The Argosy, January 18, Vol.147, Iss. 12

Page 1

NEWS Mt. A professor joins Order of Canada (Pg. 4) Kneading that dough since 1872

ARTS & CULTURE Sharp Reviews: ‘Ladybird’ (Pg. 7)

SPORTS Mt. A QB moves on (Pg. 11)

OPINIONS New York sets precedent with plans to divest (Pg. 10)

Mount Allison’s Independent Student Newspaper

COVER: SYLVAN HAMBURGER, REQUIRED READING, 2017. January 18, 2018 Vol. 147, Iss. 12


02 NEWS

EDITOR: MAIA HERRIOT | JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

COMMUNITY

Sackville’s first tattoo parlour opens on York Street

THURSDAY, JAN. 18

Artist and owner Darin Bavis shares his space with fellow tattoo and fine artist Matt Ursa, handcrafted skateboards and a cycle of local art

Interdisciplinary Conversations Owens Art Gallery, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Angry Inuk: a Documentary R.P. Bell Library Theatre, 7-9:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, JAN. 19 Last day to register for Winter term Registrar’s Office, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Women’s Leadership Series 2.0 Jennings Hall Banquet Room, 3-5 p.m. Bad Movie Society: Birdemic Dunn Rm. 106, 7-9:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, JAN. 20 Guest Recital: Britten for Two Brunton Auditorium, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, JAN. 21 Sackville Music Festival Annual Concert Brunton Auditorium, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. MTA Women’s Ice Hockey vs. SMU Tantramar Civic Centre, 2-4 p.m. MTA Men’s Basketball vs. MSVU Athletic Centre Main Gym, 4-6 p.m.

MONDAY, JAN. 22 Last Day to Pay Connect account balance Registrar’s Office, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CIBC Recruitment Visit Avard Dixon Rm. 120, 4:30-6 p.m. The Annual Stanley Lecture in Canadian Studies Owens Art Gallery, 7-9 p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 23 Quaker contemplative worship Chapel Sanctuary, 12-1 p.m. President’s Speaker Series: Roberta Jamieson Brunton Auditorium, 7-8:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24 Collegium Musicum Brunton Auditorium, 4-5 p.m. Employment Fair Preparation Dunn Rm. 106, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Quaker contemplative worship Chapel Sanctuary, 12-1 p.m.

PRIOR TO KRAKEN INK’S OPENING , THE CLOSEST TATTOO PARLOUR TO SACKVILLE WAS FLESH IMPRESSIONS IN AMHERST, NS. DARIN BAVIS/SUBMITTED

MAIA HERRIOT News Editor Following Earth Fine Craft’s closure last October, the small York Street storefront has been reopened as Kraken Ink, a tattoo parlour and flexible artistic space. Owner Darin Bavis has been part of the artistic scene in Sackville for five years, painting commissioned murals, doing distinctive ink designs on mushrooms and, more recently, tattooing out of his home. Kraken Ink’s other artist, Matt Ursa, has been doing tattoos for just over a decade. “[Ursa] is very experienced,” said Bavis. “I have a little less experience,

but my tattoos reflect that: I’m more simple linework with black ink whereas he’s full colour and does everything.” Black ink tattoos at Kraken are $100 per hour, with colour at $125 per hour. Although Ursa and Bavis are both artists with their own distinct styles, they are open to any tattoos that may be asked of them. “In a small town like this we feel we have to be flexible,” Bavis said. “We’ve got to be able to do whatever people want, and since I’m just learning a lot of techniques too, I want to branch out and try new styles anyway.” However, most of their work is custom tattoos they design in-house. “I’m working

on a piece right now and [the client] has been in and out three times now – we’ve been working on it together.… Almost every [tattoo] we’ve done so far has been a custom job,” said Bavis. In addition to offering tattoo services, Kraken is currently selling art from local artist and Moncton High art teacher Janet Mlodecki. “We’re planning on switching out artists every month or two,” said Bavis. “They’ll always be someone who is local and somehow connected and kind of fits in here. It’s not going to be your average artwork … and usually ink-oriented.” The parlour is also a ticket depot for Shepody House, a live music venue

in Dorchester, N.B., and displays handcrafted skateboards made by Bucky Buckler right here in Sackville. For Bavis, tattooing was just what he needed: “It’s one of those art forms that you’re always learning.… You wake up in the morning and you’ll have someone walk through the door and say ‘I want an elephant’ or ‘I want a penguin’ and it’s just like, I’ve never drawn a penguin before in my life, so it really takes you to a spot where [as an artist] you want to be, you want to be outside your comfort zone.… I was ready to try something a little more challenging and instead it proved to be much more challenging,” he laughed, “which is good.”

Proposed decanal restructuring cuts position of University Librarian The Decanal Structure Proposal for 2018-19 was presented by the University’s provost last week, and includes the phasing out of the position of University Librarian. The document regarding this proposal is available only through specific requests to the office of the provost, Dr. Jeff Ollerhead. The Argosy has requested this document. At a Library Council meeting on Friday, Jan. 12, there was a unanimous vote in favour of a motion asserting the importance of the position. The motion recommends that the University maintain the “University Librarian position occupied by a professional librarian who serves as the chief academic, administrative and financial officer of the libraries and archives.” The librarians and the university archivist then sent out an email asking for support in their opposition to the provost’s proposal. MASU VP of Academic Affairs Rachel Howlett sent an email to students stating that the student senators would be weighing in on this decision and “We recognize the importance of the university librarian and are taking this issue very seriously.” If you wish to express your opinion on the Decanal Structure Proposal, email the office of the provost at provost@mta.ca by Friday, Jan. 19 at 12 p.m.


NEWS

THE ARGOSY | WWW.SINCE1872.CA

CANADIAN STUDIES

03

Jewish-Canadian exhibit at the R.P. Bell Library opens with talk by Dr. E. Corber

Dalhousie’s visiting chair of Jewish studies blends global and personal histories of Jewish life in Canada LILY FALK News Reporter On Monday evening, Dr. Erin Corber illuminated historical Canadian-Jewish narratives with personal stories. Her talk, called Canada’s Jews: The National Mosaic of a Global People, brought the vibrance and importance of Jewish people in Canada’s history to life by sharing stories of her grandparents. The lecture accompanied the current exhibition in the library entrance, which marks the history and contributions of Jewish-Canadians over the last 150 years. For Corber, visiting chair of Jewish studies at Dalhousie University and research associate at Concordia University, Jewish history can tell stories “about ordinary people, their everyday lives and how small folks, even those who are marginal and sometimes marginalized, are valuable agents of history and should have their place among the best known and most prominent names of our national history.” Corber reflected on the last 100 years of Jewish history in Canada by telling two stories about her

grandparents, inspired by two books that they passed down to her. The first was a book carried by her grandfather during his service for Canada during the Second World War. The war was a seminal experience for her grandfather, despite the antisemitism he faced while working in a communications unit in Halifax. The second book was A Treasure for My Daughter, a Jewish homemaking guide and cookbook from the 1950s. Corber spoke about her grandmother’s lackluster cooking abilities and her family’s favourite Jewish dishes. She connected her grandmother’s story to the broader role of women in Jewish history. Several audience members commented that they still own the same book. Sam Smedley, a second-year geography student, attended the talk as part of Experience the Arts, a university special topic course. Smedley, originally from the U.S., came out of personal interest and a desire to learn. “I didn’t know anything about Jewish culture in Canada and wanted to hear about the Canadian experience,” he said. Alanna Stewart, a fifth-year psychology student, reflected on the impact of Corber’s talk, saying, “I feel

“EVEN THOSE WHO ARE MARGINAL

AND SOMETIMES

MARGINALIZED, ARE

VALUABLE AGENTS OF HISTORY”

ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, CANADA HAS THE FOURTH LARGEST JEWISH POPULATION IN THE WORLD AT ROUGHLY 370,000, WHICH IS CONCENTRATED IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC. LOUIS SOBOL/ARGOSY like [Judaism] is a very misunderstood religion.… Her grandparents’ story was very powerful and interesting.” At the end of the talk, many audience members shared stories of

similar lived experiences. Corber’s message about bringing individuals’ stories to light within broad and complex histories shows how affecting and emotional history is

when told their personal stories. To pass down history and tradition, “you need great storytellers,” said Corber. “My grandparents were great storytellers.”

