The Argosy Vol. 144, Iss. 17 (Feb. 19, 2015)

ARGOSY

THE

Spring break 4ever since 1872

News pg. 2

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Opinions pg. 4

DIVESTMENT

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Halifax and Sackville collide, pg. 11

Mount Allison University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Sports pg. 6

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Arts pg. 10

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February 19, 2015 Vol. 144, Iss. 17

Science pg. 12

Global Divestment Day reaches Mount Allison

Divest MTA holds rally asking for divestment from fossil fuels

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Humour pg. 14

MASU ELECTION

WooleyBerry elected in yes/no vote Jean-Sébastien Comeau News Reporter After a drawn-out election cycle, Mount Allison students elected Dylan Wooley-Berry as the Mount Allison Students’ Union’s president for the 2015-2016 academic year.

An error in the ballot setup, omitting the option for voters to abstain in the second round, made the results of the first election invalid.

According to MASU bylaws, voting must be held under a preferential voting system, which entails that voters should be able to vote for one candidate and abstain from the other, abstain from both, or list candidates

Lauren Latour, one of Divest MTA’s co-ordinators, talks to protestors at their Feb. 13 demonstration outside of Centennial Hall. Chris Donovan/Argosy

Jean-Sébastien Comeau News Reporter Divest MTA participated in Global Divestment Day for the second year in a row. The initiative aims to pressure institutions to remove their investments from the fossil

fuel industry. Divest MTA organized initiatives to foster support, build awareness and send a clear message to the university that they want to make fossil fuel divestment a reality at Mount Allison.

Last year, the bulk of the initiatives focused on building awareness around the issue, said one of Divest MTA’s co-

ordinators, Emma Jackson.

“This year we’ve made really significant progress so I think for us, we’re moving beyond this awareness stage of our campaign,” said Jackson.

“We are willing and wanting to collaborate and to work with the Board of Regents to make this a reality.”

This was reflected in the rally

which took place on Feb. 13 in front of Centennial Hall, which houses most of the administration’s offices.

A group of approximately 25 students and community members regrouped to engage in chants, pressuring the university to divest.

‘Divest’ pg. 2

LITERATURE

Shaw explores queer identity through short stories Creative writing project focuses on bisexual erasure and representation Amanda Cormier Arts & Culture Reporter An ongoing creative writing project

by Haley Shaw consists of short stories involving queer identity and representation.

Shaw, a fourth-year honours English student at Mount Allison, has a strong interest in creative writing and is currently working on a cycle of short stories while finishing her degree.

Though Shaw takes interest in all kinds of queer literature and issues

within the queer community, the cycle of stories she is currently writing mainly focuses on the struggles faced by polysexual people – people who are attracted to multiple genders, including those who identify as bisexual or pansexual.

“There’s a lot of literature out there about monosexuality, some lesbian literature and gay literature, but not so much for people who don’t strictly fall into one or the other,” she said.

Shaw commented on the erasure and lack of support for bisexual people in the community, including poor

treatment from others in the queer community.

“People who are monosexual will look down on bisexuals, or queer people who don’t fall distinctly into the lesbian or gay category, and be like, ‘You’re just saying that so you don’t have to commit to coming out.’”

Shaw states that an important part of increasing acceptance of all members of the queer community is to improve media representation of these groups, including characters in movies, television, books and video games.

“If I had had that when I was growing up, I probably would have grown up in a very different way than I did, and I probably would have had a better sense of my identity than I did,” she added.

Shaw talked about one of her stories, divided into two parts, about a young girl coming to terms with her sexuality.

‘Shaw’ pg. 10

“I believe that next year will be extremely productive and that students will see our union accomplish many goals and complete many projects” in order of preference. The Jan. 2627 election allowed for students to list candidates in a preferential order but did not allow voting for a single candidate. Neither Wooley-Berry nor his opponent, Piper Riley Thompson, received the necessary 50 per cent plus one (vote) of the ballots cast during the first round of voting. The second round of voting could not be counted because the system did not let voters opt out from voting for a second candidate.

Because of the erroneous ballot, a second round of voting was held for the presidential election.

The presidential runoff election followed a simple “yes/no/abstain” formula, with Wooley-Berry as the only candidate on the ballot.

“I am both relieved that the election is finally over, as it was much longer than anticipated,” said Wooley-Berry.

‘Election’ pg. 3

News

Editors: Cameron McIntyre & Kevin Levangie | February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

‘Protest’: Student group continues to pressure administration, using ethical, financial appeals

Divest MTA held a protest outside of Centennial Hall calling for the university to sell off its investments in fossil fuels. Chris Donovan/Argosy.

“This year we’ve made really significant progress so I think for us, we’re moving beyond this awareness stage of our campaign,” said Jackson.

“We are willing and wanting to collaborate and to work with the Board of Regents to make this a reality.”

The rally that took place on Feb. 13 in front of Centennial Hall, which houses most of the administration’s offices, reflected this. A group of approximately 35 students and community members gathered to engage in chants.

“The objective there isn’t to be angry or in any way sort of antagonistic,” said Jackson. “It really is just to show that students are supporting this and that there are students on the ground that want to see it happen.”

While the rally was at the core of Global Divestment Day’s events, the organizers still planned some awareness initiatives. Members of Divest MTA also handed out orange squares and stickers showing support for the divest movement.

“We’re pretty pleased with how everything went. It was short, it was sweet, it was wonderful to see so many people out. So much positive energy and support around campus was really, really wonderful,” said Divest MTA co-coordinator Lauren Latour.

As the rally was taking place, Jackson and Latour brought a report to Mt. A President Robert Campbell and Vice-President Finance and Administration Robert Inglis, presenting both ethical and financial

arguments for divestment. The report was drafted by a committee of seven students involved with Divest MTA. The report will be forwarded to the investment committee, said Inglis.

The committee oversees Mt. A’s endowment and pension funds. Inglis said it is the committee’s responsibility to ensure the university’s funds are invested in a profitable way.

“Any investment committee, including Mount Allison, is a fiduciary or a trustee and has fiduciary responsibility towards the funds under their purview,” said Inglis.

Campbell and Inglis were receptive to the ideas brought forward by Divest MTA’s co-ordinators, said Latour.

“Because we are better able to argue the moral side of things, [the

report] does touch on it a lot. It does touch on the environmental factors, but we have several sections on things like returns and how divestment has positively affected different universities who have divested. We try to touch on the financial side of things as much as possible,” said Latour.

Latour said a meeting has been scheduled with the Board of Regents’ investment committee. If the committee supports the idea of divestment, they could then bring forward a recommendation to the Board of Regents. The university’s governing body would then vote upon the measure.

“When I think of divestment, I think of the question ‘Can you do it?’ as opposed to ‘Should you do it?’

Those are two different questions that the investment committee will have to consider,” said Inglis.

But even as much progress has been made, those asking institutions to divest still face significant barriers.

“It’s not only a moral and ethical responsibility, it is a financial and fiduciary one as well,” said Latour.

“But that’s a hard argument to have with people who potentially have close ties with fossil fuels, or are accountants themselves. It’s hard to argue that we’re by no means the experts, but that we have information that they maybe don’t have.”

A rally calling upon the university to divest for fossil fuels was the first of its kind to happen at Mt. A. Orange squares are becoming increasingly visible and for the occasion, orange X’s were drawn on snowbanks throughout campus.

The Mount Allison Faculty Association recently passed a motion to support Divest MTA in their efforts to lobby the university to divest from fossil fuels. The motion also instructed the pension committee to launch a discussion regarding a potential option to divest in MAFA members’ investment portfolios. “[Divestment] is symbolic and it’s a question of at the very least to remove your own complicity from the activities,” said international relations professor Dave Thomas. “It’s a way to build a movement of people who have this, at the core, this idea that we are uncomfortable paying for and profiting from a particular set of activities.”

“If the goal is to actually change the way Mount Allison does things, the core challenge will be convincing the Board of Regents and the upper administration that it’s a good idea, or that it’s necessary,” said Thomas.

“Even to acknowledge that maybe this is something the university should think about I think would be a success.”

GARBAGE

Local garbage system causes confusion for Mt. A students 57 per cent of students conform to the system, while 38 per cent do not understand Tyler Stuart News Reporter If Sackville’s blue-green garbage system confuses you, a new study shows you may not be alone. EcoAction conducted a study suggesting many Mount Allison students do not understand the waste management system used on campus.

Of the 236 students surveyed, 38 per cent “simply do not understand” the system, and 90 per cent said the university’s provision of education was “inadequate.”

“I sort of understand the general idea of it, but I don’t really understand all the details,” first-year Emma Brown said. “I think there needs to be more information, and maybe simplify or streamline the system.”

The current system, called the two stream program, provides two options for waste disposal: a blue bag and a green bag. The blue bag is for

solid, dry garbage and the green bag is for liquid, wet garbage, including compostable waste.

“I personally am a little bit pessimistic that we would ever be able to get to the position where the system would be understood and appreciated and respected by enough people in the Mount Allison community for it to ever be utilized properly,” said Lauren Latour, a fourth-year environmental studies student who led an environment audit on campus in 2014.

The survey also found 57 per cent of students reportedly conform to the waste management system. But for the system to effectively divert waste from landfill, much higher participation rates are required.

“It’s important to understand how this system works,” said Graham May, a fourth-year double major in environmental studies and international relations. “It’s set up in such a way that if any say blue waste

ends up in a green bag, or vice-versa, that bag becomes contaminated and it goes straight to the landfill.”

The confusion extends beyond Mt. A. According to a CBC article in 2013, “more than half the 200,000 residents in southeastern New Brunswick are not properly sorting their garbage in order to divert it from the landfill site.”

While some students think this can change with better education, others are more skeptical and believe Mt. A needs a more familiar and intuitive system.

“Most people are used to a three-stream system,” Latour said.

“Whereas blue-green, wet-dry, I don’t know, it seems more of a nebulous concept.”

The solid waste commission, RecycleSENB, and university staff have discussed the possibility of an alternative system, but progress has been slow.

90 per cent called the provided education ‘inadequate.’ Adrian Kiva/Argosy.

“They are talking about a third stream, and we are looking into it at the moment,” said Rob MacCormack, the director of facilities management.

MacCormack said that in theory the three stream system makes the decision of where to throw out waste more intuitive, and that they are

collaborating with RecycleSENB to develop a program.

But some students have said the process is taking too long.

“The university is not really making any progress on that,” May said.

“They are more or less just twiddling their thumbs.”

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

NEWS

GENDER ON CAMPUS

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD

Mount Allison students criticize ‘Men’s Night’ and ‘Dick Tales’ events Tyler Stuart News Reporter Several Mount Allison students are holding up two events at The Pond and anonymous commentary on a third as evidence of gendered violence and inequality. The complaints came after a CBC article reported Mount Allison as having the second-highest number of reported sexual assaults per capita in Canada.

The incidents – an event initially called Men’s Night, an improv event initially called Dick Tales, and a tweet, which read in part, “Spotted: all the single ladies sluttin’ up #ValentinesDay” – provoked criticism from Mt. A students, prompting organizers to rename each event and the tweet to be deleted.

For Men’s Night, the criticism began shortly after the event was posted on Facebook. Mt. A student Karissa LaRocque posted on the event, calling it “fairly insensitive” in light of the CBC article and suggesting “Singles’ Night or Alone on Valentine’s Night” instead. “[The Pond is] pretty well-known as a place that is notoriously unsafe for women,” LaRocque said.

Several other students echoed this concern about The Pond, the Mount Allison-owned campus pub.

But when The Pond’s manager, Andy Hebert, and his team decided to host Men’s Night, he did not anticipate the backlash they received.

