The Argosy, November 24, Vol. 146, Iss. 10

THE ARG OSY

NEWS

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

OPINIONS

Mt. A student attends UN climate talks (Pg. 3)

Sackville’s literary arts community (Pg. 12)

A recap of the Mountie’s football season (Pg. 6)

The ugly truth about the Maple League (Pg. 15)

Love on the marsh since 1872

Mount Allison’s Independent Student Newspaper

COVER: SAVANNAH HARRIS, LORNE STREET HIDING, PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPH, 2016.

November 24, 2016 Vol. 146, Iss. 10

02 NEWS

EDITOR: CATHERINE TURNBULL & NAOMI GOLDBERG | NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

CLIMATE JUSTICE

Students attend vigil against Kinder Morgan Over 60 members of Sackville community protest proposed pipeline expansion

KINDER MORGAN PROTESTORS STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH STANDING ROCK ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY

WILL BALSER Contributor

“Kill This Black Snake” read the sign held by one of the many students who attended a vigil outside the Ralph Pickard Bell library. The phrase, used by many Indigenous water protectors in pipeline protests, references a Lakota prophecy in which a black snake (zuzeca sape) crosses the land, causing ruin and disaster.

#STOPKM ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY

More than 60 members of the Sackville community, most of them students, held a candlelit vigil on Monday, Nov. 21, showing their opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline. This was one of more than 40 other vigils held across Canada on the same day.

The vigil was organized by Divest MTA, the campus branch of a larger movement advocating for climate justice and for the university to divest from fossil fuels. One of the organizers and speakers at the event, Alex Lepianka, said, “I think that… acts made in solidarity with frontline activists, organizers and those who are suffering injustice around the world are critical to building a consciousness of the systems of oppression that exist.”

The proposed $6.8 billion pipeline expansion would run parallel to the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline, increasing capacity to 890,000 barrels of diluted bitumen per day from Edmonton, A.B., to Burnaby, B.C. Along the way, the Trans Mountain

pipeline crosses over 15 native reserves and various traditional lands. Tankers transporting oil put hundreds of other Indigenous territories at risk.

Students present at the vigil had much to say about their opposition of the pipeline.

Third-year student Marley Caddell said the violation of Indigenous rights was a major issue. “Especially when there’s been so much media coverage concerning the Dakota Access Pipeline, it’s really important for Canada to follow through with their intentions of indigenizing the country, and if they construct the Kinder Morgan pipeline, they’re completely going against that,” she said.

Third-year student Linnea Bell said it was important for the most privileged to speak out about what is detrimental to the less privileged. “We should be the most vocal in [Kinder Morgan’s] opposition, because we have that opportunity,” she said.

Third-year student Caeleigh

Marshall said educational institutions should play a role in opposing pipelines such as Kinder Morgan. “Climate change has been scientifically supported by 95 per cent or more of the scientific community.

And so, at an institution like this with a strong science faculty as well as a strong arts faculty, I think it’s very important to not be hypocritical and to look to the future instead of looking to the present.”

ZUZECA SAPE ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY

U.S. ELECTION

Mt. A students upset about Trump win

Trudeau says U.S. and Canada continue to have “shared values” KAVANA WA KILELE News Reporter On Nov. 8, Donald Trump became the president-elect of the United States of America. In a statement released on the day after the results came in, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Trump on his win and committed to working with him.

“I’m going to work with presidentelect Trump’s administration as we move forward in a positive way,” Trudeau said. “The relationship between our two countries serves as a model for the world. Our shared values, deep cultural ties and strong integrated economies will continue to provide the basis for advancing our strong and prosperous partnership.”

Many Canadians, including some Mount Allison students, were upset by the idea that Trudeau felt the Canadian government shared values with Trump. The hashtag #notmyvalues went viral in response

to Trudeau’s comments.

Cognitive science student Sonia Siddiqui said that after Trump’s election there are no longer shared values between the two countries.

“There is not a single value that is shared after the decision made by the U.S. about who can run their country,” Siddiqui said. “There is not a single positive thing I can see in Trump.”

Rachel Hanakowski, a sociology student, said she was surprised by the outcome of the U.S. election. “I expected Hillary to pull through. I don’t know how millions of people support someone who is so obviously bigoted.”

Second-year political science student Chloe Lawson, who is American, echoed the same sentiment. “I didn’t expect us to elect Trump as our president,” Lawson said. “I am still in disbelief that he will be the 45th president of the U.S. I have given up hope on the future of our country.”

Some did not feel disappointed

by Trump’s election. Third-year commerce student Max Xu said that he was happy with the result. “Trump never gave up. He just kept fighting, and that is why he eventually won the election,” Xu said.

Xu said that he still believes that the U.S. and Canada share values.

First-year international relations student Sarah Zamponi said that she was unhappy about Trump’s election and expressed concern for the future of the U.S. and the global community.

She considered Trudeau’s comment about shared values a question of diplomacy.

“I think it is unfortunate that he has to kind of choke out this statement,” Zamponi said. “I feel like the values between the U.S. and Canada are certainly shared, but I don’t think that Donald Trump himself shares any values of mine.”

TRUDEAU RESPONDS TO TRUMP WITH “DIPLOMACY” IZZY FRANCOLINI/ARGOSY

NEWS

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

CLIMATE JUSTICE

03

Mt. A student attends UN climate conference Oh lobbies for climate justice as part of youth delegation

NAOMI GOLDBERG News Editor Third-year Mount Allison student Tina Oh attended the 22nd United Nations climate change negotiations (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco, as part of the Canadian Youth Delegation (CYD).

The CYD acts as a voice of the Canadian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences. The youth delegation’s goal this year, according to their daily newsletter, was to “hold the liberal government to their promises—and to push for a justice-based transition to a fossil-free economy, for a path forward that respects Indigenous rights and prioritizes the needs of the most vulnerable.’’

Last year’s equivalent conference, COP21, was held in Paris. During COP21, many of the world’s nations committed to keeping the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius, aiming for 1.5 degrees.

COP22 took place from Nov. 7 to Nov. 18. This year’s conference was dubbed the “action COP,’’ as it focused on how to implement the Paris Agreement.

Oh, who is still in Morocco, answered the Argosy’s questions in writing.

Naomi Goldberg: What are the youth delegation’s goals?

Tina Oh: The youth delegation’s primary goal is to keep the Canadian government accountable during COP22 climate negotiations. We have been putting pressure on the Liberal government [regarding] their “sunny ways” approach to their apparent pipeline politics.

They cannot continue to approve fossil fuel infrastructure that is incompatible with the ambitious commitments made in COP21 in Paris last year. As well, we are asking that Canada fully implement and ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. If this government wants to meaningfully reconcile with Indigenous peoples

in Canada and believes in justice and equity for vulnerable communities and nations across the globe, Canada cannot afford to build any new fossil fuel infrastructure. Canadian youth elected Trudeau on the promise of real action on climate change, yet our government is still trampling Indigenous rights and still talking about expanding the tar sands.

NG: How has your experience been so far?

TO: COP22 is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It has been emotionally and physically draining, to say the least. Negotiations were infuriatingly slow, and it was specifically disappointing to witness developed nations often be the main inhibitors during climate talks. It is worth mentioning the undeniable hardship that this movement now faces in light of a Trump presidency.

I cannot put into words the anxiety in the atmosphere, especially from

“I CANNOT PUT INTO WORDS THE ANXIETY IN THE ATMOSPHERE...” vulnerable nations, in the days after the U.S. election.

NG: Do you feel motivated, disillusioned or otherwise?

TO: I still feel incredibly raw from COP and am still processing all that has happened in the past two weeks.

The Canadian negotiating team, led

by Louise Métivier (chief negotiator), hosts a Canadian stakeholder briefing every afternoon to explain to Canadian delegates the work they have been doing. The youth delegation had the opportunity to pose a question to the team almost every day, and I can confidently say that not a single question was answered clearly and properly.

Often, the negotiating team would answer our question with a very

condescending answer like, “Thank you for your opinion,” or, “That’s a great statement.”

I still have so much passion for this work, but it would be a lie if I said that I did not feel disillusioned with the processes and structures of the UN. That being said, it is unbelievably important for groups like the youth delegation to keep pushing progressive agendas that the government would otherwise neglect.

We have a media/communications working group whose main focus is to bring [the media’s] attention to the failures within these negotiations.

One of Canada’s main failures is that our government has implied that it has no intention of domesticating its emission reductions. They will instead reach their target of zero emissions by 2050 by trading emissions with other countries that don’t have major fossil fuel infrastructure, and are therefore below their targets. In other words, Canada is not doing its part.

NG: Is COP22 any different from other COPs? If so, what is different about this one?

TO: COP22 has been labelled the COP of action. This COP did not receive as much attention as COP21.

However, over 180 countries ratified the Paris Agreement in the lead-up to COP22, so much of the negotiations discussed the implementation of the Agreement. On the last day of COP22, 48 developing nations committed to 100 per cent renewable energy. It is inspiring that climate leadership is occurring from the world’s poorest countries, but it is unacceptable for the world’s smallest emitters to carry the burden of climate change.

It is Canada’s responsibility, as a wealthy nation and one of the highest greenhouse gas emitters, to step up and fund countries who are embarking on low-carbon development and to financially assist those already suffering the damage and losses from the impacts of climate change.

PROTESTERS CONFRONT MINISTER MCKENNA CYCC/SUBMITTED Visit https://www.carbonbrief.org if you would like to learn more about key outcomes of COP22.

POETRY

THE BLACK PRINCE IAN MCKINLEY

Do you believe in ghosts?

I lived in Bogotá nigh on two years. I played here. I sang. I sniffed the air, drank the water, heard the chapel bell. I leapt onto dirt mounds, sailed through the air, darted up cliffs, made the ridgebacks howl. I battled the gatica. I chased Squeak: I sometimes brought it back.

I’m gone now. One last trip lies before me: over the rainbow bridge.

Five moons on, the folk see my sister with my people and ask, “Where is the black dog?” They are many.

I touched them all.

Now do you believe in ghosts?

(note, a gatica in Spanish is a female cat, in the affectionate diminutive)

WHITE FROST OF WISDOM ELIZABETH GLENN-COPELAND White frost sings a siren’s call, And I, still sleepy from my somnolent waltz through this Winding, winsome, worrying world Am suddenly and sharply awake!

Heart racing, I crawl forward, watchful and wondering.

What strange angel dares knock With such an icy hand?

White frost flashes diamond sharp, And as November gales whip the vestiges of russet leaves From the aging ash, revealing her Unguarded bare-barked beauty, So does this white witch strip me.

I stand naked and shivering in the rimy wind, Fatally flawed and hopelessly human.

White frost like gossamer satin settles on my shoulders; A whispering seraphim ministering medicine to my battle-scared heart.

Tears score hot lines down my face, And arms open wide, I am left in bone sweet wonder.

