The Argosy October 23rd, 2014

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Mount Allison’s

THE October 23, 2014

ARGOSY Independent Student Newspaper

Only available in print for added convenience since 1872

Vol. 144 Iss. 7

Mt. A hosts top female intellectuals

Margaret Atwood signs copies of her books at last week’s Discourse and Dynamics conference. The conference brought several high-profile women to Sackville for a broad range of discussions. (Chris Donovan/Argosy)

Conference celebrates women in public sphere Tyler Stuart News Reporter

Prominent figures and prolific writers, including Margaret Atwood and Dionne Brand, congregated in Sackville last weekend to examine what it means to be a female public intellectual. The conception of Discourse and Dynamics started three years ago when Canadian studies professor Christl Verduyn received a research grant from the Social Sciences and

News

Walrus examines the art of rhetoric: Pg. 2

Humanities Research Council in Ottawa. After meeting with Aritha van Herk, an English professor at the University of Calgary, the two decided to expand Verduyn’s project into a conference featuring female public intellectuals. “We suddenly were spilling way over the limits of my project, which was women writers, to women like Janice Stein and Judy Rebick,” Verduyn said. The event intentionally coincided with Mt. A’s 175th anniversary, and Persons Day, which celebrates the recognition of women as persons by the Canadian government. Verduyn said that her goal for the conference was to examine the term “public intellectual” and its association

Opinions

Grogan discusses free speech: Pg. 8

with women. “It’s a term that needs to be diffused from its power of being only for men or only for the elite,” she said. The event attracted heavy-weight intellectual figures. Some of the women Verduyn and van Herk approached were booked two years in advance, and were unable to attend the conference. “Instead of us always taking ourselves up to central Canada to hear a Margaret Atwood or meet a Judy Rebick, they [came] here,” Verduyn said. It took two years of hard work to organize everything, she said. Three students helped coordinate the event: Stephanie Davis, Piper Riley Thompson, and Jeehan Jawed. “One of the things that drew

Arts & Culture

Local artists welcome guests: Pg. 10

me to it was the fact that it was so interdisciplinary,” Jawed said. “That’s what I really enjoy seeing: the interconnection between between different fields and different disciplines.” By approaching women from different fields, ethnicities, and backgrounds, the conference organizers tried the make the conference as representative of Canadian women as possible. “I think it showed the complexity of the issues facing women,” Rebick said. “Every panel was quite different than the other panels.” Naomi Sayers, an indigenous academic, spoke about the problems Aboriginal women face in contemporary society, and those of sex

Sports

Mounties drop home opener to Dal: Pg. 6

work. She said that although she was nervous, the conference felt like a safe space. “The things that I said today, I probably would have never said unless I knew that it was safe,” Sayers said. “Speaking in public all the time, you don’t want to steer too far from your message or that message gets lost.” While the diversity of the women and perspectives at the conference was apparent, the composition of the panels rarely highlighted differences in political beliefs. “In my opinion it probably would have been better to mix it up a bit in terms of political views,” said Rebick, a journalist and political activist.

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News Ship’s Log Opinions Science Centrefold Sports Arts & Literature Entertainment Pg. Humour

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NEWS

October 23, 2014

argosy@mta.ca

UNBSU site hacked Mt. A talks conversation Hacking group claims ISIS affiliation Emma McPhee The Brunswickan

Fredericton (CUP) — The UNB Student Union and the university as a whole had nothing to do with Monday night’s hacking incident, say officials with the website provider. The UNBSU website was only one of several websites hacked on Monday night after there was a security breach on the host external server by an organization with ISIS connections. The website provider is Informative Computer Solutions, a company based in Saint John, N.B. One of their servers was compromised by a group called Team System DZ on Monday night, affecting between four and six websites. Jon Quinn, director of public relations at Informative Computer Solutions, said that the server wasn’t targeted specifically. On the Team System DZ Facebook page, which has since been taken down, the organization posted a list of the websites they’d hacked. “The list was thousands long so this wasn’t targeting against UNB or the Student Union or Canada,” Quinn said. “It was just what they do is they scan through the different sites and say ‘This one’s using this plugin, this platform or this software. We know how to compromise that so we’re going to target the site.’ It has nothing to do with UNB in particular.” The UNBSU website server is currently undergoing a security overhaul to right the breach in security. At this point, it does not appear that the website was targeted.

“The people who defaced the website also did the same thing to a number of other websites across the continent. It was a case of someone taking advantage of whatever web pages were vulnerable at the time, not a target attack against us specifically,” said Greg Bailey, president of the UNBSU. The staff of Informative Computer Solutions is now in the process of fixing the security breach. “[The websites] have all been cleaned so it was actually one file on the server that was compromised so it was a pretty simple fix. We’ve just gone in and updated it to a new server just making sure that everything was the current version of software plugins and changed passwords as well,” Quinn said. The website purported to have been hacked by “Team System DZ” and included the words “i love you ISIS” on Monday night. On a black background under red text that read “A message to all the population and the government, especially,” rolling text included such passages as “This time is a time of Islam and victory and lift the injustice for Muslims and the elimination of America and the allies of the infidels Will not keep silent about one inch of the land of the Muslims. Will not keep silent about one drop of blood of Muslims. Will not keep silent about the symptoms of women and children. Today retrace the pride of Islam and Muslims.” Approximately two hours after the hack was first noticed, the UNBSU website went back up. Quinn said that overall the incident wasn’t an isolated problem. “This was just a general hack. There was nothing really complex, there was no targeting involved. We were one of 10,000 sites around the world that was hacked by this group in the past two weeks so it had nothing to do with the university,” he said.