“I honestly don’t feel that The Pond is the most unsafe place in Sackville and it surprises me that people feel that way,” Hebert said.

Hebert said his team decided to host Men’s Night because The Pond had hosted Ladies’ Night the week before. Some of the commenters used that fact to refute LaRocque’s opinion.

“I wonder if you’ve raised the same

concern with respect to the ‘Ladies’ night’ that the pond occasionally holds?” wrote Rayan Bouhlel.

LaRocque said this comparison was dubious.

“That is a false equivalency, and for the record I think both kind of silly,” LaRocque said. “I think that when people say, ‘You can’t be angry about Men’s Night because there is also a Ladies’ Night,’ they are ignoring the fact that these spaces operate differently for men and women.”

Bouhlel has since told The Argosy that he sees the name Men’s Night as problematic.

Several people said this incident is only a product of a systemic problem

“I want our problems to stop being brushed off.

I want our voices to stop being shut down.” of gendered violence and inequality harmful to women at Mt. A and in society.

Men’s Night was not the only event at The Pond that ended up renamed last week.

Presents: The Improv, an improvisational comedy group, hosts a weekly improv event on Wednesday nights. The initial theme for their Feb. 10 event was “Dick Tales.”

Several students voiced their concerns about the event, and it was quickly shut down with a post on Facebook which read, “One comedy show isn’t worth hurting people.”

The students’ objections stemmed from the event’s attempt to parody the Vagina Monologues, which would have been held at the same time and expresses women’s issues through performance art.

“My concern was mostly just on the fact that it was being presented as a parody, and for the potential for it to be mocking issues of violence against women and sexuality,” said Izzy Francolini, a third-year fine arts student who performed in the Vagina Monologues.

The creative director of Presents: The Improv, Malcolm Elliot, said his intention was not to harm anyone or be disrespectful.

On Saturday night, a Twitter account entitled “SpottedAtMTA” posted a tweet about female students attending The Pond’s Catalina Wine Mixer event. The tweet read, “Spotted: all the single ladies sluttin’ up #ValentinesDay #catalinawinemixerMTA.” The next day the account received criticism by several students on Facebook and Twitter. Katharyn Stevenson, the president of the Women and Gender Studies Society, posted on her Facebook page: “Calling girls sluts on multiple occasions is absolutely disgusting.

Anonymously bullying students through a social media platform is absolutely disgusting. It has got to stop.”

The SpottedAtMTA Twitter account deleted the tweet, but then posted twice more: “Spotted: haters gonna hate #pms,” seemingly in response to the criticism, and, “Didn’t mean to offend anyone, if you don’t like our tweets then please unfollow us and #GetOverIt.” For many of the students who raised concerns about the culture of gendered violence and inequality, the responses to their criticism were not satisfactory. Haley Shaw, a fourth-year English honours student who participated in the Vagina Monologues, is one of them.

“I want our problems to stop being brushed off. I want our voices to stop being shut down,” Shaw said.

‘Election’: 63 per cent vote ‘yes’ for Wooley-Berry “I am excited that I can now begin to work with Heather [Webster] on transitioning into office and to being to work towards accomplishing all that the incoming executive set out to do.”

Voter turnout was at 38.9 per cent, according to an email sent by MASU president Heather Webster. Turnout was 12 per cent lower than during the earlier 2015 executive election.

63.03 per cent of voters voted “yes,” while 32.04 per cent voted “no,” and another 4.94 per cent abstained.

“I am very happy to see WooleyBerry elected at last. This is a very exciting time for the students’ union.

We can now move forward with transitioning,” said Webster.

For the first time in MASU’s history, a concrete transition plan has been drafted for the incoming executive, said Webster. “They will job shadow, read past reports, have meetings with members of the university community, attend sessions with

3

Compiled by Mike Roy

Denmark man attacks café and synagogue with gunfire in Copenhagen Police shot and killed a 22-year-old native of Denmark, a suspected party responsible for killing a man at a café and another at a synagogue on Feb. 14 in Copenhagen. The suspect first attacked the café on Feb. 14 where a Swedish cartoonist was speaking, and killed a 55-year-old film director named Finn Norgaard in the gunfire. In the early hours of Feb. 15, a 37-year-old man identified

by Denmark’s chief rabbi as Dan Uzan was killed outside the synagogue while guarding the building during a bat mitzvah. Five police officers were wounded when the suspect returned to an address which police were surveilling in the Norrebro neighbourhood on Feb. 15. The police confirmed they shot and killed the suspect during the exchange.

Drones used in search for ancient civilizations in the Amazonian rainforests New discoveries of geoglyphs in the Amazon rainforests have renewed the belief that major ancient civilizations may have existed in the Amazon rainforests.

Formerly, scientists believed soil and ecological conditions were too poor for anything larger than a small group of settlers or farmers to exist in the area, but new evidence from the drones seems to suggest the contrary. Over 450 geoglyphs have been discovered since 2010, demonstrating sophisticated shapes and patterns found over a 250-kilometer expanse. Geoglyphs are huge geometric patterns carved into the deforested landscape, often seen only from a high vantage point. The drones project was announced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science announced a British-led team equipped with a $1.9 million USD grant from the European Research Council would lead the project.

New HIV/AIDS treatment processes pioneered in B.C. Vivian Dias Lima, a senior statistician at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and a team of other scientists have published their recent findings of a new “treatment as prevention” strategy to combat the severity and spread of HIV/AIDS. The treatment attempts to diagnose HIV/ AIDS early with near-universal testing, and then treats it with a cocktail of antiretrovirals, suppressing the virus to a point of being nearly undetectable. In turn, this strategy helps to reduce the likelihood of spreading HIV/AIDS from partner-to-partner and can improve the quality of life of those afflicted by the deteriorating virus in reducing HIV-related symptoms. This practice has helped reduce the number of new HIV-AIDS cases and AIDS-related deaths in BC, with only 84 new cases diagnosed in the province in 2013 compared to 253 in 1997, as well as 44 deaths compared to 241 in the same period 16 years earlier.

Former president of Chad sentenced to trial for war crimes in Central Africa Hissène Habré will soon stand trial in Senegal on charges that include crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, according to the special tribunal set up to handle his court case. Habré ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, after which he was forced from power by the current president, Idriss Déby, and lived freely in Senegal until officials detained him in 2013. Déby formed a Chadian truth commission in 1992 which found Habré’s government responsible for an estimated 40,000 deaths within the country and elsewhere. The trial is expected to begin in May or June and will be the first in Africa to rely on “universal jurisdiction,” under which any country’s national courts can prosecute the accused by his or her crimes committed elsewhere by a foreigner and against foreign victims.

Greenpeace India activist denied travel to Britain, told visit was “prejudicial to national interest” Priya Pillai, a Greenpeace India activist who was to brief members of Parliament in Britain on the effects of mining on indigenous communities of India, was stopped by immigration control in New Delhi on Jan. 11 and barred from travelling. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs cited that Pillai’s trip was “prejudicial to national interest,” leaving some to speculate that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeting NGOs to silence dissent.

Shortly after the incident, Pillai filed a court petition against the Ministry of Home Affairs, asking for her right to travel to be reinstated, as well as compensation for mental trauma and harassment. The latest hearing on the petition in court. took place on Feb. 18.

Corrections

More than a monnth after nominations opened, Wooley-Berry was elected MASU president. Chris Donovan/Argosy. experts in post-secondary education, and have sessions where they will bond and set goals as a team.”

“I believe that next year will

be extremely productive and that students will see our union accomplish many goals and complete many projects,” said Wooley-Berry.

In last week’s Argosy, we reported that a committee chaired by Josh Outerbridge began looking at restructuring the students’ administrative council in January 2013. In fact, the committee was chaired by Michael Watkins; Outerbridge and the others named in the article became involved in the process later on. The article also identified Eilish Elliott as the Student Administrative Council’s chairperson in January 2013, which was not the case. In fact, Giacomo Vecia had been the chair. Elliott took over later that year.

We also mislabelled Miriam Namakanda’s article on Black History Month as “Navigating Healthcare” in last week’s centrefold.

We regret these errors and offer our apologies to our readers.

Opinion

Editor: Tessa Dixon | February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

THE ARGOSY

SEXUAL ASSAULT

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Thursday, February 19, 2015 volume 144 issue 17

CBC report raises concerns over lack of effective sexual assault policy

w w w. a r g o s y. c a

Since 1872 Circulation 1,700

62 York Street W. McCain Student Centre Mount Allison University Sackville, New Brunswick E4L 1E2

506 364 2236

It’s time to put students first Cecilia Stuart

Email argosy@mta.ca

THE ARGOSY is published by Argosy Publications, Inc., a student run, autonomous, apolitical not-for-profit organization operated in accordance with the province of New Brunswick.

THE ARGOSY is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national co-operative of student newspapers.

ISSN 0837-1024

The Underbridge Press is a student-run publishing organization at Mount Allison University.

editorialstaff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Richard Kent

OPINIONS EDITOR Tessa Dixon

MANAGING EDITOR Allison O’Reilly

SPORTS EDITOR Alex Bates

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Cameron McIntyre

HUMOUR EDITOR Taylor Losier

­­­NEWS EDITOR

ONLINE EDITOR Sam Moore

­­­

Kevin Levangie

SCIENCE EDITOR Tyler Pitre

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Daniel Marcotte

productionstaff PRODUCTION MANAGER Kyle Forbes PHOTO EDITOR Sarah Richardson

PHOTOGRAPHERS Chris Donovan Adrian Kiva

COPY EDITORS Austin Landry Tina Oh Rachelle Ann Tan

reportingstaff

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Chris Donovan

ILLUSTRATOR Anna Farrell

NEWS REPORTERS Jean-Sébastien Comeau Tyler Stuart

ARTS REPORTERS Amanda Cormier Michael Dover

POLITICS REPORTER Willa McCaffrey-Noviss

SCIENCE REPORTER Clay Steell

SPORTS REPORTER Benjamin Foster

operationsstaff BUSINESS MANAGER Gil Murdock

IT MANAGER Vacant

OFFICE MANAGER Alex Lepianka

CIRCULATIONS Vacant

contributors Patrick Allaby, John Perkin, Cecilia Stuart, Adam Williams, Madalon Burnett, Mike Roy, Kael MacQuarrie

publicationboard Dave Thomas (Chair), Mike Fox, Charlotte Henderson, John Trafford (Ombudsperson)

disclaimers and copyright The Argosy is the official independent student journal of news, opinion, and the arts, written, edited and funded by the students

Mount Allison’s sexual assault policies and practices are far from acceptable.

A recent report by the CBC garnered a lot of attention after shedding light on sexual assault statistics at post-secondary institutions across Canada. Although Mount Allison’s S.H.A.R.E. program is an invaluable resource for victims of sexual harassment and assault, Mt. A ranked highest in New Brunswick: 14 reports were filed between 2009 and 2013.

Though the numbers are high, the implications of these statistics may not be entirely bad. As the report points out, the higher sexual assault rate “could also mean the school is doing a better job of encouraging students to come forward and report incidents.”

Sexual assault on post-secondary campuses is an undeniable problem, and the recent discussion provides an opportunity to come up with an effective response. However, the administration responded with an email to all students disputing the article’s validity. It claimed the report was based on incomplete data and drew “unsubstantiated conclusions” about rape culture at Mt. A. It then went on to discuss the importance of using this controversy as an opportunity to review sexual

The Argosy’s staff or its Board of Directors. The Argosy is published weekly throughout the academic year by Argosy Publications Inc. Student contributions in the form of letters, articles, photography, graphic design and comics are welcome. The Argosy reserves the right to edit or refuse all materials deemed sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise unfit for print, as determined by the Editor-in-Chief. Articles or other contributions can be sent to argosy@mta.ca or directly to a section editor. The Argosy will print unsolicited materials at its own discretion. Letters to the editor must be signed, though names may be withheld at the sender’s request and at The Argosy’s discretion. Anonymous letters will not be printed.