Her alchemy complete, the strange angel Smiles, sighs, then satisfied, is gone, Becoming one with the silvery points of crystal Glistening in the dawn’s gray light

YOUTH DELEGATION PROTESTS KINDER MORGAN CYCC/SUBMITTED

04

NEWS

NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

SENATE

Future students to follow new distribution system

Old requirements “didn’t force enough breadth” LEO GERTLER News Reporter A proposal for new distribution credit regulations has been approved by the University Senate. The aim of these new requirements is to maximize the breadth of disciplines students will have exposure to while also equalizing enrolment across departments as much as possible.

Under the new regulations, only a selection of courses, chosen by department heads, will be able to count toward distribution requirements. Students will still need six credits each in arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences, but will be limited to counting one course per discipline for distribution. This means that students cannot, for example, use more than one religious studies course to fulfill their humanities requirement.

In addition, all courses that have been selected for distribution do not

have prerequisites and fall into nonmandatory subcategories.

Before these new rules take effect next fall, further changes are set to be made by the Academic Matters Committee (AMC) in consultation with department heads. The finalized regulations will undergo a review process after two years. The class of 2021 will have to declare their majors before this system is reviewed, and the university will only know if the system will be permanent after this point.

Current Mount Allison students will not be affected by the change.

After last year’s distribution proposal was defeated, several student consultation meetings were held in addition to student and faculty surveys about the proposed changes.

“I’m generally really happy with how this process went, as opposed to last year,” said Sarah Murphy, social science senator and the student member on the AMC.

According to Murphy, the Mount Allison Students’ Union’s council voted unanimously in favour of the new regulations, as did the student senators.

Students and faculty expressed concern that under the system proposed last year, students could have avoided taking courses in the social sciences. However, Murphy says the new regulations will make that impossible.

“You’re going to be forced to take courses in each academic department, rather than just encouraged,” she said. “I think this is more reflective of what we’re hoping for, and it’s not a far enough departure from our current system that we can see any potential problems with it.”

A number of professors in the senate meeting on Nov. 15 raised concerns about the flexibility of the new regulations.

Loralea Michaelis, a professor in the political science department,

proposed an amendment that the limitation of one course per discipline be struck from the new rules. According to Michaelis, “if you find someone’s behaviour, in the absence of a rule, tending toward a certain pattern, there’s usually a good reason for it.”

“There might be more than one good reason. One reason is that students use distribution to build competency in a discipline, and that’s not something that we need to discourage,” she said.

Additionally, Michaelis said that regulations should be made with a mind to current practices rather than principles such as breadth. “When we make new rules, it’s easier to get people to do something new than to prevent them from doing something that they’ve already been doing,” she said.

Elizabeth Wells, dean of arts and head of the AMC, disagreed with this sentiment.

“What people were doing with distribution was trying to shore-up an area, trying to build a minor or a concentration in one area. The whole philosophy of distribution is the opposite of that,” she said.

According to Wells, the new system is consistent with the results of student and faculty consultation.

“What people seemed to be concerned about was that [the old system] didn’t force enough breadth.

Some faculties weren’t as wellrepresented as they would have liked to have been.”

Both Murphy and Wells said breadth is an important part of a liberal arts education. Wells said that “the end result, we feel, is going to be a better educational experience for people taking these new courses within the new system.” *with files from Catherine Turnbull

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES

Mt. A hosts first annual Model UN conference THURSDAY, NOV. 24

Stress Free Zone International Fair Interdisciplinary Conversations Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women panel discussion Metamorphoses Jazz Emsemble

FRIDAY, NOV. 25

Weird Lines/Right Shitty/Sadie START Gallery – 3 Projects La Traviata

Students participate in simulations of political events 4-6 p.m., Tweedie Hall 4-7 p.m., AVDX Lounge 4:30 p.m., Owens Art Gallery 7-8:30 p.m., Dunn 113 8-10 p.m., Motyer Fancy Theatre (daily until Nov. 26) 8 p.m., Brunton Auditorium 9 p.m., T&L 7-9 p.m., START Gallery 7:30 p.m., Brunton Auditorium

SATURDAY, NOV. 26

Horses/Future Girls/Heavy Early

SUNDAY, NOV. 27 Ethical Giving

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30 Egg Timer Writing Club Presents: The Improv

9 p.m., T&L

1-4 p.m., Gracie’s

8-9 p.m., T&L 9 p.m., The Pond

Don’t See an event here? Let us know what else is going on in and around the Sackville community

JILL MACINTYRE News Reporter Fifty-one students from the Mount Allison community participated in a campus Model UN conference this past weekend.

Model UN is a global governance simulation based on the structure of the United Nations. Delegates are assigned committees and states to represent and specific topics to research. At conferences, students representing their assigned state or leader negotiate and debate with other delegates to create a final resolution.

Matthew Roberts, a second-year international relations student and conference organizer, believes that Model UN helps students apply what they learn in the classroom to real political issues.

“It helps people understand current political events – not just the superficial political news – [and] conduct research and understand what’s behind an issue,” Roberts said.

“I think that’s really important today, when there’s a lot of political news coming out that’s not necessarily based in fact,” he said, referencing uncertainty surrounding the American election results.

Susu Graham, a PPE student and conference participant, also emphasized the importance of learning outside of the classroom.

“It’s nice to do something outside of academics [that] still ties into my major and interests,” he said. “It’s a good way to learn about the world without being stressed.”

Three committee simulations were offered at the conference: a General Assembly on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, a Specialized Committee on the Treaty of Versailles, and a Security Council on the Ukrainian Crisis.

Conference participant Minho Ae said that Model UN is important because it helps students understand the inner workings of a major political institution, as not all students discuss politics in their classes.

“I was interested in Model UN because the UN is the largest international organization to solve world issues,” Ae said.

The conference was open to all Mt. A students regardless of year, discipline or previous Model UN experience.

Corey Ogden, a first-year student who had never participated in Model UN before, said he found the conference fun and accessible.

“I had never done it before, but some of my friends in high school did it and gave it only the best reviews,” he said. “Especially for people around my age who are just getting to the age where we can vote and be active in political debate, it’s important to be informed on world issues.”

The Mt. A Model UN club holds weekly meetings and practice simulations on a diverse range of topics like the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Israeli state, the Syrian refugee crisis and the American election. The Model UN club also annually travels to a conference at McGill University in Montreal.

This year, the Mt. A Model UN team organized their own conference for the first time as a training platform or an alternative to travelling to Montreal.

According to Aidan Legault, an executive member of Model UN, “not everyone has the economic opportunity to go to Montreal because it is an expensive conference, so making sure that people have an ability to explore this kind of activity in a financially feasible way is important.”

Legault also emphasized the importance of Model UN as a way to learn about the concerns of smaller states that do not hold major ties to Canada.

“Delegates are pushed to research sectors of society that they don’t normally have to analyze in their daily life,” he said. “It’s important to understand how developments in international policy might be geographically distant but still really affect smaller nations that don’t often have a voice in our political discourse.”

In addition to committee sessions, delegates also participated in a guest lecture by James Devine of the political science and international relations department, a wine and cheese mixer and a pub crawl.

NEWS

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

This Week in New Brunswick COMPILED BY CATHERINE TURNBULL & NAOMI GOLDBERG News Editors COUPLE STEALS DIAMOND FROM SAINT JOHN JEWELRY STORE Grigori Zaharov and Natalia Feldman have both pleaded guilty to the theft of a $10,000 diamond from W. Smith and Co. Fine Jewellers. The couple swapped the diamond with a cubic zirconia, which is similar to diamond at first glance.

When the clerk suspected that Zaharov had pocketed the diamond, she confronted the couple and they immediately left the store. The clerk then checked the security video, in which she saw Zaharov pocketing the diamond, and called the police. After the video was made public, police received a tip telling them the couple had been seen at the Halifax casino.

This eventually led to their arrest and the recovery of the diamond. Zaharov and Feldman are also accused of stealing two diamonds worth approximately $20,000 from a store in Charlottetown. The sentence for the Saint John offence will lead to a maximum penalty of two years in prison, although Feldman, who never touched the diamond, may receive a shorter sentence than Zaharov.

THREE-STREAM GARBAGE SYSTEM “RUNNING SMOOTHLY” Since its implementation one month ago, officials say southeastern New Brunswick’s three-stream garbage system has so far been effective. In an interview with the CBC, Roland LeBlanc, director of solid waste at southeast Eco360, said cleaner recyclable material is being produced by waste management plants since the change. Roland said, “instead of 50 per cent in the blue bag being recyclable, we’re seeing 70 to 80 per cent now.” He also said that approximately 70 per cent of the province’s eligible population is participating, with apartment buildings and businesses also expressing interest.

Currently, apartment buildings and businesses do not need to comply with the sorting regulations. As well, the system app, which provides users with garbage-sorting information, has been downloaded 8,000 times.

NEW BRUNSWICK INDIGENOUS PROTESTORS ON RCMP “THREAT LIST” Thirty-five Indigenous anti-shale gas protesters with ties to New Brunswick and the 2013 Kent County protests are included on a list of 89 secretly investigated persons considered “potential threats to public safety” by the RCMP. The RCMP conducted Project SITKA, which was launched in early 2014 to “assess the threat posed by individuals and/or groups (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) willing and capable of utilizing unlawful tactics in association with Aboriginal public order events,” as quoted by a CBC article. Many, like Carleton professor of criminology and criminal justice Jeffrey Monaghan, see this investigation as a violation of civil liberties. In an interview with the CBC, Monaghan said the investigation, which did not notify investigated individuals, was “outside of any kind of procedural expectations we would have for a criminal justice process.”

MENTAL HEALTH

Students test mental health-focused apps Free apps could be a useful resource for campus mental health CATHERINE TURNBULL News Editor On Friday, Nov. 18 a “mental health app testing event” was held in the solarium of the Pond. The event was organized by Anne Comfort, director of the Meighen Centre, Melissa Baxter, Mount Allison’s newly hired mental health educator, and members of the MASU. According to Comfort, over 70 students attended the event over the course of two hours. iPads were set up with six different mental healthfocused apps for students to try.

Participating students were then asked to fill out a survey. The data from the survey has not yet been analyzed, but Comfort, as well as Sara Camus and Anthony Maddalena of the MASU, all said they have received positive feedback from many of the students who were present.

Comfort and Baxter selected six apps from a longer list of free apps already recommended to students by staff and counsellors at Mt. A. They hope to provide students with an analysis of which apps might be most well received by the student body.

“We’re looking to add to a student’s toolbox of things that they can use [to promote] positive mental health,” Comfort said. “There are students for whom coming to a self-help group or reaching out to counsellor or talking to a friend might not be where their comfort level is at, but they might really benefit from being able to do a meditation exercise on their phone, in their own space and on their own time.”

Comfort said many universities are moving toward these options as forms of self-care. “[These apps] aren’t going to cure a mental disorder, but they can certainly help to increase your positive mental health,” she said.

The apps are all free, which Comfort said is important given the lack of funding for mental health resources on campus. “We didn’t want the finances to be a barrier,” she said.

Camus and Maddalena said having Comfort and Baxter as resources to research the most effective and accurate options was important.

Camus, vice-president communications for the MASU, said that at the recently held New

Brunswick Students’ Association’s Advocacy Week, students’ unions advocated for an increase in the mental health budget for resources on campus.