STUDENT HEALTH

Rethink the Drink looks at responsible drinking habits among university students MASU and the Wellness Centre hold event to reinforce safe partying on and off campus

MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE NAMED MOUNT ALLISON THE FOURTH TOP PARTY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY LAST YEAR. SARAH NOONAN/ARGOSY

AMELIA MACDOUGALL-FLEMING News Reporter Binge drinking is consuming five or more standard drinks in the span of two hours for men, and three drinks in the span of two hours for women. This behaviour is common on university campuses, and Mount Allison is no exception. On Jan. 10, Mt. A community

members gathered in the Crabtree Auditorium for Rethink the Drink, an event that encourages discussion around binge drinking and alcohol consumption at university. Rethink the Drink was hosted by MASU and the Mt. A Wellness Centre and designed by the Postsecondary Education Partnership on Alcohol Harms and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addictions.

The evening was in the form of a panel discussion with Emma Miller, the MASU VP of Student Life, as student moderator. The conversation focused on audience participation and interaction with the panel of experts. The panel featured mental health and addictions social worker Julie Belliveau, Bennett House president Cole Jacquard, orientation chair Natasha Kochhar and local paramedic Eddie Cole. The goal of the event was not to discourage drinking but to educate students on how to drink in a responsible way. One of the topics discussed at the panel was the way alcohol and binge drinking dominate university culture. The panel explained that one important factor in university drinking culture is students’ increased independence. “When you come to university you’re free to do what you want, so a lot of people turn to drinking because you can and that’s what everyone else is doing,”

said Jacquard. Rethink the Drink encouraged the audience to participate by both asking questions and answering the questions brought up by other participants. Nigel Verret, Hunton’s assistant don, spoke up, saying, “There seems to be a causality between drinking and having fun, which is a really big misconception. I don’t drink that much, and I know I have a blast.” The evening also spoke about how alcohol is often specifically marketed to university students, which promotes binge drinking and unsafe habits. “Marketing and advertisement have alcohol almost everywhere we look,” said Miller. “And since young students are just becoming legal drinking age, they are a target for most alcohol companies.” The event concluded with an opportunity for participants to suggest programs that should be offered to manage binge drinking

on campus. One suggestion was that there should be other entertainment options, such as board games, available on nights the University is hosting parties. The audience was also reminded of the harm reduction programs that Mt. A currently offers through SHARE. For example, the Take a Stand Bystanders program involves certified students wearing bracelets to indicate their willingness to help in situations where alcohol may be of concern. Rethink the Drink encouraged students to spread the word and encourage safe drinking on campus. Sertara Wilkinson, a third-year biology student who attended, said, “It’s serious. People don’t realize, they just say they’re having fun in university, but you can die. It’s serious and we need to realize that. It’s up to us to talk to people. If you know your friend has a problem, make the effort to talk to them.”


04

NEWS

JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

STUDENT RESEARCH

AWARDS

Honours student Mt. A professor named research profiles to the Order of Canada

Professor Christl Verduyn recognized for her work in Canadian Studies as a professor and author MINNOW HOLTZ-CARRIERE Contributor

EMILIE BROUSSEAU IS A FOURTH-YEAR HONOURS STUDENT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY.

“My research focuses on quantifying the number of ribosomes per cell in three different marine picocyanobacterial strains which are exposed to various light levels: Prochlorococcus MIT9313, Prochlorococcus MED4 and Synechococcus WH8102. Both Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are major contributors to the global oxygen production. They are also an important food source for marine organisms and play vital roles in carbon and nitrogen cycling. Climate change is projected to have significant impacts on their ecosystems, and we hope that our findings can help better predict alterations in those ecosystems.”

On Dec. 29, 2017, Mount Allison professor Dr. Christl Verduyn was appointed to the Order of Canada. The Order of Canada’s website says that it recognizes Canadians in any field of work who have demonstrated “outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation,” at the national or local level. Verduyn, Canadian studies program director, English professor and author, was inducted “for her contributions to Canadian studies, notably as a professor and author, and for her commitment to making Canadian literature accessible to a broader audience,” according to the Order of Canada’s appointment statement. “You’re just elated, and then immediately humbled,” said Verduyn on the news of her appointment. “I think what I’ve also felt is energized. I just feel like – yes! Keep going!” Verduyn expressed her

“My research under the supervision of Dr. Waller is focused on the dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) biosynthesis pathway found in marine algae and higher plants. DMSP represents nearly 90 per cent of the reduced sulfur in algae and is broken down to dimethylsulfide, which is associated with cloud formation. Specifically, my goal is to characterize the methyltransferase enzyme in this pathway using antibodies and activity assays. Understanding the role of this ratecommitting enzyme will lead to a better understanding of DMSP and the role DMSP plays in climate.” ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY

Verduyn was enthusiastic about her work, describing the powerful and potentially life-changing insight literature can give into others’ lives and experiences. “As a student of Canadian literature, I’ve always been interested in what’s on the edges,” Verduyn said. “Those are the writers I wanted to read. Of course I read all the celebrated, amazing writers, but I always wanted to push further. I think the first area I pushed into was women writers, and then within that group there are all sorts of groups of women again – women from the Black community, the Indigenous community, the immigrant community.” Other recent appointees include journalist Sally Armstrong, poet and author Lee Maracle, Québécois director Denis Villeneuve and William Shatner, known for his role as Captain Kirk on Star Trek. Verduyn also joins her husband, current Mt A. president Dr. Robert Campbell, who was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2016 for his contributions to academia.

with the selling of Henke’s Bread and that “he doesn’t need a complaint [to follow up]”. He further said that he “will allow a random sale two times a month [or] maybe once a term”, but that “ongoing, day-to-day selling” is a problem that “must be followed up on”. Mark Henchey, director of Marriott at Mount Allison, said that he himself “[didn’t] have a problem with selling bread [because] Marriott doesn’t sell bread”. Henchey says his concern lies in the legality of the operation. “Does he have a license to sell food, insurance? [Does he] pay GST? … he has no refrigerated area”. Henchey further noted that “everything can be done legally if done properly”. Walter Henke, who was a full time student last year, told the Argosy that Smyth informed him in September 1995 that he could not sell bread “because Marriott has exclusive rights to sell on campus”. After I talked to Vince [last year], I went to [VP finance] Sharon McFarlane and she gave me completely different reasons. She told me that if there was

more room in the STUD, then I could sell bread”. Nevertheless, Henke continued to sell until this year, when Matt was told by both Smyth and Henchey to stop. Instead, Henke, sold the bread to SAC societies, who in turn sold it everyday as a fund-raising venture. Henke has a SAC society rotation and “each society sells for three or four days [and] they keep all the profits they make”, said Henke. Concerning health matters, Henke stated that “the only health requirements are in the making of the bread, and inspectors have been in twice and I passed both [inspections]”. Henke went on to say that “I have a GST number, but I don’t need to have one in order to sell bread. Nor is it necessary to have a refrigerated area [for] bread. I am a legitimate company.” For his part, SAC President Brad Proctor said that “[the SAC doesn’t] own this building. If we continue to allow Matt to sell bread we will lose our privilege to sell goods… Our hands are tied”.