Comments , concerns, or complaints about The Argosy’s content or operations should be first sent to the Editor-in-Chief at the address above. If the Editor-in-Chief is unable to resolve a complaint, it may be taken to the Argosy Publications, Inc. Board of Directors. The chairs of the Board of Directors can be reached at the address above.

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assault policies and work to continue developing a “culture of respect.”

Despite this promising sentiment, the email did little to facilitate this discourse and essentially indicated that the university cares more about its image than it does about its students.

Mount Allison was one of a handful of schools which “respectfully declined” to provide any numbers, forcing the CBC to file access to information requests. Though they were eventually able to obtain limited statistics, many schools across Canada were unable to provide sufficient numbers for the completion of the analysis. This is largely due to the fact that Canadian schools are under no legal obligation to keep track of sexual assault statistics, and there is little consistency in how they record and maintain said data. Though the CBC did manage to obtain

statistics from 77 schools across Canada, their calculations are likely a gross underestimation because there is a discrepancy between what is considered sexual harassment or assault among schools. Another article by the CBC states, “[O]verall, experts say the number of sexual assaults reported to Canadian postsecondary schools is surprisingly low, and an indication that they are doing a poor job of encouraging students to come forward.”

The school’s current sexual assault policy was initiated in 1994, and encourages students to report incidents to the dean of students – a position which no longer exists at the school. In 2012, the Status of Women Canada gave funding to the MASU to conduct a safety audit in partnership with the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence A gainst Women and Children

(METRAC), aimed at improving policies related to gender-based violence on campus to make them more specific and effective. The final report made several recommendations to increase campus safety, ranging from increasing overnight security patrols to restructuring student discipline processes in the event of an assault. However, few of these recommendations have been implemented.

Post-secondary institutions are under an obligation to put the safety and respect of their students above all else.

Continued inaction with regard to effective sexual assault policies does nothing but perpetuate entrenched values and prevent real change from occurring. It’s time for schools to put students first.

Cecilia Stuart is a first-year Political Science and English student.

THROUGH STAINED GLASS

Unity and humanity are closely entwined

Stereotyping and discrimination based on beliefs is unacceptable Rev. John C. Perkin

of Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of

A S.H.A.R.E information booth presented at the Vagina Monologues. Chris Donovan/Argosy.

Following the attack on the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo that left 11 people dead, the logo “Je suis Charlie” circulated widely, and heads of state joined together to march in Paris. Islamic organizations denounced the attack which, though framed in the language and name of Islam, does not represent it.

On Feb. 15, another attack in Copenhagen in the name of ideology sparked the copying and pasting of the “We are all Danish” mantra.

The links between religion and violence have always existed when ideologies, politics and power struggles intersect. That does not mean all religion is evil, linked to violence or endorses its use. Muslims around the world should not have to speak up against such ideological terror as we have seen in Paris and Copenhagen. All people need to speak up against the narrow attitudes of hatred, misunderstanding and

intolerance of religion, which all lead to further violence.

Where are the social media banners declaring, “We are all from North Carolina” or “We are all from Fort McMurray” in the face of acts of violence directed against people precisely because of their religious and ethnic backgrounds? What is being treated as an overblown misunderstanding about a parking spot in Chapel Hill, North Carolina needs to be understood as a hate crime directed towards three people because of who they were and what they believed in. In writing this, I do not tar all those who hold to a worldview of atheism because of the ideological act of violence committed by one who is a self-declared atheist.

In our western world, it seems we’ve become intolerant of religious faith.

Atheism is the new fundamentalism to which many subscribe, and some will use this paradigm as an opportunity to dismiss and reject others. Religion has become dated, so that when an atrocity is committed

in the name of religion, adherents and followers feel the need to step up and say it is not representative.

What is needed more is for adherents of all religions to step up and say no to stereotyping and dismissing or acting against people because of beliefs and practices. What is needed is understanding, compassion, sensitivity and openness, even if we disagree with people’s religious perspectives or practices. The former provincial government, the Parti Québécois, tried to force people to abandon symbols of faith with a charter of values aimed to secularize the province. It seems there’s a suggestion that there is something wrong with religion and it may be a small turn towards condemning not just faith generally, but one religion specifically, especially when we can easily but incorrectly link that religion to ideologies of hatred or violence.

We need to stand against ideologies of hatred, racism, intolerance; and more, we need to stand with the people not engaged in such pursuits,

the ordinary people of all religions and worldviews: Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Atheists and others. We need to talk with each other, eat with each other, share life with each other.

And while we continue to witness and be horrified by acts of hatred and violence, we need to respond with love, kindness, hope, faith. “I am from Chapel Hill” and “I am from Fort McMurray,” we might say; it doesn’t matter where because what has taken place there could also be here. I write this on Feb. 14, noted for the observance of St. Valentine, a church leader who was condemned to death for faith but who persevered and encouraged his followers to continue in love, even in the face of persecution. I choose to be other, for hope will triumph over despair, love will triumph over hatred, goodness will triumph over evil, acceptance, kindness and compassion will triumph over racism and in the end, light will triumph over darkness. We are all people, together.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

OPINIONS

LETTER

A letter to Ron Byrne Dear Ron Byrne, I was distraught reading your email sent last Tuesday discussing the CBC’s recent coverage regarding reported sexual assaults on Canadian university campuses, and Mount Allison’s place in these statistics.

I understand it is your responsibility to act as a liaison between those within the Mount Allison community and relevant happenings outside of that community – such as the CBC report. I agree that when reading any news coverage, it is important to consider where the statistics which lead to such an analysis come from.

The recent dialogue surrounding the issue of rates of sexual assault on campuses and the way these sexual assaults are being managed is worrying, not only to those directly involved or have the greatest potential to be targeted, but to all Canadians. What does this culture of sexual assault, which seems to be emerging within our campuses, say about Canadian youth culture on a grander scale? In particular, what does this say about those who will likely be able to access privileged positions within Canadian society, namely university graduates borne of this culture?

I understand your concern with the report, and your urging of students and faculty members to do the same. However, I take issue with the way you have chosen to approach this subject for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the way to begin such a conversation is not to try to exempt oneself from it. In your criticism of the CBC’s ability to report accurately to the public, it seems as if you are discounting any responsibility the school may have in such

a conversation. This blatant disregard of issues pertinent to all Canadians, whether on or off campuses, is cause for concern.

I regret to say I’ve been losing faith in the university administration since this time last year, during the strike. Had I been a Mount Allison student for longer, it’s likely I would have become disillusioned earlier – as it stands, as transfer student who arrived in September 2013, it took all of four months for me to develop a sense of unease at the way issues pertinent to me have been handled. This brings me to my second point of concern, one which became glaringly clear during the strike last year.

The administration of this school is so obsessed with its public image and the maintenance of its ranking that it seems to have forgotten why the university was able to attain such a ranking in the first place. You, Ron, and others who are in charge of public relations and image crafting of the university seem to care a great deal more for those outside the university community than those within it.

The CBC article should be a catalyst for discussion about and reevaluation of how the university manages sexual assault, as well as attitudes towards sexual assault on campus. Your disregard for CBC’s ability to report correct statistics seems like a knee-jerk response which attempts to protect the financial interests of the university. If you were truly interested in the welfare of the students, your criticism wouldn’t have begun with such a callous, self-interested statement.

Finally comes the point that hits closest to home for me: You handled the situation in

such a way to bring stigma upon those who had reported rape. Because Mount Allison has the highest percentage of reported rape cases per student in New Brunswick does not necessarily mean we have the highest percentage of reported rapes. It is well recognised that rates of reporting do not equate to rates of attack. I cannot be privy to the knowledge of how the reported rates compares to the actual rates at our university. I can be only glad that at least there is a culture of reporting here. The administration’s disavowal of sexual assault reports is equivalent to its disregard that rape happens at all. This attitude makes the monumental act of reporting a sexual assault all the more difficult.

I have experienced rape. I am hesitant to say I am a rape victim, as I don’t like to call myself a victim, even though that is the truth. My sexual assault did not take place on a university campus. It happened before I was involved in academia, at the age of 17. The blame I placed on myself for years was a major obstacle and continues to be a constant factor in my view of myself. However, thanks to supportive friends and time, I’ve come to the acceptance that being raped was not my fault. Until now, I’ve not even considered coming forward and talking about what it means to be a rape victim in the public sphere. Your statement prompted me to do this, and to contribute to the dialogue of what reporting rape means, at least for me.

As noted in the CBC article, the number of sexual assaults reported on campuses is surprisingly low on Canadian university campuses. They key word here is reported. In many cases, I assume victims who have not reported have become demoralized due to the clearly ineffective way schools have been handling cases of sexual assault. Students who have been assaulted have to see their assailants on campus

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every day and stay focused academically with the knowledge that their attackers are more than likely not going to face any consequences. In most circumstances, it’s easier to not report and avoid having to perpetuate the experience than to have to relive the experience continually in proving sexual assault really occurred. If a victim should choose to report, they must then wait for a verdict regarding punitive action against their attacker(s), a decision which seldom results in any punishment for the accused.

Rather than being demoralized by external circumstances, victims often place blame internally. Even if a supportive framework exists to allow someone who has been sexually assaulted to come forward and be relatively secure in the knowledge that they will find justice, the social stigma surrounding the act of being raped, rather than of doing the act, prevents them.

I did not report my rape. At the time, I wanted the entire experience to disappear. I felt without value, careless, like I was acting irresponsibly, and generally worthless. It took me years to be able to talk about the experience with those closest to me. Now, five years later, I hope to be able to use what happened to me as a tool, to be able to contribute to the conversation in a full and constructive way, and to help encourage other victims of sexual assault to seek support in the way that is best for them.

Your insensitivity both infuriates and disgusts me. I’ve realized that being raped is no longer something to feel shameful about. The university’s complete inability to recognize sexual assault on its own campus and its disavowal of incidents which have been reported, however, is a shameful act.

– Madeleine Kruth

Sports

Editor: Alex Bates | February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

VARSITY BADMINTON

Mt. A favourites to win ACAA title this weekend Mounties win hosted event, hungry for success at ACAA championships Alex Bates Sports Editor

Badminton team coach Steve Scott has developed his Mounties squad into a force to reckon with in the ACAA. His squad has won eight of 10 events at last weekend’s ACAA tournament, finishing in second place in the two events the team wasn’t crowned champions in. The team, who will host the ACAA championships this Saturday, isn’t just looking for success in the Atlantic conference; they are hoping to qualify for nationals.

Last weekend’s event was hosted

by Mount Allison and included teams from Dalhousie Agricultural College, the University of King’s College and the Université de Sainte-Anne. Mt. A won the event, scoring 94 of a possible 100 points, followed by Dal AC with 62; UKC with 42; and USA with 24.

The team’s best tandem is Greg McGuire and Gillian Tetlow in Mixed Doubles ‘A’, who won all three of their matches. In 2014, McGuire and Tetlow finished fourth at the CCAA national tournament. “[McGuire and Tetlow] are on course to compete again for the Atlantic team at the nationals in Halifax this year and we are optimistic that they will bring home a medal,” said Scott.