Camus said that awareness on campus is now there, exemplified in groups such as jack.org and Change Your Mind. “What we really need now are resources,” she said. “We have all these students who want access to services and not enough funding to provide it.”

Camus said that some of the apps provide not only mental health awareness, but techniques like mindful breathing, which could act as a stepping stone for students.

Maddalena, VP student life of the MASU, said that the students’ union hopes to find out what students are looking for in terms of resources. “It’s all about finding exactly what fits the problem,” said Maddalena. “That’s where student consultation will be important.”

A similiar setup of iPads will be available for students to try during Mental Health Day on Oct. 24 at the “Stress Free Zone” in Tweedie Hall.

05

MY BEDROOM DELANIE KHAN DOBSON A $415 per-month sanctuary Open my door A pungent smell dirty laundry and stray hairs a collection of cups collecting dust represent the hours of sleep lost trying to memorize trying to analyze trying to come to terms with accepting my failures beyond all this chaos is my bed so I will collapse into its arms and sleep suppress reality, If only for a few hours.

ORGANIC HANNA LONGARD I see leaves in everything.

Carbon matter luminously fixed with earthly crumbs such that it provides energy.

If that is a leaf then your leaving energizes me to find out if I (organic) matter on my own.

NOT MY SKY KENNEDY LUNDBERG I had always believed in the permanency of the stars Sewn into place by stories of bears and belts Rotating around a single point But here, where charcoal paper is rolled out Pinpricked and held at arm’s length, I have no ownership over the sky

06 SPORTS

EDITOR: DAVID TAPLIN | NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

FOOTBALL

Positives in the face of defeat

After a year of ups and downs, Mounties finish strong with eyes to next year DAVID TAPLIN Sports and Health Editor The history of Mount Allison football is one of inconsistency. Both Vanier Cup appearances in 1984 and 1991 were followed by lean years in the win column. This is often the result of losing key players to graduation.

After winning the Atlantic University playoffs in 1997, the Mounties again struggled for results in the years that followed, as demonstrated by three straight winless seasons from 2003-2005.

More recently, after a 4-4 season in 2010, the team saw its fourth winless record in 10 years in 2011.

The historically unsustainable nature of the Mt. A program is something Athletic Director Pierre Arsenault is well aware of. “Every time after that core group has graduated, you’ve seen the retreat back to something lesser,” he said.

The Mounties entered 2016 facing challenges that had been crippling to teams in the past. “Last year clearly was the graduation of a big chunk of our core that won two championships,” Arsenault said.

Players knew that this season would be different from the last few years. “[There were] a lot of question marks, a lot of turnover on the team,” said fifth-year linebacker Kyle Horseman.

“We had no clue who our quarterback would be.”.

Along with a younger team, this season the Mounties had a new head coach: Scott Brady, an Mt. A graduate and football alumni. A member of the Mounties coaching staff since

2010, Brady is a “true student of the game,” according to the the longtime voice of the Mounties, Steve Riddlington. Brady is, “one of the hardest working coaches I’ve ever seen,” said Horseman. A work ethic that he demands from his players.

The Mounties started the season with three losses, but were able to come together at the end of the season, finishing the last five games with a winning record.

After beating Acadia at home, the team advanced to its fourth straight Loney Bowl, a first for Mt. A football, before losing to St. FX in Antigonish.

The results at the end of the season were indicative of the growth of the team.. “The way we were playing at the end of the year showed the dramatic level of improvement and the leadership from the coaching staff,” Arsenault said.

This year’s success, following a large graduating class, is indicative of a turning point for football at Mt. A, the birth of a winning culture. “It means we have the right guy for the job,” said Pierre Arsenault, referring to Brady.

Since his first year in 2012, Horseman has seen the development of a winning culture. “I think with anything you have to take your steps and pay your dues. I think that’s why we were so good. We had guys that didn’t start with big roles and we were okay with that and we’re okay with excelling with what the coaches put forward,” Horseman said.

Second year defensive lineman, Donovan Glave described the family atmosphere of the team as a reason for committing to Mt. A. An

attitude he attributes to their ability to overcome the adversity faced this season. “Everyone was really playing for one another,” said Glave.

The team’s success can be traced to how the coaching approached the young team. “There was a good balance between setting expectations high and allowing for mistakes. I think that’s what helped us keep our mind off the things that we’re not in control of. We are not in control of the fact that people graduated but we are in control of what we can do with a young team,” Glave said.

With three consecutive AUS rookie of the years in running-back Chris Reid, defensive lineman Donovan Glave and quarterback Jakob Loucks, the Mounties have a young core that they will look to move forward with.

Building on the accomplishments of this year, the team already has sights set on next season. “My mentality is that next season already started, I had my week to take a break,” said Glave. “[It starts] in the weightroom and I feel like everyone is on the same page.”

After the hard-fought loss to the X-Men, Arsenault is confident the program has a bright future. “We know what [it] feels like to be at the Loney Bowl, and our aspirations continue to be that and bigger.”

“I see them being able to take that next step forward,” said Horseman.

“The list goes on of guys that really want to win and have passion to win, and with Brady, I think they can do unbelievable things.”

DONOVAN GLAVE LINING UP AGAINST ST. FX IN THE AUS LONEY BOWL. PAUL LYNCH/MTA ATHLETICS

KYLE HORSEMAN LEADING THE MOUNTIES ONTO THE FIELD EARLIER THIS YEAR. PAUL LYNCH/MTA ATHLETICS

HEALTH

Struggling with self care and due dates

It is easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with end of semester deadlines

PACKED NOOKS OF THE LIBRARY INDICATIVE OF STUDENT STRESS LEVELS. ADRIAN KIVA/ ARGOSY

DELANIE KHAN-DOBSON Contributor With an array of term papers creeping up and those first thoughts of exams seeping into students’ consciousness, it is not unusual to want to sit down, breathe, and forgive your body and mind once in a while.

Personally, I look forward to taking a nap the minute I wake up in the morning. This desire to sleep my

problems away becomes even more prominent as my workload builds up.

As I get more stressed, I begin skipping basic human activities, like showering or cooking, because I lose study time. It is at times ridiculous to believe that 20 extra minutes of studying will do me better than taking a shower, but in my mind, a greater mark on a paper is somehow more important than my health.

A common way for students to relieve stress and improve mental health is through the practice of selfcare, which can be defined as taking part in activities and actions that can help improve your mental, physical and emotional health.

Lately, I have not been practising self-care, opting instead to stay at the library for a few more hours a day.

When students fall into a state where they feel like they have to put schoolwork above everything else, they can become less focused and efficient when doing work.

Fifth-year biology and psychology student Alaa Ratmi said, “I start to let go of the things that make me feel good,” noting that one of the first things he stops doing for himself when he is stressed is going to the gym. Ratmi explained that this decision actually leaves him feeling worse because he relies on exercise to feel good.

Fourth-year chemistry honours student Emilie Yammine has had similar experiences with skipping out on self-care in favour of doing school work. “It’s put more of a damper on

my mental health because I am always in the library working,” she said.

Even though ditching the activities that make us feel good in order to be more productive can actually make us feel worse, university does have a steep learning curve from first to fourth year when it comes to learning how to adapt to large workloads.

In a Facebook message, third-year student Charlotte Trudeau wrote, “In first year I was a lot more careless about deadlines…Today, I [have] learned to manage my time a lot better.” Yammine said that she has learned from first year as well. She figured out what did and did not work by trying different studying methods, and learned to give herself breaks in the midst of exam season, even if she could only spare an hour.

After discussing these stresses with other students, I realize that I am not alone. However, it shouldn’t be calming to know other students are also treating their bodies and minds like trash bins during exam period.

Knowing students understand the importance of self-care but are

frustrated to be in a school system that seems to give them little time to practise highlights the importance of being there for each other in any way we can. Exam season can be extremely tough to get through, and it is different for everyone.

Make a list of things that relax you and make you feel better, and make a space in your day – even if it is only ten minutes – to do one of them.

Check in with both yourself and your pals throughout the week and express your support, leave the study space if possible, and walk around to get away from a stressful space.

Ultimately, know that in less than a month, the madness will be over, and believe that we will all make it out of this alive because we are all in this together.

SPORTS

PRESS RELEASE

Reading week recap

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Teams seeking consistency as seasons pick up

HAMZA MUNAWAR Sports Reporter While the majority of us were enjoying a break from school, the Mounties were in full flight.

The women’s volleyball team opened their season on the road against the University of Kings College. After a match that went to the wire, they fell short, losing 12-15 in the fifth set. However, since that loss the volleyball team has taken off.

Now on a six-game win streak, they sit at 6-1 and are within grasp of the top spot in the ACAA. The team has only lost four sets while winning 17 during that streak. The goal of a top two finish is more than obtainable. This past weekend, the Mounties squared off against Dal AC, where they took home a comfortable three-set win.

The Mounties’ next game will be at Mount Allison Athletic Center this Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m., where they will get another chance against Kings.

The women’s basketball team lost their first two games of the season but have since rebounded, leaving them with a a 3-2 record and ranked third in the ACAA. The team is within grasp of the top two spots in the conference and, leading into the second half of the season, have the ability to make it to the top spot.

This past weekend they faced off against Kings, where they won 6258. Erin Steeves led the team with 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists. The Mounties face a tough challenge gearing up into the end of the semester, as the next two games to be played are against the top two teams in the league, Holland College and Mount Saint Vincent.

These games offer an opportunity to measure themselves against the best teams in the conference and to see

where they must make improvements for playoffs. The teams next game tips off at 1 p.m. Sunday Nov. 27 against MSVU at the Mt. A Athletic Center.

The Mounties men’s basketball team has been dominant so far this season, with their only loss to the second-ranked team in the nation, Holland College. The Mounties boast a 4-1 record, in large part, thanks to the team’s depth this year.

No matter who is on the floor, each and every player can be relied on to contribute. Strong play from rookie Thomas LeGallais brings promise for the future of the team. This past weekend, the Mounties travelled to Halifax to play Kings, where they won 97-93. Brad Fuller led the Mounties scoring with 23 points, with LeGallais and Alex Chisholm chipping in 21 and 18 points, respectively. The team heads into their biggest challenge this weekend as they play second-ranked MSVU in a double header. The Mounties will face off against MSVU at home on Sunday Nov. 27 at 3 p.m.

The badminton team placed first in the augural ACAA badminton tournament of the season, hosted by the Université de Sainte-Anne on Nov. 4 and 5. The team won an overall 80/100 points, securing first place. The team will be travelling to Holland College on Saturday, Nov. 26 and Sunday, Nov. 27, where they hope to repeat the winning result.

The women’s hockey team has had an up-and-down start to their season. Over the first stretch of the fall reading break, the Mounties won a pair of games against Université de Moncton. Following this win, the Mounties lost three games straight.

The team is now 3-9 for the season, ranking them sixth in the conference.

The Mounties need to find consistency heading into the second half of the season if they hope to get

a strong seeding come playoffs. The team will travel to P.E.I. this Friday, Nov. 25 to face off against UPEI at 7 p.m.

