astral Gunk (Self-Released) 13 NO JOY* Negaverse (Mexican Summer) 14 LUKE NICHOLSON* Mad Love (Self-Released) 15 SAID THE WHALE* Little Mountain (HIdden Pony) 16 DANIEL ROMANO* Come Cry With Me (Normaltown)

17 JAPANDROIDS* Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)

18 PAPER LIONS* At Long Creek (Self-Released) 19 COLDWARPS* Don’t Haunt Me, OK?/Stuck on an Island (Noyes) 20 OLENKA & THE AUTUMN LOVERS* It’s Alright (Self-Released) 21 MARINE DREAMS* Marine Dreams (You’ve Changed) 22 DJANGO DJANGO Django Django (Because Music)

Ilse Kramer is a hidden force within the Sackville music scene. Under the guise This Camera, she has created and released a multitude of video and animation projects for groups both local and beyond, such as The Mouthbreathers, Jennifer Castle, Marine Dreams, Baby Eagle and Apollo Ghosts. Her work is typically a combination of live footage, stop motion and 2D animation and involves a highly collaborative process involving other artists, musicians and friends.

Kramer’s involvement in video work started when she began touring with her friends’ bands, helping them with promotion by creating regular video blogs of the tours. This daily activity of shooting, editing and releasing videos helped her build the composition and editing chops that she shows in her current video work. As a huge supporter of the local arts scene, Kramer began furthur collaborating with her musicians

friends, creating music videos and filming live footage of shows as a way to contribute to the scene that she is so enthusiastic about. Her most recent release a highly energetic music video for “Bender” by local pop rock dreamboats The Mouthbreathers, and her current focus is on a video project for another band with Sackville roots, Astral Gunk.

Passionate about the Sackville arts community, Kramer claims it is “what inspired me to start making art and continually inspires me to strive for excellence. There are a lot of really amazing artists here even though it’s a small community... the support is really strong.”.

Ilse Kramer is also CHMA’s wonderful Music Director, and her work can be viewed on her Vimeo page, vimeo.com/thiscamera.

23 WOOL ON WOLVES Measures of Progress (Self-Released)

SPOTLIGHT ON #31: JULIE DORION So Many Days (Aporia)

24 METRIC Synthetica (Metric Music International)

25 HERE WE GO MAGIC A Different Ship (Secretly Canadian) 26 RHYE Woman (Universal Republic) 27 THE BICYCLES* Stop Thinking So Much (Aporia) 28 DIVINE FITS A Thing Called Divine Fits (Merge) 29 THE CHIMNEY SWALLOWS* The Chimney Swallows (Self-Released) 30 ECCODEK* Living For Lives (Big Mind)

31 JULIE DOIRON* So Many Days (Aporia)

NEWCOMER SESSIONS EVERY TUESDAY 4PM 364-2221 WWW.MTA.CA/CHMA 3RD FLOOR STUDENT CENTRE

This week, Julie Doiron is spotlighted on CHMA’s number thirty-one spot. Her most recent album, So Many Days, is a favorite around the offices of CHMA because of its soft beauty and touching honesty. Check out the song “By the Lake”, which it is a touching love song that moves from a rock to a log, to a house to a bed! Her signature gentle sound is easy to enjoy, and all of her ten albums are fantastic and varied. As one of the founders of SappyFest, Julie is no stranger to the local music scene. Julie just moved back to Sackville, so stay tuned for her next Sackville show – It’s bound to be soon!

UPCOMING EVENTS & CONCERTS BABY EAGLE & AMANDA JERNIGAN FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013 THE BLACK DUCK INN $8 - ALL AGES 9:00PM

GOLF WAR & BEIJING 2008 & ANDREW, PHIL, AND FRIENDS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION $5 19+ 10:00 PM

ENTERTAINMENT East Coast Music Week

March 14, 2013

argosy@mta.ca

Remembering a legend

This year, in coordination with Eastlink, the twenty-fifth annual East Coast Music Awards’ gala was completely televised, along with a number of events throughout the week. This year Halifax played host to the annual event, which brings in dozens of up-and-coming and well-established artist from all four Atlantic provinces. Over the last week, Halifax was the site of countless musical acts and performances all over the city for East Coast Music Week. The festivities were capped off by an awards gala that was broadcasted on Eastlink TV. So even if you could not make it, for the first time, anyone (who has Eastlink cable) could check into all of the excitement.

This year’s awards gala was co-hosted by David Myles and Rose Cousins, who steered the event in the Canard Center. The presentation honoured some of the East Coast’s top artist with awards – David Gunning won song of the year for “These Hands” and Matt Mays won best album of the year with Coyote. A number of big name acts such as Jimmy Rankin, Jen Grant, Rich Aucoin, and up-and-coming Newfoundland electronic band, Repartee, all performed during the awards.

Another highlight of the night’s festivities was when the East Coast Music Award’s academy honoured artists such as The Rankin Family, Rita MacNeil, and the Barra MacNeils with outstanding achievement awards. As well, the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award went to the late jazz sax master Bucky Adams, and was accepted by his three children.

The Barra MacNeils — all Mount Allison alum — also performed after they were given the award. In another Mt. A connection, and one a bit closer to home, music department professor Dr. Helen Pridmore, along with Wesley Ferriera, won Best Classical Recording of the Year for Between the Shore and the Ships.

A further Sackville connection can be found in the Blues category: the Tantramar Blues Society bought Charlie A’Court into town this past January, and he won Blues Recording of the Year.

The gala was not the only place where award were being presented. During the week, a number of awards were given out at small events as a part of East Coast Music Week.

Ben Caplan won Rising Star Recording of the Year for In the Time of The Great Remembering.

The Rock Recording of the year went to Joel Plaskett for Scrappy Happiness. And a couple of Prince Edward Island artists took home some hardware as well: English Words’ Red Potion won Electronic Recording of the Year, and Nova Scotia group Coyote won the FlyHalifax.com and Porter Airlines’ People’s Choice Rising Star award. These two great Island acts will be looking to make lightning strike two years in a row when the 2014 EMCAs roll into Charlottetown.

Shotgun Jimmie

Moon

Hollerado

Andrew, Phil, and Friends

Everthing Everything

Moon

White Paint

It’s More About Something than Nothing

You’ve Changed

Self-released

Royal Mountain

Self-released

Shotgun Jimmie’s latest offering, Everything Everything, is exactly what I needed to pick me up from winter gloom — 16 warm and beautiful tracks with musical appearances from Julie Doiron, John Kilpatrick, Cole Woods, and Leanne Zacharias. Listening to “Bridge Street Stage” will make you even more anxious for SappyFest to arrive, and perfectly captures the dreamy haze of summer with the help of Doiron’s vocals. Contrasting the glow and light of songs like “Big Sur” are the darker and heavier tones of “I Will Climb Mountains,” resulting in a well-balanced album that is both diverse and cohesive.

Be sure to take a listen to the title track – “Everything Everything”– and “Growing Like a Garden” – both are gems.

The standout feature of this Halifax debut isn’t their Krautrock rhythms, affinity for blown-out mixing, or even their skewed mastery of perfect pop pastiche. It’s the cover, printed to look exactly like a sharpied CD-R, the likes of which you might find on the CHMA booth floor. “Stained glass” is, at surface level, a catchy track that evokes Fujiya and Miyagi, but the chorus’ guitar riff sits uneasily high in the mix, naked and unprocessed. Likewise, “Schizophrenia” is a brickwalled melting-pot that lurches toward a surprisingly affecting chorus – that is, until the whole thing implodes into a carnival ride of screeching distortion. Moon is difficult, distinctive, but ultimately rewarding, and, like its cover, invites reconsideration.

It’s been a long four year wait for Canadian band Hollerado’s second full-length album, White Paint. Fortunately, it was worth it.

Listeners can expect eleven tracks of solid Canadian indie-rock. With strong, catchy guitar licks, and solid bass lines White Paint fights the stigma commonly associated with sophomore albums. Stand out tracks “ Thanks for the Venom” and “Pick me Up” use strong power chords and catchy guitar riffs to create tunes easy to sing along to. These are nicely contrasted by the more mellow and subdued “I Want my Medicine” and “Lonesome George”. With White Paint Hollerado manages to create a fun and lively album worthy of play at a future Indie Pop Night.

It’s More About Something than Nothing kicks off with the urgent “Go There,” a track which could reasonably pass for a (Young) Pioneers cover. Highlights include “I’m Meek,” which evokes Viva Last Blues-era Will Oldham, “The Ballad of Liam and Sarah,” and “Things to Take,” the album’s standout track, which makes such effective use of its refrain that I would actually pay money for it. Sadly, most of the album does not reach for such heights, and is mostly filler. However, since the album was recorded for the Sackville RPM Challenge, critiquing the level of song development is not necessarily warranted. In sum, It’s More About Nothing than Something is a cohesive effort that is sonically pleasing, and it’s worth a spin.

Anna Robertson

Ian Malcolm

Jennifer Singh

Richard Kent

Mt. A music faculty brings home the bacon at 2013 ECMAs Kent Blenkhorn

Entertainment Writer

Beloved Canadian icon Stompin’ Tom Connors passes at 77 Kent Blenkhorn

Entertainment Writer Wednesday, March 6, during the “Battle of Ontario”, CBC broadcasters announced that legendary Canadian singer-songwriter and King of Canadiana, Stompin’ Tom Connors, passed away in his home in Ballinafad, Ontario, as a result of renal failure. Connors is survived by his wife Lena, four children, and a number of grandchildren. This shocking announcement during our nation’s favourite passtime was accompanied by several anecdotes from the broadcasters, memories of Connors and his songs, as well as clips of him performing his most famous tune, “The Hockey Song.”