Continued from cover Organizers avoided such discussions with the concern that it would be less productive. “Political discussion can be really useful, but it can also be polarizing,” van Herk said. “We didn’t want to do that. What we wanted to do was explore the extent to which women participate in public life and whether they can have an impact on public life.” The event drew a considerable crowd, and around 500 unique viewers from 48 different cities viewed the conference through a live stream called Gingle Live. But event

planners said they had hoped for a greater reception. “I’m sad that the audience wasn’t bigger because I thought it would be a terrific draw for people who live around Sackville,” van Herk said. Verduyn and van Herk plan to host a second conference at the University of Calgary in 2016 to coincide with its fiftieth anniversary. “One of the events we want to plan is a reprise of this conference to see if things have changed,” van Herk said. “Are the questions that we raised answered or not answered? Are they different?”

Margaret Atwood and Natalie Panek discussed women in art and science. (Chris Donovan/Argosy)

All female lineup show varied views on speech Chad Morash

The Walrus Talks’ debut in New Brunswick challenged the static view of conversation. Expressing the perspective they held on the art of dialogue, a series of female speakers left the impression that there is no one perfect method of approaching “the art of conversation.” The group of speakers brought a breadth of experience, which has become a staple of Walrus Talks. The line-up included authors, historians, an RCMP officer, a biographer, a performing artist and a rocket scientist. Each called upon her unique experience and background to discuss the art of conversation, finding common ground, the art of the interview, and much more. Each of the speakers presented methods for approach conversation that they have cultivated through their own experiences. Aritha van Herk, an author and historian, emphasized the need for deceleration of modern communication, to use pauses and when one begins

Event was the first of its kind held in New Brunswick (Chris Donovan/Argosy) to talk, make every word count. Marlene Snowman, an RCMP superintendent, exalted the role of social media in accelerating the spread of critical information, how this role can be of great help in fighting crime and keeping the public safe. The speakers each had seven minutes to relate their ideas and interpretation of communication to the audience. Some speakers employed humor, a few were serious, some solemn, others boisterous, but all were insightful. By the end of their monologues, the audience had gained a greater appreciation of what it means to communicate, as well as the implications and impact of human communication. All of these qualities were represented in the ideas of each speaker, from

author Lisa Moore’s repetition of her mother’s advice, “remember who you are,” to Canadian soprano, Measha Brueggergosman, reflecting on the value of each individual’s inner dialogue. The Walrus Talks: The Art of Conversation constituted a series of firsts for the conversational phenomenon rising out of the creative works of the Walrus Foundation. The event was the first of its kind to be hosted in New Brunswick. As well, the series of speakers was made up entirely of women for the first time. It tied in nicely with the conference “Discourse and Dynamics: Canadian Women As Public Intellectuals,” which followed over the next few days.

MASU faces communication issues Technical issues and empty seats hamper MASU Willa McCaffrey-Noviss Politics Reporter

As students enter the eighth week of school, the Mount Allison Students’ union continues to have problems with empty positions on council and on staff. MASU also has had issues with communicating information about council meetings with students and the Argosy. “This is the year of the student union review,” said MASU president Heather Webster at the annual general meeting of the Students’ Union, encouraging student involvement in the process. Since then, MASU has held five council meetings. The meetings have been poorly advertised, both on MASU’s website and over social media. MASU’s official Twitter feed has tweeted only one announcement of a meeting, and their Facebook page has no information about times or locations of meetings. The calendar on MASU’s website also has not promoted meetings, or other MASU organized events with regularity. “There’s been a little bit of a hiccup with our website,” said Ryan Harley, the vice-president of communications for MASU. Harley says the union hasn’t been able to get its events listed in the correct time

zone on its website. Harley named the lack of a chairperson as the source of confusion and the poor communication of meeting times. “I think it’s an unfortunate circumstance that we started this year without a chairperson,” said Harley. “I don’t think that confusion will continue now that we have a chairperson.” Harley also reiterated that “[MASU’s] council meetings have always been open to all students.” The chairperson is typically hired for the following year before the end of the winter semester. First-year student John Nuttall was hired as MASU chairperson three weeks ago, and has chaired three meetings since beginning his term. Even after the Nuttall’s hiring, the communication issues persisted. When an Argosy editor emailed Nuttall Oct. 13 to get the time and location of next council meeting so that an alternate reporter could be sent, Nuttall replied that the paper was already aware of the meeting times and locations. News editor Cameron McIntyre’s email read, “Do you know when and where tomorrow’s meeting will be held? I’m trying to send a reporter for the Argosy, but I have no idea where to direct him.” In full, Nuttall’s emailed reply read, “The argosy [sic] has been made aware of the time of meetings and I will keep her up to date with the meetings.” Nuttall seemed to be referring to communication with the author of this article, who normally