ARCHIVES

MARY PATRIQUIN Former Reporter

FARHAD HOSSAIN IS A FOURTH-YEAR HONOURS STUDENT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY.

appreciation for the order’s ability to recognize a wide range of Canadians’ achievements, and her excitement at being included in so diverse and varied a group. “It’s right across the board. It isn’t just academics, it isn’t just artists – it’s shopkeepers, it’s hockey coaches, it’s people from small towns, from big cities, it’s all sorts of people from different walks of life, and I think that’s fantastic. I’m part of this huge group of many different people, and that feels great,” she said. “It’s not about elitism, even though people might think that at first. When you look into it, it’s about the everyday Canadian who has given something to the community or the country. That’s what I love!” Verduyn also emphasized that her appointment reflected not only her own work, but her interactions with others and the community, from her students and colleagues to the writers she studies and works with. She spoke about her work in Canadian studies and literature, and her desire to cast a light on topics that are often overlooked or neglected.

From the archives brings you old news today. As time passes, the news we report on changes, as does the way we report on it. Conversely, we’ve been covering some of the same issues since 1872. While today Aramark holds exclusive vendor’s rights on campus, in 1996 the main players were Marriott Mount Allison and one plucky breadman. Thurs. Oct. 24, 1996: vol. 126, issue 6. The selling of Walter Henke’s Bread in the foyer of the Student Union Building has raised some concerns with Vince Smyth, director of administrative services and Marriott, Mount Allison. Smyth told Matt Jonah, who sells the bread, that “they better not be selling bread”, and according to Matt Jonah “it is doubtful that Henke’s bread will be sold in the STUD any longer”. Smyth told the Argosy that he “has an obligation to the contract of Marriott and that it is being violated”


EDITOR: ALIX MAIN JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

THEATRE

ARTS & CULTURE 05

Chettiar “finds the joy” in production

Mt. A alumna to graduate from prestigious technical program at the National Theatre School

JENA MCLEAN Arts & Culture Reporter “Mt. A taught me to listen,” said alumna Crystal Chettiar on the phone last week. Originally from Bathurst, N.B., Chettiar is currently based in Montreal where she is finishing the production design and technical arts program at the National Theatre School. After a short period working as a child actor in Toronto, Chettiar found her place in high school theatre. “I never really got a part or anything, but it was just nice to be part of that culture,” she said. When it came to university, however, it seemed that theatre would remain extracurricular. Chettiar’s parents wanted her to study a science, and she chose psychology. “I thought maybe if I got into music therapy, that might be something I could include some creation in and sort of understand the art through psychology and vice versa,” she said. “I hated it.” “To maybe drown out my sorrows of midterms, I did Garnet & Gold,” Chettiar said. She was cast in Fame and found something she had been missing: “It was all the feelings of high school and community coming back and I really felt for the Mt. A community.” She was approached after a show

by professor Paul Del Motte and student Landon Braverman about Windsor Theatre (now MotyerFancy). Following a “eureka moment in my dorm room,” Chettiar switched to drama. She performed with Garnet & Gold Musical Theatre Society, the now-defunct Black Tie Productions and Windsor Theatre. In addition to acting, Chettiar experimented with video and sound design. Chettiar also founded Mt. A’s Drama Studies Society. “There was no communication, so we changed that,” she said. “With all the different theatre companies, there can be a weird resentment or competition when we’re all kind of working towards the same thing, doing art.… I don’t want to have to compete with Justin Collette [founder of Presents: the Improv] when we’re both into acting and we’re both into producing things and both want to do things.” Eventually, Del Motte “suggested I apply for a summer position at Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia,” Chettiar said. That position as technical director both empowered Chettiar and led to more volunteering in stage management positions and working as Windsor Theatre’s front-of-house manager. After graduating, Chettiar got “a real adult job with salary and benefits,” backstage at the Fredericton

“I SPENT ALL THIS

TIME BELIEVING I WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

AND HERE THEY ARE, ONLY ACCEPTING EIGHT PEOPLE

INTERNATIONALLY.”

Playhouse. She was exposed to great art, but felt unfulfilled – so she applied to the production program at NTS. “I did not think I was going to get in,” she said. “I spent all this time believing I was not good enough and here they are, only accepting eight people internationally.” Chettiar’s hard work paid off and she was accepted to the “very labourintensive” program. “It’s kind of like having tech week every day,” she said. “It’s taught me what the industry actually is for production.” NTS has also given Chettiar experience on crews, as a department head, in sound, in lighting, in welding, in carpentry and, in her final year, as the production manager and technical director. To Chettiar, “NTS is my big shiny stamp that says I can do stuff in Canada.” Chettiar wants to pass on one of the school’s most important lessons to current students: “Find the joy.” As theatre’s inequalities towards women and people of colour become even clearer, passion can wane and anger can take over. To Chettiar, it’s important to channel this frustration and reconnect with the love for the art. “I think as a young woman, and I identify as a woman of colour, in this industry, it’s really important to know what you’re fighting for,” she said. “That’s what it’s about. Why do you do it? Why do you fight the fight? Why are you passionate? Is your mandate about working in Canadian theatre? Is it about women’s rights? Is it about diversity? What do you want to fight for?”

“NTS IS MY BIG SHINY STAMP THAT SAYS I CAN DO STUFF IN CANADA.” CRYSTAL CHETTIAR/SUBMITTED

CHETTIAR WILL BE GRADUATING FROM THE PRODUCTION DESIGN AND TECHNICAL ARTS PROGRAM IN 2018. CRYSTAL CHETTIAR/SUBMITTED

Have a say in your student newspaper! The Argosy is seeking one student representative to be part of its board. If you’re interested, prepare a short one min. presentation of why you would be a strong representative of the student body and present it at:

THE ARGOSY WINTER FUNDER’S MEETING 5:45 P.M. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25 WALLACE MCCAIN STUDENT CENTRE ROOM 386 This meeting is open to the public, and will also provide an overview of the changes made this year, our direction going forward, and a summary of the 2017-18 budget and expenditures. Refreshments will be provided.