Connors’ career spanned over five decades, each filled with highs and lows, controversy, and accomplishment. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Connors had, to say the least, a turbulent upbringing. When he was still young, Connors was taken away from his mother, who struggled to raise him, and was sent to live with a family in Skinners Pond, Prince Edward Island.

However, this did not last for long: Connors soon left his foster family for a life on the road as a professional vagabond. Fun fact, for all you future

drifters: during the colder months of the year Connors would voluntarily be incarcerated for vagrancy just so that he could have a warm place to sleep. This is where Connors mined inspiration for some of the 200-odd songs he wrote over his career. But it wasn’t until he was a nickel short for a beer at the Maple Leaf Hotel in Timmins Ontario that Connors got his “big break.” The bartender let the young Stompin’ Tom play for his drink, which ultimately led to a 13-month stint playing in the hotel bar — the rest is history.

Connors had a whopping 27 studio albums under his belt. After a brief retirement, Connors returned the seven Junos he had won, believing that the awards catered to artists who made most of their earnings south of the border. Connors was always a strong advocate of homegrown talent staying in Canada, and this remained a mission throughout his lengthy career.

Connors’ love for his home and native land was unsurpassed, and will surely remain that way for years to come. Connors was recognized for this love of his country when he received the Order of Canada in 1997, as well as an honorary doctorate degree in law from St. Thomas University.

Stompin’ Tom wrote a song about every province and territory, and it would be hard to find a better apostle for Canadian lore and legend. And hell— you’ll be hard pressed to find a better drinking song than “Margo’s got the Cargo.” There’s a void now in Canadian folk culture that won’t be soon or easily filled. So if you want to commemorate this Canadian legend, let’s make everywhere this Saturday a Sudbury Saturday Night.

The Argosy’s albums at a glance

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The Argosy

ENTERTAINMENT

www.argosy.ca

11

Hang tens and beach vibes on Friday night MONOMYTH and Legato Vipers join forces for Legion show Cameron McIntyre

Entertainment Contributor Sporting leather jackets and slinging some of the chillest rhythms these ears have come across, the Legato Vipers started off their set with “Spy vs. Spy” – a song imbued with a distinctly James Bond coolness. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Legato Vipers are currently on an east coast tour with premiere Halifax road warriors MONOMYTH, blending surf and psych-rock with an amazing, upbeat show as the result.

Friday night was the tour’s stop at Sackville’s Royal Canadian Legion, and the two groups were joined by Sackville’s own Kappa Chow, who were, as always, a treat to hear. Their uniquely garage-y baroque pop really started the show off with an upbeat feel that went on to define the night.

MONOMYTH played a great variation on shoegaze, with upbeat psych-rock influences that produced a very full, robust collage of sound. Some shoegaze seems almost dragged down by the fact it can feel too crowded, but when painted with the positive light of psych rock, MONOMYTH has really captured something special in their sound. The depth really adds

Legato Vipers (pictured), MONOMYTH, and Kappa Chow warmed up a chilly evening with their sun-baked riffs. (Lea Foy/Argosy) excitement, the sheer amount of musical layers producing something that can be listened to again and again. Their live show is a special treat indeed. The set they played did not disappoint, with finishing number “Feeling” being a personal favourite.

The rest of the Legato Vipers’ set kept the cool at a consistently high

level, complete with the shake, jangle, and roll that all good surf-rock is just asking for. The fast-paced, high energy music proved itself to be the perfect finale to the night. The Vipers’ music possesses an Ennio Morricone twang that seemed to fit perfectly into the pocket of these leatherjacketed cowboys of surf, calling

to mind images of rolling waves crashing into long sandy beaches, or Clint Eastwood walking through the desert. With spring on the horizon, this summer themed music on display by each of the bands expertly hit the spot, turning the legion into a haven of summer warmth untouched by the cold winter night outside.

If you missed the show, make sure to check out Legato Vipers’ and MONOMYTH’s bandcamps. The Vipers have some great merch on there, not limited to leather flasks and switchblade combs. Also, make sure to keep an eye for more Kappa Chow shows around Sackville.

The Vogue Theatre has got your study break covered.

Sunday and Monday are Starving Student Nights. $13.50 gets you admission and a Mega Combo

Every Tuesday is Cheap Night All seats are $5 Building Rental: $225 +movie if applicable

12 CENTREFOLD

March 14, 2013

argosy@mta.ca

Climate Ch

Eroding dykes like the one shown above pose flood risks to the area. (Dave Lieske/ Submitted)

The planning for Climate Change W up to the completion of the Tan Assessment project in November 2 Regional Adaptation Collaborativ is administered by the larger Atlan Association (ACASA). For more in Infrastructure Assessment proj

Because of climate change...

Researchers expect rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and more powerful storm surges to cause both greater dyke erosion and a heightened risk of failure, resulting in more flooding.

Researchers found that eighty-nine per cent of the area’s existing dykes, which range in elevation between seven and twelve metres above sea-level (averaging 8.6 metres) would be overtopped in a current one-in-ten year storm surge event.

Serious flooding of the Tantramar marshlands could lead to transportation disruptions on the Trans-Canada Highway and CN Railway, with economic consequences affecting multiple sectors across the entire Atlantic region.

Researchers found that a one-in-ten year storm could lead to the flooding of significant portions of the Town of Sackville, damaging both private and municipal property.

Cross Section

The graphic below shows the cross section of a dyke that could be found in the local region. During low tide an aboiteau acts like a one-way door, releasing w

water levels on the left hand side of the graphic roughly show the changing water levels due to climate change. Sea Level Ris

The Argosy

CENTREFOLD

www.argosy.ca

hange Week

Week in Sackville came as a followntramar Dykelands Infrastructure 2012, which was coordinated by the ve (RAC) program, which in turn ntic Climate Adaptation Solutions nfo about the Tantramar Dykelands ject, go to atlanticadaptation.ca

13

The above image shows the effects of a breached dyke. (Dave Lieske/ Submitted)

What you can do...

If you live in the flood plain, prepare a seventy-two-hour emergency kit. Necessary supplies include: water (two litres per day per person), dry and canned food (along with a manual can opener), battery operated flashlight and radio, prescriptions and medical necessities (blood sugar monitoring equipment for example), a First Aid kit, cash or cheques (debit and credit machines may be unavailable if electricity is down), and a notepad or camera for documenting damages.

Talk to your MLA, municipal councillors, and university administration about your climate change concerns - insist on the implementation of climate change mitigating/adapting behaviours on campus and in town.

On high or low ground, ask your landlord to install backwater valves to reduce the risk of sewer backup in your apartment.

n of a Dyke

water that falls on the uplands through the tidal channel, if the tide is high it can sometimes create a “bathtub effect,� filling the flood plains with water. The

se + High Tide+ Storm Surge could pose a potential hazard to Sackville residents if the water breaches or overtops the dyke.

Graphic by Emily Phillips, information from http://atlanticadaptation.ca/sites/discoveryspace.upei.ca.acasa/files/CS_Tantramar_en_dr3.pdf

ARTS & LITERATURE

March 14, 2013

argosy@mta.ca

Chelsea Poole impresses with exhibit at START gallery Mt.A student’s body of work presented in honour of her mother Daniel Marcotte Arts & Literature Correspondent One of the most recent additions to Sackville’s artistic and cultural portfolio was unveiled last Thursday, March 8, at START gallery.

An enthusiastic group of students, family, and Sackville residents gathered for the opening of Chelsea Poole’s exhibit, entitled Remember Me. Chelsea is from Green Bay, Prince Edward Island, and is a fourth year fine arts student at Mount Allison. Poole’s exhibit is a heartfelt tribute to the memory of her mother, Tammy Lynne Moore Poole, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away in October of 2003.

The exhibit consists of ten models of cancer cells suspended from the ceiling, with a shrine to Tammy Poole’s memory located on the far wall, where she is represented by a portrait, letters, and a handmade book documenting stories and experiences from Poole’s childhood. As one walks between the dangling cells to approach the memoirs, one can almost feel that they are moving past the reality of Tammy’s terminal cancer to emerge into the deeper memory of her being that has been preserved and presented by the young artist. Additionally, the lights have been arranged in a way that causes the hanging

Poole’s work in Remember Me explores cancer cells as a way to represent the loss of her mother to the illness. (Lea Foy/Argosy) models to project shadows upon the blank walls of the exhibit, with the brightest spotlight reserved for the drawn portrait of Poole’s mother.

Poole noted the significant difference between experiencing past events and recalling them in a more recent context. She elaborated upon the filtering effect that the mind has upon memories of a family member or loved one, leaving only the most positive and meaningful memories intact.

“I couldn’t even think of a single bad experience,” she recalled as she reflected upon the process of conceptualizing and creating her artistic memoir.

She also explained that one of the most challenging aspects of losing a family member is the loss of

access to a mother’s valuable answers to life’s questions. “Most people can turn to their mothers if they have questions,” said Poole. “The hardest thing is looking back and realizing she can never answer the questions I had both then and now.”

Poole estimated that she spent over two hundred hours on the entire project. For the models of cancer cells, she painstakingly felted vast amounts of different coloured wools that she later used to cover wire frames. In addition, the paper used in her book of memories and childhood stories is completely made from scratch, and the stories themselves were printed individually on each page with a typewriter. She

also did extensive research on cancer cells in order to represent them in this medium. “I was actually kind of annoyed because they were so beautiful,” she comments. “It’s amazing that something so brightly coloured can be so destructive.”

Poole’s most valuable qualities as an artist are her diligence, dedication, and thorough understanding of memory and the human mind. This achievement will not conclude Poole’s artistic career, and we can look forward to seeing more manifestations of her talent in Sackville and beyond. I believe that Poole’s mother would be extremely proud.

Third year BFA students show off their accomplishments Students find a place of their own on Bridge St. John Fraser Arts & Literature Writer For those of you who think a fine arts degree isn’t hard, you’re wrong.