covers MASU’s affairs, but had been unavailable at the time. McIntyre eventually figured out the meeting’s time and location on his own. Asked later about the email, Nuttall said, “I honestly just thought he was just asking if the Argosy was aware of the times and things and they were before I got the email.” Nuttall said it was up to councillors to let constituents know when council meetings take place. Currently, there are empty staff positions such as the deputy chair, as well as one newly open position on council following the resignation of Science Senator Alaa Ratmi. A by-election will be held to fill the newly available science senator position in the coming weeks. One aspect of MASU executive’s jobs includes working over the summer in order to prepare for the upcoming school year. This is intended to facilitate a more effective student union council right from the beginning of the year. Presentations on summer mandates were given to councillors by the executive on Oct. 20. “We [the executive] felt it was weird to present a summer mandate when we hadn’t set our goals for the fall,” said Webster on Sept. 16 of the lack of activity. With files from Kevin Levangie.


The Argosy

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NEWS

After losses and closure, Mt. A farm aims to end deficit

Michael Dunn receives life sentence

Michael Dunn, 47, has been convicted for the first-degree murder of Jordan Davis, 17, in Jacksonville, Fla. Dunn shot and killed Davis during an argument over loud music coming from the car Davis was in, firing 10 times into the vehicle after the dispute in a parking lot. Dunn maintained that he fired in self-defence, saying he thought the teenager was reaching for a gun. Police never found a firearm and witnesses did not see one. Dunn was sentence to life in prison. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty and Davis’ family said they did not want him to be executed.

Sylvan Hamburger

Hurricane Gonzalo hits Bermuda After losses in 2011 and 2012, and a fallow year in 2013, Mt. A will soon determine if its farm broke even this year. (Sylvan Hamburger/Argosy) case the revenue fell short.” The farm expanded its potential markets this season, while continuing to supply bulk vegetables to Jennings. It began to sell produce at their retail price in Sackville’s Saturday market, while promoting vegetable baskets for students and faculty every Tuesday. “Its just hard for our little farm to sustain itself selling at wholesale prices, which is why we were looking for other avenues of revenue,” Porter said, “but at the same time […] whenever I have left over vegetables I don’t have to worry about storing them or throwing them out […] it all just goes to Jennings.” The farm’s primary expense is labour. The hours spent harvesting, storing and selling produce are crucial. Porter, the farm’s lone fulltime employee, relies on volunteers for harvesting the farms varied produce. They must be strategic about where and how their produce is sold. Produce sold at the market makes more profit than sold to Jennings,

but it’s more labour intensive, and sales are not guaranteed. “Honestly, what I think works the best is the vegetable boxes […] it maximizes my time and the amount of money that can be generated so its […] a win-win,” Porter said. The farm helps Jennings to meet its 40 percent local food commitment, while providing two students with summer employment. There is also a potential for the integration of academics. “There are so many projects that can be done out there, research based or directed study based,” Strain said, “the sky’s the limit.” The farm consists of 24 acres, 22 and a half of which are currently unused. It sits on the highest point in Sackville with a view of the marshes and the Bay of Fundy below. “I think it is important for people to know what their food looks like, where it comes from and how its grown,” Porter said, “it is important for students to have access to locally grown vegetables.”

Mt. A launches alumni-in-residence Nigel Martin leads workshop on governance Tyler Stuart

News Reporter

Mount Allison alumnus Nigel Martin has taken his position as Mount Allison’s first ‘alumni-inresidence.’ He inaugurated the program by leading a workshop on global governance and individual appointments with current Mount Allison students. Martin has worked for nongovernmental organizations for nearly 40 years. He is the founder and CEO of the Forum for Democratic Global Governance (FIM), and recently co-authored a book on global governance and the response of civil society, which he spoke about at Mt. A on Tuesday. According to the Mt. A website, the program “is designed to foster connections between current students and Mount Allison’s alumni community and allow students the opportunity to consider their options for post-graduation.”

This Week in the World Joanna Perkin

Small market might be causing financial woes

With the advent of fall, operations at the Mount Allison farm are winding down. The farm is preparing to look over its books and determine whether they have successfully managed its 2014 budget of $25,000. At this point the consequences of another deficit, comparable to that of the 2011 and 2012 seasons, remains unknown. Following a full year of nonoperation, the farm was reopened in the spring of 2014. The farm had been shut down in 2012, after running a deficit of approximately $11,000 for two consecutive years. A grant of $10,552 from the MASU’s Green Investment Fund made the farm’s revival possible. “We created a budget based on the previous two years,” said Erin Porter, the farm’s manager. “Our budget came out to be a deficit of $10,552, so we gave [MASU] that number and they gave us the full amount […] ultimately that is what made it possible.” The farm’s operators suspect that a limited market may have contributed to the previous losses. “The farm started off as an enterprise underneath the dining hall,” said Michelle Strain, Director of Administration Services. “The idea was we would grow vegetables to sell back to Jennings […] in this