Other winners in their events included Jaryd Morrissey and Michael Miller in men’s doubles ‘A’; Nathan Dix and James Kwan in men’s doubles ‘B’; Kristyn Visser and Tetlow in women’s doubles ‘A’;

This weekend, the varsity badminton team will try to take another ACAA Championship under head coach Steve Scott. Coach Scott believes his Mixed Doubles team of Gillian Tetlow (left) and Greg McGuire are the team’s best chance for a national medal. Paul Lynch/Submitted.

Olivia Adams and Rachelle Ann Tan in women’s doubles ‘B’; McGuire in men’s singles ‘A’; Hamza Munawar in men’s singles ‘B’; and Miller and Tan in mixed doubles ‘B’. Visser came second in women’s singles ‘A’, and Adams placed second in women’s singles ‘B’.

“In all but two categories Mt. A went undefeated and posted really solid showings in general,” said McGuire. “It’s very easy to see how much we’ve improved as the

season has progressed as the gaps against most of the competitions has widened.”

Mt. A is currently focused on hosting the ACAA championships next weekend, and is trying to qualify for the national tournament.

“Hosting the ACAA championships is definitely an honour,” said Miller. “There is a little more pressure hosting the ACAA championships as we want to do our best to represent our university.”

“I am looking forward to Mt. A capturing the conference banner again this season and am hopeful that we will win all the events for a perfect score of 50 points,” said Scott, a former AUAA badminton champion. “I am also hopeful that we will also win the conference’s male and female players of the year awards as well as the male rookie of the year award. Of the eight positions on the Atlantic conference nationals team, I am hopeful that six of the positions

will be filled by our Mt. A players.”

The team’s success in 2014-15 is no surprise to coach Scott, given how hard his team works.

“The one thing I am pleased with this season is the enhanced team spirit of our players that exemplifies the Mounties’ motto of ‘team before individual’ and ‘taking pride.’”

The Mounties will look to defend their title at the ACAA badminton championships, Feb. 21-22, in McCormack Gymnasium.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Mounties in must-win situation against Tommies

Captain Caroline Tremaine will need to lead her squad to three wins to have a playoff chance Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter

The Mounties volleyball team will have to wait until Thursday night to see if they have any hope at grabbing the fourth and final ACAA playoff spot. They were originally supposed to play against St. Thomas last Sunday, but with weather conditions closing down all facilities at Mt. A, the game was rescheduled to Thursday night at 7 p.m.

“It’s always tough having to deal with a rescheduled game, but as long as the focus is there when the time comes, that’s all that matters,” said libero Meghan Adams. “Weekday games are especially tough, as most teams are used to practising but not necessarily playing matches at those times. You have to go to classes, labs, and go through daily routines, all while trying to get ready for an important game that evening. It makes for a long day, but not being on the road and playing at home definitely helps.”

The Mounties need to win their last three games, while having to sit and hope that St. Thomas will lose their last three games. With a win on Thursday night, the Mounties will win the season series two games to one and therefore hold the crucial playoff tiebreaker with St. Thomas if it comes down to that.

The Mounties previous win against the Tommies came in the ACAA season opener on Nov. 1 in Fredericton. Both teams have since taken different paths to end up where they are right now. The Mounties would go on to win their next three matches before slumping and winning just four of their next 14 games to put themselves where they are now, three games out of a playoff spot.

“We came out at the beginning of the season very strong, and although battling through a string of losses, the opportunity is still there to finish out the season just as strong as we started, and that’s what we plan on doing,” said Adams.

St. Thomas has taken a different path, heading into the matchup

The Mounties host the Tommies tonight at 7 p.m. Chris Donovan/Argosy. sitting comfortably in fourth place in the conference with a record of 11-7

and enjoying a successful season.

Despite the seemingly long odds

for the Mounties, their chances are not as bad as they seem. After facing the Mounties this Thursday night, St. Thomas will head home and play the conference-leading, nearly unbeatable Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics. St. Thomas’s season finale does not get much easier as they will have to travel to PEI and play the second-place Holland College Hurricanes, who are currently on a seven-game winning streak and just beat St. Thomas in back-to-back matches.

The Mounties have a much easier finish to their season as they will play matches against league bottom feeders the University of King’s College Blue Devils and the Dalhousie Agricultural College Rams. This should instill confidence in the team if they can get the initial win against the Tommies.

Mt. A will count on setter Madison Archibald and power hitter Lynne Arsenault, both having career best seasons, to move past the team’s recent losses.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

SPORTS

WEEKLY WELLNESS

How does cannabis affect the human body?

An in-depth look at what using cannabis can do to your body Madalon Burnett

The most commonly used illegal drug in Canada is marijuana, and Canadian youth are more likely to use cannabis than the youth from any other developed country. According to a survey done by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), perceived benefits of using the drug – as described by students – is to make them relax, focus, be more creative, as well as benefits to mental health and curing chronic diseases.

The perceived benefits students use to justify their use of the drug are counteracted by the negative effects it can have, and before using cannabis, it’s important to understand the effects it will have on your body. A compound called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main reason cannabis has such strong effects on the human brain.

Although research is continually

uncovering new information about the effects of THC, there are several known detrimental effects it can have.

According to the study “Adverse Effects of Canabis,” by Hall and Solowij, cannabis is addictive, and 10 per cent of people who try it become dependent upon it.

Gerry Jager, in her study “LongTerm Effects of Frequent Cannabis Use on Working Memory and Attention: An MRI Study,” smoking marijuana has serious effects on both short-term and long-term memory.

Cannabis changes the function of a region of the brain called the left superior parietal cortex. This region helps the working memory, and when it is damaged it means our brains have to work harder to remember facts. If there is too much memory work required of this region than it is capable of handling, we forget the fact, which is why cannabis has an effect on short-term memory.

While long-term memory is a relatively vague process in the human

body not yet fully understood, Jing Han has identified that THC causes effects on cells called astroglial cells, which function to support neurons that carry impulses across the body.

Han has yet to determine how this changes the way memories are stored, but the effects on astroglial cells

by THC have been confirmed to decrease memory storage. Solowij’s research suggests more frequent use or use over a longer period of time leads to more acute effects on memory; these users displayed learning impairments and problems with retention and recall, even when unimpaired by the drug.

Though smoking cannabis is well known for making users feel happy, research by David Reilly in his study “Long-Term Cannabis Use: Characteristics of Users in an Australian Rural Area” has uncovered that it has overall negative effects on mental health. Smoking cannabis is linked to feelings of depression, anxiety, paranoia, tiredness, lack of

motivation and low energy.

In a study titled “Cannabis Abuse and the Course of Recent-Onset Schizophrenic Disorders,” Linszen, Dingemans and Lenior found that cannibis can also worsen symptoms of schizophrenia. It has been linked to long-term psychosis, a disorder in which victims are unable to distinguish the difference between reality and their personal experiences, such as hallucinations.

If you are going to smoke cannabis, it is important to make sure you are using a drug that is from a source you trust and one which can confirm the effects the drug can have on you.

Since the drug isn’t controlled by government standards, it’s hard to be sure if what you are buying is safe to use. Make sure the decision you make is for the best!

Madalon Burnett is Mount Allison University’s Health Intern

BETTER KNOW A MOUNTIE

Chisholm not just playing in brother’s shadow

Fall River native Alex Chisholm picking up where brother Ben left off Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter

Someday the name “Chisholm” might be the first thing you think of when someone mentions Mount Allison basketball. When Alex Chisholm transferred to Mt. A from the University of New Brunswick to play basketball at the start of the 2013-14 season, he was coming into his ACAA rookie season with high expectations after his brother Ben had won ACAA Most Valuable Player in his senior season just the year before.

Alex is the third oldest of four brothers, all of whom are serious basketball players. Next year will be the first time in 12 years that the Lockview High School team will hit the court without a player with the name Chisholm on their back. Ben Chisholm starred for Mt. A for four seasons before graduating in 2013 and Alex’s younger brother, Mack, may don the garnet and gold next season and suit up with his brother if he decides to attend Mt. A. “Alex and I have always had a great relationship; we are all pretty close.

We play different positions and have a different style of game,” said former Mountie Ben Chisholm about his younger brother.

As for the pressure of following Ben at Mt. A, Alex has made it a motivator for himself.

“I looked at it as a challenge. I’ve challenged him my whole life. We’d play one-on-one in the driveway. It’s been fun coming here after him,” said Alex Chisholm.

Alex would have had the chance to play with Ben in his MVP season if he had come to Mt. A right out of high school, but he decided to try the

Chisholm is following his brother’s footsteps on the court. Submitted/Mt. A Athletics Department.

AUS route first.

“It didn’t work out at UNB. The coach and I didn’t really get along.

I was stuck on the bench most of that season,” said Alex. “It was really between coming to UNB and here. I wanted to try the CIS thing out and it didn’t work out.”

The 6-4 forward from Fall River, NS was highly recruited after he led his high school team to provincials while leading the league in scoring with 28 points per game, winning the Metro High School league MVP. After deciding UNB wasn’t the right fit for him, he knew Mt. A would be.

“It was a pretty easy transition. Ben loved his four years here. I really wish I would have come here my first year and played with him,” said Chisholm.

“My first year was kind of rough. We didn’t play that well as a team. We couldn’t really beat any of the good teams.”

This season has been better for Chisholm and the Mounties, who have been having one of their best seasons in years as well as being consistently nationally-ranked.

“They are in second place in the league, and have a better record than any of the four years I attended Mt. A. Getting a first round playoff by is huge. I hope they continue to be successful and get a crack at the championship game,” said Ben Chisholm.

To win the ACAA Championship, they will have to win their semi final match up and take down the mighty Holland College Hurricanes.

“I think we could give them a run, we would need to be playing team basketball and put our best on the court,” said Alex Chisholm.

Chisholm has even bigger aspirations for the rest of his time playing basketball at Mt. A, wanting to help change the program’s reputation.

“I want to be the best team in the ACAA and get into nationals to see what we can do there. In the past, Mt. A has always been an average team. We want our opponents to think they’re going to have to play their best to beat Mt. A.” Better Know a Mountie is sponsored by ScotiaMcLeod and the Connors Group,.

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WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Mt. A falls one point short

Adam Williams

After a highly successful 2014 post-season run which saw Mount Allison’s varsity hockey team come within one game of taking their first ever AUS title, expectations were high for this year’s campaign.

Unfortunately, an extremely slow start to the season prevented Mt. A from gaining the traction they needed to land themselves a playoff spot.

October was surely a month to forget for this year’s hockey Mounties, having been outscored by their opponents 24-7 and recording zero wins in their first five games.

This early deficit did not bode well for the Mounties and proved to be a large contributing factor to their overall lack of success over the course of the season.

The Mounties experienced many improvements, recording four wins in the month of November.

This successful trend followed the Mounties into the break, when at the Theresa Humes Exhibition Tournament they recorded a 6-3 win over Concordia University as well as a 5-1 over the CIS #3-ranked Western University Mustangs.

After a successful January and with one game left in the season, Mt. A found themselves in a do or die situation, resting one point out of a playoff spot and needing a win against the Dalhousie Tigers.

After the first 10 minutes of the first period, the balance of play was clearly in Mt. A’s favour.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the game was all downhill for the Mounties, who allowed two goals in both the second and third period.

They would go on to lose the game 4-1, with any comeback bids being stifled by sporadic officiating in the third period.

Looking forward to next season, it would appear that Mt. A still has many of the components necessary to be a successful playoff team. However, filling the void left behind by graduating veterans Kristen Cooze, Megan Cameron, Megan Colpitts, Lindsay James and Hailey Munroe may prove difficult. Nonetheless, strong rookie performances from forward Rosie Heffernan and defensemen Jasmine Morning, in addition to those of the returning cast, will certainly be built upon next season.