You might snicker, thinking fine arts students take classes like “Advanced Finger Painting 1001” and “Instagram 1021,” but fine arts has its own set of challenges unique to its field.

Let’s be real: most haters have not drawn anything more than a stick man or a grade-nine heart for their Valentines project, so their taunts usually ring hollow. In a successful effort to showcase the amazing art done by student artists, thirdyear students Maggie Higgins and Sally Hill organized a showing of art from third-year students in an approachable and fun event that effectively demonstrated the talent of Mount Allison student artists.

Hill and Higgins explored the idea during the fall semester of 2012. “We kind of mentioned it from time to time,” said Hill, “but we weren’t really serious until later.” Higgins explained, “the idea came to us in October, but we didn’t fully embrace it until January of this semester.” All third-year fine arts students are required to take a seminar class, and it was this class that Hill and Higgins used as a medium to communicate the idea to their peers. “We talked to our class about it and people were really excited,” said Hill. A call for submissions was sent out and the art was collected

from third-year students for display.

The theme of the show was comfort and discomfort. “There was really no mandate for the artists to submit pieces that worked with that theme, but a lot of them did,” said Higgins.

The small space rented from the Black Duck Inn was completely packed with the excellent work of the thirdyear artists. The themes of comfort and discomfort was present in much of the work. “The work of the artists didn’t even have to be recent; it was just whatever they wanted to submit,” elaborated Higgins. Some of the art was even for sale, with the proceeds going to the artists. In total there were twenty-four pieces of art, each one masterfully worked, showcasing the dedication of our third-year artists.

The event was particularly important because it was completely student-organized and led. The work of the artists required no additional faculty support or funding from the university. There was no gallery help requested from START, Struts, or Owens. The effort to create a show that gave credit and praise to fine arts students was unique in that, like the art itself, it was completely studentdriven. “It’s nice to do something for us as a class and create a place where people outside of fine arts can come to appreciate student art.” says Hill.

This highlights one of their other goals: aside from showcasing student workmanship, the third-year fine arts class was hoping to create a space that would allow students and community members to come and approach student art in an easy and fun setting.

While this was the first event organized

by Hill and Higgins for third-year students, they hope it will inspire more events of its nature in the future.

Third year students showed off their work through their first student-run exhibition (Lea Foy/Argosy)

The Argosy

ARTS & LITERATURE

www.argosy.ca

15

Superb string players captivate Mt. A audience Performing Arts Series features Tokai Quartet Ciera DeSilva Arts & Literature Contributor Sackville was treated to an outstanding performance by one of our country’s leading string quartets at Saturday’s Performing Arts Series concert, which featured the Tokai String Quartet. In September 2007, the quartet became the first Canadian group to become prizewinners at the Banff International String Quartet Competition since 1992.

The ensemble is composed of a unique blend of professionals who represent the international reality of the arts in Canada today.

Amanda Goodburn, a South African native, played first violin; Csaba Koczó, originally from Hungary, played second violin; Moscow native Yosef Tamir-Smirnoff played viola; and Emmenuelle Beaulieu Bergeron, originally from Montreal, grounded the players with the deep sounds of her cello.

The evening commenced with a joyful interpretation of Beethoven’s String Quartet No.7 in F major, Op.59, “Razumovsky,” No.1, which begins with a delightful melody on the cello, followed with an echo by the first

The Tokai Quartet took to the Brunton stage, and was recorded live for CBC. (Ciera DeSilva/Argosy) violin. The second movement featured decisive and rapid rhythmic patterns throughout and changing dynamics, in contrast to a solemn “Adagio molto e mesto” in the third movement, which differed yet again from the “Thème russe Allegro,” where rapid fingering and bowing posed no problem for the accomplished players. The musicians demonstrated precision throughout the long quartet, matching and echoing beautiful harmonies. Composed in 1806, this piece was unlike other

pieces of the early nineteenth century in its length and fervour.

The following piece, “The World on A String”, was the most unique on the programme, as it was commissioned by the quartet with the support of the Ontario Arts Council. Composed

by Serbian native Katarina Curcin (b.1971), the piece represents the multicultural background of each quartet member. It began with a misty texture rather than a melody, to represent Russia, followed by a second

Feminism and art Students team up to produce art event for Women’s Day John Fraser Arts & Literature Writer International Women’s Day celebrates women’s accomplishments while also exploring their struggles for equality. Members of the Mount Allison community explored and celebrated the contributions of women in many different ways last week. Societies from across campus held various shows, events, and activities to promote women and praise their progress in equalizing the treatment of men and women.

One such event was put on by the Women and Gender Studies Society in collaboration with fine arts students which explored feminism in and through art. The event, Feminism in Art, combined types of art from different artists and explored both the triumphs of women in society, and the struggles and issues they still face.

Sam Thebeau is a third-year fine arts student and was the main coordinator of the event.

A similar event was held last year at START gallery and garnered great success and publicity.

Thebeau was inspired to reinitiate the event after hearing that it was not going to be held this year. “There was a general call for submissions from the fine arts department,” says Thebeau.

“We just took whatever was available.” The art was in a range of styles and mediums, from embroidery, to oil paintings, to penciled drawings with graphite textures and photography.

Each collection of art from the submitting

artists had a distinct style and message to it.

Much of the art explored what it is like to be a woman in society. The work of Ruthie Payant included paintings which depicted scenes from classic fairytales but with their ideologies reversed. She created pictures of a same-sex couple, a normal Disney duo hanging out and playing video games instead of getting married, as well as a reversal of other perceptions found in classic childhood fairytales.

The work of Stephanie Pringle examined domestic violence through photography by taking pictures of women with makeup bruises.

Maggie Higgins pencilled pictures of female anatomy with quotes and other imagery to explore the relationship between gender and family. Another interesting piece was the work of Thebeau herself, which examined the history of women’s pubic hair and society’s view of it.

The exhibit included work that celebrated achievements by women or work that merged feminist themes with art. Rachel Thornton mixed themes from the work of highly acclaimed author Sylvia Plath with her own self portraits.

Jamie Fagan, who was the show’s only male contributor, mixed drawn photos with quotes from men in Cosmopolitan magazine. Erin Burnham stitched uteruses into women’s underwear and Alyssa Proctor painted pictures of women from the first female baseball league which started during World War II. The work of the artists came together to make a very interesting collection of art exploring feminism. “I really like how the show came together,” said Thebeau. “I hope to start earlier next year and make the show even bigger and better, hopefully generate more publicity.” Feminism in Art was well done and allowed for the exploration and appreciation of women through a visually stimulating medium.

episode in which the cello and viola used pizzicato in the style of Béla Bartók to pay tribute to music of Hungary.

The music then transported the audience to Quebec where glissando (which is achieved by the sliding of a finger along a string while bowing continuously) on the violins’ E strings evoked the image of soaring birds. The audience had no difficulty knowing when the South African section of the piece began, as a variety of playful percussion sounds, which many

people never associate with string quartet instruments, blended the colours and textures of the country’s traditional music. The piece also featured the compound rhythm of Serbia. The piece was an example of the players’ musical versatility and demonstrated why they have been commended for their “emotional investment” by the Toronto Star.

The following piece was Hugo Wolf ’s “Italian Serenade in G Major”, which captured the social music of the late Viennese Romantic period with an unique combination of playful rhythms and textures, as well as expressive calls and echoes.

The evening concluded with an interpretation of Ravel’s only string quartet (‘String Quartet in F Major’).

The first movement seemed to evoke floating on clouds, which was soon interspersed with challenging passages. The second movement was true to its name (“Assez vif. Très rythmé.”), beginning with decisive pizzicato and filled with trills and tremolo throughout. The viola began the third movement with a solemn passage, which was then echoed by the cello. The audience soon found themselves in the riveting fourth movement, which included pulsing rhythms and exotic passages.

This concert was the first in the quartet’s series of concerts as part of their Debut Atlantic tour lineup. Despite the additional pressure of recording their performance live for CBC, the musicians’ talent and passion shone throughout.

Walker celebrates women Mt. A professor hosts open mic evening

don’t come home at all.” In this tune, Walker mixed feelings of rage with a unique country twang. She explored themes of loneliness and frustration through her eclectic sound.

Bhreagh MacDonald After performing her own music, Walker played some recognizable tunes for her audience.

Arts & Literature Editor This is where she incorporated the perspective of men, which was hinted at through the title It was a small but mighty crowd at A Night of of the concert. Written by Rita MacNeil of Women (and Men) And Music on Thursday Cape Breton, Walker’s version of “Working evening at The Pond. Hosted by anthropology Man” invoked the daily struggles faced by hardprofessor and musician Marilyn Walker, the event working miners. Walker then changed pace with featured an array of acoustic folk music and was a country tune called “Silver Threads and Golden organized as a part of International Women’s Needles” originally recorded by Wanda Jackson in Week at Mount Allison. The show’s audience was 1956. “This is an old country song,” said Walker. not large in numbers but was high in quality. “It is “You’re welcome to get up and dance to this one.” nice to have an appreciative audience, even a small Though there were no dancers, the audience one,” said Walker. The setting was intimate and tapped their toes as they enjoyed the twangy tune.

Accompanying Walker in her performance quiet, making the listening experience reflective.

Much of Walker’s program had a thoughtful, was Mt. A student Amie MacDonald. Playing and often melancholy feel. Singing the lyrics, her mandolin, MacDonald showed off her skill by jumping into any song “heart of darkness, requested by Walker river of tears, highway and adding to her of sorrow, highway of It is nice to have an appreciative great sound. She also fears,” she seemed to audience, even a small one impressed the audience be addressing darker aspects of women’s Marilyn Walker with a performance of a mandolin solo that experience.