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Martin said he enjoys sharing his experience with students, and wants the learning at such events to be reciprocal. “I get a charge out of a lot young people,” he said. “There is an energy that is rejuvenating for me. There is a knowledge that obviously surpasses my own in so many ways.” While at Mt. A, Martin hosted individual appointments with students. One of them was secondyear international relations student Liam St Louis. “The appointment I really enjoyed,” said St Louis. “I felt like it was a personal event. He took an interest in me, my thoughts on things, and where I want to be.” St Louis also attended Martin’s talk on Tuesday night, which drew around fifty students. “I think this was possibly the best speech that I’ve seen here at Mt. A,” St Louis said. “It seemed a lot more candid than other speeches.” Martin, who graduated with the class of 1965, earned a double major in History and English Literature. Although his degrees did not directly tie into his career path, he said that his experience at Mt. A did. “I think by far the most important benefit at Mt. A was that I developed a capacity for critical analysis,” he

said. Although Martin has spent almost his entire career working for NGOs, he said that he had never heard of the term when he graduated from Mt. A. “We can prepare ourselves through our studies as much as we want, but the world changes from the time when we study,” he said. “A liberal education, I think, prepares you better than others for the flexibility of the world.” When he was approached to speak at Mt. A, Martin said he did not believe it. “I thought I’d be the last guy in the world,” he said. “I thought it was a joke.” During his third year at Mt. A, Martin was the editor-in-chief of The Argosy. When he ran an April fool’s edition of the newspaper, the joke – which portrayed newly selected Mt. A chancellor Ralph Pickard Bell and his wife in swimsuits – caused controversy on campus. “When that went to press, within one hour, all but 100 copies had been confiscated,” he said. He left the university that year, and was only allowed to finish his degrees after five years away. Despite his controversial time here, Martin said he was excited to return to his alma mater.

Hurricane Gonzalo hit Bermuda directly, downing power lines and damaging buildings. BBC reports that Bermuda was “bruised” but came out of the storm much better than expected. The Oct. 17 storm was the second in a week to hit the tiny island. Only minor injuries were reported, though it was the strongest storm to hit Bermuda in a decade. The power was cut to 31,200 homes, but at least two-thirds of people had their electricity restored by the afternoon of Oct. 18. Falling debris caused the closure of many roads, and the international airport was closed ahead of time.

Boko Haram agrees to ceasefire

Nigeria’s military has agreed to a ceasefire with Islamist militants Boko Haram and has reached a deal for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped sixmonths ago. The kidnapping of the girls sparked an international campaign to ‘Bring Back Our Girls.’ Reported on Oct. 17, there has not been a confirmation on the ceasefire and release of the girls from the rebels. Western allies including the United States have confirmed the deal, saying that it had followed three days of talks with the Islamist militant group. The government did not give any details, only saying that the girls’ release could happen in the coming days.

Divisions in Catholic Church

Catholic bishops have scrapped the document that was to be their welcome to the gay community, showing deep divisions within the Catholic Church. Over the past two weeks, Pope Francis sought a meeting with Catholic bishops to create a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families, reports the National Post. Rather than considering gays as individuals who had gifts to offer as planned, the revised document referred to homosexuality as a problem that Catholic families have to confront. It stated that homosexuals must be welcomed and respected, but also repeated that marriage is only between a man and a woman. The passage failed to obtain the majority needed to pass.

Obama refuses travel ban for Ebola

President Obama urged Americans not to give in to hysteria about the spread of the Ebola virus after three people were diagnosed with the virus and over 100 are being monitored for symptoms in the U.S. The president has said that he will not implement a travel ban from the worst-hit countries in West Africa, as he does not want people to cut themselves off from an entire region of the world, reports CBC. Obama has been criticized over his administration’s handling of Ebola alongside World Health Organization, which has been faulted for not doing enough to halt the spread of the outbreak. Pharmaceutical companies continue to work on experimental drugs for a vaccine for Ebola.

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SCIENCE

October 23, 2014

argosy@mta.ca

Wild Toads Lab takes on drug-resistant TB Chem lab experimenting with Isoniazid Clay Steell

Science Reporter The Wild Toads Lab is a research group on campus probably known best for wall paintings and clothes themed after The Simpsons. Headed by the chemistry department’s Steve Westcott, the lab researches anticancer treatments and ways of improving tuberculosis medicine, along with other medical topics. The Argosy visited the lab to talk to three of the four honours students working there this year about their research. Hannah Caron, Morgan Morrisey, and Tom Kostelnick are doing three separate honours projects on the antiTuberculosis compound Isoniazid. “Isoniazid is one of the drugs that’s used to treat Tuberculosis, but there’s a lot of multi-drug resistant strains of [Tuberculosis], so we want to modify its structure so that the drug won’t be resistant to it anymore,” said Caron. Tuberculosis, or TB, is an airborne bacteria that infects about one third of the world’s population. A majority of cases occur in developing countries or regions with poor health care. About 1,600 TB cases occur in Canada every year. “I thought it was an issue in developing countries and wasn’t here,” said Morrisey, “but then in June 2014 there was a confirmed case of Tuberculosis at the Université de Moncton, and that was the second