Mt. A’s varsity hockey team has proven throughout this past campaign that it has the ability to win against even the best opponents but that it can also be its own worst enemy. If the team manages to focus on consistent play over the course of the upcoming season, success (and lots of it) is inevitable.

Adam Williams is a fourth-year Commerce student who beat-writes about the Mt. A Women’s Hockey team.

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SEXUAL ASSAULT

Willa McCaffrey-Noviss Politics Reporter A recent CBC article revealed Mount Allison had 14 sexual assault complaints in the last five years and sparked a discussion in the Mt. A community about what that really means.

In response to the CBC article, which reported that Mt. A had the secondhighest number of sexual assaults per capita, university vice-president Ron Byrne sent an email to students that said the report drew “unsubstantiated conclusions.” It also stated the article provided an opportunity to develop “the culture of respect and reporting that we have encouraged over the last decades.”

“A lot of people were upset with the interpretation of the report, especially with the email from the administration,” said Women’s and Gender Studies Society president, Katharyn Stevenson. “[They] chose to focus on the reporting culture of Mt. A. That report only said 14 were reported, but that begs the question of how many go unreported.”

Mt. A currently uses policies approved by the Board of Regents in 1994 and last officially reviewed in 1999.

“I need to just go in and change the policies to be reflective of current titles and current positions,” said vicepresident student and international affairs, Ron Byrne. “I take significant responsibility for this,” said Byrne.

“We need to move on this and we haven’t moved as quickly as we need to be.”

Byrne said prevention is the university’s main concern.

“Our first priority is education to try to never have one of these incidents happen,” Byrne said. “If any student feels that in their particular circumstance that we didn’t follow, or that somehow or other we didn’t take

the steps necessary, then I would really strongly encourage them to come see me, come talk to me.”

Melody Petlock, the university’s sexual harassment advisor, said people who have been sexually assaulted often want get any conversation around a assault out of the way as quickly as possible.

“Very, very often, they want to tell somebody, they want to deal with it and they want to get on,” said Petlock.

“The vast majority of people who have experienced this do not want to keep living it over and over again for that long.”

The METRAC Report This isn’t the first time Mt. A’s sexual assault policies have received criticism.

The Mount Allison Students’ Union asked METRAC to audit campus safety in 2012. METRAC is a Torontobased organization that works to end violence against women and youth across Canada.

The METRAC Safety & Security report was released in Sept. 23 and reviewed the university’s policies and procedures in many areas of student safety, including sexual assault. The report also provided recommendations for the university on how to improve campus safety and which university policies need updating.

In the recommendations section of the METRAC report, specific reference is made to Policy #1004, which is over 20 years old, regarding language and titles of authorities surrounding sexual assault cases within the university.

“It’s a big wake-up call for students as well as for the university. There are a number of changes that will be forthcoming from this audit,” said Melissa O’Rourke, former MASU president, at the time of the report’s release.

“Most policies appear as if they have not been reviewed recently,” the report

February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

Dealing with sexual ass says. “The University should ensure that its policies and procedures are relevant and current by conducting regular policy reviews and updates every 3-5 years.”

The last documented revision of the Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault procedures was on Sept. 21, 1999. On the first page of the document states there were “no substantive changes” at that time.

The report outlines the type of updates needed for Policy #1004: clearer language, updated genderneutral language and details on the role of the Sexual Harassment Advisor in regards to sexual assault cases.

Under the emergency procedure in Policy #1004 dealing with Sexual Assault, it states: “In the case of a student who has been sexually assaulted, the incident should be reported to the Dean of Students.”

Mount Allison University has not had a dean of students in seven years, so it’s unclear from the policy which administrator would be in charge of dealing with sexual assault allegations.

Byrne said he is the de facto dean of students in such circumstances.

Despite the policy’s age, Mt. A may not be that different from other universities.

“I think that Mount Allison is not unusual in how it deals with sexual assault,” said Tasia Alexopoulos, a women’s and gender studies professor.

“I don’t think that any university anywhere is doing enough to address sexual assault.”

Wellness Centre Resources The university’s main resource for students who have been sexually assaulted is the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Education Service, or S.H.A.R.E., located in the Wellness Centre. The Sexual Harassment Advisor, Melody Petlock, has training in sexual harassment, assault, and other gender-targeted

issues such as homophobia and transphobia.

S.H.A.R.E handles reports of sexual assault on a case-by-case basis.

“I see myself as a broker,” said Petlock. “If you come in here, I will let you know all your options.”

Petlock said options include medical assistance from the Wellness Centre and Sackville Memorial Hospital, informal and formal negotiations, counselling and formal complaints to the university.

“If a person wants to make a complaint of sexual assault, they write a letter,” said Petlock. This letter goes to the Director of Student Life, Gayle Churchill. “[Churchill] would instigate an investigation and procedure of determining what the outcome would be.”

Byrne or a delegate of his office usually performs the investigation.

Petlock said the investigation involves a series of separate interviews with the complainant, the alleged perpetrator, and any witnesses, as well as review of any evidence.

“The investigator can make a recommendation [on further proceedings],” said Petlock. The outcome is said to vary on a case-bycase basis. The Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault policy, under penalties, states, “The penalty for a sexual assault may be expulsion.”

RCMP Resources The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also serves as a resource for students who have been sexually assaulted. The RCMP assists victims with accessing medical care in Sackville and Moncton (if needed), and performs full investigations.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assulted, you can contact the S.H.A.R.E. hotline 24 hours per day at (506) 540-7427 or by email at share@ mta.ca. Contact the RCMP by calling 911.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

exual assault on campus

“Sexual offences are taken very seriously by police in all aspects,” said Corporal Patricia Levesque of the RCMP Sackville division.

“Truthfully, we’ve heard it all,” said Levesque. “Whatever the victim says is not going to shock us or we’re not going to be disgusted. We’re really there to help and be compassionate.”

Levesque outlined two different types of sexual assault cases as either recent occurrence of the events or an incident happening a long time ago.

“There is no statute of limitations with regards to indictable offences which is why you hear of sexual offences that happen 40 years ago and are being brought forward today.”

If it is a recent event, their first priority is medical care.

“We actually end up going [to Moncton] quite often,” said Levesque.

Levesque said the RCMP often

Clockwise, left to right: Yellow emergency phones can be found around campus that provide a direct line to emergency services.

Melody Petlock is Mt. A’s S.H.A.R.E. coordinator and deals primarily with harassment and sexual assault on campus.

S.H.A.R.E.’s initiatives around campus include “Consent is sexy” awareness posters around campus.

The Sackville RCMP detachment is located behind the Sackville Town Hall on Main Street.

takes people to the Moncton Hospital for mental health and sexual assault services.

When asked about the Sackville RCMP patrolling techniques, Levesque declined to answer. “It’s never good to let the bad guys know what you’re doing,” said Levesque. “If I were to give you all that information on how we do things, it would be to the advantage of someone who would be looking to commit a crime.”

Levesque does say that both patrolling and education are methods of preventive methods.

“The biggest thing I think that students can do to keep themselves safe is to have kind of a buddy system,” said Levesque.

No rape kits in Sackville A person who is sexually assaulted

must travel to Moncton to have evidence of the assault collected.

Neither the Sackville Memorial Hospital nor Mount Allison’s Wellness centre can perform a sexual assault evidence collection kit. Commonly referred to as a rape kit, it is a medical examination performed to collect forensic evidence.

“You are going to get good medical care [in Sackville],” said Petlock.

“If you want to have your evidence collected, we have a very good service in Moncton and it’s not that far away.”

Petlock has offered transportation for students who are unable to get to Moncton, as has the RCMP. A sexual assault evidence collection kit, more commonly referred to as a rape kit, is a medical examination performed to collect forensic evidence.

The evidence collected with these kits can be crucial in obtaining a

SEXUAL ASSAULT

conviction should the person who was sexually assaulted choose to press charges against the perpetrator.

It involves an extensive procedure performed by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, or SANE nurse.

Neither the Wellness Centre nor the Sackville Memorial Hospital has a SANE nurse on staff. Patients requesting a sexual assault examination are referred to Moncton. Although both Petlock and the Wellness Centre nurse, Cindy Crossman, have SANE training, neither can administer kits.

The hospital declined to provide a spokesperson on behalf of the hospital to speak any further on this matter.

Petlock did not think that it was cost-effective to arrange for a trained SANE nurse to come to Mount Allison as a resource for students. “I don’t think for the cost, on so many levels, that it would get the use.”

9

Petlock said the hospital also did not see enough patient demand to justify a SANE nurse.

“It would be great to have it here,” said Petlock. “They tell me they don’t have enough reports to make that worthwhile.”

The Wellness Centre provides free STI and pregnancy tests with the possession of a Canadian provincial health card or insurance.

A Plan B emergency contraceptive pill is available for $30 at the Wellness Centre, which is roughly $10 less expensive than what most would pay at a drugstore. The pill is most effective during the first 12 hours after sex, but can be taken up to 72 hours later.

Arts & Culture REVIEW

‘Heartbeat’ captures cozy Halifax vibe

Lily Mackie Arts & Culture Reporter Halifax filmmaker Andrea Dorfman collaborated with singer-songwriter and 2011 Halifax poet laureate Tanya Davis to create an eclectic Maritime film which pays tribute to the city of Halifax, its loveable buildings and its genuine people.

Davis plays Justine, a meek yet endearing character whose dreams of becoming a musician were abandoned due to her chronic bouts of stage fright. The film introduces the audience to Justine’s unspectacular life, one where she is stuck in a deadend relationship and an unrewarding job. Things seem to hit an all-time low when Justine’s ex-boyfriend Ben puts an end to their late night gettogethers. Justine, depressed and unfulfilled, nurses her broken heart by picking up her guitar again. Once she meets Ruby (Stephanie Clattenburg), a friendly drummer at the local instrument shop, Justine sees a road to recover from her broken heart as she figures out what she really wants.

Tanya Davis is a poet, a performer, a musician and a singer-songwriter.

This is her debut performance as an actor. She does an admirable job of connecting with Justine’s character, making her journey empathetic and comical. Her understated performance brings a gentleness and warmth which reflects the film’s genuine lovability.

Davis also fuses the elements of her other artistic talents together in a refreshing blend of language and sound. The film’s soundtrack is composed entirely of Davis’s own original songs and spokenword poetry, both of which expand upon the themes of the film and provide further insight into Justine’s thoughts. The unique soundtrack is coupled with vibrant hand-drawn animation which adds an extra level of expression and artistry to the film.

For some viewers, the animation may take away from the simplistic beauty the film already provides with its creative camerawork.

However, the overall collaborative process adds to the film’s handcrafted feel, enhancing the intimacy of local setting. Heartbeat’s true charm comes from the old-fashioned, folksy characteristics: the cozy wool clothing, colourful autumn cityscape and alternative music scene.

Unfortunately, as is typical with many independent, low-budget films, Heartbeat will likely struggle to reach a wide enough audience to actually amount to much. Nonetheless, it is an accomplished work by a talented filmmaker. The film offers a tale of gentle humour and wisdom, speaking to the importance of following your heart and being brave enough to stand up to your greatest fears.

Editor: Daniel Marcotte | February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

MUSIC

Brogue Quartet multi-tasks musically Lively Halifax-based group showcases wide range of instruments Lily Mackie Arts & Culture Reporter Four of Atlantic Canada’s finest saxophonists performed a varied selection of exciting repertoire at Mount Allison which demonstrated their motto: “because toes are for tapping.”

Based in Halifax, N.S., the group fuses a range of styles, drawing from the backgrounds of its four members to create an ensemble that is lively, engaging, cohesive and dynamic.