Walker Mt. A Professor she wrote herself. The asked for guidance beautiful melody had in another original a celtic feel and lulled tune, singing, “what do you want me to do, Lord? I’ve been a fool, listeners into relaxation. At the request of an I’ve been a clown.” She completed the thought- audience member, MacDonald also played “Rise” provoking song by noting, “I’m listening,” from the film Into The Wild. In this uplifting tune, opening herself up to the grace of another MacDonald showed off her quiet, sweet vocals. person or being. Walker sang her tunes with Also aiding Walker in her performance was passion, giving the small audience her very best. Toni Roberts, who Walker thanked through a Walker revealed an edgier side of her music dedication. “This one is dedicated to Toni Roberts in the latter portion of her performance, singing for all of your efforts.”Through the help of Roberts lyrics reminiscent of twentieth century female and MacDonald, Walker was able to present a blues singers. “You come home late, and you musical celebration that was enjoyable for all. home come home early… Sometimes you

FEATURES

March 14, 2013

argosy@mta.ca

The skinny on going abroad

Cunnilingus, Part I Browse through a few Cosmopolitan magazines and you will be sure to find plenty of advice on giving blowjobs. In fact, one might almost get the impression that educating oneself in the art of sucking off a man is an integral part of popular feminine culture. When it comes to licking pussy, however, pop culture has lagged behind on the educational front. Consequently, despite the beautiful complexity of the female body, men are not exposed to the same pressures to educate themselves on the intricate art of going down. There is a lot to learn and this article hardly scrapes the surface. Cunnilingus is worth learning about! And bros, if you think oral sex is a one-way street, it’s time to change gears and listen up! Whether a component of foreplay, a finishing touch, or a fiveminute tease on the third floor of the library, cunnilingus can be great fun for both parties and can be an excellent way to bring sensational stimulation to your darling’s down under. The Sex Bomb hopes to shine some light on this beautiful sensual act with some advice that will help you improve your pussy prowess.

Fuck taboos and fuck Alabama state law! While not all women enjoy cunnilingus, for many, it can be simply fantastic. Fact: anyone can become good at cunnilingus with some practice, communication, experimentation, and education. No doubt, if you have spent much time around female genitals, you will have gotten at least a glimpse of the sheer awesomeness and unparalleled beauty of these magnificent organs.

Exploring that special someone’s vulva with your mouth can be very enjoyable for both parties.

Firstly, every woman is different.

The most important thing to remember is communication. As the recipient, try not to be shy; your partner is down there because they want to be (because your vagina is an amazing place!). They want to please you, so help them!

Body language can go a long way: you should constantly be in touch with her responses and try to react

accordingly. Reaching for one of her hands can provide a sexy indicator of where she’s at, as the tightness of her grip may fluctuate with varying degrees of stimulation. Although reading body language will take you a long way, verbal communication is where good oral sex becomes great. Getting inside your lover’s head is hard to do in silence. If you are the one going down, make sure you tell your partner that you don’t mind instructions. Fact: words are sexy. Take your time while exploring different moves; ask her what she prefers while showing her options. Licking, kissing, gentle sucking, fondling, and fingering can all be wonderful things to play around with. You are directing an orchestra. The trick lies within the patient cumulative stimulation, and engagement of all of her erogenous zones in a way that engages her entire body in sweet, overwhelming pleasure. Immerse yourself in the symphony, explore her, and don’t just jump to the clit! Take your time, employ the art of teasing, and eventually let your focus narrow on her clitoris; perhaps combined with some “come hither” action with a finger or two inside her vagina, if she’s keen. If you are feeling a bit submissive, tell her to feel free to hold onto your head and control the pressure. Have fun experimenting and learning about your partner, and if you like what you’re seeing, tasting, smelling etc., tell her!

Going straight for the clit is usually not the best idea.

Unfortunately, mainstream pornography might have you thinking that a quick squeeze of the tits, slap of the ass followed by some possessed tongue flapping directly on the clit will float her boat just fine. Chances are that’ll flop. Stimulating other erogenous zones first such as her neck, ears, breasts, belly and thighs is probably wiser. Don’t forget these areas later on too! Even as you narrow your focus on her clitoris, indirect stimulation through her hood may be preferable. Part two next week, or available now at argosy.mta.ca.

Studying abroad offers a unique opportunity in their education. (Renske Burggraaf/Submitted)

Questions with student Palak Satija Melanie Wagner

Features Contributor Studying abroad is an incredible adventure that many Mount Allison students dream about. For Palak Satija, that dream became reality as she spent a winter semester studying in Salamanca, Spain, one of the many exchange programs offered through Mt A. She recently sat down with The Argosy to discuss the ups, the downs, and the downright amazing experience she discovered.

MW: Why did you choose to go to Spain?

PS: Travelling to Honduras twice (my first and second year) with Global Brigades sparked my interest in Spanish. For me, the language has so much fascinating history and geographical distribution associated with it. So I thought, where better to learn than where some of the most outstanding European history and architecture exists. I also wanted to go to a European country, as I love the small size of the continent and how

you can travel through many different countries and cultures in a matter of hours.

MW: What was the best part of your experience?

PS: That is the hardest question to answer. One of my favourite parts of the experience was the exposure to the immense amount of culture and intricate architecture in the smallest town of the country. It was incredible to be around infrastructure that was centuries old.

Sometimes we get so absorbed in our day-to-day lives (especially in Sackville) and don’t realize how various cultures of the world each possess something so valuable beyond our comprehension. Learning about others is a great way to learn about ourselves, ironically enough. This was another highlight for me, to be able learn and educate myself just by being around people of different cultures instead of reading in a classroom about how laissez-fair the Spanish can be.

MW: What was the hardest part of spending the summer abroad?

PS: The hardest part of spending the semester abroad was probably the language barrier at times.

Even though I was there to learn Spanish, sometimes it was hard to communicate important things to the university staff or my very Spanish

roommate. However, that was a part of challenging myself in a new setting and forced me to learn quicker.

MW: What would you recommend to a student considering an exchange?

PS: I would absolutely recommend doing it. No article or book can ever really capture what I have managed to learn in my travels.

Europe is honestly one of the greatest places to travel. European style, fashion, cuisine, and ambiance are so different than what is offered to us here in Canada. However, wherever you go, I guarantee you won’t regret it as long as you go in with open perspectives, be adaptable and seek to discover.

MW: Where do you want to go next?

PS: I want to go to Latin America next to firm up my Spanish speaking skills with a different dialect of the language. In addition, I now have the travel bug and the more I see, the more I realize how much there is left to explore! I believe the world is full of hidden treasures that remain waiting to be discovered.

For more information on Mt. A exchange programs, visit the website or drop by the international office on the second floor of the Wallace McCain Student Centre.

Write for Features Come to our general meetings every Thursday at 5:30 pm third floor of the Wallace McCain Student Centre Contact argosy@mta.ca

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FEATURES

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17

A less than sobered history Why St. Patrick is celebrated with excessive drink Jessie Byrne

Features Writer For many of us, March 17, 2013 has been marked on our calendars since the groggy haze of last year’s St. Patrick’s Day finally wore off. The day where the partying starts in the wee hours of the morning and goes late into the night and green food is totally acceptable. Ironically enough, this day started out as a religious holiday, but the North American meaning of the day could not be farther from its original definition.

Most people may not know that St. Patrick was an actual person, or what achievements propelled him to sainthood. Born in Ireland in the fifth century, the young St. Patrick was kidnapped by the British when he was sixteen and taken to England as a slave. While there, he became a devout Christian and when he escaped back to Ireland, he brought the religion with him. St. Patrick has since been credited with the spread of Christianity in Ireland and the anniversary of his death, March 17, became one of the most important Irish religious holidays.

The Irish have been celebrating the day for thousands of years and treat it primarily as a sacred occasion.

Interestingly, one of the most well known symbols of St. Patrick’s Day, the shamrock, is a Christian symbol.

The three leaves represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It was an analogy that St. Patrick used during his teachings. Traditionally, to celebrate the day, Irish families would attend church in the morning and then feast in the afternoon.

The holiday made its way to Canada in 1759 when Irish soldiers who were serving in the British army celebrated it. It spread further with the arrival of Irish settlers. It’s not exactly known when St. Patrick’s Day went from a religious holiday to a day with connotations of heavy drinking, but the phenomenon seems to be entirely North American. The day is recognized as a national holiday in Ireland, meaning that school and places of work are closed. In Canada, it is recognized by the provincial governments; however, it is not an official holiday in any province except for Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 1995, the Irish government realized that they could use the popularity of the holiday to promote tourism and Irish culture. Originally, pubs were closed in Ireland on the holiday; however, the government allowed them to open in order to capitalize on the North American fanaticism for the drinking culture of the holiday. Every year, nearly a million people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin. The celebrations last for days and feature parades, concerts, outdoor theatre shows, and fireworks.

Guinness, the famous Irish stout, has

also marketed itself as the official beer of St. Patrick’s Day. While on any given day, five-point-five million pints are consumed worldwide, on St. Patrick’s Day, that number more than doubles to thirteen million pints worldwide.

Globally, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many countries, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia. However, it remains most popular in Canada, the United States, and Australia. Over four million Canadians are of Irish descent, with nearly four hundred thousand living in Atlantic Canada, making up a significant per cent of the total population. Many of these people with Irish heritage see the holiday as a way to celebrate the history of the country and their shared culture.

Canadian celebrations often feature green beer and other forms of green mixed drinks. Many partygoers even go so far as to mimic the Irish flag by dressing in green, orange, and white. Large cities often seize on the opportunity to throw a parade to celebrate the date, and the contribution of Irish settlers to Canadian culture and history.

The largest of these celebrations occur in Montreal and Toronto, which have two of the largest Irish populations in the country.