Hannah Caron (right), Morgan Morrissey (left) both doing their honours in the Wild Toad Lab (Clay Steell/Argosy) case in a year. That’s close to home.” “They’ve had a drug treatement [for TB] for years, but a lot of multidrug resistant strains are occurring because people aren’t taking the full treatement,” said Caron. Isoniazid needs to be taken regularly over a six-month period for treatment to be effective. Caron and Morrisey said that drug-resistant strains of TB can arise when people stop taking Isoniazid, usually because they can’t afford it or their symptoms disappear. “[Drug-resistant strains] can be spread to other people because it’s an airborne disease,” said Caron.

She said that resistant strains of TB can readily infect other TB patients already on Isoniazid and are potentially untreatable. “If one of our drugs were tested for anti-TB properties and shows really strong bioactivity, we could help so many people,” said Caron. “We have Isoniazid and we’re adding similar derivatives to it to modify its activity,” said Kostelnick. Caron is chemically binding Isoniazid with maltol, a flavour enhancer commonly used in foods like hot chocolate, and various metals. By doing so she hopes to make Isoniazid

more permeable to the TB bacteria’s cell membrane. Morrisey is binding Isoniazid with furan and thiophene, which are reactive aromatic liquids, and Kostelnick is binding it with a Sulfur-containing derivative and Carbon. The three honours students said they will be synthesizing their experimental compounds over the term, and that next term will be spent experimentally ensuring their purity. When ready, the compounds will be sent to various other universities and institutions to test their bioactivity in living cells.

Their research was funded by individual grants from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The lab has a tradition of popping a bottle of champagne every time it publishes a scientific paper. The paper’s title is then taped onto the bottle and placed on a shelf along with scores of other such bottles. “A lot of [Dr. Westcott’s] students graduate Mt. A with their names on papers,” said Caron. “It’s pretty awesome. Last week we had three bottles of champagne.”

Want to detect cosmic rays? There’s an app for that Smartphone app detects particles from space Clay Steell

Science Reporter Smartphone users can soon help solve a cosmic mystery with a quick download. A developing app called CRAYFIS uses hardware commonly found in smartphones to detect Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), an anomaly poorly understood by modern physics. If successful, this network of smartphone detectors would technically become the largest telescope in the world. At every moment, the Earth is inundated in a stream of highenergy particles from space known as cosmic rays. Our atmosphere blocks most of the energy of these particles, causing them to decay into a shower of smaller particles known as muons. These muon showers are detectable only on the ground directly below them, making their research relatively difficult. Muons interact weakly with matter; one passes harmlessly through your head about every second. Most cosmic rays are low energy,

but some, like the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays, have about the same energy as a baseball thrown at 90 km/h. However, they’re so rare that much remains unknown about their origins. The largest cosmic ray detector in the world, the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, is 3,000 square kilometres (about half the size of the Greater Toronto Area), and only detects one UHECR every four weeks on average. The CRAYFIS app, short for Cosmic Ray Finder in Smartphones, hopes to dramatically expand scientists’ ability to detect these high-energy cosmic rays. Physicists and astronomers at the University of California discovered that smartphone cameras can detect the muon showers created by cosmic rays. In an open-access paper published online last week, they said that 825,000 smartphones could reach the same detecting power as the entire Pierre Auger Observatory. The paper’s authors said that a smartphone array is an ideal candidate for cosmic ray detection. About 1.5 billion people on Earth use smartphones, creating an enormous potential sampling size. Most smartphones are equipped with GPS to say where a muon shower is occurring, as well as Wi-Fi to upload detection data. The app would activate muon

detection only after a smartphone is connected to a power source and the screen is asleep, so as not to use battery or processing power when the phone is in use. The smartphone cameras can detect muons when charging indoors, as the particles pass through walls. High-energy cosmic rays originate from outside our solar system, but from where is unknown. Astronomers hypothesize that they may come from matter ejected by supermassive black holes at the center of the Milky Way and other galaxies, or possibly even from the poorly understood dark matter that inundates the observable universe. The creators of CRAYFIS say that increasing our ability to detect cosmic rays could help solve where they come from. Understanding the nature of cosmic rays could lead to dramatic insights in physics and astronomy. Due to their energy, cosmic rays remain unaltered as they travel across time and space, and give an observable window into the universe’s birth and ancient past. The muon shower data can be uploaded either anonymously or publicly. Data uploaded publicly guarantees its discoverer coauthorship of any published findings. CRAYFIS will be available to download on iOS 7 and Android 2.3.3. Its publication date is unannounced, but the app has begun limited beta testing.