06

ARTS & CULTURE

JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

MUSIC

Contemporary Saxophonist Performs at Mt. A

COLUMN

Nicole Strum inspires Brunton audience

STRUM PERFORMED A VARIETY OF CONTEMPORARY SAXOPHONE ARRANGEMENTS. CHAOYI LIANG/ARGOSY

MAX CHAPMAN Arts & Culture Reporter Classes are back, and so are performances. The music department kicked off the new semester with its first performance last Wednesday evening in Brunton Auditorium. The featured performer was Nicole Strum, a part-time lecturer at Mount Allison. Strum performed contemporary saxophone arrangements featuring works from several masters of the genre. In addition to lecturing at Mt. A this year, Strum is currently an instructor of saxophone at the University of Prince Edward Island and has taught at several other schools. Her main interest is the interpretation of contemporary music. Strum was accompanied by Mt. A music department professor David Rogosin and Tristan De Borba, a saxophone instructor from Acadia University who frequently accompanies Strum. Strum commanded the stage throughout the performance, performing some pieces collaboratively with Rogosin and De Borba and others solo. “The way the pieces were structured conveyed the idea of a centre.… The atonality presented gave off an interesting timbre,” said Sam Cormier, a second-year music

student. “The words that come to mind after this performance are ‘mathematically structured,’ ‘precise’ and ‘extremely difficult.’ ” Cormier described the performance as “an amazing experience that you will not find anywhere else.” What the composer is saying with each piece is “very much up for interpretation,” said Cormier. “Some people interpret the music differently than others.” Music in contemporary style is heavily interpretive. Performers must instil meaning into their performances themselves, just as audience members must do the same. The minimalist nature of these pieces allow for this type of interpretation to take place, working the same as some visual arts where lack of reference stimulates the brain into instilling its own meaning. Strum explained that Sequenza VIIb by Luciano Berio, the penultimate piece of the performance, is “centred around one tone – a home base.” This piece is played alongside a single tone. The saxophonist plays notes that are complementary or dissonant with the tone. “Your ear may have a tough time knowing what to listen for,” warned Strum.

“It was the type of music that none of us are used to hearing.… [Strum] used many varieties of techniques,” said Brianna Lee Green, a first-year music student. “It’s a skill that every musician aspires to. She’s at the point in her career where she does not have to play the typical stuff. She can really do whatever she wants.” Mt. A’s music faculty is known for bringing in a myriad of events and concerts for their students, from wellknown mainstream music to obscure pieces that haven’t been heard in centuries. “The music program has been amazing at pulling in different artists. They bring a wide variety of music together to present to the students,” said Cormier. “Seeing our professors perform is a big inspiration to us.” This was the first of many exciting performances this year, and a fantastic kickoff to what is truly an exciting semester for the music department. If you did not make it out to this event, make sure to keep an ear open for future performances. Most Mt. A-sponsored events are completely free to students from all departments, and are a good idea for anyone even slightly interested in the represented field.

“SOME PEOPLE

INTERPRET THE MUSIC DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHERS”

POETRY

Alick’s House

by Derek Sharp

This is stupid because it’s to be published in a paper in a town that you never visited or saw. I’m writing a eulogy for the wrong crowd. And yet I still write it to create a home for you, to reserve some space on a page for you to be. A small, sad jar isn’t a home. I write. I question the practicality of this: do you hear me? Will you come? I’m unsure. Death has a way of preventing me from knowing. But I’ll persist just in case you need somewhere nicer to stay than where you are currently. I offer this space I’ve carved out for you with these words on this page in this reader’s hand. Make a sign that says “Alick’s House,” place it outside with the door. Give us a candy when we leave. I need one more day, one last afternoon at the lake with Grandpa, skipping stones and looking for fossils. One last breakfast at Dines. But since I am told that isn’t possible I hope to make a house in a heart. Stay for now, enjoy your eternity and know I love you as words do pages and bricks do houses.

TINA OH Columnist As kids, every night was family dinner. My sister and I would take turns setting the table. In respectful Korean tradition, we would anxiously wait until the adults at the table (seniority first!) ate their first bite before my sister and I dug into our meal. Kimchi, bone marrow soup, pine nut porridge and hokkaidon (sashimi over rice) is what I grew up eating. I have memories up until middle school where I was utterly embarrassed to eat my packed lunches with friends. I’d open up neatly packed rows of gimbap (Korean sushi) while my classmates’ white faces would mimic disgust. There were countless days that I would eat secretly in the washroom stall or throw out my lunch and go hungry. At the age of seven, being hungry was better than facing the unwarranted racism of my peers. I begged my mother to stop packing me healthy, delicious, costly Korean food for lunch. Instead of foods like japchae (sweet potato noodles), I begged my mom for peanut butter and jam sandwiches. I wanted white people food. I wanted to fit in. Our relationship and interaction with food is political. From a single mother of four stretching a $250 monthly food budget in rural PEI to a restaurant culture where Michelinstarred chefs (overwhelmingly white and male) have been accused of throwing plates and knives, sexual

assault, and underpaying employees, food is racist, classist and gendered. For immigrants of colour in Canada, our social and economic relationships are centred around restaurants. Since often immigrant labour conditions are so degraded (as seen in Canada’s temporary foreign worker program in Ontario’s fruit farms and the Alberta tar sands) we look towards our own knowledge of food to survive. In light of all the systemic barriers of job transition for migrants, working at or opening an ethnic restaurant feels like it is the only type of work that’s acceptable for immigrants to do. While the experiences of food for people of colour are heartbreaking at times, it has and will always be a reliable source of comfort in light of all the trauma that we face. Food reminds us of home and the diasporas of which we are part. It reminds us that there is a larger community to rely on. Our pride for our food comes at the expense of immense embarrassment, disgust, internalized racism, stereotypes and suffering. In a movement to end systemic oppression and racism, we can look towards the lessons of food. It begins by considering the realities of what colour hands grow our vegetables, the monopolies of megacorporate farms, the barriers of access to healthy foods, how food trends and sudden demands affect the market, the question of authority on “ethnic food,” and re-naming the goddamn “oriental aisle” in the grocery store.

“FOR IMMIGRANTS OF COLOUR ...OUR

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS ARE CENTRED AROUND RESTAURANTS”


ARTS & CULTURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.SINCE1872.CA

VISUAL ART

07

The Closer Together Things Are visits the Owens

Exhibit makes second stop in national tour, explores presence and place of objects in our lives ALIX MAIN Arts & Culture Editor In co-curator Jay Wilson’s words, The Closer Together Things Are “is about nearness. It started with this idea of there being slight away-ness which is something, as a designer, [he’d] always thought was really interesting.” This exhibition at the Owens Art Gallery, which opened last Friday and will run until Feb. 21, is an exploration of everyday objects that are present in our lives, how they relate to each other and how they relate to us, their users and, ultimately, their destroyers. The show also depicts relationships between people and the ever-present distance between them. This concept was explained by co-curator Shannon Anderson as the “tension between knowing someone really intimately but then also being removed in some way.… You can never just become somebody else.” The exhibit, curated by Wilson and Anderson, featured work by Kathleen Hearn, Ève K. Tremblay, Laura Letinsky, Micah Lexier, Dave Dyment, Roula Partheniou, Rhonda Weppler, Trevor Mahovsky, Luke Painter and Chris Kline. The exhibit navigates between figurative and direct depictions of these illustrations of space, creating a complex narrative out of seemingly mundane subjects. One of the pieces in the atrium is Roula Partheniou’s Twofold, a collection of everyday objects doubled and set at angle

with each other. These, Anderson explained, demonstrate “very deliberately a mirroring that happens in the work. You see the same objects one way and the other … but it’s not until you spend the time studying [them] that you realize in what ways they’re different and what’s happening between one set of really simple objects and the next.” This is meant to be an entry point into the rest of the exhibit, as it illustrates in a very straightforward way the pairing and contrasting of objects which is present in many of the other work. One of the pieces unique to this showing of the exhibit was two pages of the Sackville Tribune Post, pinned to the wall to draw attention to two advertisements showing Sam Rockwell in the film Moon. There are