While celebrations in Sackville might not be to the scale of a big city, you can still expect to see formidable Irish spirit this weekend. So, get out your bright green clothes, be sure to purchase some green fooddye, and remember; everyone is a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!

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Rev. John Perkin

University Chaplain Last week, the History Channel aired the first segment of a new miniseries, “The Bible”. After an extensive promotional campaign aimed primarily at Christian audiences over the last number of months, the premiere earned the network it’s largest audience of the year. The brainchild of producer Mark Burnett and his wife, actress Roma Downey, both committed evangelical Christians, this tenpart miniseries will air on Sunday evenings through the month of March, two episodes combined each evening, with the final episode being broadcast on Easter Sunday.

Burnett is perhaps best known as producer of the reality-television show Survivor, which raises interesting questions about the connection between a reality show that pits contestants in exotic locales against one another in physical and psychological competition in a bid to a win a one million dollar payoff, and the sacred text of the Bible. But perhaps that is best left to another column. For this one, I want to offer my own response and review of the concept of “The Bible” as presented in its first two episodes, airing together last Sunday.

Burnett and Downey have pitched this to a Christian audience, but in hopes that it would reach others and open the mysteries of the Bible to those beyond the church, perhaps bringing them in to its fold. In a YouTube video, as part of the promotional strategy, Burnett stated that “We believe our Bible series has the potential to reach not only those who already go to church but could reach a whole new generation of people who have never been to church.” Downey further commented, “We’ve told the stories of the Bible in a way to grab viewers’ attention and draw them in to want to know more. The footage is exciting, it’s compelling, poignant and powerful. Our hope is this series will reach millions of people around the world.”

I would respond that I found the opening segments neither powerful nor compelling. It certainly cannot be classified as an epic, despite its length and twenty-two million dollar budget; an epic might be presumed to hold a narrative structure, some character or plot development, perhaps conflict or struggle and resolution. Instead, we are simply presented with a series of vignettes lifted from the pages of the Bible, but which do not do the Bible justice. One expects a certain simplifying of the stories in order to fit such a vast array of material into ten episodes – half from the Old Testament and half from the New Testament – with time for

commercials, but this telling was not just a simplifying; the telling of the stories was simplistic at best, and one comes away with the impression that the text that informed the series was not the Bible itself, but a children’s storybook version in which only the key elements of narrative are transferred into action.

The call of Abraham, as an example, is reduced to a whispering voice of God, followed by Abraham’s blind obedience to this whispered voice with the non-biblical mantra echoed by Abraham over and over, “Trust in the Lord!” The jarring biblical story of Abraham taking his son Isaac, to offer as a sacrifice, is not rooted in the challenge of a migrant living in a foreign land, competing for grazing land and living among a people of different languages and with different gods, and a religion that demands the sacrifice of the first-born as an act of worship and expiation; it simply emerges as an act of blind obedience, with a mother’s fears thrown in for good measure; in an imposition on the Biblical narrative, Sarah seems to grasp what is happening, and goes chasing after Abraham - not the three days of the journey as recounted in Genesis, but what looks instead like about three hundred metres.

The Bible is not really a book, it should be noted, but a collection of books written by different hands over a period of centuries. It is shaped by different cultural, historical, social, and religious influences and contexts, but the miniseries seems to want to reduce the Bible to a simplistic plea to “trust in the Lord” (as Moses is also heard to repeat in the story of the Exodus). The Bible, as a collection of writings, is the story of a people’s relationship with God, and attempts to give an understanding to Creation and the God who stands behind it. It struggles to come to terms with the nature and meaning of human existence, and its purpose, especially in relation to Creation and to God, especially by people who are living in a more complex world than we imagine, a world inhabited by various people with very different ideas about themselves and their world. Any telling of the Bible aimed at faith audiences should portray some of the issues of real faith, rather than simply giving a live-action version of a Sunday school tableau, complete with sandals, swords and false beards, that reduces not only God but the people of God to poor players who strut and fret their hour on the stage, and then are heard no more.

If you want more than colour action, but real drama, conflict, struggle, and a deep theology that does not provide simplistic answers, but rather raises complex questions, skip the miniseries and head for the book. Always available at a church near you.

SCIENCE

March 14, 2013

argosy@mta.ca

Scientists link rat brains Millionaire mission to Mars

with their whiskers. The implants linked their somatosensory cortices, which are the regions involved in processing the sense of touch.

Both of these tasks were completed with one rat in Natal, Brazil, and the other in a lab in Duke University.

Rats also showed some interesting behaviours during this task. Both the encoder and the Allison O’Reilly decoder received a reward for successful Science Correspondent completion of the task. The encoder rat, however, received an extra reward if the decoder A new study was able to successfully “mind meld” completed the task correctly. This led to the the brains of two rats on different continents. encoder rat making cleaner, smoother, and faster Signals were sent through the rodents’ movements as the experiment progressed. This brains that allowed them to communicate provided the decoder rat with easily decipherable and help each other solve problems. signals and encouraged a higher rate of success.

Earlier work from Nicolelis’s team consisted Miguel Nicolelis, a neurobiologist at Duke University Medical centre, put micro-electrodes of developing implants that can send and receive on matching cortical areas of the rats’ brains. An signals from the brain, allowing monkeys to electric link was attached, and via intracortical control robotic arms, and in return, get a sense of touch. Nicolelis’ current microstimulation (ICMS), work was in response brain activity of the first rat – the encoder – was Rats connected through to this as he wanted to see if he could use these transmitted to the brain of implants to join the brains the second rat – the decoder. electronic brain-toof two separate animals.

The electric link is what’s brain interface Nicolelis says that known as a brain-to-brain this work is the first step interface (BTBI), and it towards constructing an enables a real-time transfer of behaviourally meaningful sensorimotor organic computer that uses networks of linked information between the brains of two rats. animal brains to solve tasks. Other scientists The results showed that the decoder rat was remain skeptical. Lee Miller, a physiologist at able to process the incoming information. In Northwestern University, stated that although the experiment, the encoder rat was conditioned Nicolelis and his team have made an important to push a button to get food. This brain activity contribution to neural interfaces, the current pattern was transmitted to the decoder rat, paper could be “mistaken for a poor Hollywood and it was able to replicate the task without science-fiction script” and that “it is not clear any visual cues. The rat completed this with a to what end the effect is really being made.”

The next step for Nicolelis and his team is success rate of sixty-four percent – a low rate, but one that is significantly greater than chance. to link the brains of four mice. The researchers Similar accuracy was achieved in a task in then wish to start similar experiments with which the rats had to judge different stimuli monkeys and conduct more complex tasks.

Electronic link connects information across two continents

Dennis Tito is set to invest millions in new space tourism John Fraser,

Arts & Literature Writer Space: the final frontier. While our generation was born into a world that had its eyes more earth bound in a tremendous explosion of technological innovation, our parents and grandparents remember the Space Race of the 50s and 60s.

We weren’t around for the monumental moment when humanity first set foot on the moon, though we felt the shadow of its effect. If you watched Apollo 13 as a kid, you know what this feels like.

Yet there is still so much about space that we are uncovering everyday, and its vastness and richness have confirmed one thing: we have a lot to learn.

Furthermore, we do not have the technology to physically access these amazing treasures.

However, there is yet one more unconquered land within our grasp, one more physical landmark we have yet to conquer: Mars. Despite the waning of effective space programs around the world, there is one man whose vision of conquering Mars may yet see this dream come true.

Dennis Tito, a seventy-two year old rocket scientist, who made millions through investment, has decided he is going to start a space tourism industry. His decision is partly influenced by his own personal experience as the first private space tourist when he paid the private space tourism company Space Adventures to fly him to the International Space Station in 2001. He hopes that his project, titled “Mission for America,” will inspire a new space age for the future. He

unveiled his plan to the media in Washington DC on February 27, 2013. Unlike the majority of space programs that hit the lime light for a few weeks and seem to disappear, Tito’s idea was given a bit more credibility due to the amount of cash already behind it. Tito plans to fund the project until 2014, and is looking for alternate avenues to generate the cash required after that.

The project plans on sending a capsule on a “free return” trajectory from Earth, to a 100-mile orbit over Mars, and then back to Earth again.

The “free return” flight will return the capsule back to Earth regardless of the state of the occupants, making this an easy unmanned flight.

The flight will take advantage of the alignment of the heavenly bodies during 2018, which will not happen again until 2031. Tito hopes to send a married couple as the test group for the flight, which will last 501 days, a relatively speedy trip if you compare other alternatives.

There have been a number of concerns raised by the idea. For one, the capsule is going to be quite small, leaving the occupants in a state of discomfort for the entire voyage. Furthermore, human beings have never been in space for as long as this proposed journey, leaving scientists curious about the long-term effects of space on the body and mind. The capsule is supposed to contain machines that the occupants can use to keep their bodies strong, but this is difficult with the space constraints. On top of this is the fear of cosmic radiation, which the occupants will be completely exposed to and has been shown to cause cancer and Alzheimer’s.

There is no mistake that the ambition behind this project is enormous, and there is money to back it. If everything stays on track, Tito and his expert team of scientists, engineers, and surgeons will see the launch of the pioneer couple into space on January 3, 2018.

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SCIENCE

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19

Gamers For Giving event successful weekend of games Over 300, 000 gamers tuned in online and earned $15,000 in donations Martin Omes Science Correspondent Gamers for Giving was held on the weekend of February 15 to 17 at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The event was hosted by Gamers Outreach Foundation, who will use the money in the coming months to build GO Karts for children’s hospitals, and to package games for U.S. troops overseas.