CRAYFIS, an app that detects cosmic rays, will soon be available for Android and iPhone users. . (Chris Donovan/Argosy)


The Argosy

SPORTS

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Mounties put up 33 points on X-men in win Mounties move to 7-0, will have a chance at history on MacAulay Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter

History could be made Saturday, Oct. 25 at MacAulay Field when the Mounties take on the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men. The Mounties football team has a chance to do something that has not been done in the AUS since 2003, and something that the Mounties have never accomplished. In their regular season finale, in what could be a preview of the AUS championship game that will be played in Sackville on Nov. 8, the Mounties will be trying to finish off an unbeaten regular season against the St. FX X-Men. Playing at home on Thanksgiving weekend, the Mounties beat SMU 33-1 to finish off their three-game sweep of the Huskies. None of their games have been close. The Huskies now have a 0-7 record and will not make the playoffs for the first time since 1998, the last year of the Éric Lapointe era. AUS leading receiver Josh Blanchard caught a pass from quarterback Brandon Leyh and went fifty-five yards for the score. The win against SMU clinched the AUS for the Mounties, giving them the right

Madalon Burnett Mononucleosis, or mono, is an illness that most commonly affects fifteento twenty-four-year-olds, and it may have already infected your immune system, without you even knowing it. Mono is a disease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. This virus lives in saliva, mucus, and tears, and is spread through these fluids. It cannot be spread through the air. This means you can’t catch the virus by simply living with someone who has the disease. You would have to be in contact with the saliva of a person with mono to catch the disease, usually through kissing, sharing utensils, or drinking out of an infected person’s glass. Drinking lots of fluids and getting lots of rest can help reduce symptoms of fatigue and can help your body

the season against Acadia, bringing his total to seven in just two years. “Our defence, to me, is the best in the country,” said Reid. There are many things to watch for going into the final game of the season. Besides the obvious milestone of going undefeated, Reid is just 141 yards away from rushing for 1,000 yards, and is a favourite for the AUS Most Valuable Player award. Blanchard and Reid are tied for the lead in touchdowns with five, with Musangu just behind with four. Blanchard leads all receiving categories, and Leyh is second in the AUS in both passing yards and touchdowns. “It would be very exciting to go undefeated. And to get 1,000 [yards] would be a great accomplishment because not a lot of running backs run for a 1,000 yards in a season,” said Reid. Reid would be the third Mountie ever to go over a thousand yards in one season, joining the likes of Éric Lapointe and Grant Keaney. Lapointe was the last Mountie to go over a thousand yards when he ran for 1515 yards in 1998. NFL Canada is coming to Mt. A for next week’s game starting their NFL on Campus activities on Thursday, Oct. 23. The game will be one of the biggest in the long history of the Mounties.

“Our defence, to me, is the best in the country.”

The Mt. A defence held Acadia to five points in the game. (Paul Lynch/Submitted) to host this year’s Loney Bowl. There were skeptics of the football team’s recent accomplishments. The

team had only faced one opponent with a win to their name this year when they played, at the time, 1-0 St.

How much do you know about the kissing disease? Mono may have already affected your immune system

FX on Sept. 13. But, the Mounties proved doubters wrong with another dominating win. After trailing Acadia early in the second quarter 5-3, the Mounties scored thirty unanswered points. At Acadia’s homecoming game, the Mounties crushed the hopes of X-men fans just as they did at Bishop’s and SMU. The Mounties defence denied Acadia a touchdown on a goal line stand early in the second quarter, and never looked back. Running back Chris Reid added another spectacular highlight to his already amazing season, escaping multiple tackles and scoring the only touchdown of the first half on an eighteen-yard run. He finished the game with 113 yards on just twenty-three carries. The Mounties offence broke out in the second half, while their defense continued to hold their opponent scoreless. Leyh threw two touchdowns passes to receivers Matt Rose and Rodreke Joseph, and veteran running back Emmanuel Musangu added to the score. They left Wolfville, N.S. with their thirteenth straight win against their AUS opponents. The Mt. A defence leads the country in points per game allowed, only letting up seven and a half points per game. After conceding twenty-five points against St. FX in their second game, the defence hasn’t surrendered more than eight points in any of their last five matches. Devante Sampson had his third interception of

fight off the virus. It’s also important to avoid physical exercise, which can cause an enlarged spleen to rupture. The severity of the virus’s symptoms is linked to the age of the infected person. You can get mono as a child and feel no symptoms, or very few symptoms. The strength of the illness is more commonly displayed in young adults. The virus can live in your body for up to six weeks before you start to feel any symptoms, and it is common for people to pass on the virus during this phase of the illness. It generally causes high fever, swollen lymph nodes and tonsils, and extreme exhaustion. The virus also causes an enlarged spleen in seventy-five percent of cases. Since the symptoms last for about a month or two, it can be an extremely debilitating infection for students who can’t afford to be fatigued for the majority of the semester. In rare cases, a victim can feel symptoms for more than six months. The virus lives in your body for the rest of your life after you become infected. About half of us have been infected by the virus by the age of five without knowing it due to a lack of symptoms felt by young

children. Eventually, our bodies create antibodies to the virus and it is forced to live in a dormant state. Everyone who has been infected by the Epstein-Barr virus carries the dormant phase in the throat or in blood cells. In some circumstances, the dormant virus can become briefly active and be passed to others. Luckily, once the body has created an antibody to it, the virus cannot affect you to the same degree again. In extremely rare cases, the dormant stage of the virus lives in the immune system, which can lead to rare cancer types such as Burkitt’s lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. If you are one of the unfortunate beings who have not been inoculated by the virus at a young age and end up getting mono with all the symptoms, there are a few actions you can take to feel better sooner. The best way to keep from catching the virus remains however, avoiding it entirely. Next time your friend offers to share their coffee before your 8:30, maybe you should think twice about taking a sip! Madalon Burnett is Mount Allison Univeristy’s Health Intern