The Mounties swim team set 60 best times as a team and qualified two athletes for the 2017 U Sport Swim Nationals this past Saturday at the Dalhousie Kemp-Fry Invitational Meet. Geraint Berger qualified in the 50-metre freestyle and Olivia Feschuk qualified for the 200-metre backstroke. The team’s next meet will be next semester, which gives time for them to gear up in an attempt to qualify more athletes for nationals and ultimately, win the overall team banner.

The Mounties football team made their fourth consecutive Loney Bowl by beating out rival Acadia with an end score of 27-18. The team traveled to Halifax on Nov. 12 in hopes of beating StFX, but fell short in a game where they were pushed to persevere through a series of unfortunate injuries. During the first quarter, starting quarterback and AUS rookie of the year Jakob Loucks took a big hit that left him on the turf for minutes. He was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons.

Following this, late in the second quarter, backup quarterback Graham Kelly went down with a broken ankle.

Veteran receivers Quinn LeBlanc and Idahosa Yorke shared quarterback duties moving into the second half. Down 3-20, the Mounties did not count themselves out. Loucks returned from the hospital at the start of the fourth quarter hoping to inspire a late comeback, throwing a 40-yard pass on his first play back.

The Mounties ultimately fell short 8-29, but this no-quit attitude is what the team will look to build on for next year.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

MTA (A) 57 - HOLLAND (H) 72 MTA (A) 66 - CRANDALL (H) 32 UNBSJ (A) 55 - MTA (H) 74 MTA (A) 58 - UKC (H) 62

MTA (A) 77 - HOLLAND (H) 107 MTA (A) 84 - CRANDALL (H) 68 UNBSJ (A) 72 - MTA (H) 101 MTA (A) 93 - UKC (H) 97

MSVU Holland Mount Allison St. Thomas UNBSJ UKing’s College Crandall

GP 5 4 5 4 3 5 4

W 5 3 3 2 1 1 0

L 0 1 2 2 2 4 4

PTS 10 6 6 4 2 2 0

ACAA

MSVU Holland Mount Allison Crandall UNBSJ St. Thomas UKing’s College DAL AC

GP W 6 4 5 5 5 5 6 6

Event Contact: Matt Pryde, Manager of Recreation programs and Event, Town of Sackville / 1.506.364.4946 / m.pryde@sackville.com Town vs Gown Charity Hockey Game in Support of the Sackville Food Bank November 17, 2016- On December 4, 2016 at 6:45pm, bring along on food item per person to the Tantramar Veteran’s Memorial Civic Centre and cheer on your local Mount Allison University All Stars- a team made up of faculty, staff, alumni and students; as they take on the Town Superstars, a team made up of Town employees, emergency personnel, Titans and Minor Hockey players along with reps from a few local businesses.

This family event will include some great hockey, activities for children of all ages, a photo booth, fun competitions, and an opportunity to win some great prizes while showing off your #SackvillePride or #MountiePride.

Food items we can accept include canned goods, peanut butter, canned tuna, canned sandwich meats, snacks like granola bars, boxes of cereal, and small containers of fruit or pudding. The healthier the better!

So, grab your swag, paint your faces and come out in support of the Sackville Food Bank as they gear up for the Holidays!

Check out the event page at www.facebook.com/SackvilleNB to stay up-to-date!

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ACAA

07

SPORTS & HEALTH

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

5 4 4 3 2 1 1 1

SMU( A) 2 - MTA (H) 1 MTA (A) 2 - MONCTON (H) 1 MONCTON (A) 1 - MTA (H) 2 MTA (A) 1 - DALHOUSIE (H) 3 MTA (A) 0 - STFX (H) 4 STU (A) 5 - MTA (H) 1

L 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 5

PTS 10 8 8 6 5 2 2 2

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL MTA (A) 2 - UKC (H) 3 MTA (A) 3 - USA (H) 1 UNBSJ (A) 2- MTA (H) 3 STU (A) 0 - MTA (H) 3 MTA (A) 3 - DAL AC (H) 0 DAL AC (A) 0 - MTA (H) 3 MTA (A) 3 - UNBSJ (2)

AUS

St. Thomas Saint Mary’s UPEI St. FX Moncton Mount Allison Dalhousie

ACAA

W

L OTL PTS

10 9 7 6 4 3 2

MSVU Mount Allison Holland UNBSJ St. Thomas UKing’s College USainte-Anne DAL AC

1 1 5 5 5 9 9

GP 6 7 6 6 5 5 6 5

1 1 0 0 3 0 1

W 6 6 5 3 1 1 1 0

21 19 14 12 11 6 5

L 0 1 1 3 4 4 5 5

PTS 12 12 10 6 2 2 2 0

08

PROSE FEATURE

I can hear them laugh quietly to themselves after they hand me my order – medium coffee, milk, no sugar, a dollar sixty tax included – and a part of me feels like laughing with them.

But I don’t. I smile politely and take my cup back to the table in the front corner of the restaurant. From there, the windows can see out past the parking lot and the glowing sign to the roads where the occasional passerby cuts through the still night. Every set of taillights is a reminder of people that always have places to be.

I don’t spend too much time looking outside, though.

Usually I bring a novel, or a notebook in which to scribble something to read on the next night. Once I thought about starting a conversation with the people behind the counter, but I thought better of it.

We have a perfectly functional relationship, after all. I give them something to talk about in these muted hours of the night, and they give me a place to be awake. The exchange requires less than a dozen words from both parties. It is simple, efficient, even elegant.

Sometimes I imagine what they’re saying about me, one of them leaning against the coffee machine and the other running a stained rag back and forth across the counter. I can hear them talking but can’t distinguish the words. It’s one of the reasons I choose this seat.

Why do they think I come here, I wonder? Surely I could get coffee elsewhere, and read whatever book holds

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JEFF MANN

NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

my interest in the comfort of a familiar armchair instead of these metal-backed strangers. Plenty of bars are still open at this time, though perhaps some have begun to turn out their lights.

There’s just as much reason to question why anyone comes here this late. I’ve only seen a handful of others, and none of them ever stay. They come in and order something to carry them through and leave, without exception.

Always somewhere to be. Another set of taillights to watch.

It makes me sad that nobody stays and sits in some other corner. There are plenty of seats available, plenty of tables, even plenty of windows. This is a nice place; it is clean and well-lit. The people behind the counter are pleasant. The walls and floor are sturdy and stable. It is enough.

I lift the cup to my lips and find it empty. A glance at the clock above the coffee machine reveals that I’ve already been here for close to an hour.

I pull a handful of coins out of my pocket and bring them up to the counter, where one of the servers comes to meet me. This time no words are needed as I slide a few of the coins across to her. She takes them silently, counts them into the register, and walks away as I return the remainder to my pocket.

While she lifts the coffee pot, the other girl just looks at me, making no attempt to hide her stare. For a second I meet her eyes, but it’s too much. I look down at the countertop.

The first girl returns with my second coffee, and I smile again as she hands it to me. There is no laughing this time as I walk back to my seat. I wish there was.

I know that I can’t stay forever. I always run out of coffee, and then I run out of coins. If not, the pages of my book can only last so long, and I can never just sit there.

Once, I sat and read long enough to see the first shades of dawn brightening the horizon out beyond the parking lot and the sign and even the road. I knew then that it was past time for me to go, so I stood up, nodded to the people behind the counter, and stepped through the door into what was left of the night.

I still have some time tonight and some pages left in my book. The coins in my pocket are enough for one more coffee if I want it.

I close my eyes and lean back in the metal chair. I can distantly hear them talking in voices that are almost whispers. The hushed tones provide a sense of tentative connection that no real conversation ever could, particularly as a note of anticipation creeps in. They know that I’ll be leaving soon enough.

I open my eyes, take another sip of coffee, and turn to the next page. Outside, on the road, the cars are like little drops of light moving across the sleeping void. For now, I am not like them. I have a place to be awake.

POETRY FEATURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

ON THE MEND OF

Metamorphose CUP ME IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND ON THE CUSP OF CATTAIL RIDGE MY BODY: A VESSEL STOCKING ECSTASY TRAVERSES THE BROKEN BRIDGE LEND ME LUCID LENGTHS OF YARN AS MY PATTERN’S FORM EVOLVES I WISH TO FASTEN THE CHAIN OF STARS IN WHICH WE EXIST, ARE REBORN WITH SIXTEEN LEGS AND EIGHTY TOES I HAND KNIT MY COCOON ENVELOPING TWO BROKEN BONES CRADLE THIS FORM BRAND NEW FORTY + DAYS I AM SAT STILL ON THE MEND OF METAMORPHOSE MY WINGS WHICH ITCH TO SELF-SUFFICE REMAIN RESTRAINED IN SELF-REPOSE OUR FEET SKIM THE POND, THE LAKE I RINSE OF SANDS AND SINS ANTENNAE TWITCH OVER SENSED AN INSECT SUBMERGES IN SWIM WATER DRIPS DOWN MY SKIN AND STILL IT STARTS TO SWEAT I AM A WOUNDED BUTTERFLY TRAPPED INSIDE YOUR NET POEM AND ILLUSTRATIONS

BY NELLIGAN LETOURNEAU

A performance related to Nelligan’s poem will be taking place at START Gallery as part of the 3 Projects exhibition. The event takes place on Friday Nov. 23 between 7-9. All are welcome to attend!

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/707362646107996

09

10 ARTS & CULTURE

EDITORS: MIRELLE NAUD MALLORY BURNSIDE-HOLMES NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

COMMUNITY

Main Street hosts Midnight Madness

Local stores open late into the night to kick off holiday spending season

WILL PELLETIER Arts and Culture Reporter

TOP: CHAOYI LIANG, QI LI AND LIAM ST. LOUIS SERVE CHINESE AND TURKISH DISHES RIGHT: LOCALS GET A START ON HOLIDAY SHOPPING MIDDLE: REBECCA ZUK AND THOMAS HANSEN SAMPLE DESSERT BOTTOM: JILL CLAIRO, TARUN MOHNISH, AND KARAN BHATIA ENJOY INDIAN CUISINE

RYAN MACRAE/ARGOSY

MUSIC

Sackville’s mercantile community held an array of coordinated events to entice buyers this past weekend.

Under the moniker “Midnight Madness,” many local shops remained open long past regular hours, attracting business late into the evening.

Advertized as the “local shop event of the year,” Midnight Madness began in the afternoon and attracted dozens of residents from the town to buy not only from shops, but also from vendors who were set up on the streets and sidewalks. Midnight Madness was originally designed as a way to encourage Sackville citizens to shop locally, a practice seen as becoming less common as the presence of major corporate retailers grows.

Midnight Madness shopper Raven Stephens said, “It’s nice to see the community getting together for this kind of thing.” A friend who had heard about the shopping discounts coaxed her out that night. “If I [had known] about this in advance I’d have done a lot more Christmas shopping.

I mostly went thrift shopping, but there were a lot more people in stores along the way.”

Stephens also said it was “cool how many people came out to shop.”

Another shopper, Andrea Bell, echoed Stephens’ sentiment. “I loved the decorations and everyone was really inviting. It was just a generally warm atmosphere.” She further remarked that she had “never really seen anything like this in such a small community. Nothing like this happens where I’m from.”