“ESSENTIALLY, THE SHOW IS ABOUT NEARNESS.” four sets of these ads, each one unique to the respective local newspapers of the four towns in which the exhibit is shown. Each ad is “specifically looking at doubles, doppelgangers or actors who have played themselves in a film of some kind.… It’s re-splitting something that was originally split and spliced together and separating it again just to underscore the artificiality of it and to emphasize the double-ness of it,” said Anderson. This concept was created by Micah

Lexier and Dave Dyment. Rhonda Weppler, another of the artists featured in the exhibit, was also present at the opening. Her collaborative work with Trevor Mahovsky is especially concerned with the notion of “trompe l’oeil.” One of their sculptures, The Visitation, showed a small, dilapidated room which was created from a single continuous surface of wooden veneer. Its back faced away from the doorway, hiding the fact that the sculpture, like most of Weppler and Mahovsky’s work, is hollow. Their other work in the exhibit, Music of Chance 4, displays hollow casts of found objects in aluminum foil. This piece is one in a series of ephemeral pieces made of aluminum foil that are designed to exist for the exhibition and then be recycled. At the Owens, the objects casted were antique hand mirrors, the type of objects that “fit into [a] family’s long history of material, and how it’s just that material and [a memory] connected to it,” explained Weppler. Her intention is to bring to light the temporariness of objects in our everyday life and “fastforwarding that whole [process of destruction] because everything [she and Mahovsky] make is very fragile and only here momentarily.” This exhibit takes the time to provoke questions about objects in our everyday lives which we often take for granted. As Anderson said, it brings to light “something kind of random and everyday but interesting and important in a lot of ways.”

REVIEW

“I’M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN THE WAYS WE LOOK AT THINGS IN EVERYDAY LIFE,” SAID SHANNON ANDERSON. GILLIAN HILL/ARGOSY

HOLLOW FOIL CASTINGS OF ANTIQUE MIRRORS MAKE UP THE OWENS’ UNIQUE ITERATION OF MUSIC OF CHANCE 4. GILLIAN HILL/ARGOSY

‘Lady Bird’, Gerwig’s directorial debut, soars with whimsy, confidence and heart. DEREK SHARP Columnist

With the polarizing, cynical headspace that characterizes 2018, I can’t imagine a film more out of place, or sorely needed, than Lady Bird. On the surface it’s just another adolescent coming-of-age tale. There aren’t any tricks here – there’s no gimmick to Lady Bird unless you count sincere direction and snappy, evocative writing as a gimmick. Lady Bird is special because of its sincerity, its joy and its honesty. Lady Bird follows Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson as she cruises through her last few months of high school and, hopefully, into college. Lady Bird is an inferno, blazing rapidly through life, doing what she wants regardless of the damage she leaves behind. This brings her into conflict with her often overbearing mother, who can’t seem to reconcile Lady Bird’s dreams with the economic reality of their lives. The relationship between Lady Bird

and her mother is the heart of the film, as writer and director Greta Gerwig deftly avoids portraying their relationship as one note; it’s like a war, a ceasefire, a massacre and a peace talk all at once. The thesis of Lady Bird speaks to the how our identity is reinforced and complicated by our environment. This tension is shown in Lady Bird herself, whose environment conflicts with her ideal self, causing rifts in her temperament that manifest themselves in various ways. She struggles with empathy, perspective, self-confidence and controlling her own impulses, which again echoes the headspace of 2018. Part of what makes Lady Bird special is how Gerwig chooses to approach this territory: the movie is never dire or fatalist. It isn’t about the death of childhood and the acceptance of conformity. It’s a joyful celebration of our second births, of the messy, frustrating, explosively selfexploratory nature of adolescence. Lady Bird is more than just a

LADY BIRD IS

MORE THAN JUST A WHOLESOME ADOLESCENT DRAMA.

wholesome adolescent drama. It’s actually a comedy, and a fierce one at that. It is frequently conducive to belly laughs, with a playful mood that’s imbued into the film’s bones. And, importantly, it is never mean. All the laughs came from Gerwig’s wit and knack for playing with circumstance. The film is beautifully shot with a distinct and consistently interesting style; from Lady Bird’s pastel pink hair to a nun surrounded by fire, the visuals exude a confident whimsy

that provides a beautiful playground for the plot. Speaking of the plot: it’s flawlessly paced. All of this is more impressive when you learn that this is Gerwig’s directorial debut. Her confidence frames every scene of the film firmly, no doubt a testament to her skill as a director. She knows what you expect to happen and what you want to happen, so she does something better that you’d never see coming. There’s a joy in every moment of Lady Bird, and while I love film

analysis, I feel that going into more specific detail about the film would spoil the first viewing. All I can say is this: the experience of watching Lady Bird trample her way into adulthood, struggling with her own identity and taking down everyone around her in the process is a good as it gets. Go see it if you can. I saw Lady Bird at a screening put on by the Sackville Film Society at the Vogue. Check them both out on Facebook for weekly screening information.


08 SPORTS

FOOD

JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

FOOTBALL

A recipe for Mounties lose award-winning quarterback wannabe bread bakers Jakob Loucks transfers after two seasons, opening starting quarterback spot LILY FALK Reporter Thrill your friends and lovers with this deliciously simple loaf. Homemade bread is wickedly good, cheap, and to the uninitiated, wildly impressive. This recipe is well-suited for first-timers and seasoned bakers alike. We’ve even made a video on the Argosy’s YouTube channel that can walk you through the process. Start by taking a large bowl and mixing together 2 ½ cups of unbleached white flour, ½ cup of whole wheat flour, ½ cup of unsalted chopped nuts, seeds and/or oatmeal and one scant tablespoon of salt. In a small bowl, dissolve ¼ teaspoon of dried yeast in 1 ½ cups of warm water. Let that sit for a few minutes, then pour it into your dry ingredients. Mix together, adding a few more tablespoons of water if things are too dry, until all the ingredients are wet and incorporated. It should be a big, shaggy mass. Cover it with some plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. After your dough has rested, put a bit of flour on the table and dump your dough onto it. Roll it into a loaf or a ball and place in either a greased bread pan or a well-floured bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel for 2 to 4 hours. This is called proofing and gives the dough a final chance to rise. Now your loaf should be a bit puffy. Heat your oven to 450 F. Right before putting it in the oven, make a few artistic slashes on the top of your loaf, then bake for 48 minutes.

TOTAL TIME: 15-27 HOURS INGREDIENTS: 2 ½ C. UNBLEACHED WHITE FLOUR ½ C. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR ½ C. UNSALTED CHOPPED NUTS, SEEDS, OATMEAL 1 TSP. SALT ¼ TSP. DRIED YEAST 1 ½ C. WARM WATER GREASE FOR LINING PAN If you want to get an extra-crunchy crust, place a baking sheet in the rack underneath your loaf and pour a few cups of boiling water on it when you first put your loaf in the oven. This will create steam that will give you a beautiful, golden crust. I know it’s tough, but wait at least an hour before slicing and sharing.