Sports in Brief Alex Bates

Men trade wins with Memorial in St. John’s The Mount Allison Men’s Soccer team collected their third win of the season on Saturday, Oct. 18 in St. John’s, Newfoundland against the Memorial University Sea-Hawks. Rookie Mitsutoshi Matsuda scored for the Mounties in just the sixth minute of the game. The Mounties hung on for a one-nil victory. The win pushed the Mounties to eighth in the AUS standings, and this leaves them just three points shy of a potential playoff spot with two games left in the season. The team has its two remaining games against the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, who are currently the top team in the AUS, and against the fourth-place Acadia Axemen, a team currently poised to make the playoffs. The team will play its final home game on Friday, Oct. 24 against Acadia at 7:15 p.m. on MacAulay Field.

Lacrosse nabs first win of 2014 over UNB The Mount Allison Lacrosse team has endured a few big losses in 2014, including a 25-2 defeat against St. FX, and a 21-3 loss to Dalhousie, dropping their first seven Maritime University Field Lacrosse League games. But on Saturday, Oct. 18, the Mounties played the winless University of New Brunswick Buccaneers, and had a chance to collect their first win of the season. The Mounties rallied, scoring three goals in the final fifteen minutes to collect their first win in 2014, despite entering the fourth quarter 7-5. Jacob Bragg stood tall in the net for the Mounties, collecting his first win. Davis Reykdal scored four goals for the Mounties, including one goal on the Power Play in the third quarter. Reykdal has scored fourteen times for the Mounties in 2014, leading the team. After winning the ‘Battle of New Brunswick,’ the Mounties will host the Saint Mary’s University Huskies on Oct. 25 at Landsdowne Field in their final regular season match-up. The game will start at 11 a.m.


6

October 23, 2014

SPORTS

Mounties swim to twentythree medals at Jack Scholz Swimmers open up season with strong showing at Acadia

Taylor Losier

argosy@mta.ca

Argosy Sports is looking for contributors!

Humour Editor

The Mounties swim team competed in the sixth annual Jack Scholz Invitational swim meet, and were able to collect 23 medals in the twoday event. It was the team’s first competition of the season. Seven of the Mounties’ medals were won by first-year swimmers. “The rookies led the way,” said Coach John Peters. The Men’s team, currently in the process of rebuilding after the loss of three senior swimmers, ranked third behind Acadia University and the Dalhousie Tigers. The team went home with five medals, all of which were won by rookie swimmers: Geraint Berger of Halifax won two golds in 50 and 100 free, while Martin Peters of Sackville finished first in the 100 and 200 fly, and second in the 50 fly. “We had a really good start with a lot of really good swims. Things look promising for the rest of the season,” said Men’s team captain Andrew Reeder, who placed fourth in the 50 and 200 back stroke, expressing satisfaction with the team’s performance.

Enjoy writing about sports? Relay team of Loewen, Leblanc, Peters and Feschuk. (Marya Peters/Submitted) The men’s team also won three bronze medals in the relay events, with the team of Berger, Reeder, Peters and Jeff Loewen. The women’s team, which is the largest it’s been in recent years, won eleven medals, finishing second overall behind the Dalhousie Tigers. Women’s Captain Marya Peters won silver in the 100 back, 100 free and 200 back, and gold in the 50 free. Second-year swimmer Allison Loewen won two bronze medals in the 50 back and 50 free. Zoe Leblanc and Laurel White won one medal apiece in the 200 breast (bronze) and 50 breast (silver), respectively. Rookie swimmer Olivia Feschuk, originally from Halifax, also contributed to the medal count in her first competition as a Mountie, finishing first in both the 50 fly and

200 intermediate medley, and second in the 100 fly. “My first varsity swim meet was a great experience,” said Feschuk. “I was amazed by the energy at the pool and by the incredible support from my new team.” The combined efforts of Peters, White, Feschuk and Loewen earned them a gold medal in the 4 by 50 medley relay. The women’s team also went home with three silver medals, one each in the 4 by 50 free (Loewen, White, Leblanc and Peters), the 4 by 100 medley (Peters, Leblanc, Feschuk and Loewen) and the 4 by 100 free (Loewen, Leblanc, Feschuk, Peters). The Mounties’ next competition will be the Amby Legere swim meet at UNB Fredericton on Nov. 1.

Looking for an opportunity to get involved on campus? Willing to contribute a few hours per week covering games and writing?