Shops such as Earth and be.

Style Your Life allowed customers to purchase many of their goods free from additional sales tax.

The Salvation Army held specials particularly for warm winter outerwear, in addition to various other clothing categories.

Mount Allison’s International Society also partook in the madness with their annual “World Bazaar,” which offered visitors a display of hand prepared dishes and desserts originating from various cultures from around the world. The Bazaar brings students together in a celebration of international identity through food. This year, it took place at the United Church of Canada on Main street.

Ten countries were represented at this year’s Bazaar; among them were China, Germany, Norway, New Zealand and India. Adam Christie,

the manager of international affairs at Mt. A, became the de facto lead organizer for the event after the previous head left for maternity leave.

“International education week is something recognized all across the country, something that typically happens in November, as [does] midnight madness, and we saw an opportunity to include the World Bazaar as part of our international education activities,” Christie said. “[The] events were so close on the calendar anyway, we thought to shift international education week to fit with midnight madness so that we could include the town.”

Tickets could be purchased at the door (one for $1), and then exchanged for food or mementos of cultural significance, such as temporary henna tattoos. The money from the tickets was given back to the student cooks that were representing their countries. Christie elaborated on the financial benefits for participants: “The international centre also handles reimbursement afterwards, since this can actually be a profitable institution for students.”

Christie also acknowledged the town for its partnership, and expressed gratitude to both the Anglican and United churches for supplying a venue for the event.

Local music scene rivals big city talent pool Often over-looked, the maritime music scene boasts impressive diversity ISAIAH YANKECH Contributor The strong sense of community that defines Sackville and the Maritimes as a whole is evident with the vibrant integration of music into daily life.

Originally from the bustling city of Toronto, I was impressed by the music scene at Mount Allison and in the surrounding area when I first started my Bachelor of Music.

Third-year voice student Kaye Klapman, who is also from Toronto, said, “In Sackville, because the pace of living is different and there are fewer distractions, music can play a more central role in social and cultural events.”

In populated cities, the music scene can be extremely vibrant and prominent. Top-notch ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn

Choir, the Vancouver Chamber Choir and a consistent stream of visiting musicians performing in well-established venues adds to the cultural strength of large-scale urban settings. Although the music scene can be more apparent in larger cities, small towns like Sackville still offer exciting opportunities for young musicians.

“In terms of events per capita, I think there is an argument to be made that Toronto and Sackville are on par,” Klapman said. “Sackville’s music scene is amazingly diverse for its consumer base.”

The diversity can be seen through Mt. A’s music department, which holds nearly one hundred student, faculty and guest performances annually, the majority of which are free to all Mt. A students.

Fourth-year voice student and president of the music society

Branden Olsen said, “I think the music scene in Sackville is quite diverse considering the size of the town, and Mt. A’s music department plays a large role in this. The fact that it is also the centre of the Maritimes adds to this.”

“THERE IS AN ARGUMENT TO BE MADE THAT TORONTO AND SACKVILLE ARE ON PAR.” With highlights being an entertaining performance by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra last year and a fully staged opera performance late this November, Mt. A’s Performing Arts Series demonstrates the diversity of Sackville’s music scene.

“I love that I can attend concerts by world-class musicians in Brunton auditorium,” Klapman said.

World-class musicians who have performed in Brunton auditorium include pianist Andre Laplante, the New York Polyphony vocal quartet, violinist James Ehnes and soprano Suzie LeBlanc. In addition to watching their live performances, students can learn from these musicians through master classes and guest lectures.

This year, music students have been able to learn first-hand from members of Mt. A’s quartet-inresidence, the Tesla Quartet, who have assisted in several rehearsals and lectures.

A wide range of musical genres are performed in Sackville outside of the well-recognized performance venues of larger communities.

Newer ensembles are exploring venues different from the traditional concert setting, such as Churches or concert halls. In Moncton, the Ventus Machina woodwind quintet

often performs in the foyer of Resurgo Place, home to the Moncton Museum.

The quality of Maritime music activity is comparable to the music scenes of bigger cities, with the added benefit that performances are often more affordable. I recently attended an Oliver Jones Trio performance at Trinity-St. Stephen’s United Church in Amherst, Nova Scotia, featuring the acclaimed jazz pianist Oliver Jones, and was thrilled by the quality of the performance accessible in such a small town.

Maritime communities can cater to everyone’s individual tastes, so I encourage students to make the most of the local music scenes. With a town like Sackville, students don’t have to look far to experience a diverse array of high-quality performances.

ARTS & CULTURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

BODY POLITICS

What is a normal body?

11

ACID’s panel discussion unpacks the confusing and complex components of the normative body

MARISSA CRUZ Arts and Culture Reporter “What is a normal body?” the Association of Chronically Ill and Disabled Students (ACID) asked participants at last week’s panel discussion on normative body standards.

The panel intended to deconstruct normalized body concepts. Panel members included Olivia Auriat, a disabled individual, Alex Anderson, a transgender male, Emma Hassencahl, a Maliseet woman and member of the Indigenous Support Group, and Katharyn Stevenson, president of the Women’s and Gender Studies Society.

As the discussion developed, the normalized body was identified as the idealized body. Panelists agreed that size and weight heavily influenced their perceptions of the normalized body.

Auriat, who has a prosthetic arm, understood the normalized body as having symmetrical anatomy, or, as she said, “a body with two arms.”

Hassencahl commented that today’s beauty standards directly speak to Eurocentric features.

“Skinny is the most popular ideal body type. White, blonde, blue-eyed.

Beauty that is very white-washed,” she said.

Stevenson explained that although the conception of the normalized body includes being thin, it is not limited to one’s appearance, as it extends to other features of “being cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied.”

The panelists concurred that media play a major role in creating what is understood as the normalized body. Hassencahl explained that Indigenous beauty is tied to white beauty standards. “A lot of times [people say], ‘she is pretty for an Indigenous woman,’ as if she is missing something.”

Anderson explained that body image issues for members of the LGBTQA+ community are just as common as they are for heterosexual, cisgender individuals. “There is a pressure to pass as [the] gender, not as your physical body.”

Anderson said that while trans persons in the media tend to pass as their desired gender, others in the broader trans community do not appear like m e d i a representations and are consequently dismissed by society.

Anderson brought up the desire for genderneutral washrooms, which sparked a heated debate about the changes these restrooms would have on society.

One attendee expressed their concern about possible assault in these open washrooms. Another attendee rebutted this statement by claiming that no sign on a washroom door would stop someone from committing an assault. “[The idealized body] is held up to this impossible standard. We see it as

something to strive for,” Stevenson said. “If we don’t see our body represented in the media, then we may think we are not good enough.”

Stevenson believes that capitalism plays a major role in defining body standards.

“In order to love your body more, you can buy certain things to make yourself look like the norm. A big part of everyday life is how you choose to look every day and that is linked to how you consume as an individual. I don’t think body standards can be separated from that.”

The discussion had a lengthy conversation on gym culture and the

problems people felt about attending the gym, which to Louis Sobol, a first-year student, felt unnecessary.

“That’s just [how] most people [feel] going to the gym and basic self-consciousness. It’s not a societal issue,” he said.

Nearing its end, panelists discussed the dangers of body stigmatization.

They described how individuals who do not fit the normative body type proposed by media are more likely to be subjected to violence.

“Guys like me get killed because we are trans,” Anderson said. “If I was to dress the way I do in certain parts of the world, I could be killed because I do not look like how a guy [is expected] to look like.”

The discussion closed with the panelists describing their relationship with body acceptance. Although complicated, Anderson explained that it is possible to begin to appreciate yourself for more than your body.

“With time, and a lot of self-love, it is possible to accept that your body is your body and it is not necessarily all you are.”

MAGIZINES PROMOTE NORMATIVE BODY IDEALS IZZY FRANCOLINI/ARGOSY

CREATIVE WRITING

Mt. A literary groups kindle creativity Students collaborate to practice and publish literary craft

CHELSEA DOHERTY Arts and Culture Reporter In under three minutes, write down all the words you can think of that start with the letter “L” – love, like, locus, liquid. This is the prompt that opened the Egg Timer Writing Club last Wednesday, one of the many creative writing spaces run by Mt. A students.

Every Wednesday at 8 p.m., you can find members of the Egg Timer Writing Club nestled in Thunder & Lightening enjoying drinks and writing together. Designed to foster a welcoming, creative atmosphere for writers, the club offers writing prompts to which participants respond in a short allotment of time.

Afterward, attendees are invited to share their responses with the group.

The Egg Timer Writing Club is organized by Mount Allison’s literary and photographic journal, 7 Mondays. In its 23rd year of publication, 7 Mondays is one of the few professionally published undergraduate and peer-reviewed creative journals in Canada. Any Mt. A student can submit their work to the journal, attend sponsored events and even apply to be on the editorial board.

Thaddeus Holownia, fine arts department head at Mt. A, has been involved with 7 Mondays since its second issue.

“I took on the role of publisher to give [the journal] some kind of unity,” Holownia said. “What I saw were editors who were very committed to the creative process of getting everything together and

editing it into a journal. But year to year, the consistency of [editors who] understood how to physically put it together or how to fund it was lacking.”

In order to gain consistent funding, a group of editors went to the Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU), which agreed to fund the journal through an annual fee of three dollars per student.

Holownia believes it is important for students to be able to express their literary creativity in a public forum.

“It’s a big deal for people when someone can take a beautiful book that’s produced professionally and go somewhere and say, ‘I’ve had my work published for the first time in this,’” he said.

“That’s significant and it blows my mind that it is not recognized as a serious academic part of [the Mount Allison] institution and is not just funded as an important outlet for creativity and taken with the seriousness that something like this should be.”

Kennedy Lundberg is a fourth-year English major and member of the 7 Mondays editorial board.

“Anyone from any program can contribute. A lot of the events we host are partnered events, we can support other groups [on campus] and they can support us,” Lundberg said. “I think it’s really cool that it’s made of pieces of my peers. They all get to come together and make this beautiful journal.”

7 Mondays is not the only student group at Mt. A that publishes a journal. The Underbridge Press, a student-run publishing organization

founded in 2011, has so far published one novella, Ragged, and two journals, Joypuke and Zettel. Still ongoing, the third issue of Joypuke is due to launch next spring.

Unlike 7 Mondays, Joypuke publishes works from writers around the world, although Mt. A students make up a significant portion of its contributors. Saskia van Walsum, acting production head of Underbridge Press, said that her favourite part of working for the Underbridge Press is “empowering other people to put their work out there.”

This year, the Underbridge Press will be undertaking a new project, a multilingual journal called Ellipsis.

To be launched online in January 2017, the digital journal will showcase multilingual works and provide a

rolling call for submissions.

“It’s a big undertaking, but we would like to make a multilingual journal,” said van Walsum. “Mt. A has a French community and it also has a large international community, and we want to reflect that diversity.”

Currently, projects by the Underbridge Press are covered not by students’ activity fees, but by loans taken out through the MASU. “We don’t have built-in funding, van Walsum said. “It’s always kind of a scary moment because we have to the pay [the loan] back ourselves if we don’t make enough money.” van Walsum is also in charge of the Creative Writing Group.