Formed in 2013, group consists of James Kalyn (soprano), Tristan De Borba (alto), Brad Reid (tenor) and Dawn Hatfield (baritone).

The Brogue Quartet prepared a repertoire of what they called “crossover” selections, which consisted of a variety of genres and respective composers. The group selected pieces which emphasized the players’ whimsical natures with

unusual tones and rhythms. At certain moments, the performance became sweet and moving, while still remaining edgy and animated.

The program included suites by Bob Mintzer, Gordon Goodwin, David Kechley and even a piece by Saturday Night Live’s Lennie Pickett. Original arrangements by Kalyn and Reid were also featured, as well as a few surprise moments of audience participation.

One truly entertaining and unique aspect of the show came from the group’s comic stage presence. Their cheerful tunes were punctuated by casual banter between the performers.

The audience’s excitement quickly and visibly increased over the course of the evening, as each demonstrated masterful skill with a wide variety of instruments including clarinets, bass clarinets, flutes, bassoons, guitars, violins, wooden spoons and shakers (which Kalyn comically strapped to his feet in order to continue using his hands.)

However, most impressive was watching the four musicians undergo rapid instrument changes, even multiple times over the course of one piece. Often mounting multiple instruments around the neck, each musician skillfully played an instrument with one hand, while reaching for another instrument with the other. There were times when the stage was alive with activity as the musicians continually alternated between the wide selection spread out before them. Indeed, it was difficult to keep track of how many times instruments changed hands.

Many laughs and cheers permeated the evening which, despite its varied musical selections, flowed seamlessly.

Throughout the show, each musician demonstrated their individual talents, which were considerable to say the least.

The Brogue Quartet is a newcomer to the Maritime music scene.

However, playing at Mount Allison

must have seemed a bit like returning home for most of the performers.

Kalyn is a professor of single reeds and a conductor at Mount Allison University; Tristan, who is on faculty at Acadia University, has given masterclasses at Mount Allison University; and Catherine is an alumna of the Mount Allison University Music Program. Although exempt from the Mount Allison “club,” Reid studied jazz saxophone at St. Francis University, and is surely familiar with the local communities and music scene.

The Brogue Quartet’s concert at Mt. A took place on Feb. 10. The quartet launched its five-concert tour in Truro, N.S. early this February, with following performances in Antigonish N.S., Wolfville N.S. and Halifax.

‘Shaw’: Creative writing focuses on bisexual representation The first part shows the girl as a high school student; she has come out and is currently talking to a girl that she likes, all the while reflecting on what she faced as a child.

The second half of the story revisits the girl’s experiences with a middleschool sexual education class which, in the eyes of the character, is too centred on heterosexual relationships.

This adds to the girl’s confusion that arises from being attracted to other girls.

“It’s about this girl who is questioning her sexuality, and who has a friend who is questioning their gender identity, and how uncomfortable and how traumatic and unfriendly that environment was,” said Shaw.

“If no one tells you or acts like it’s okay, then you’re not going to feel like it’s okay,” she added in reference to the main character. “You’re going to feel really strange, and you’re going to feel wrong.”

All of the stories in Shaw’s cycle feature the same characters at different points in their lives and from different perspectives, showing how the lives and identities of queer people are affected by representation—or lack thereof.

“I think something that’s really important is queer people telling their own stories,” said Shaw. “In a roundabout way, I’m telling my own story through my writing. It’s not an autobiography, but it’s heavily inspired by my own life.”

Next year, Shaw will continue to explore these and other topics in the Optional Residency MFA Creative Writing program at the University of British Columbia. Along with fiction, she will study poetry and writing for graphic form, such as graphic novels and comics.

Finally, Shaw expressed her hopes for what could someday be offered in classrooms at Mt. A. “I want a whole class devoted to

Fourth-year student Haley Shaw focuses her creative writing on the bisexual experience. Chris Donovon/Argosy. queer literature and to queer theory, because these do get touched on, but they don’t get expanded upon the way that American literature or Canadian

literature or women’s and feminist literature are,” she said. “I think all those things are important, and I love learning about them, but I think it’s

beyond time to stop brushing off the work of queer thinkers and artists and writers.”

Arts & Culture

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca CONCERT

Rolling in the Creep tour hits up T&L

11

Halifax-based Mauno and Vulva Culture team up with local indie scene Kael MacQuarrie

Halifax bands Mauno and Vulva Culture brought their Rolling in the Creep tour to Thunder & Lightning Thursday night, recruiting local acts The Kavorkas and Klarka Weinwurm to join them. The shows took place at the bowling alley in the back of the bar and provided a mix of acts which touched on many spectrums of modern independent rock.

The Kavorkas performed first, shredding some riff-centric noise rock that had a grungy tilt. The two-piece band is comprised of Sharoni Mitra on guitar, with Robert Blackbeard taking up both drumming and vocal duties. Mitra’s guitar drove the band, with her fuzz-heavy riffs switching throughout the songs.

With Blackbeard’s almost dancepunk-esque drumming alongside lyrics about missing recess and polyamourous love, The Kavorkas opened things up on the right note.

Mauno was up next, playing a set wound tighter than a smoker deprived of cigarettes in a snowstorm. Similar to a jam band without any self-

indulgent noodling, the band played some driving music, with influences of mid-2000s freak-folk manifesting in their vocal-harmony driven breakdowns. Every song built to a point where all instruments would cut out, a vocal harmony would soar, and the three members would tap into some primal collective consciousness and start again. This created a cycle of tense beauty which kept the crowd on edge. Mauno’s drummer, former Sackville fixture Evan Matthews, showed his proficiency as a drummer once again, guiding the music and knowing when to pull back his part and when to ride the chaos with his drum fills.

Local indie musician Klarka Weinwurm was on third, playing the type of Pavement-influenced indie music standard in Sackville.

The crowd was enjoying the show, and the band was proficiently playing their music, but the songs all came off sounding alike. This is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to indie rock, but it would have been nice if there was some variation to freshen things up.

Vulva Culture capped out the evening, playing a set of melancholic

Vulva Culture headlined a packed night of rock last Thursday at Thunder & Lightning. Adrian Kiva/Argosy. dream-pop focused on airy vocals and a two-guitar dynamic. All of the set’s songs were slow dirges, sounding like the soundtrack to a sepia-tinged slow-motion dream, with the vocals low enough in the mix to sound like Bilinda Butcher singing from the bottom of a well. The lead guitarist

was as much of a melodic force as the vocalist, with her spindly guitar lines providing as much melodic structure as the singer. The sprawling set left the crowd swaying along to tunes, the perfect kind of music to emanate from a bowling alley at 1:30 in the morning.

Vulva Culture finished their set a few minutes after 1:30, but everyone who showed up stuck around till the end, unwilling to miss out on such an engrossing set. All in all, the bands demonstrated that creeps could roll as efficiently as bowling balls in this alley.

MUSIC

Mt. A and UdeM team up at Brunton

Amanda Cormier Arts & Culture Reporter

Last week, music students from Mount Allison and Université de Moncton came together to deliver Entre Amis, a concert full of variety and great talent.

There were some truly passionate performances throughout the evening, including one by Tabitha Payzant, a Mt. A student who performed Alberto Ginastera pieces for piano. The interesting part of this performance was not only the music itself but Payzant’s theatricality and physical performance throughout.

Her expressive performance added a strong visual appeal, as the musician’s passionate body movements added to the emotional impact of the piece.

Another particularly riveting performance was that of Mozart’s “E Susanna non vien! – Dove sono.”

Mt. A students Janna Sherlock and Aude Urbancic did the song great justice, performing in voice and piano respectively. Sherlock’s vocal work was powerful and passionate, aided by her facial expressions which conveyed the song’s feelings of anger and despair. Urbancic’s piano work was soft and light, a pleasant backdrop to highlight Sherlock’s voice.

A trio of UdeM students – Ricky Frenette on flute, Justin Doucette on violin and Jacques Boudreau on piano – later took the stage,

performing “Andante sostenuto” by Nino Rota. These three instruments matched up beautifully together, especially in a piece that sounded so sweet and sad. The intensity of the song switched regularly; one moment they were soft and delicate, the next, bold and dramatic. The performers maintained a certain seamlessness to the transition, making their selection an easy listen from beginning to end.

A paricularly well-received performance was that of Mt. A students Jennifer Perdue and Brandon Olsen, who respectively played the saxophone and piano.

Their performance of Pierre Max Dubois’s “À la russe” featured two dramatically different playing styles, with no initial warning of when the switch would occur.

As Perdue and Olsen began to play, they presented a piece that was soft, melancholic and relaxing. Just as the audience began to relax and enjoy the softness, the piece suddenly changed, shifting to a quick, bouncy pace before reverting to its original pace. The spontaneity of the shift was a pleasant surprise to the audience, and Perdue and Olsen exited the stage to the sound of many claps, cheers and laughs.

Overall, the concert was highly entertaining and ripe with a wide variety of sounds, instruments and playing styles. While the Mt. A and UdeM students differed in style and background, the chemistry between musicians and performances was palpable.

 

There is a long tradition of military service among Black Canadians that dates back to pre-Confederation however unfortunately this tradition is not widely known. Calvin Ruck, an avid human rights activist with a particular interest in Black Canadian military history, wrote in 1987, “The Black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and unwritten. Many Canadians of all races have no idea that Blacks served, fought, bled and died on European battlefields, all in the name of freedom.”

Given this legacy, it is unsettling to hear that Black Canadian volunteers encountered tremendous obstacles and rejection when attempting to enlist in the military once World War I erupted in 1914. The men were rejected strictly on the basis of the color of their skin, and the prevailing stereotype that they occupied a lower echelon in society rendering them unsuitable for combat.

The rejection of Black volunteers by military authorities was met with a great deal of resistance and protest on behalf of Black leaders and white supporters. The recruitment practices were questioned – why, on the eve of ‘the war to end all wars’, were able bodied men being prevented from joining the war effort? The world had not yet seen or even imagined a war of this magnitude and yet those in charge were picking and choosing who was worthy of serving the nation, and turning away thousands of willing and capable soldiers.

As the war raged on, Black Canadians continued to fight for a role in The Great War. It was not until July 5, 1916, over two years after the war had begun, that the No. 2 Construction Battalion (also referred to as the ‘Black Battalion’) was born.

Comprised of 1, 049 men of all ranks, this was the first and only segregated Black battalion in Canadian military history. Stationed at Pictou, NS for its first 3 months of operation, and then relocated to Truro, NS in September 1916 in an attempt to increase recruitment, the No. 2 Construction Battalion was called for overseas duty in France in 1917.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Black Battalion was non-combative in nature, meaning that its members were not permitted to fight in the war and were instead responsible for digging trenches, repairing roads and other difficult tasks. The men performed these tasks proudly in the name of their country and in the name of contributing to the most remarkable war the world had ever seen.

Many pieces written about the No. 2 Construction Battalion speak to the patriotism of the Black volunteers, and the sense of honor and responsibility that went hand in hand with joining the war effort in

1914. The fact that Black volunteers had to fight harder and longer in order to be included in the war effort speaks to their determination, dignity, and immense bravery. An article published by The Chronicle Herald in 2013 also points out the fact that these men enlisted in the war and went to another country to fight for rights that were not afforded to them at home. The article goes on to say that the Black Battalion is important not only because of its contribution to the war effort, but also because its mere existence marks a fought - and won -struggle for equality.

This article, “Black Battalion Remembered,” can be found online at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/ novascotia/1140362-black-battalionremembered.

To learn more about the No. 2 Construction Battalion, see “The Black Battalion 1916-1920: Canada’s Best Kept Military Secret” by Calvin W. Ruck.