KEIFER BELL Sports Reporter Jacob Loucks, a rookie quarterback showed up to training camp standing at only 5’ 10” and 195 pounds and earned the starting job. Loucks was able to make an immediate impact and lead the Mounties to AUS finals, for a heartbreaking loss in his rookie year. Loucks was awarded the Peter Gorman Trophy at the end of the season, a prestigious award given to the most outstanding rookie in the country. He was the first Mountie to receive it in 17 years. With such a successful first year, players, coaches and fans were excited to have Loucks in the program for what was expected to be four winning years as he pursued his psychology degree. Unfortunately, this four-year plan is no longer in existence. Following the end of a disappointing season where the Mounties failed to make the three-team playoff, Loucks has decided not only to transfer from Mount Allison, but hang up his cleats altogether, retiring from football. He has returned home to Ontario in pursuit of a bachelor of science degree in nursing, which is not offered here on campus. “It’s easily the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make up to this point in my life, and it’ll probably remain

as the toughest decision that I’ll ever have to make,” said Loucks. This leaves the Mounties with an open roster spot for next season. Possible replacement Troy Downton was the second string QB this season. However Downton, who appeared in three games this season, is in his fifth year, making it unlikely that he’ll return to fight for the starting role. This would again leave the Mounties in need of a QB to fill in immediately as a starter for next season. Loucks commented on how thrilling it was to be a part of the Mountie family over the past year and a half: “My favourite part about being a Mountie was being part of something bigger than myself: being part of a community and a family.” Loucks has nothing but good things to say about Mt. A’s athletics and the school’s football program as a whole. He closed off with a heartfelt thank you message. “I’d like to thank Mount Allison University as a whole for making my university experience one I’ll never forget,” he said. “The varsity football program and everyone associated with it [gave me] the opportunity to live out my dreams of playing university level football. Lastly, I’d like to thank my coaches and my teammates for making my last year of football the best one yet.”

TOP: IN HIS FIRST YEAR, LOUCKS LED THE MOUNTIES TO AUS FINALS. MT. A/FLICKR.COM BOTTOM RIGHT: IN 2017, LOUCKS WAS AWARDED FOOTBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, OVERALL MVP AND USPORTS FOOTBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. PAUL LYNCH/ARCHIVES


EDITOR: ALLISON MACNEILL| JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

STUDENT SUCCESS

OPINIONS 09

Being social: An academic survival strategy Connecting with peers may offer more rewards than you think

ALANNA STEWART Contributor Whether you are naturally introverted or extroverted, being social at our university is an asset. Acts of socialization can range from flashing a smile when walking by someone you’ve only met a few times to initiating conversation with classmates before the lecture begins. It may be genuinely asking how someone’s day is going, or heading down for a spontaneous Waterfowl

walk with someone new. Either way, social interactions typically result in a positive exchange of energy between two or more individuals, which may provide psychological benefits as well as academic advantages. Although many high-achieving students thrive when working independently, being social may offer an alternative academic strategy. For example: you slept through your alarm for your 8:30 class and missed important notes for the upcoming midterm. If there is no one in that class who you can comfortably ask for notes, you will likely not get them, and do poorly on your midterm as a result. By making friends within your classes, you can create a system where you share notes if one of you sleeps through your alarm. The “swap and edit” tactic is another beneficial system for courses that require lab reports or papers. By socializing with classmates, you may find someone who is willing to review

and edit your writing while you do the same for them. This is beneficial for both parties, as editing develops your ability to think critically about the project and allows you to bounce ideas off of someone and clarify the professor’s expectations, while you receive feedback on your work before passing it in. For courses that require an abundant amount of memorization (e.g. psychology), having a study buddy or small group to verbally explain the material may activate auditory pathways of learning. Planning study sessions with others may also provide crucial motivation to get work done when we would otherwise stay in bed watching Netflix. Clearly, being social has the potential to enrich your academic success. In addition, attending classes, labs and tutorials becomes more enjoyable when you can look forward to seeing familiar faces.

Psychologically, having positive social connections with a wide range of individuals has a great effect on mental health. Developing strong ties to others diminishes the sense of loneliness we may feel, and expands the social support network that we can reach out to. Social connections made within this university may also open the doors for endless opportunities in the future. You may end up having lunch in a foreign country with an old classmate someday. You may be offered a job down the road because you established a friendly connection with someone in your biology lab this semester. By putting yourself out there in a genuine and kind way, others are more likely to respond to you in the same way. So, regardless of whether you categorize yourself as a shy or timid person, consider the potential benefits you may gain from pushing yourself to make connections wherever you go.

Life is what we experience in the interruptions to our daily routines

The new semester has begun, and it is back to the multitasking work that is chaplaincy. Multitasking seems to be the norm for many jobs. It is interesting to note the findings of recent research into this way of working. Researchers at the University of California, for instance, have noted that the typical office worker is interrupted or switches tasks, on average, about every three minutes; this is, perhaps, not surprising. What may be surprising is that the study showed that it can take more than 23 minutes to get back on track at the point where they left off. Estimations of the cost

of interruptions and inefficient multitasking run into the billions of wasted hours a year, at a financial cost that comes close to a trillion dollars across North America. And yet, I wonder, is it all about efficiencies, staying on track and productivity? What of the human dimension? At a small university like Mount Allison, with our mandate of education and our tradition of community, one might hope for more of a focus on the people around us than simply productivity. Certainly in my chaplaincy over the past 25 years at Mount Allison, I have lived and worked not simply to deadlines, but to the importance of meeting the needs of those who stand before, who show up, whose paths I cross in walking

around campus. Pastoral theologian Henri Nouwen wrote, many years ago, of a conversation which framed his work, and which has framed mine: “While visiting the University of Notre Dame, where I had been a teacher for a few years, I met an older, experienced professor who had spent most of his life there. And while we strolled over the beautiful campus, he said with a certain melancholy in his voice, ‘... my whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work.’ ” This is what ministry is about, and interruptions may also be a significant portion of student services, and teaching and mentoring

w w w. s i n c e 1 8 7 2 . c a

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Thursday, January 18, 2018 volume 147, issue 12 Since 1872 Circulation 1,000

on Unceded Mi’kmaq Land 62 York Street W. McCain Student Centre Mount Allison University Sackville, New Brunswick

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ISSN 0837-1024

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EDITORIAL staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF | Adrian Kiva, Mirelle Naud MANAGING EDITOR | Mathieu Gallant NEWS EDITOR | Maia Herriot ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR | Alix Main OPINIONS EDITOR | Allison MacNeill HUMOUR EDITOR | Carly Penrose COPY EDITOR | Charlotte Savage

COLUMN

THE REV. JOHN C. PERKIN Columnist

THE ARGOSY

generally. For twenty-five years I have maintained that the interruptions are my work. I have come to recognize that life and its goals are interrupted by events and circumstances, and my work is interrupted by those who are seeking to make sense of the events and circumstances in their own lives – but in essence these things are what make life, and the interruptions are what make the work of ministry. Nouwen went on to write, “It has been the interruptions to my everyday life that have most revealed to me the divine mystery of which I am a part.” Of course, interruptions challenge the neat ordering of life, and the essential illusion that we are in control of it, but they open us to new possibilities. Abraham Heschel writes that the Sabbath reorients our life; it is a reminder of rhythms and routines and the way in which we fit into the flow of the world. In the Christian tradition, worship has been an opportunity to be reminded of the slowing of the pace of life, even for an hour, to be open to that which we might otherwise not see or experience. This includes meeting those who stand before me, as children of God in all their unhappiness, challenge, disappointment, fear and worry and more. And it means taking time to be present, in the stillness of the moment, so that we can both be restored in a moment that is not concerned with accomplishment, achievement, deadline, productivity or usefulness; often ministry is simply about being human in a world that seems sometimes to deny the value of that. Stop in and see me sometime, and interrupt my work; I will watch for you, through stained glass.