The weekend started out interestingly with the decision to take the nine-hour bus to Ann Arbor, MI from Toronto, ON. Of all the people I could sit next to on the bus, I sat down next to a fellow gamer who was travelling to Chicago to visit his girlfriend of two years who he met playing “Team Fortress 2”. After a long day of travel, I arrived at the school where I met up with all the staff members of Gamers Outreach Foundation, including the founder Zach Wigal, where the set-up of the event began. Setting up hundreds of Xboxes and updating all of them was not the most enjoyable task, as many issues ensued and we were up until 4:00 am setting up. I felt proud that fifteen of us managed to set up the entire event.

On Saturday a final check was made to ensure that everything was set up before the “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” event. Mike “Hastro” Rufail who is one of the developers of the game was able to do the commentating of the tournament.

It was a privilege to talk to and work with a man who has created a game that has made millions of dollars around the world. Thankfully, Red Bull

Volunteers prepare at major gaming event. (Maher Nizer El-awar/Gamers for Giving) was one of our main sponsors for the event, so after a couple of Red Bulls, and making sure the online stream was ready, the events were ready to begin. Everything was broadcast online and some top class teams showcased their talents and the competition was very close. One moment that stood out was when Halo semi-pro team “The Canadians” pulled a shocking upset over a top local team in Michigan–the sound the crowd was making after those games was just amazing. These are the kind of moments that show that no matter who you are, in those tenfifteen minutes anybody can win the game. As

the tournament went on, we even had a chance to have a celebrity showmatch featuring “Hastro”, Dave “Walshy” Walsh, and many other legendary gamers, commentated by Maxim Gamer Girl Kaitlin “Strwbryshrtkate” Ouillette. After the trash talk, and lots of exciting games, it came down to tournament favourites “Elite Pro” led by top female gamer “DreamCrazy” against dark horses “Team Lenox” who were knocked into the Loser’s Bracket in the very first round, and battled through every single team to make it the finals.

Their Cinderella run was cut short, however, as exhaustion set in for Team Lenox and Elite Pro

First baby cured of HIV Early treatment may be key to suppressing virus Merryl Black Science Correspondent In 2010, a woman, who unknowingly was HIV positive, gave birth to her daughter in a rural hospital in Mississippi. She passed on the virus to her daughter, so she was moved to a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, where they immediately began treatment, a mere thirty hours after her birth. The baby remained on the medication for eighteen months. At twenty-eight months, though the virus was still present, it was being held at bay by the immune system and she was deemed ‘functionally cured.’

The medication used in this case is the same currently available to treat adult patients, however, since the treatment began so early in life, scientists believe it is unlikely that the virus will resurface. It is presently impossible to eliminate the virus from the body, but it can be suppressed using current medications.

In adult patients the virus is known to resurface after an extended period of dormancy on a variety of medications.

There are only two known cases in history of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) being

cured, and the newborn in 2010 is the first child to be considered cured. The first adult is known as the ‘Berlin Patient,’ Timothy Ray Brown. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007 and needed a bone marrow transplant – Brown was already known to be HIV positive. His doctor went on the hunt for a donor who naturally had a gene mutation that resists the infection of HIV. The doctor found a donor and after the transplant B r o w n became H I V negative.

While this cured one man, it is too expensive and dangerous to be put to use for every person who has HIV. The side effects of bone marrow transplants alone can be severe and deadly at times. Additionally, there are relatively few peole who are immune to HIV, and that places a great deal of pressure on those individuals to donate bone marrow.

These two cases are inspiring, but must be taken in perspective. HIV affects your immune system so that it is unable to properly fight the germs that enter your body on a daily basis.

This makes the person far more susceptible to getting sick, and your body has a harder time fighting the infection.

In 2011, 2.5 million people became infected with this virus, and 1.7 million of 34 million infected individuals died. There are 300 new people i n f e c t e d every hour.

Even five years ago, t h e goal of curing this virus seemed nowhere in sight.

It seemed impossible with current medical advances, although the scientific research in the field has been garnering a great deal of support. Science has made huge steps preventing mothers who are HIV positive from passing the virus onto their children. The treatments have a 98% effectiveness rate. Unfortunately it will still be a long time before HIV can be called a curable disease, but we are on the right track!

dispatched them with an easy 3-0 sweep in the finals, giving the $1,500 to Elite Pro at 5:00 am.

The next day was an exciting Halo 4 Tournament with several pro teams making the trip from all over North America.With the decline of the game over the past few years, it was refreshing to see all the teams show up and give their support to a game they know has been dying in the competitive scene. After a fairly predictable tournament with the pro teams leagues ahead of the other teams, it came down to two pro teams.

“Reality Check” who are sponsored by Warheads and led by Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, had relatively no trouble going through the bracket and beat “Gimme My Money” sponsored by Stride and led

by TJ “Lethul” Campbell in the finals in a close series full of rivalry and anticipation. With many other tournaments such as Starcraft 2 and League of Legends, this weekend had a tournament for every kind of gamer, even Minecraft!

I met a lot of gamers over the weekend who had travelled from all over the world to come to this event, friends who I only get to see at events, and the stories that each person gave is an experience of a lifetime. This was easily the best gaming event I have ever been to, even over the World Championships last year in Providence, RI. All of the gamers have come together to support GOF’s initiatives and show that with a little bit of effort everyone can succeed. A special thank you to Shaun Fyall and Zach Wigal, who worked behind the scenes with me all weekend, making sure everything ran smoothly and making sure they made every stereotypical Canadian joke possible. To support further Gamers Outreach functions, please visit gamersoutreach.org, and view the photos and videos taken throughout the weekend as well. To view the broadcasted event, you can watch the replay on www.twitch.tv/lanfest. Until next year, keep leveling up, and thank you for tuning in.

Mansbridge delivers Internship creates opportunities for third year students Madison Downe Science Editor Each spring the Mansbridge Internship, established by Mount Allison University Chancellor Peter Mansbridge, provides a third year student with a valuable leadership development opportunity in their chosen field. According to 2012 Mansbridge Internship recipient Lia D’Abate, the experience is incredible and she encourages students to submit an application.

The $10,000 scholarship is awarded to students who then coordinate their own placement in the field.

The internship, established in 2011, was first awarded to Monica Jepson who pursued her work experience with a medical based internship in Kenya. D’Abate, last year’s Intern, told The Argosy that the internship “gives students the chance to have work experience they may not have chances to access otherwise.”

D’Abate spent the summer at Stanford University in a lab working with signaling pathways and development of the pancreas. She told The Argosy, “I didn’t properly understand it before I went.” D’Abate

explained that the experience was challenging, but she enjoying doing work that she otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do at Mt. A. “The Mansbridge Internship is so unique to this school,” explained D’Abate.

“It’s wonderful to have a school and chancellor that are so supportive of the students.” Her research at Stanford was an unpaid position and the money provided by the Mansbridge Internship allowed her to pursue the oppourtunity and helped with living expenses during the summer.

D’Abate is currently completing her honours in biology and plans to graduate this May. She plans to pursue her masters and is grateful to have had the opportunity to do a bunch of different things before focusing on developmental biology.

The newly reappointed Chancellor of Mt. A Peter Mansbridge has stated, “The internship is meant to provide students with an experience that builds on what they learn in the classroom.”

Mansbridge explained that, “such perspective is vital in today’s world.”

The Internship is open to all Mt. A students in their third year of study and aims to facilitate academic and experiential learning opportunities for the recipient. One of the features of the internship includes an aspect of community service for the Mt. A and Sackville community after the completion of summer work.

“I think it’s great that Mt. A is investing in students, “ said D’Abate.

“I want to thank Peter Mansbridge, Dr. Campbell and Ron Byrne for this opportunity. I urge everyone to apply.”

SPORTS Weekly CFL returning to Moncton March 14, 2012

Wellness

Former Mountie Diet and nutrition Mike Filer looks Melissa Meade to make home Health Intern debut As a busy student it can be difficult to eat regular, healthy meals. Whether you live on campus and eat at meal hall or fend for yourself off campus, grabbing a slice of pizza or some fries is often the more appealing option. However, it is important to give your body the fuel it needs to keep you energized and healthy.

An unhealthy diet high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and trans fats can be detrimental to long term health and wellness. Such a diet can raise blood cholesterol levels which can eventually lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and other health complications. Staying away from large amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol found in animal meat fat and dairy products, as well as trans fats found in many baked goods, is important for the maintenance of good health. When possible, opt for lean meats such as chicken or turkey, skim milk, and fruit instead of cookies or pastries. Making a few simple substitutions can be hugely beneficial to your physical health.

Many people reach for candy, pop, or juice cocktails to give them a boost of energy while studying; however, this plan tends to backfire and fails to provide your body with what it needs. The simple sugars in these items (and the large amounts of it!) are depleted very quickly, giving you a rush of energy and then leaving you feeling tired and craving more.

Snacks like veggies or oatmeal contain complex sugars that are not broken down as quickly and can provide you with the satiation you are looking for.

In addition to leaving you hungry, consuming a lot of simple sugars on a regular basis can have an unwanted impact on your waistline and your skin.

Aside from making healthy choices about the types of foods you ingest, it is also important to watch the amount you are eating and when you are eating it. Some research shows that eating a larger number of smaller portioned meals throughout the day is beneficial.

Eating more frequently throughout the day keeps your metabolism optimally active and has been shown to reduce risk of obesity as well as high blood pressure. Further, if you overeat in one sitting it’s going to be difficult for your body to put all of that food to good use and unused calories will be stored as fat. Conversely, going without food for long periods of time will trick your metabolism into starvation mode, causing your body to store the calories it eventually receives as fat for future use.

When school seems to be a more important priority than eating, your food choices can often seem irrelevant.

However, your body is a machine and its ability to function is directly related to what you fuel it with. The next time you go to grab a chocolate bar, pick up an apple or banana instead: your body will be all the better for it.

If you want more information about health and nutrition, contact the Wellness Centre at health@mta.ca.