On Thursdays at 8 p.m., you can find its members writing away in the Bermuda Wing of the Student Centre.

“We do really fast, prompt-based writing exercises,” explained van Walsum. “It depends on the group every year. This year the group really wanted to just make time for writing, so once a month we’ll have a meeting where everyone sits down and just writes. It’s been really nice.”

The Creative Writing Group was initially started by van Walsum and a few of her friends. van Walsum is not an English major but enjoys writing prose. She wanted to create a space for students that is not strictly for poetry and allows students to write in a stress-free environment.

Wherever your literary interests lie, there are plenty of avenues in Sackville to express your creativity.

EGG TIMER WRITERS SCRIBBLE DOWN POETIC INSPIRATIONS BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT SAVANNAH MILEEN-HARRIS/ARGOSY

12

ARTS & CULTURE

NOVERMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

LITERARY COMMUNITY

Sackville’s literary community Community members call for creative literary collaboration CECILIA STUART Managing Editor Given its small size, Sackville contains a surprisingly vibrant literary community. In addition to the author talks, writing groups, and other campus-based events, many writers and groups off campus contribute to Sackville’s bookish flare.

“You get exposed to a lot more cultural information [here] than in any other small town of four or five thousand people,” said Chris Eaton, a Mount Allison graduate and fiction writer now based in Sackville.

Ian McKinley, Sackville-based fantasy writer and Tantramar’s regional representative of the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick, believes that this cultural

breadth is in part due to the nature of the Sackville community, which is comprised of dedicated people willing to put in effort toward its growth.

“We sometimes view institutions as being important without remembering that institutions are made of individuals. If you have committed people in a community, things will start happening,” McKinley said.

Eaton said that the town’s small size makes it supportive for writers.

“It’s easier for a community to form because everyone becomes part of it de facto,” he said.

Marilyn Lerch, who moved to Sackville in 1997 and has served as the town’s poet laureate since 2012, said that she came here with the intent to get involved in the small community.

Inspired by Sackville’s rich literary

history, which continues to influence writers today, Lerch said, “I learned very quickly that behind us were G.D. Roberts, John Thompson, and Douglas Lochhead,” referring to several Sackville poets whose writing was heavily influenced by the region’s physical landscape. “When I first came to Sackville, I was doing that... walking the land, just trying to look around,” Lerch said.

McKinley thinks there currently exists a divide between student and non-student groups and events in Sackville. He feels that an increased interconnectedness between students and other community members is key to the literary scene’s continued growth.

As part of an effort to bridge this gap, Lerch organized a variety of events for National Poetry Month last

April that allowed for collaboration between students and other community members. As one part of this, volunteers visited elementary and middle schools in Sackville to run classes about poetry and lead activities related to reading and writing.

“That was a community effort from students at Mt. A to a committed group of community leaders, the town of Sackville, all pitching in,” said McKinley.

In the wake of Poetry Month’s success, Lerch has begun to organize a literary arts committee in Sackville, comprised of students and nonstudents, that strives to continue to foster collaboration. She believes that in order to overcome the student/ community divide, “the first thing we have to do is talk to each other.”

“There’s no reason we can’t sit

down and read our work to each other and be excited…there’s room for that, and I think we’ve started to do that.”

Lerch and McKinley both said that they were hopeful that the community will continue to develop even after they leave their formal positions.

“I think we are in a period of literary growth,” said Lerch.

For more information about the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick, visit wfnb.ca/ Cecilia Stuart is a member of the above-mentioned Sackville literary arts committee.

Poetry & Prose Submissions Untitled

Work in Progress HUM OF STATIC Laura Valvasori-Black

Marilyn Lerch

Briann Scovil

i am rough draft,

I angle awake on a hairline fracture of anxiety, bright slit of moon in the blueblack sky and a hum like muted static breaking through.

The sun is up, the mountains call I’m still on my knees the once dull ash is now shimmering Why can’t I be free?

evolving with every caress of the artist’s steady hands. from slate to every shade of rainbow, i exploded through uneven lines and hideous gobs of fleshimperfect, but still artand i learned to love every last iteration of myself.

Might it be

Argosy Correction November 3 In “Rebuilding Burnt Bridges in Small-Town Drama,” a review published on Nov. 3, a

The birds chirp, the lake drums on the rocks Everyone is screaming the once closed tulips are creaking open my mind is a mess that I cannot leave

the universe ceaselessly informing itself beyond our vibrational bands, encoded data waves slanting peripherally by,

source’s quotes were taken out of context.

Additionally, it was falsely reported that the play’s “private monologues” could not be seen by some audience members. Content linked to either of these mistakes has been removed from

The grass squeaks, the dew slides away I can’t seem to move my feet the trees yawn to soak in the light my body aches as my fingers tremble

some foreboding or two entities, alien to us, in first communion?

the online version of the review. The Argosy apologizes for these and any other mistakes.

The world seems at peace While I’m at war Serenity is a blessing Disruption is a curse’

So much goes on without our knowing, perhaps a new world without us in the making, no choice but to raise my antenna and bring in what I can.

Breakout, part one

BY DYLAN DARNELL

“Do you have any idea where we are?”

“No.” “Any idea where the others went?”

“No more than the last fifty times you asked. Now shut up.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Have you figured out what happened yet?”

The tall, black-armored figure whirled on his smaller traveling companion, seized him by the throat and slammed him into the machinery covering the wall of the corridor.

“No, Spiders! I do not! I have not! I have not the slightest notion of where we are, where our friends are, how we got here, how to get back again, or indeed whether or not the universe as we know it still exists! Now! Shut!

UP!” The Most Efficacious Master of Spiders dropped to the floor, gasping, while Walker turned away and

continued forward. A silver hand, lithe and lean, flowed down to his side and helped him up.

“Don’t take it too personally. He’s on edge. We all are.”

Spiders rubbed his neck. This wasn’t his job. He was a spymaster, not a field agent – running around in strange places was something people like him told people like Walker to do.

“Yeah. But you don’t see me choking him against the wall.”

Unseen Serpent Knife, the protean face attached to the arm and voice, smiled down at the tactician. She tried to imagine him, spindly even in the heaviest armor he could manage, manhandling the Implacable Walker of Darkened Skies, who even out of armor towered over both of them put together and had to force back a laugh. “Come on. This corridor has to

end somewhere.”

As it turned out, the corridor did have an end – a dead one. Spiders stared in disbelief at the wall.

“Agh!” He threw up his hands and turned to Walker, “This is entirely mmmm mph mmph.”

The black-armored warrior reached out a hand and clamped it over the diminutive spymaster’s mouth, covering his face from ears to collarbones. Behind them, Serpent raised a palm to her face and sighed.

“Walker––” “Sh.” She looked up at the sound. The rest of the Sentinel’s body remained perfectly motionless, eyes fixed on the wall. Slowly, he reached out his free hand, running his fingers over the wall. When he spoke again, it was in a low whisper.

“Webmaster.”

“Mph.” The hand clamped around his face relaxed, and Spiders dropped to the floor. “Soundproof this section of corridor.”

The Plot Weaver shot him a sour look, but complied, a fine layer of stillness settling over their bodies and clinging to the walls. Walker knelt, slowly, silently, the black-on-black shadow of a moving mountain. He inched forward, running his hands over the tangled pipes, cables and mechanics covering the wall.

“Serpent.”

She said nothing; her attention was implicit in her status as an operative.

“Prepare an area shroud.”

Walker and Serpent were both professionals, and professionals did not waste time with stupid questions like who they could possibly be trying to hide from, in a cramped tunnel

with no exit.

She called up the Second Charm of Hidden Places but did not release it, holding the bundle of anonymity in potentia.

So slowly that Spiders could hardly tell he was moving, Walker moved his attention down and forward, level with an unremarkable patch of machinery. He reached a finger forward, ever so slightly shifting something buried beneath the rust and gears. There was an audible click, and a shaft of light sprang out from a tiny hole, illuminating Walker’s mask. From beyond, faint voices and footsteps could be heard.

There was something behind the wall.

ARTS & CULTURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

Ragged, chapter three TAYLOR LOSIER

COVER ART FOR TAYLOR LOSIER’S NOVEL, RAGGED IZZY FRANCOLINI/ARGOSY There were two ways to get out the city: the Farmer’s Gate and the Main Gate. At each exit a toll or a pass was needed to get out. But then there was also the Smuggler’s Gate; a hole in the wall that few knew of, which could be used to exit the city, no toll needed. This was the path that Regnus and his charge took.

As they crept behind down an alley behind the Temple of the High Spirit of Love, they said not a word to each other. As they slipped behind a rusty iron gate and into a small opening in the wall, still they said not a word.

After several minutes of walking through a dark and musty tunnel, they emerged into the early dawn air.

You could see for miles and miles, the trees dotting the hills, and not too far from the Port City wall, a sparkling blue-green river wound by, dirt and shrubbery decorating its banks.

Reggie gazed in wonder at the green world he knew only from peering over the city walls. But then the silence was broken.

“Will we be crossing the river or going around it?” asked the Priestess “Around,” he said simply. “I don’t have a boat and I’m not going to trust

a ferryman.”

“That’s…sensible.”

He said nothing, only shouldered his pack. “Let’s go Priestess.”

“I know you don’t carry any faith in the Spirits,” she said as they started to walk. “So you calling me ‘Priestess’ is just silly.”

“Well, what am I supposed to call you? Your Highness? Your Excellence?”

She laughed, “Lucy, will be fine.

May I call you Regnus?”

“Uh…I guess so.”

Lucy seemed satisfied with his answer and started heading towards the river at a brisk pace and Reggie had no choice but to follow. He noticed that the Priestess had changed out of her heavy robes into more functional traveling clothes: breeches and a long shirt split at the sides. Both items were still marked with silver and black thread, making it clear of her position.

“Even if we’re not crossing the river, it would be best if we still followed it. That way, we won’t run out of water.”

In no time at all they had reached the edge of the river and continued walking down the banks, keeping an

eye out for a bridge. By midday they had reached the widest part of it and Reggie knew the bridge to be not too far off.

“I’m surprised,” Reggie told Lucy as they stopped for a quick lunch. “I was expecting you to be huffing and puffing by now.”

“Well then I guess I’m not completely hopeless, am I?” she said, her teeth white against her dark skin. She couldn’t tell if her new bodyguard had smiled back or not, but she felt that he had. “I’ll refill the water skins.”

She headed towards the river and Reggie watched her go. He had just swung the packs onto his back when he saw them; two men floating down the river on a raft, dressed as fishermen, although they carried no gear. It was that that first gave Reggie reason to be suspicious, but it was the glances they kept throwing towards the shore and the Priestess that really set him on edge. Slowly, so as to be barely perceptible, their raft started to drift towards where Lucy was refilling the skins.

Reggie started running towards the river shouting Lucy’s name in warning. But unfortunately his

warning came just a little too late. The larger of the two men grabbed the Priestess while the smaller one started directing the raft away from the shoreline. When Reggie reached the spot where Lucy had been standing the raft was only a short ways away.