Science

Editor: Tyler Pitre | February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

CANCER

New test may help detect lung cancer in earlier stages

Breathing test helps detect lung cancer by the presence of volatile substances Tyler Pitre Science Editor What can a single breathing test do for you? It could do much more after the development of a new device which can help detect lung cancer in its early stages. The study is being led

by Dr. Salman Siddiqui and clinical trials are being conducted at the University of Leicester, England.

The research suggests this new Lung Cancer Indicator Detection (LuCID) will change the detection rate of early forms of the cancer from 14.5 per cent to 25 per cent of people, according to data from the United Kingdom. The

idea is that this new device will detect volatile organic compounds from patients’ exhaled breath. Volatile organic compounds are compounds which have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. Some of these compounds are associated with cancers and in particular, doctors can detect which ones are common with lung cancer. This detection method is non-invasive, as patients simply blow into an apparatus.

Other detection methods can be very costly and not as effective.

Currently, there are few ways of detecting lung cancer. In Canada and the United States, the Canadian Cancer Society suggests research is mainly going toward imaging

techniques to help detect cancer early. One example is the National Lung Screening Trial, which takes low-dose spiral CT scans of patients.

This method has been found to better detect lung cancer than the simpler X-ray scans. However, the problem still remains that for these methods to be effective, you must have fast access to these scans and also be able to recognize the potential for its use.

“Lung cancer has one of the lowest five-year survival rates of all cancers; however, early diagnosis can greatly improve a patient’s prognosis.

Current diagnostic procedures such as chest X-rays, CT scans and bronchoscopy are costly and are not without risks so the benefits of a

non-invasive, cheaper alternative are clear.” said Siddiqui.

The Canadian Cancer Society gives a list of classical symptoms associated with lung cancer in its early stages.

One common symptom is a simple cough which does not go away over time. Unfortunately, a simple cough, even if you are a chronic smoker, does not warrant such a scan. The technology developed by Siddiqui may offer a chance for medical doctors to detect lung cancer at simple clinical visits, given a simple set of parameters.

Lung cancer arises from damage done to lung tissue. Tobacco smoking respresents the leading cause of all lung cancers diagnosed in Canada

– about 85 per cent. The remaining 15 per cent represents second-hand smoke, asbestos exposure, radon exposure and a range of other environmental – possibly genetic – factors. In Canada, lung cancer is the most diagnosed type of cancer.

In 2014, 26,100 Canadians were diagnosed with lung cancer and 20,500 will die from it. With new technology such as the one developed

by Siddiqui, perhaps these grim numbers might turn around. Early detection is key in defeating any cancer, and this study provides some hope that it will be accomplished for lung cancer.

RESEARCH PROFILE

Encrypted information the focus of Keliher lab Clay Steell Science Reporter

Information sent over the Internet is at constant risk of being spied upon.

Two Mount Allison researchers step into the shoes of online hackers to see just how secure this information really is. Dr. Liam Keliher from the department of mathematics and computer science specializes in cryptography, or how to protect information by using mathematical techniques so that spies can’t understand it. He and his student Karen Korstanje study the integrity of how information is protected, and they’ve found flaws in a new theoretical cryptography technique.

“We often can’t prevent someone from seeing our information in transit,” said Keliher, “but we hope that we can put it into a form that makes it useless to someone [who wants to see it.]”

Most sensitive information sent online, from emails to the information entered in a web browser, is encrypted. This encryption is accomplished by two things: first, a cipher, or an algorithm which scrambles information in a way only someone who knows the cipher can unscramble. The second is the secret key used by the communicating parties. The key is of significance because the descriptions of most ciphers are freely available, so the key remains the crucial variable for fending off future attackers.

The academic study of cryptography falls into two main categories: creating these ciphers or finding their weaknesses. Keliher primarily studies ciphers created by other cryptographers to see whether they have any flaws, a discipline known as cryptanalysis.

“In order for something to be widely adopted, it needs not just to look good,” said Keliher, “but it has to be proven very rigorously that it can withstand all kinds of attacks that people will throw at because they

The allied forces used cryptography to crack the German engima code and probably helped end WWII by a significant margin of time. JBrew/Flickr.

will.”

Korstanje, a math and computer science joint honours student, spent last summer researching weaknesses in the Dhall-Pal cipher.

The Dhall-Pal cipher was proposed in 2010 as a possible alternative to one of the most widely used ciphers for online information, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This cipher is also used to protect information sent over Mount Allison’s wireless network.

“We developed a number of attacks. Our best one would let us get back the original message,” said Korstanje. She said this was possible

by looking at the cipher’s secret keys, which modify how a cipher operates so that only someone who knew the secret key could decipher the message. Some of the Dhall-Pal cipher’s secret keys modified how the information was sent and in turn made it less secure.

While cryptography is based in theory, it usually involves computer coding.

“Algorithms are nice and beautiful and clean,” said Korstanje, “but it gets big and sprawling and messy [in code.]”

The academic discipline of cryptography is fairly new, originating

in the 1970s with the popularization of personal computers.

“Cryptography’s actually been around for thousands of years,” said Keliher. He and Korstanje said Julius Caesar used cryptography to send commands to his generals, while Alan Turing gained fame during World War II for breaking the Axis powers’ Enigma code.

Cryptography is considered a discipline of computer science but it involves more mathematics than some other computer sciences do.

Korstanje said her expertise in linear algebra aided her research.

Both Keliher and Korstanje said

job prospects are good for students with a background in cryptography.

“There are a lot of companies out there looking for people with an understanding in security protocols,” said Korstanje. “It’s definitely a field that’s lacking because its such a new field.”

Keliher teaches a class in cryptography every second year at Mount Allison. He said it was a fairly popular class and would like to teach it more often.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

SCIENCE

PHYSICS

13

Canadian researchers present new cosmic picture, question the Big Bang theory

Tyler Pitre Science Editor What happened before the Big Bang?

Nobody knows, and perhaps we won’t need to know if a new model concerning quantum corrections to general relativity holds true.

Canadian researcher Saurya Das from the University of Lethbridge and Ahmed Farag Ali from the University of Behna have developed a model which avoids a singularity, the big bang, and says that the universe may have always existed. The research was published in the journal Physics Review B under the title “Cosmology from Quantum Potential.”

The model was to take Einstein’s theory of general relativity and to include quantum correction terms.

These terms would correct for the effects of quantum mechanics.

In a sense, quantum mechanics and general relativity are different languages. General relativity speaks to the macroscopic world of black holes and stars, whereas quantum mechanics speaks to the behavior

of tiny particles which make up the universe. When these researchers used mathematical equations to correct for these quantum terms, they found they could avoid talking about the Big Bang in general. This means avoiding the current view that the universe came into existence some 13.8 billion years ago, and before that time there was nothing.

In fact, in the opening of their paper, they introduce a list of problems the current model needs to explain in better detail. Examples of these are the true nature of dark matter and the beginning of the universe or the Big Bang. Instead of a ‘big bang,’ they proposed the universe always existed as quantum potential.

To explain this, they derived a differential equation with two quantum corrections. The first could be interpreted as dark matter and the other as the point of the singularity extended infinitely in time, thus never occurring.

“The second quantum correction term pushes back the time singularity indefinitely and predicts an everlasting universe,” the researchers said.

The current cosmological view is that space and time converged at a point called a singularity. James Child/Flickr.

The Big Bang theory is the current and most accepted cosmological model for the origin of the universe. It came out of the solution for Einstein’s general relativity equations. In fact, one of the first signs of this came from the solutions done by a Belgian priest, Georges Lemaître.

Both theoretical and physical evidence has been mounted since that time. The problem thus far in understanding the Big Bang is the moment of the singularity. A commonly misunderstood concept, it is a point in space with infinite density and gravitational pull. At that

point, however, the current laws of physics break down while explaining what’s going on. The new model proposed does not simply overthrow the Big Bang theory. It may open the doors for more interpretations and avenues in unravelling the truth about the origins of the universe.

Studying in Paris and Seville: An Interview with Shaelyn Sampson 1) Why did you choose to sign up for the 2014 Paris/ Seville Programme?

I’m always looking for opportunities to travel. When I saw the emails come out for this program I figured why not go to the info session and see what it’s about. Then I found out both FREN and SPAN 1801 were required for my degree. After going to the info session, I was hooked! Lauren and Christina had created such incredibly interesting opportunities that it made it impossible not to want to go!

2) What was it about experiential learning that you found attractive?

Experiential learning gives you a deeper understanding of a topic. I found this to be especially true when learning about the history of the Spanish culture. You can read about the Spanish Inquisition in a textbook and watch videos on it, or you can visit a place like Real Alcázar to learn first-hand the effects of this religious conversion mission.

I also don’t believe culture can be fully understood in the classroom. You can learn its characteristics, its stats, read first-hand testimonies, but culture is learned experience, not a learned skill or learned knowledge. So when it came to learning about French and Spanish culture, there was no doubt in my mind that experiential learning was the way to go!

3) How did you adapt to the moveable classroom?

The moveable classroom is a more intense classroom – because you’re not just learning what your teacher is saying to you, but everything about your surroundings and your every interaction is a lesson as well. At first it was overwhelming, especially in Spain for me because I hadn’t started my Spanish language studies yet but it’s all about will; if you want to learn, you will! It helps to have an open mind as well. Every day’s lesson was an adventure in itself, 4) What was the most memorable experience from each course?

My most memorable experience from going to Sevilla was getting to go to Feria, Seville’s annual festival celebrating their culture with drinks, food and flamenco dancing. The entire town went out for it, you’d see girls and women dressed all day in flamenco dresses and men in traditional Spanish riding suits in floral decorated horsedrawn carriages. At night the Feria festival grounds came to life! We got lucky enough to be invited to the landlord of our apartment’s tent and got to spend the evening fully immersed in this beautiful celebration of Spanish culture!

In terms of the Paris course, visiting Giverny on a day trip is my most memorable experience. By taking the train to Giverny, we got to bike through the French countryside to Claude Monet’s house and gardens, where he spend the second half of his life and which inspired many of his most famous paintings, including the his lily ponds and Japanese water garden paintings. Seeing the inspiration firsthand of my favourite painter was one of the most incredible experiences. I was in absolute awe the entire time! We even got to tour through his house, viewing many lesser-known works and some of his personal art collection. It was an experience I will forever be grateful for!

5) Were there any museums or landmarks in particular that you enjoyed visiting?

In Seville I loved visiting the Plaza de España. This stunning plaza was built for the 1928 Hispano American World Expo and it beautifully displays the geographic regions, traditional and modern, of Spain. Between each of the alcoves depicting the provinces of Spain to the blue and white tiled bridges representing the traditional kingdoms of Spain, and then the extensive gardens, it was an afternoon well spent exploring amazing architecture! In Paris, my favourite museum that we went to was Musée d’Orsay. It housed a beautiful Impressionism collection which is my favourite style, and was much more relaxed and manageable compared to the Louvre!

6) How much free time did you have? How did you spend your free time in Paris and Seville?

We had a good amount of free time, and it was different in each program. In Sevilla, usually the time after siesta (2:30-5:00pm) and onwards was our time to either cook or go out for supper, go out for drinks, shopping, exploring plazas or whatever else we wanted to do. One night we saw a poster for flamenco dancing lessons at a bar and a group of us decided to go. We didn’t end up getting lessons because the dancers didn’t show up but the bar owners set up karaoke for us! Another afternoon we had off a few of us decided to go peddle-boating on the Guadalquivir River that runs through the city! In Paris it worked slightly differently.