PRODUCTION staff PRODUCTION MANAGER | Marina Mavridis PHOTOGRAPHERS | Gillian Hill, Chaoyi Liang ILLUSTRATION EDITOR | Sylvan Hamburger ILLUSTRATORS | Sarah Noonan, Louis Sobol VIDEOGRAPHER | Louis Sobol VIDEOGRAPHY PRODUCER | Lily Falk ONLINE EDITOR | Marina Mavridis

REPORTING staff NEWS REPORTERS | Amelia Fleming, Lily Falk ARTS & CULTURE REPORTERS | Max Chapman, Jena McLean SPORTS REPORTER | Keifer Bell

OPERATIONS staff BUSINESS MANAGER | Jill MacIntyre DISTRIBUTION MANAGERS | Matthew Hamilton Fyfe, Shannon Power

CONTRIBUTORS Erik Garf, Minnow Holtz-Carriere, Lauren Latour, Tina Oh, the Rev. Perkin, Derek Sharp, Alanna Stewart, Will Traves, Hannah Tuck COVER | Sylvan Hamburger

PUBLICATION board Leslie Kern, David Thomas

DISCLAIMERS & COPYRIGHT The Argosy is the official independent student journal of news, opinion and the arts, written, edited and funded by the students of Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of 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 designs and comics are welcome. The Argosy reserves the right to edit or refuse all materials deemed sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic or otherwise unfit for print, as determined by the Editors 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 Editors in Chief at the address above. If the Editors in Chief are 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. All materials appearing in the Argosy bear the copyright of Argosy Publications, Inc. Material cannot be reprinted without the consent of the Editors in Chief.


10

OPINIONS

JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

DRAMA

Aspiring actors must continue to pursue their goals, despite obstacles on the path to success

HANNAH TUCK Contributor I was in Grade 5 when I first knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the theatre. I had found a bootleg of the original Broadway cast of Wicked on YouTube. From then on, I was hooked. I was already taking dance and voice lessons, and was heavily involved in my school’s choir. From that moment on, everything I did was to bring me closer to my eventual goal: making a living acting on stage for thousands of people every night. I’ve had plenty of people give me

advice over the years, and I’d like to pass some of that along to you, faithful Argosy reader. I knew that my goals wouldn’t be easily achieved. Living an hour outside of the city, where all major musicals happened, put me at a disadvantage. The drama program in my high school was great, but the music program needed work. I kept working at it though, and managed to balance an ensemble role in three major musicals in my three years of high school. It hadn’t been easy – trust me, you never want to be awake past midnight doing trigonometry – but I always came out of it knowing that I had worked hard and I had gained one of the most precious things for any actor: experience. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been told “no” plenty of times either. I’ve been told “no” more times than I can count. It always stings just a little, especially if it’s a show I’m really interested in. Still, I keep moving

forward to the next show, because dwelling on one part that you didn’t get might blind you to an even better opportunity right in front of you. I’m lucky enough to be studying the thing I love most in this world at my dream school. In my very first term at Mt. A, I did two shows (1917: Mud, Mayhem and Miracles and Paradoxes: The Life and Music of Fanny Hensel). This term, I have Garnet & Gold’s production of The Addams Family at the end of the month. I still get a “no” every now and again, but I’ve been finding myself more and more okay with them ever since moving away from home and finding all of these opportunities right on my doorstep. The biggest piece of advice I’ve been given, which I’d like to pass on to you, is simple: don’t give up. If I had given up on my goals just because I wasn’t able to have the opportunities that I wanted to have, I wouldn’t be where I am today. This advice doesn’t just apply to theatre, but to every aspect of

SARAH NOONAN/ARGOSY life. Your dreams are going to require a lot of demanding work – they won’t just happen overnight. So, you have to work hard and persevere, because the

experiences that you’ll gain thanks to your hard work will more than make up for all of the blood, sweat and tears that you’ve poured into your goals.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Mount Allison must follow in New York City’s steps toward environmental sustainability

LAUREN LATOUR Contributor New York City: they say if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. But for the fossil fuel industry, those 15 minutes of fame are up. In a Jan. 10 press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city’s intentions to divest pension funds from the fossil fuel industry. The city will also bring a lawsuit against five major fossil fuel corporations. The fossil fuel divestment movement began in 2012, turning into an international campaign lead by climate change activist organization 350.org. Although fossil fuel divestment has primarily been a tool wielded by institutions like churches, unions, and universities, municipalities and entire countries (we see you, Ireland) have divested

from the oil and gas industry. New York isn’t the first city to do so, but it’s arguably the highest profile case. The divestment decision will affect approximately $5 billion of NYC’s $189 billion pension fund, pulling support from 190 fossil fuel corporations that the fund was previously invested in. New York City’s mayor and comptroller announced via press release that they would instruct fund trustees to divest from these 190 companies in “a way that is fully consistent with fiduciary obligations.” These words are important given how often “fiduciary obligations” are thrown around in defence of rejecting divestment. I speak as a biased and disgruntled DivestMTA organizer when I point out these same words have been spoken to me in discussions with Mount Allison President Robert Campbell and Vice-President Finance and Administration Robert Inglis. I say this because it’s a relief to have an increasing number of wellrespected, well-informed, wealthy white men to validate issues we’ve been pointing out for several years. Maybe it’s just my liberal-artsy naiveté telling me this time will be different – but perhaps now that the argument is coming from the office of one of the world’s most powerful cities, it will finally be internalized.

Not to be overlooked is the mayor’s announcement of the lawsuit being lodged against the world’s top five investor-owned contributors to climate change: BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon-Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The lawsuit itself targets the billions of dollars in damages the city will have to pay to protect citizens from the effects of climate change. When discussing reasons for launching the lawsuit, city representatives talked about the culpability of these corporations and the actions they’d taken over decades to obscure devastating effects

of climate change from the public – profiting while sea levels rose and lying about their contributions to it. Some might consider it uncouth or hyperbolic to draw comparisons between those corporations and Mt. A, but I see a connection. BP and Exxon-Mobil know their role in climate change yet continue to profit from it. So, too, does a university whose administration has full understanding of the risks posed by global warming to its students, surrounding community, and the dollars of endowment contributors, yet still invests with the companies

working hardest to put those futures at risk. Further, these are companies with precarious outlooks, given what we know of the possibility of their assets becoming stranded (Google “carbon bubble”). De Blasio has seen the risk rising sea levels can pose to a coastal community and has acted accordingly to protect those citizens. I’m cautiously hopeful the leadership at Mt. A will do the same, given Sackville’s position on the marshes and its proximity to sea level. Then again, Centennial Hall is unlikely to flood given its position on top of that hill… so perhaps not.

NEW YORK CITY JOINS OVER 830 INSTITUTIONS IN THE FIGHT FOR DIVESTING FROM FOSSIL FUELS. LOUIS SOBOL/ARGOSY

Call for the discussion corner: What can Mt. A and members of its community do to reduce the campus’ environmental impact? Tweet us your

opinions @The_Argosy, or contact Allison MacNeill to appear in next week’s paper.