Wray Perkin Sports Writer For the third time in four years, the Canadian Football League (CFL) will be bringing a regular season game to Moncton. With the CFL schedule being released last week, and a great deal of fanfare about other games on the schedule, the game is almost sliding under the radar. Almost.

The 2013 edition of the Touchdown Atlantic series will feature the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a September 21 clash at Stade Universite de Moncton Stadium. The Tiger-Cats played in the most recent Touchdown Atlantic game in 2011, while the Alouettes will be making their first appearance in Moncton.

“I know both teams will welcome the opportunity to go out and put on a good show for such a strong fan base,” says Alouettes linebacker Shea Emry, the 2012 East Division Defensive Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Canadian. “I have heard that the people who you come across in the Maritimes are what make the experience; I have heard that the guys

get treated with so much respect and that the environment is second to none.”

Alouettes kicker Sean Whyte echoes Emry, saying “I hear the place is beautiful, the people are excited, and very welcoming to the players who come to their city.”

Lining up opposite Emry and Whyte on September 21 will be former Mount Allison Mountie standout Mike Filer. The offensive lineman, an All-Canadian with the Mounties in 2010, is entering his second season as a member of the Tiger-Cats.

The week leading up to the game in Moncton has been described as a “Grey Cup-like atmosphere” in the two previous years, which saw the Toronto Argonauts against the Edmonton Eskimos in 2010, and the Tiger-Cats face the Calgary Stampeders in 2011. It allows for a nice break in the repetitiveness of the schedule for the players of both teams involved, something Emry says he is looking forward to.

“I hope the normalcy of the season is disrupted,” the hard-nosed linebacker says bluntly. “I am looking forward to going out to the Maritimes and getting to spend some time getting to know the residents out there, and really getting out into the community.”

Whyte, the East Division’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2011, says not much will change for him in terms of preparation. “The main difference for me will be playing on a grass field. Other than that I don’t see there being a difference in how we prepare.”

argosy@mta.ca

Filer was drafted in 2012 by Calgary. (Sue Seaborn/Mount Allison) “I have never been to Atlantic Canada, and I am really excited to experience a new city and the nice people I have heard about who come with it,” Whyte says.

When asked what else he might be most looking forward to, Emry said simply: “lobster, other seafood, and more lobster.”

With the Tiger-Cats’ home stadium in Hamilton under construction this year, they will be playing eight games at Guelph

University, and one in Moncton.

Other highlights of the CFL’s 2013 schedule include the opening of Winnipeg’s new stadium, Toronto’s one-game return to the historic, legendary Varsity Field, and all-time receiving yards leader Geroy Simon’s first game in BC as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in October.

The 101st edition of the Grey Cup will be played in Regina, Saskatchewan on November 24.

Janet Robinson The woman behind Mounties athletics Wray Perkin Sports Writer Allow me to begin by saying that a 500 word limit will not do Janet Robinson justice, nor will it fully describe her value to the Mount Allison Athletics Department.

Someone who works tirelessly, often behind the scenes, Robinson has been an employee in various roles since the late 1970s, after graduating from the University of New Brunswick.

At the suggestion of her basketball and field hockey coaches, Robinson applied for jobs as the basketball and field hockey team’s coaches, and got them, bringing her to Sackville.

Robinson became involved with the intramural program and stopped coaching after starting a family in Sackville. In the late 1980s when field hockey was dropped, Robinson took on her current role as coordinator for intramurals and recreation and the athletic department’s business manager.

Robinson also recently stepped away from a very successful run as the badminton team’s coach, winning seven Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) championships

and five Coach of the Year awards.

“As coordinator for intramurals and recreation, I hire and do the payroll for the student staff, develop the schedules, correspond with the residence and town captains, and keep the statistics for the sports,” Robinson explained.

She also pays the bills, orders the varsity teams’ equipment, and works to meet the teams’ needs such as travel, meals, and accommodation.

“It’s a busy job, and can be very demanding at certain points in the year,” says Robinson, adding, “but it is rewarding at the same time.”

The event which Robinson is likely most known for is the Spirit Night held in the gymnasium at the start of every year.

“The first Spirit Night was in 1986 and the theme was ‘Rodeo Night’” Robinson recalls. “I feel that Spirit Night is a happy and fun welcome to Mt. A and the Intramural year and something that can bring the residences together in fun competition and silliness. It’s an event that is a one timer in the school year and I think that is why it stays special and keeps its appeal.”

Robinson is also instrumental in organizing the annual Athletics Awards banquet, the Night of the Mounties, which she says is another event she looks forward to every year.

“It’s a chance to celebrate the year and come together to recognize individual and team accomplishments.

It’s a great way to close off the

Janet is a big part of Mt. A Athletics. (Sue Seaborn/Mount Allison) varsity season and have a bit of a breather at the end of a busy year.”

Being among the longest-tenured employees at the university, let alone the athletics department, Robinson has seen her fair share of great athletes wear a Mountie uniform. Football players Eric Lapointe, Grant Keaney and Gary Ross, hockey players Kevin Foran and Ross Yates, soccer player Jacqui Wong and wrestler Mehernosh Pestonji are a few names Robinson singled out from the past, while also naming current Mounties Mitchell Peters and Ben Chisholm as star athletes.

“All of these players have been great ambassadors for Mount Allison Athletics and they promote a positive identity and role model for all athletes.”

Robinson’s own daughter Jenny was also recently in a Mountie uniform, as a member of the Women’s Basketball Mounties from 2008-12.

One of the behind-the-scenes cogs in the wheel that is the athletics department, Robinson is a valuable asset who brings experience, leadership and passion to every task she applies herself to. “It‘s a great atmosphere in which to work and I’ve enjoyed working in an area that has always been part of my lifestyle.”

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Teammates for life

Eating healthy

Volleyball Mounties reflect on decade playing together

Fruits, fibre and fitness

Robert Murray

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to get back to the gym and you’re still going, well done! If you’ve been faithful in your workouts for years already, I can only salute you. But if, like me, you often have a hard time motivating yourself to run, lift, go to Zumba, or be active however you enjoy, then changing your diet a bit could make all the difference.

Although I was already a long-time vegan, I found that my food choices needed to be literally freshened up.

A few months ago, I shifted from mostly grains and legumes to more simple carbs, in my case, fruit sugar and non-starchy vegetables, and this experiment did wonders for my athletic performance. Why is this?

Here are a few reasons. First of all, fruit and veggies, especially raw ones, digest much more quickly and easily than grains, fatty foods, meats, or even vegetarian proteins like beans.

You don’t end up trying to drag yourself around with a full stomach.

Second, easily digestible fruit gives you an immediate source of energy; its sweetness puts a smile on your face and a spring in your step – ideal conditions when you’re just heading into a workout! The fibre in whole fruits, however, will also slow the absorption of sugar to prevent a “sugar rush” and inevitable crash. Third, the water contained in these foods helps you stay naturally hydrated. According to sports nutritionist Kim Mueller, water lubricates muscles and joints to prevent cramping. Plus, losing just one per cent of your weight in water contributes to a five per cent reduction in metabolic efficiency.

(Note that it’s very easy to become dehydrated in the winter, when we are colder and less likely to drink water.)

Fuelled by lots of fruits and vegetables, not only do I feel more energetic and pumped-up to exercise, but I can run harder and faster than I could before. My consistency with workout sessions still leaves something to be desired, but even so, I’m making progress!

A good place to start would be just having a fruit smoothie or several ripe, juicy fruits half an hour to a hour before you exercise. I like to make a smoothie with four to five bananas and some frozen berries, maybe even some spinach. Alternately, I’ll have five or so oranges or pears, or a big handful of fresh dates. I now find it easy to eat this much fruit, but you can start with less and work up to find how much gives you a good level of fullness and energy. One warning: if you work out in the afternoon or evening, make sure to eat your fruit by itself, a few hours after other foods. Otherwise, with its much faster ‘colon transit’ time, it may mix with the slower-digesting foods to cause bloating and discomfort.

Though many people aren’t interested in going vegan, they can still experience major benefits from simply adding more fresh, raw produce to meals and snacks. It’ll help you get fitter faster, and it’s delicious!

Amber Tucker Sports Contributor

Sports Editor The chemistry developed between teammates over the course of a university career can start as quickly as it can end. For Mount Allison Volleyball players Brittany Cain and Erica Cronkhite, their chemistry has existed for over a decade.

Cain, a fourth-year setter and Cronkhite, a fourth-year libero, have played volleyball together for ten of the past eleven years. The duo from Fredericton started playing volleyball in grade six at George Street Middle School and moved onto Fredericton High School. “All the way through it wasn’t just the two of us, it was a big group of us,” commented Cain. Group members came and left but Cain and Cronkhite were always together.

After seven years together, their streak came to an end. In 2009-10 Cronkhite was recruited to the Saint Mary’s Huskies while Cain came to Mt. A and joined the Mounties. Something was different for both players though. “[We] weren’t just teammates, [we] were friends,” said Cain. With 200910 All-Canadian Libero Laurie Marchbank graduating and Cronkhite looking for an alternative to the

Cronkhite and Cain in Grade 12 (left); after Cain’s last home game (right). (Erica Cronkhite/Submitted) Huskies, it was a natural fit for her to come to Sackville and join the Mounties. “It was nice coming back and knowing someone who I’d played with before,” recalled Cronkhite.

Since Cronkhite’s arrival at Mt. A, the two have rekindled and built upon the chemistry they share on and off the court. “It’s a different relationship than just playing on the same team,” mentioned Cain.

The two have grown closer together on and off the court. They are now roommates and were both a part of the team that captured the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Championship in 2010-11.

Their chemistry has been witnessed by their teammates. Fourth-year veteran

Caitlin MacDonald commented, “They have a good bond and you can tell when they play together.”