Usually, the morning was a guided tour but two of the students in the group of an area, then for the afternoon we were given a map of smaller monuments in the area and we could explore at our own pace. There was often a suggested evening event, but not required so you were on your own to go out for dinner, to the Eiffel tower, a bar or café to listen to music, the options were endless! I really enjoyed finding interesting places to eat supper, one night we found a great Cambodian place, getting take-out and picnicking on the canal bank!

7) Did you enjoy the culinary side of this experience?

Any memorable dishes and drinks?

The food and drink is a huge part of the experience, there was so much good food all the time! In Paris I actually remember the very first meal being one of my favourites. We were walking around Ile-de-la-Cité and a bright red door caught our eye, so we went in and had their “formule de dîner.” I had a salmon and spinach quiche, and coming from someone who doesn’t like seafood it was the best quiche I’ve ever had! The wine of course was amazing everywhere we went, even in the grocery stores! In Spain I had Iberian Pork skewers one night and they were heavenly… Coming from someone who normally dislikes pork! My friend Amy had stuffed avocados one day too. The majority of the food was delicious, it was also a lot of dishes I had never seen before.

The sangria in Spain was also a huge hit with our group!

8) You study both French and Spanish… Did your language skills improve while abroad? Do you think that a student who does not speak any French or Spanish would find it more difficult to fully participate in the programme?

As of when I got to Spain, I actually hadn’t started

my Spanish-language studies yet, I just started them this year! But I’ve realized in class this year that I learned a lot more than I thought I did while in Seville. My French definitely improved, but in the sense that my confidence in it went up because I realized people understood me and I could understand them! It was a reassuring realization and motivating as well!

And no, if a student didn’t speak either language, I don’t think they would have difficulty fully participating in the program. It’s all about your attitude!

9) Were you able to go on any daytrips? Were they included in the course fee?

Daytrips were only included in the course cost if they were planned by the professor. In Spain we had one, to Huelva, and we had a wonderful beach day at the end of our trip! In Paris we did two, one to Versailles and one to Giverny. In Spain we had a day off so a few of us decided to do another beach day trip with our own money so we took the train to Cadiz for the day!

10) What did you gain from this experience in two world cities?

Obviously, I gained knowledge pertaining to the two courses. But when you travel, you gain so much more than that. For me, this trip made me realize that there is so much more than what is in my little bubble, that there’s a lot more to the world than you can get from reading a book or watching a movie. I guess you could say I gained the travel bug from this trip! I think traveling also helps you

understand yourself as well; when you’re encountering so many people who are so different from you I think it helps you define yourself. Pushing yourself outside your comfort zones is one of the best things you can do in my opinion, there’s nothing better for helping yourself grow!

11) Would you recommend this programme to other interested students?

Absolutely! It was so much fun, and I learned a lot. I got to complete 6 credits outside the classroom, and meet people from MTA that I otherwise wouldn’t have crossed paths with at all!

12) How would you describe the Paris/Seville Programme to a student who does not know anything about it?

This programme is essentially living a textbook. This programme gives you the opportunity to travel and to experience what you’re learning, not just reading about it. You’re going to get to see museums, monuments, ruins and places that explain how societies and cultures came to be. You’re going to be guided through the streets by your professor but you’ll also do an in-depth research on one monument or area and be a tour guide to the rest of the group for that place. You’ll have the time to explore your own interests as well, and make long-lasting friendships with the rest of your group members!

Humour Crossword Puzzle

Editor: Taylor Losier | February 19, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

SHIP’S LOG

EVENTS Conflict Resolution Through Responsibility Managing Conflict T h u r s d a y, F e b 1 9 , 2 p m Convocation Hall Gold Room Director of Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies shows that when conflict is managed, it can result in positive outcomes in this hands-on workshop. Participants will learn techniques that can be useful in diffusing conflict.

The Invisible Men film screening

T h u r s d a y, F e b 1 9 , 6 p m D u n n B u i l d i n g , Wu C e n tre The Invisible Men documents the experience of gay Palestinians illegally hiding in Israel. This film screening will feature a conversation with t h e d i r e c t o r , Ya r i v M o z e r .

MtA Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble

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

Across 1- Quantity of paper; 5- Actress Heche; 9- Brightly colored lizard; 14- Public exhibition; 15- Loop; 16- Old stringed instruments; 17- Tapered eating implement; 19- Pineapple fiber; 20- “... ___ the cows come home”; 21- Flexible tube; 22- Sic on; 23- Maintenance; 25- “Chicken of the sea”; 26- Mother ___; 27- Russian metal urn; 30- Grain to be ground; 31- More adorable; 32- Block up; 34- Chantilly product; 35- Heathen; 36- ___ Nui (Easter Island); 37- LAX info; 38- Echolocation; 39- We ___ please; 40- Voter; 42- Animal pouch; 43- Evening, informally; 44- Decapitates; 48- Units of computer memory; 50- Fictional Jane; 51- Actress Farrow; 52- New York city; 53- High speed motorboat; 55- Tending to a definite end; 56- Faculty head; 57- “Judith” composer; 58- Silk fabric; 59- Able was ___...; 60- Prepared to drive;

Down 1- Parallelogram; 2- Stimulate; 3- Unaffiliated with a party?; 4- Cleaning implement; 5- Broadway opening; 6- Boisterous; 7- Pleasing; 8- Wapiti; 9- Person who transfers property; 10- Composer Mahler; 11- ___ girl!; 12- Dissolve; 13- Enzyme ending; 18- Curt; 22- Light unit; 24- Think; 25- Golden Horde member; 27- Sucrose; 28- According to the Bible, he was

the first man; 29- All ears; 31- Summer camp transport; 33- Long March leader; 35- Annie of “Designing Women”; 36- Starchy food grain; 38- Systematically arranged body of facts; 39- Oohed and ___; 41- Involve; 42- Tranquil; 44- One way to play; 45- Dean Martin’s “That’s ___”; 46- “Cheers” waitress; 47- Satisfied; 48- Chicken cordon ___; 49- Shout; 50- Foil alternative; 52- Baseball’s Mel; 53- Star Wars letters; 54- Dracula form.

Last issue’s solutions:

T h u r s d a y, F e b 1 9 , 8 p m Convocation Hall Mount Allison Symphonic Band, directed by James Kalyn, and Mount Allison Jazz Ensemble, directed b y J i m Tr a n q u i l l a . A d m i s sion is free, all are welcome to attend.

Opening Reception for Into the Light

F r i d a y, F e b 2 0 , 7 : 3 0 p m Owens Art Gallery Join us at the O wens Art Galler y for the opening reception of the exhibition Into the Light, The Paintings of Wi l li am Blair (1859-2906).

We e k o f I n d e p e n d e n t Study M o n d a y, F e b 2 3 - F r i d a y, Feb 27 No classes

The Art of Managing Conflict

F r i d a y, F e b 2 0 , 9 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C e n t r e Tw e e d i e H a l l Part of Health and Safety week

I m m u n i z a t i o n s / Va c cinations info session

F r i d a y, F e b 2 0 , 1 0 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C e n t r e Tw e e d i e H a l l Part of Health and Safety week

S afe Winter Driv ing

F r i d a y, F e b 2 0 , 1 p m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C e n t r e Tw e e d i e H a l l Part of Health and Safety week

Demystifying the Te a c h i n g P o r t f o l i o F r i d a y, F e b 2 0 , 2 : 3 0 p m

Av a r d D i x o n R o o m 1 2 0 Three-part workshop that will guide you through the creation of your teaching portfolio for job search or career enhancement

Ladder Safety

M o n d a y, F e b 2 3 , 1 0 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

Blood borne pathogens

M o n d a y, F e b 2 3 , 1 0 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

WHMIS Update

Tu e s d a y, F e b 2 4 , 1 0 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

Healthy tips for Commuting and Business

Tu e s d a y, F e b 2 4 , 1 p m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

Calm your Racing Mind for Sleep

We d n e s d a y, F e b 2 5 , 9 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

C h a n g e Yo u r M i n d Pe er Group

We d n e s d a y, F e b 2 5 , 7 p m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u dent Centre, All Nations Lounge Designed as a weekly s t r e s s - f r e e ‘s a f e s p a c e’ f o r students to get together with their peers

Smoking cessation time to quit

T h u r s d a y, F e b 2 6 , 9 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

Hypnosis 101

T h u r s d a y, F e b 2 6 , 1 0 a m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

Nanoparticles

T h u r s d a y, F e b 2 6 , 1 p m Wa l l a c e M c C a i n S t u d e n t C entre Multipurpose Room Part of Health and Safety week

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

HUMOUR

15

The mystery of the missing iced teas Clay Steell Science Reporter

Essay writing

Patrick Allaby

It began like any other Saturday.

After toiling for hours, thinking of science puns to begin my articles with, I was ready to reward myself with a sugary drink. But only shock and despair met me at the grocery store shelves: Arizona iced teas, my favourite indulgence beverage, were nowhere to be found. I told myself it was temporary, that of course they would order more. They had to. But as the weeks unfolded, my greentea-and-ginseng-infused reprieve became a distant memory, a ghost of the absurdly inexpensive beverage taunting my taste buds.

Where did the Arizonas go?

Why, all of a sudden, can the wonderfully cheap, triple servingsized cans no longer be found anywhere in Sackville? How would the discontinuation of the third most popular study stimulant, after caffeine and Adderall, make economic sense in a university town?

Why were they replaced with these alien Nestea drinks? (Not that those are bad—I’m just afraid of change.)

I decided it was time to take action.

I would use my clout as a student journalist to solve this mystery.

I began my investigation in earnest. At last I was covering an event university students would really care about. I learned that CocaCola Bottling had discontinued its distribution of Arizona in Canada, and that this was why Sackville businesses had stopped carrying the beverage.

But as I dug deeper and asked more questions, I was met with resistance.

Voicemails were left and emails were sent but were never responded to.

Were the store managers, corporate conglomerate representatives and sales agents I contacted really that hesitant to spend their time talking to a small liberal arts university student journalist with a penchant for his sugary drink? Or were they

hiding something?

I’m now left with many questions and a dearth of cheap sugary drinks to console me. I’m taunted by the clues without answers. A lone sentence on Arizona’s Wikipedia page states the company stopped using Coca-Cola Bottling to distribute their 99 cent cans in Canada because they were looking for a domestic distributor, but also that they would become available again in early February.

As of press time, the period known as ‘early February’ has elapsed and Arizona beverages are still nowhere to be seen in Sackville. Coca-Cola meanwhile is a joint partner with Nestea, which now rakes in several dollars a week from my meagre student income, which I now spend on their version of “absurdly inexpensive sugary drinks.”

This may seem like a simple case of free trade at work, of the capitalist system that keeps our country strong and free and doesn’t let the terrorists win, but I sense something much bigger. It might be the sugary drinks talking, but I sense a corporate conspiracy that goes all the way to the top. In the meantime, I’m left with just as few answers to these mysteries as Arizona Iced Teas left in Sackville.

Illustration by Anna Farrell

Cards Against Humanities/Cards Against Huge Manatees

Taylor Losier Humour Editor

i r ed.

Con tact Cre us. ate.

Wa tch.

insp Get

YOU CAN WRITE FOR THE ARGOSY. Get inspired.

Pitch your own idea, or talk to an editor about the week’s big story. Write an article, take a photo, draw a comic; there are so many ways you can contribute!

Contact us.

Come to our weekly contributor’s meeting (Tuesdays at 5:30 on the third floor of the Student Centre) or email argosy@ mta.ca.

Create.

Now it’s time to research, interview, and create. When your work is ready, send it back to The Argosy before noon on Sunday.

your work featured in the next issue Watch. See of The Argosy on Thursday!