HUMOUR 11

EDITOR: CARLY PENROSE | JANUARY 18, 2018 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

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ACROSS 1. Can be avoided if you shovel your driveway 9. A troll’s trade 14. The fifth flavor 18. Political panderer 19. I am, you ____ 20. With “garde,” cutting edge 22. Niño’s article 23. Picnic pilferer 24. Happens in instalments 26. Preservative for dinosaur DNA 27. A frowny face 29. An out-of-this world organization 32. Ethan Hawke horror movie

37. Stronger than a sword 39. Now and _____ 41. Pirates and amateur geographers know that there are seven of them 42. Cozy crafting 45. Not e.g. or ex. 46. Puttin’ on the fancy crackers 47. Portable digital navigator 49. If your stomach is this, you should take Pepto-Bismol 50. Tragic princess 51. Prickly desert dweller 54. Holocaust-themed series of graphic novels 56. Adjective Trump uses to describe

ADVICE

the New York Times 58. Belonging to Golden State Warriors player Thompson 59. Worm-getter 61. A dedicated poem 63. Burl who plays a snowman in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 64. Spooky social media app 66. To train an animal 67. Suffix for organic chemical compounds that are good fuel 68. Burning, itching infection 69. What a football quarterback might yell to start the play 70. Fictional sketch show from NBC’s

Welcome back, fuckers. Trill is back in the Sack, but you probably already knew that. My presence rarely goes unnoticed. This semester, I’ve decided to once again grace you all with some exceptional advice. Today, I will give you tips on carrying through on your New Year’s resolution. Buckle up baby because WE BACK. Tip 1. Fight your prof. No matter what your resolution is, this is an essential. You all should’ve done this on the first day of classes, but better late than never, amirite? By physically assaulting your prof for each course, you will establish dominance over one of the biggest stressors in your life, giving you the confidence to continue on with your resolution. Tip 2. Give up. After the confidence boost you got from assaulting your

DOWN 1. Physical type of comedy 2. At-home hair removal gadget 3. Not acute 4. TV studio responsible for Looney Tunes 5. Meditation techniques tell you to focus on your third this 6. “Don’t double ___!” 7. “It __ _, the frenchiest fry” (2 wds.) 8. In Canada there are ten provinces and three of these (abbr.) 9. If you’re under this, you’re not drawing any attention to yourself 10. Ring around the pupil 11. Tenths of a century 12. Tomb raider played by Angelina Jolie 13. Not morn or aft 14. Nickname for a post-secondary educational institution 15. Opposite of a valley (abbr.) 16. Outdoor equipment and apparel store 17. Elle’s opposite (French) 21. Pose a question 25. An older person might call children “little ____” 28. This man just wanted a heart 30. Allergic reaction pen 31. Can be mechanical, civil, environmental or chemical 33. Terrorist group in the Middle ast 34. Game, ___, match

MISSING SOMETHING?

Lost and found

ERIK GARF Contributor

TRILL WAVES Contributor

30 Rock 72. Busy TV-watcher’s lifesaver 73. Utah city or Calgary Suburb 76. Fred from Scooby Doo’s favourite accessory 78. Bear-like extraterrestrials 79. This is what Timmy fell down 82. Fine, formal apparel 84. Last name of The Raven author 87. Tedious 89. Shade-giver for shops 91. To make not level 92. “You are” en español 93. Pig’s place 94. Desire

profs wears off and the RCMP knock on your door, your dreams of a fresh start will be suddenly shown to be incredibly unrealistic. You’ll soon realize how hopeless your situation is. Why did you follow the advice of that fool in the newspaper? It’s all over now; might as well ditch any plans of sticking with your resolution. Tip 3. Die. With your hopes dashed, wait for the cold but longawaited embrace of death! Utter your last words. Choose from classics such as “Thank you, goodnight!” or “Rosebud!” or “What are you gonna do? Kill me?” or “The gold is buried in—.” New Year’s resolutions (and life in general) are for chumps anyway! See you in the next life! XOXO, Trill! P.S. Sorry for being grim! It may not seem it, but a man’s goin’ through a lot rn.

Students who lose or find an item can contact the Argosy’s Lost and Found. Leave a brief message describing the item, giving a general location of where and when it was lost/found. LOST Student ID lost somewhere between Bridge St. and York St. while standing in line at Ducky’s on Saturday night at 1:30 a.m. LOST Student ID lost in the library Sunday night. Used it as a bookmark but have since forgotten what book it is in. LOST Student ID lost somewhere in Toronto airport over Christmas break. Likely near gate 23 terminal B. LOST Student ID lost somewhere in Avard Dixon, Crabtree, Dunn, Barclay or Hart Hall. FOUND Small black wallet with zero cash, one card (a student ID) found in Waterfowl Park.

35. The birthplace of this cartoon “devil” 36. Arrow-wielding god 37. Professors often want this to be undivided (abbr.) 38. Fin 40. Getting better 42. One of these has about 946 mL 43. Like Hawaii, P.E.I. or Fiji (abbr.) 44. Flower necklaces 46. Possible nickname for actor Crowe 47. Throat muscle contraction to show nervousness 48. Famous Hitchcock movie 52. Gave in 53. A knot 55. The American Railway Association, in short 56. Compact car brand 57. To egg on 59. Precedes the year a company was founded (abbr.) 60. South Asian, predominantly Buddhist country 62. Where you wait 65. Lever puller 67. Largest artery in the body 70. Not branches, sticks or logs 71. HR acronym used to describe Skills, Knowledge and Experience 74. Wool-wearers and sharers 75. Your parents may have empty ____ syndrome 77. Painters may do a double ___ 78. Explosive Washington “volcano” 80. Level of Effort in project management 81. Do this for a TBH 83. Gratuity 84. Let’s put a ___ in that 85. “Give ‘em the ___ Razzle Dazzle” 86. When do you think you’ll be here? 88. Email etiquette used when answering someone 90. Wyoming, on a letter 91. Fro’s parter Answers will be posted on The Argosy’s twitter feed (@The_Argosy)

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU FOUND Student ID found in one of Goya’s pizzas last night. FOUND Highly contaminated student ID card found at the bottom of Swan Pond. *Advisory: Mount Allison University is issuing a recall on all student ID cards due to their slipperiness. New generic ID cards with a picture of Mt. A’s mascot will be distributed to students.

HEY! All you jokesters, satirists, illustrators, horoscope writers, photoshoppers and more:

LEND US YOUR TALENTS! To contribute to the humour section, contact Carly at cmpenrose@mta.ca

Fool-proof resolutions for you to try

CARLY PENROSE Humour Editor We here at the Argosy’s Humour HQTM think New Year’s resolutions are hard to stick to and, frankly, overrated. So, we’ve compiled a list of feel-good resolution suggestions that anyone can accomplish and feel good about! Resolution 1: Eat a sandwich. This resolution has no time constraint, so at some point or another, it’s bound to happen! Resolution 2: Be socially aware. You’re reading this paper aren’t you? Check this one off the list! Resolution 3: Eat healthier. Life hack: This one can involve planning ahead. Next December, eat literally every processed thing you can, for every meal. Then, when January hits, eat one apple and this resolution is complete, after only one day! We said healthiER. Resolution 4: Be more confident. You just completed three of your resolutions. Not many people can say that! Congrats, you’re a true inspiration.



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