Weighed down with the packs, he jumped and, to his immense relief, landed safely on board.

Before either of the men had time to react, he pulled a knife out of his sleeve and slid it across the larger of the two men’s throats. For good measure he also aimed a second one at the man’s side, lodging it there.

He didn’t take time to watch him fall, but he heard a satisfying splash as he turned, dodged a blow from the smaller man’s paddle and then stabbed him in the gut with a third knife.

The man dropped his oar, his hands going to his stomach. He looked up at Reggie, the vision of death in his black hood, before falling slowly backwards into the water.

Satisfied with his work but breathing hard, Reggie looked around the raft; Lucy wasn’t there. He looked at the ripples left by the larger man and swore: she had fallen into the water along with her attacker.

As quickly as he could, he shed his cloak and the bags and dove into the deep, cold river. Ignoring the stinging in his eyes, he followed the slowly disappearing stream of bubbles. He saw a flash of skin and turned. There, her eyes closed and floating against the dead man, was Lucy. He swam up and pulled on the arms that were around her neck and waist, but they were stuck in a death grip.

Working fast, Reggie pulled out the knife that was still stuck in the dead man’s throat and started hacking at his arms. Around him the water was starting to feel heavy, but he kept working until Lucy floated free.

Grabbing her and dropping the dagger, he kicked upwards as fast as he could. They surfaced next to the raft and Reggie heaved the Priestess up onto it. He clambered up after her before it could drift away.

Once safe, he started coughing up water just as Lucy opened her eyes.

She found herself looking at a mop of wet, dark red hair. She realized, with some surprise, that the hair belonged to Regnus. Lucy had another surprise when she checked her neck and found not a single bruise, but when she looked at Regnus’ neck she saw a large purpling one.

“Regnus,” she started, thinking out loud, “Why… Why are you coughing up water and I’m not? And why do you have a bruise on your neck...” she stopped and frowned.

A long scar ran across his neck and, on either side of it, the skin was a different shade. She looked at his hands and saw that they too were different shades. She was about to ask why, when Reggie stopped coughing and turned his head ever so slightly.

“Curse Ten,” he said. “Curse him for making me a bodyguard for a bloody accident prone––” Lucy put her hand on his chin and he stopped talking. Gently, she turned his face towards her. When she saw it, she gasped.

FOOD

13

Unsettling the Table ALEX LEPIANKA Contributor Over a meal of Haitian food at a trendy Montreal restaurant, a friend and I discussed her experience working at the city’s Mile End Community Mission’s food program.

A monthly community dinner provided by a local restaurateur, got us questioning: Do restaurants have a role in shaping the palates of the community they serve?

While most meals served at the Mission are standard meat and potatoes fare, Marc Cohen, chef and owner of Lawrence – a fashionable and well-respected restaurant – provides a monthly community dinner.

When I visited Lawrence, Cohen offered a menu of simple, refined and challenging dishes that balanced ingredients like faggots (offal meatballs), smoked rabbit and octopus legs. Though exquisite, the compositions required openmindedness and resolve in order to stomach.

But, the typical Lawrence diner lives a different lifestyle than many who access the Mission’s services, and whom often face food insecurity.

My friend mentioned that many community members fed by the program would take issue with the strangeness and the refinement of Cohen’s meals. While encounters with the unfamiliar and exquisite excite the Epicurean palate, adventurousness at the table cannot be discussed without a reflection on privilege.

Novelty operates differently in the context of an upscale dining establishment than it does in a soup kitchen: the former is a place of business, where creativity and newness are ways of economic survival; the latter is primarily concerned with feeding the hungry.

In a food economy where most ingredients are universally available, culinary artistry becomes a skill of increasing worth. As a result, novelty and privilege often dine together.

These privileged novel experiences provide increased social status.

We can impress others with our worldliness, inciting the imagination of others to consider tastes that only we have tasted. Our dining experiences identify us with particular social milieux.

Is the restaurant capable of dismantling these social differences, or is it solely a means of reproducing desires that hinge on privilege?

However sincere their artistry, trendy restaurants perpetuate the distance between the common and the elite by showing their communities what flavours, décor, and atmosphere are aesthetically “good.”

This raises an ethical problem for creatives like Cohen. Is the restaurateur responsible for making the exquisite and trendy accessible through community giving? Or, does the restaurant treat class as an essential aspect of taste, feeding social groups differently while reinforcing lines of social difference?

14 OPINIONS

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

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Thursday, November 24, 2016 volume 146 issue 10

INTRAMURALS

Hoping for more from Mt. A intramurals Lack of organization and scheduling issues leaves students frustrated

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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 | Sylvan Hamburger, Tyler Stuart MANAGING EDITOR | Cecilia Stuart NEWS EDITORS | Catherine Turnbull, Naomi Goldberg ARTS & CULTURE EDITORS | Mallory Burnside-Holmes, Mirelle Naud SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR | David Taplin OPINIONS EDITOR | Shannon Power HUMOUR EDITOR | Mark Cruz COPY EDITOR | Claire Henderson-Hamilton

PRODUCTION staff PRODUCTION MANAGER | Hailey Guzik PHOTO EDITOR | Adrian Kiva PHOTOGRAPHERS | Ryan MacRae, Savannah Harris ILLUSTRATION EDITOR | Jeff Mann ILLUSTRATORS | Andreas Fobes, Izzy Francolini ONLINE EDITOR | Monica Zahl

REPORTING staff

NEWS REPORTERS | Leo Gertler, Kavana Wa Kilele, Jill MacIntryre POLITICS REPORTER | Nadiya Safonova SPORTS REPORTER | Hamza Munawar ARTS & CULTURE REPORTERS | Chelsea Doherty, Marissa Cruz, Will Pelletier

OPERATIONS staff BUSINESS MANAGER | Tessa Dixon AD MANAGER | James Lantz CIRCULATIONS | Katharyn Stevenson

CONTRIBUTORS Briann Scovil, Taylor Losier, Kennedy Lundberg, Alex Lepianka, Isaiah Yankech, Laura Valvasori-Black, Marilyn Lerch, Mitchell Gunn, Nelligan Letourneau, Erik Garf, Will Balser, Delanie

KEIFER BELL Contributor Although intramurals at Mount Allison have been run imperfectly in the past, they have been consistently maintained and have been enjoyed by participants. However, this fall, the quality of intramural sports and overall organization were at an all-time low. Usually you’ll hear a few complaints about unqualified referees, teams picking up ineligible players and even a few potentially dangerous situations. However, this year saw all of these issues and more, including scheduling issues worse than we’ve ever seen.

With the retirement of Janet Robinson, the previous Manager of Athletics, the role had to be filled by someone new. Part of this job is to organize intramurals for students at Mt. A. Organizing schedules for multiple sports is not necessarily an easy task, but this year’s scheduling had many flaws that frustrated students who were used to the consistent organization of intramurals in the past.

The 2016 softball schedule read that the playoffs would be on Oct.

COVER | Savannah Harris RUNNING DOODLES |Andreas Fobes

PUBLICATION board Leslie Kern, Owen Griffiths DISCLAIMERS & COPYRIGHT SHANE GROGAN Contributor

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 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.

All materials appearing in The Argosy bear the copyright of Argosy Publications, Inc. Material cannot be reprinted without the consent of the Editor-in-Chief.

issues shouldn’t have been a problem.

It would only have been a matter of scratching out last year’s team names and putting in the new ones in a timely manner so that every team could have played more than three games before winter break. Again, this did not happen and has resulted in frustrated students.

Flag football was never organized or advertised this year. Many students were confused when they heard that it was “too late” to set up a flag football league. There was no effort put into setting up this very common and enjoyable fall intramural sport. It was simply ignored by organizers at the start of the semester and therefore was never put on for students to enjoy.

Intramural sports are an important aspect of campus life for many students. Those in residence often gain a stronger connection with teammates through the sports they play, allowing them to feel more

welcome in their new homes. Even off-campus students benefit from these connections and extra bonding time with friends, as intramural sports are a good source of exercise and fun without a large time commitment.

Almost every intramural representative and team captain you ask will tell you that they sent countless emails to try and determine when sign-up dates and rescheduled games would take place. These were often not answered, causing extreme frustration among all of those volunteering their time as intramural leaders for their teams and residences.

Intramural sports did not flow as expected this fall and certainly did not compare to the past.

I, along with many others, are hoping for a big turnaround next intramural season, with an organized schedule and no more forgotten sports. Good luck to everyone playing, and may the best team win.

Refusal to participate in civic life fueled the election of Trump

gan, Jacob Burnley, Eleanor Hannon, Dylan Darnell, Paul Lynch

of Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. The

TEAM SPIRIT. JACOB BURNLEY/ SUBMITTED.

We cannot afford to be cynical

McKinley, John Perkin, Keifer Bell, Emma Jackson, Shane Gro-

opinion, and the arts, written, edited and funded by the students

6, 9, and 11. Presumably, booking the Sackville baseball diamond in October should take just a simple phone call, however, this did not happen. An email was sent out on the morning of Nov. 1 announcing that softball playoffs would take place that night. The playoffs were organized last-minute and weeks after the original schedule started in order to be finished prior to reading week.

“It’s rare that you see a slow-pitch softball game in November,” said Charlie Moores, a member of the winning team. Moores said that if the final had to be described in one word, it would have to be “freezing.” The timing of the softball playoffs resulted in an uncomfortable game, with both teams wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Intramural soccer faced similar issues when its intramural season was pushed back by weeks. For intramural soccer, some less-than-thrilling November playoff games took place, with two semi-finals played on Nov. 1—conflicting with softball playoffs— and then a rainy final on Nov. 2 at a temperature close to zero degrees.

The referee bundled up in full rain gear and carried an umbrella as he strolled across the field.

Following Thanksgiving, there is always a huge pump-up for intramural hockey. Unfortunately, the schedule was not sent out until Oct. 31. Intramural hockey has always been played from Sunday to Thursday at 11 p.m., so scheduling

ELECTION

Khan-Dobson, Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland, Hanna Longard, Ian

The Argosy is the official independent student journal of news,

EDITOR: SHANNON POWER | NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

In defence of inappropriate humour, people often jump to one response: “It’s just a joke!”

Most students of social science would roll their eyes at this response, but in it lies a shred of truth. Jokes are not people; they are ideas. They are something to be communicated, shared over lunch, broadcast on cable TV, but not a thing you experience the same way one would a security guard or a red light. On that note, Trump is now president-elect.

I’m still having trouble grappling with this fact because, for the past year and a half, Trump has been precisely this: a joke. And one of the things that make jokes amusing is that we don’t identify them as being grounded in reality. From this springs the cognitive dissonance that

Trump’s nomination has generated, because none of us were ready to accept that an image as farcical as Trump’s could become the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth.

Because Trump is a farce, a farce of the tragedies brought about by every fascist in our history books. Yet we cling to narratives like “history is progress” to justify our outrage in the wake of events like this one. It doesn’t feel “real” because for so many of us, it isn’t real, it is the work of fiction.

The actuality of Trump in the Oval Office is separated from us by the plexiglas of our TVs, laptops and smart devices. But the America that Trump embodies is a reality for so many people already.