This year, the Mounties season ended in the ACAA semi-finals against the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies. In a cruel twist of fate, Cronkhites’s younger sister, Emily, joined STU’s volleyball team this year as a libero. Emily, who is currently in her first year, is also a midfielder for STU’s soccer team.

Unfortunately, this is where the Mt. A portion of the story ends. Cain will graduate in May, leaving Cronkhite in Sackville for her final year. “I saw Brittany at the end of the game and I started crying,” recalled Cronkhite.

Both reminisced about their final

game together, despite the loss.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next year,” said Cronkhite, “she’s like another sister in that aspect.”

Although their time together at Mt. A is done, they may still have a future together in the sport of volleyball.

If both remain in New Brunswick after graduation, they said they plan to reunite as many of the group that they were with throughout middle and high school, and join New Brunswick’s Senior Women’s league.

There are no guarantees that Cain and Cronkhite will be teammates on the court again, but if the past decade is any indication of their bond, they’ll be teammates off the court for life.

Argosy Sports at the Daytona 500 The ‘Great American Race’ doesn’t fail to disappoint Alex Bates Sports Contributor My Christmas present this year was a ticket to the biggest race on the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) circuit, the Daytona 500. I was absolutely stunned.

I had been to NASCAR events before, but nothing like Daytona. This would be the experience of a lifetime.

This year’s race would make history; Danica Patrick would start first in Sunday’s feature event. Patrick, whom most of you will recognize from the sexy “GoDaddy.com” advertisements, would be the first women to ever start in the pole position for a NASCAR race.

Before the race, celebrities such as Bobby Allison, Ray Lewis, 50 Cent and Willie and Korie Robertson (from A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” reality television show) made appearances. Driver introductions commenced and the loudest cheer was for Patrick’s entrance to the track.

The green flag flew and they were off.

At speeds of over 330 km/h, it would take a seasoned fan to distinguish between the cars as they went by. I sat

Daytona International Speedway is a world famous racetrack in Florida. (Alex Bates/Argosy) at the end of pit lane, allowing me to only see the cars as they came along the front-stretch and in turn one.

Despite Patrick’s superior starting position, she would have to put her bid to lead a lap on hold as Jeff Gordon stormed into turn one with the lead, leading the first thirty-one laps.

NASCAR implemented a new car for the 2013 season, the Gen-6 model.

After Saturday’s Nationwide Series event that left multiple fans injured and needing medical attention, a majority of the drivers were nervous about the cliché three-wide racing.

There were a couple of fans in my section who weren’t too impressed by this, but it began to happen as the race progressed. This allowed drivers to spend many laps in the lead with their position on the track uncontested.

History was made on lap ninety.

Patrick pulled her number ten GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in front of Clint Bowyer to take the lead on Daytona’s backstretch. She led the pack around the 2.5 mile speedway to make her the first women to ever lead a lap in NASCAR. The crowd roared as she dashed through the tri-oval.

There are so many different drivers to support in NASCAR, and there are also fierce rivalries, even between teammates. To see the crowd rejoice in unison for a driver is simply astounding. The crowd noise rivalled the hums of the forty-three engines.

With only a few laps remaining, Jimmie Johnson put his car into the lead just as a caution flag flew, freezing the field. This decision was criticized by many fans at the track. Johnson’s five consecutive championship victories have sparked quite a hatred

for the Californian native, so any break he gets is always criticized.

Patrick had an opportunity to go for the victory sitting in fourth on the final lap, but it would Dale Earnhardt Jr. that pulled out of the draft first, stifling Patrick in the process as cars wrecked behind them.

Earnhardt Jr. drafted up to the leader Johnson’s bumper and going into turn four the crowd went berserk as they saw NASCAR’s most popular driver in second. As they dashed through the tri-oval Johnson held off Earnhardt Jr. to take the victory.

The race had everything that you could want in a sporting event: celebrities, big wrecks, adversity, history, and a spectacular ending. If you are in the Daytona Beach area in late February, you owe it to yourself to check out the racing action at Daytona.

HUMOUR Across 1- Beat it!; 5- Heaps; 10- Walk in water; 14- Motion picture; 15- Young hooter; 16- Domain; 17- Affirm; 18- Australian marsupial; 19- Letter opener; 20- Honeybunch; 22- Retailer; 24- Divest; 25- Device for holding up a stocking;

26- Centers of attention; 28- Ventured; 32- Give it ___; 35- “Exodus” hero; 37- Invalidate; 38- Green shade; 39- Luau greeting; 41- Genetic material; 42- Dines at home; 45- Strike caller; 46- The Tower of Pisa does this; 47- Rasp; 48- Vintner’s prefix; 50- Speaks publicly;

Down 1- Lots; 2- Catlike Asian carnivore; 3- Lend ___; 4- Scare; 5- Prod; 6- ___ Jima; 7- South American ruminant; 8- Conger catcher; 9- Begin; 10- Washcloth; 11- Horne solo; 12- “Jurassic Park” actress; 13- 3:00; 21- Wall St. debut; 23- Relinquish;

25- Female child; 27- James of “The Godfather”; 29- Describes a gently cooked steak; 30- Gas burner or Sicilian volcano; 31- Faculty head; 32- Take down ___; 33- Drop of water expelled by the eye; 34- Pro follower; 36- Acknowledgment of debt; 37- Back of the neck; 40- Med. care providers; 43- Abdomen;

March 14, 2013 54- Without ___ in the world; 58- Middle way; 61- Humbles; 62- Greek peak; 63- Pays to play; 65- Hue; 66- Not of the cloth; 67- Toothed wheels; 68- Actress McClurg; 69- Nonsense; 70- Devoured; 71- Sandy tract;

44- Able was ___...; 46- Situated; 49- Capture; 51- Proverb, saying; 52- Fungal infection; 53- Really bother; 55- Stage whisper; 56- Kidney enzyme; 57- First name in cosmetics; 58- Electrical unit; 59- Golfer Aoki; 60- Warts and all; 61- Org.; 64- Before, once;

(CUP) — Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

1. Have you ever seen in cartoons when animated people prop a box on a stick and lie in wait? Well, I recommend you try that. If you need bait, use a handful of Lucky Charms.

2. Dress as a really attractive female leprechaun and act as seductive as possible. They’ll come to you like flies to honey.

3. Set up a pot of gold and loudly talk about how unprotected it is and how any leprechaun could just come take it from you. Warning: you may also get mugged.

4. Wait for a rainy day; when a rainbow appears, drive after it to find the end. It’s like a less extreme Storm Chasers episode.

5. Travel to Ireland and get REALLY drunk. Suddenly, everyone becomes a leprechaun!

6. A butterfly net?

7. Dig a pit and fill it with spikes, then cover said pit with fourleaf clovers; the food of the wild leprechaun. Be patient, and sure enough a wandering leprechaun will find its way over for a snack.

8. Travel to the North Pole, sneak past Santa and kidnap an elf. Dress him up as a leprechaun and create a hostage video.

Send it to leprechaun headquarters and, when the SWAT team shows up to retrieve your fake leprechaun, you can catch a real one!

9. Get invited onto some talk show with a large distribution - Ellen or perhaps Dr. Phil. Talk about how you are an abandoned leprechaun seeking to be reunited with your family. Really milk the story; maybe throw in a few tears.

When the leprechauns see you they will immediately seek to retrieve you out of love, and the possibility of a reality TV series. When you are finally “reunited”, you grab them!

10. The master plan: gather all the things leprechauns love (gold, chocolate, Lucky Charms, alcohol) and place them in a large cage. The mystical creature will be irresistibly drawn to the pile of treasures and as soon as he enters the prison, you slam the door shut! (Make sure to check you’ve caught a leprechaun and not a broke university student before calling the National Enquirer though.)

argosy@mta.ca

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HUMOUR

23

The Argosy is hiring for next year!

The Argosy’s Managers are the officers of the ship: they keep both sides of The Argosy, business and production, running smoothly. Business and Business Manager advertising managers are responsible for the money matters, as well as Advertising Manager soliciting advertisements. Production managers make sure that content Office Manager actually goes onto the page. The office manager deals with HR issues and Production Manager is secretary of the Board. The circulations manager gets the paper out on Assistant Production Manager campus and in Sackville, and the IT manager keeps our computers running!

Circulations Manager It’s a hard job running the ship, but someone’s got to do it.

IT Manager Application Deadline for MANAGER POSITIONS: March 16, 2012 The editorial board is the backbone of The Argosy staff; responsible for section ideas, writing, and editing. The editors are an epic crew that chart the direction of student journalism at Mount Allison. Section editors coordinate with their writers, edit the submissions that come in, and cover events. Copy Editors proof-read all of what we write to avoid embarrassing mistakes. Photo-Editors do our photography and clean up our photos to make them paper ready!

Application Deadline for EDITOR POSITIONS: March 23, 2012

The writing staff are essential to keep The Argosy running. Each writer is responsible to a section editor and usually writes two stories per week for that section. These stories are the bread and butter of The Argosy, and without them, we wouldn’t have anything to put in the paper! Not only can you get free tickets events, and books and CDs to review, but it looks great on your resume!

Application Deadline for WRITER POSITIONS: March 23, 2012

News Editor Features Editor Op/Ed Editor Sci-Tech Editor Entertainment Editor Arts & Literature Editor Sports Editor Humour Editor Online Editor Photo Editors Copy Editors

Illustrator News Writer Features Writer Entertainment Writer Arts & Literature Writer Sports and Fitness Writer Political Beat Writer Sci-Tech Writer

Detailed job descriptions available in The Argosy office or at www.argosy.ca What we need: -Resume, with particular attention given to any writing and editing experience -Cover letter describing why you’re interested in the position and why you make an epic candidate -Two writing samples (For Editor and Writer Positions Only)

Send your application to argosy@mta.ca

Need more information? Drop by The Argosy office: 3rd flood WMSC!