I’m still not fully convinced that I’m not just having a bad dream.

And frankly, my ability to remain in that denial is a privilege. Because the oligarchy that Trump plans to install is just a rubber-stamp extension of what we already have.

The only difference is a signature on a government document. Our daily life is saturated with distractions, many of them media-related, from self-righteous Facebook statuses to videos of war footage from countries we’ll never visit.

We live as if in a cupola, separated

from reality by the convenience of our geography. We live in an age when being compared to Hitler or being called a misogynist doesn’t stir people up enough anymore. Headlines like that will make your notification banner pop up the same way it does when your friend sends you some stupid meme. Most of us are distant enough from real danger that we can talk about it with a smile on our face as if it could still reveal itself as a daydream, a joke, something you saw on TV last night.

In saying this, I’m not very concerned with the origins of people like Trump. I am instead interested in the forces that keep us complacent within the institutions from which people like him benefit.

It would be easy to pin the blame on capital, colonialism and other bugaboos of the Left.

What’s important, rather, is that the conviction of society’s collapse, whatever its cause, is the precise ethos by which despots become enabled.

Our society thrives on misanthropy.

And let me be clear that I don’t speak for the black, Hispanic, Muslim and queer Americans who were thrown under the bus on Nov. 8 because right now, they have every right in the world to feel cynical.

The cynicism I speak of is systemic, deep-seated. It’s a cynicism that lets people arrogantly look at society as gone to the dogs, as so corrupted by power that they submissively refuse to partake in civic life.

These include non-voters, but they also include a lot of us as well. David Foster Wallace wrote pithily on this topic: “Irony and cynicism’s become an end in itself, a measure of hip sophistication and literary savvy… the song of the prisoner who’s come to love his cage.” And progress grinds to a screeching halt in a society that loves to despise itself.

That is the danger of cynicism. It is self-indulgent, ostensibly enlightened while solving nothing. And we cannot afford to be cynical. As much as we would love to see ourselves as on another plane, as nobler than the sheeple surrounding us, this is a point in history that demands we resist that urge. The world has a chance when we remember, perhaps begrudgingly, that we are part of it whether we like it or not. There is no escape. The quicker we come to terms with this, the quicker we learn to optimize our reality as it presents itself.

OPINIONS

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

15

Why we shouldn’t celebrate the Maple League EMMA JACKSON Contributor On Nov. 9, Bishop’s University’s President Michael Goldbloom stood in front of a room of distinguished guests at an elite Toronto event hall and announced that the U4 League was transitioning into the Maple League of Universities – a name which, he admitted, is “a little bit of a nod at the Ivy League.”

According to the presidents of all four universities – Bishop’s, Acadia, St. Francis Xavier, and Mount Allison – the partnership is intended to better communicate to the public the immeasurable benefits of attending a small, primarily undergraduate university. In looking to confront shortfalls in their enrolment numbers, the universities will hit the recruitment trail together, fanning out slick brochures side-byside in an attempt to attract many of the brightest high school graduates from across the country and around the world.

Yet, once again, while the presidents of our liberal arts

institutions busy themselves boasting to national newspapers of our acquired ability to think critically, they’ve failed to recognize that when students acquire these skills, they use them.

So while on the surface the Maple League of Universities appears to be an ambitious project with somewhat respectable goals, beneath its shiny façade, it’s nothing more than a concrete example of the increasing corporatization of Canadian universities.

Let’s put aside the fact that the partnership openly admits to drawing inspiration from the most elitist post-secondary schools in the world, and consider what this rebranding exercise tells us about the priorities and the distribution of power at these universities.

Amid financial constraints, institutions across the country are responding by shrinking academic programs’ budgets and rolling back their tenure-track positions—a response that Mt. A students and faculty know all too well. Yet, suspiciously, the resources being

funnelled into administrative ranks are rarely being cut in these times of purported financial distress. Instead, funding allocated to university administrations has remained steady and, in many cases, has even grown.

But what could possibly justify the expansion of administration at the expense of full-time faculty? Well, initiatives that look eerily similar to the Maple League.

In order to validate and strengthen their roles, administrators across North America are channelling their energy into projects like the Maple League that redefine the mission of the university to better serve their administrative interests. As political scientist Benjamin Ginsberg says, “college administrators imitate the practices of their corporate counterparts,” and what’s more corporate than a good rebranding exercise, buoyed by administrative conferences, gala dinners and weekend retreats?

The creation of the Maple League is arguably little more than an imagepolishing project that fits into a larger trend of employing media relations

staffers over full-time faculty, and prioritizing the creation of glossy magazines over rigorous course syllabi.

Yet, perhaps the most sickening part of the entire partnership is its willingness to co-opt the political orientations and social justice commitments of its students and faculty to the benefit of corporate expansion. As Ginsberg puts it: “Issues that to many professors represent moral imperatives have been transformed into powerful instruments of administrative aggrandizement.”

While a few of the initiatives deserve our applause, the ability to video-conference into courses held by partner institutions should be met with skepticism. The ability to learn Mik’maq should exist at every institution occupying Mik’maq land. But what will compel Mt. A to finally hire Indigenous scholars – or diversify its faculty at all – when it’s able to piggyback on the offerings of other institutions?

Finally, in boosting the partnership, President Robert Campbell told

the Globe and Mail, “If you look at schools like ours that are deeply wedded to liberal arts and science, but also very collegial … [students] are more likely to develop sensibilities that are not going to tolerate racist or sexist arguments.”

Now, in considering the long list of racist and sexist aggressions that take place everyday at Mt. A, I find it deplorable that such predominately white institutions would leverage anti-racist sentiment for marketing purposes, while simultaneously failing to address such issues on their own campuses.

If our universities are truly committed to having exceptional learning environments with diverse student bodies, they will recognize that the key lies in tearing down financial barriers to student access and increasing full-time faculty contracts, not in booting up Skype and rolling out flashy recruitment videos.

THROUGH STAINED GLASS

Reflecting on the U.S. election

We must move forward with care and empathy following the American election REV. JOHN PERKIN Contributor It has been a November unlike any other. Like many others, I have continued to follow the news after the results of the American election. As the news and social media discourse has clearly indicated, many people feel profoundly affected by Trump’s win not only in the United States, but here in Canada as well. In particular, social media has highlighted the sense of anxiety felt so acutely, specifically by marginalized populations. I share the concern of many around what appears to be a heightened targeting of minority populations, and also at the loss of civil discourse around issues of ideology, rights, justice and more.

I offer my response to this heightened level of concern, anxiety and social media rhetoric that many may be feeling on campus. Firstly, for those who are feeling especially anxious, for yourself or others, you are welcome to access any of the student support resources available to you at Mt. A. These include our student development counsellors, Mental Health Educator, the online forum Beautiful Minds, our Harassment

Advisor and the University Chaplain.

It is important that these concerns and anxieties are given a voice; and so we talk and remind ourselves that the language and actions of misogyny, racism and Islamophobia that are on the rise are not acceptable, to us, to our campus, or to the society in which we live.

Secondly, I offer a reminder that the university should serve as a model for our larger culture as a place of free and open discourse, but that this should be conducted in an ordered, respectful and civil form. I believe this standard should apply not only to our discourse and discussion in traditional verbal and print forms, but also in social media.

Our conduct in the university community is governed by specific policies that address a wide range of issues, including equity, conduct, harassment and more, and these are available online. They are intended to safeguard the free and ordered space in which we engage in the exchange of ideas, discuss issues and nurture a sense of empathy towards all people, fully respecting the rights we all hold. It is especially important at this time that we become more familiar with the codes, policies and

WE ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY OF INCLUSIVITY AND RESPECT IN THE WAKE OF THIS ELECTION ELEANOR HANNON/ARCHIVES laws that govern our campus and our community, as well as our nation, and that as we live by them, we call to account those who do not.

For me, and from my perspective looking out at the world “through stained glass,” I recognize that the destructive “isms” of racism, sexism and fundamentalism stand in

opposition to the Christian values of God’s realm enunciated by Jesus, yet they also claim divine sanction in some places. Far from the original gospel proclamation of inclusivity, equality and acceptance, of care for the stranger, of pacifism, of love, the demagoguery of Trump has inflamed a white majority population to

politicize its deeper racism, sexism and fundamentalism. Perhaps the good news is that, now these “isms” are out in the open, they will be destroyed once and for all. We can also be part of that redemptive destruction.

HUMOUR 16

EDITOR: MARK CRUZ | NOVEMBER 24, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

CONSPIRACY

The Maple League exposed Vigilante theorist blows case wide open MARK SNOWDEN Conspiracy Theorist/ Libertarian Wake up, sheeple! We, the student body, are all under threat. The oppressor is invisible, acting in secrecy right beneath our noses. I have put myself at considerable risk in choosing to publish my theory, and am writing under the name Mark Snowden. The Argosy is the last bastion of unbiased, objective journalism. Follow me down the rabbit hole. See how far it goes!

Over the reading break our esteemed president, Robert Campbell, quietly announced “The Maple League of Universities” in an email sent to all students. It is a cover-up. Comprised of Bishop’s, St. FX, Acadia and Mount Allison, this coalition of “cute” small universities is set to put our civil rights at risk, namely our privacy.

During his address at the Maple League launch, Bishop’s President Michael Goldbloom stated that they intend to use “cutting-edge video technology to bring our students together.” Sounds neat, right? Wrong.

Go to Hart Hall Room 103. Installed

are a set of CISCO video cameras equipped with high-def audio and video capabilities. The testing phase is already complete. The bishop is in place. Checkmate.

The administration is watching everything you do! They are in your webcam, your credit card statement, your lecture halls. The Maple League will know where you study, how you take your coffee and your relationship status. Your information will be bought and traded like simple stocks to the hungry capitalists on Wall Street, like a bloody carcass to the wolves! Campbell said in his email that our education will be “enriched,” when really, we will be subjected to targeted ads, 24/7 surveillance and absolutist ideology!

Not convinced? Must I spell it out? Look at the four universities.

Acadia/Bishop’s/Mount Allison/ Saint Francis Xavier. Take the last letter from each word. A-S-T-N-T-R. Rearrange them. T-N-A-T-S-R. See it yet? Look closer. I have deciphered what these letters truly stand for: The Neoliberal Alliance: Taking Students’ Rights. The bureaucracy always veils its true intentions within plain sight.

But I have discovered the truth.

FIGURE 1: A COMPLETE VISUAL HIERARCHY OF THE MAPLE LEAGUE Neoliberalism is bad, as we know from POLS-1001.

The Maple League website poses a frightening reality: “Four Schools.

One philosophy.” Small universities become police states. In perhaps the most alarming statement of his

address, Goldbloom endorses fascist ideology: “We know that four voices speaking in unison are better than one.” Under the tyrannical rule of The Maple League, all dissent would be silenced, all radicals punished!

Heed my warning! This goes all

the way to the top! You are all on a sinking ship, without a lifeboat. Cut up your Mountie card and disable your webmail. Do what you can to find solace. The Maple League is watching.

JEFF MANN

MARISSA CRUZ