Contact Alex at argosy@mta.ca

Women drop home-opener 5-2 to Dalhousie

The Mounties opened their season Friday, Oct. 17 against the Dalhousie Tigers. Despite opening a 2-0 lead in the second period, the team lost 5-2. (Chris Donovan/Argosy)

Women roughed up in first week of play Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter The team high short

Mounties’ Women’s Hockey entered the 2014 season with expectations after coming up in the 2013 AUS final. The

team surprised everyone when they upset the nationally ranked St. FX X-Women in the AUS semi-finals before losing in game three of the AUS final. This season they want to take it one step further. “This year is extremely important to me because I got to have Megan Cameron and Lindsay James come back again for a fifth year. That is something that really pushes me to want to succeed and have a good season. It is also important to me because as a team I think that we have the skill and work ethic to get

another AUS banner for Mountie Athletics,” said team captain Kristen Cooze. “It has been my dream to win a banner and I think our team has the potential to pull it off this year. It would definitely be a great way to end my five years here at Mt. A.” The season did not start off as they wanted. The Mounties hosted the Dalhousie Tigers in their home opener Friday night at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Center. The game started off well for the Mounties as they capitalized early on a wrist shot from the blue line that slid

through Tigers goalie Jeanne Morin. Mountie Defenceman Danielle Bourgeois scored the first goal of the young season, and Mackenzie Lalonde assisted. Early in the second period, Lalonde scored her first goal of the year to put the Mounties up 2-0. The play was back and forth before the turning point of the game, which saw the Tigers score three unanswered goals in under three minutes to take the lead going into the third period. “We started to get panicky in our defensive zone and that led to

numerous turnovers and Dalhousie just capitalized on the chances that they got. It was the turning point in the game,” said Cooze. The Mounties did not have any luck in the third, letting up two more goals while shorthanded to lose their opener 5-2. Bourgeois and Lalonde both had two points for the Mounties, while playoff hero and goaltender Kate O’Brien played well despite letting in five goals on twenty-six shots. On Saturday, Mt. A was at home once again. Although this time the game was played against the St. Thomas Univeristy Tommies, the result was no different. St. Thomas scored three goals in a two-minute stretch and never looked back, handing the Mounties an embarrassing 9-2 loss. Lalonde and Lindsay James scored the goals for the Mounties. The score did not tell the whole story of the game, as the Mounties outshot St. Thomas thirty-nine to thirty-seven. “We played hard, but we couldn’t capitalize on the amount of chances that we did have. Their goalie played real well and did a good job for the amount of shots we threw her way,” said Cooze, who had four shots in the contest, “All we can do is learn from our mistakes and move forward!” The Mounties will be looking for their first win of the season Saturday, Oct. 25 when they travel to St. FX to face the team they eliminated from the playoffs last season.


The Argosy

www.argosy.ca

NFL on Campus to visit Mt. A NFL Canada to donate $5,000 to Mt. A football program Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter

The NFL is touching down at Mt. A this week, and they are coming during a fever pitch of excitement surrounding the Mounties football program. Anticipation is very high for the Oct. 25 match-up between the Mounties and St. Francis Xavier X-Men, which could see Mt. A complete an unbeaten season for the first time. “It’s pretty cool to have it here now. It gives us a chance to end the season off in style,” said Mounties Running Back Chris Reid. NFL on Campus has already made its first nine stops of the year, and Mt. A will be the tenth and penultimate stop during the 2014 CIS season. Mounties players already got a little taste of what it’s all about last weekend, when the program landed in Acadia for the X-men’s homecoming. 2014 is the first year NFL on Campus has visited the Maritimes. The program, which was started to promote campus football across the country, has been active since 1997. “We are very pleased to expand the program outside of Ontario and Quebec for the first time ever,” said Dan Quinn, managing director of NFL Canada, in a press release. “NFL on Campus will offer the Mount Allison and Acadia communities a fan-friendly atmosphere that not

only allows us to meet and talk with local NFL fans, but also helps raise the profile of and excitement level for football on campus.” There are 27 CIS football programs in Canada and Mt. A is one of just ten to be picked this year by the NFL. The Mounties struggled for years, but their 2013 Uteck Bowl appearance put the team on the map, and this helped Mt. A land the program that will donate $5,000 to the football program. Once NFL Canada gets to Sackville on Wednesday, students will get the chance to participate in many activities such as playing NFL Plinko, Madden 2015, and a Punt, Pass, and Kick tournament. There are be prizes to be won at the scavenger hunt, as well as at the Thursday Night Football Party at The Pond. This event starts at 8 p.m. and will feature a screening of the weekly Thursday night NFL game. This week, the San Diego Chargers will face off against the Denver Broncos. The NFL’s presence has already been felt by some students who have participated in the ongoing coed flag football intramural league. The league’s fourteen teams from residences and off-campus play four or five games each in hope of advancing to the playoffs and winning the flag football championship. NFL Canada provided all equipment for the league, including t-shirts for every team as well as official NFL footballs. During the match between Mt. A and St. FX, NFL on Campus will host a number of activities, including a Combine Zone (you can compare your vertical and long jump distances with your NFL heros), Quarterback Challenge, Bungee Run, Tailgate Bean-Bag toss and a chance to get an authentic Lambeau Leap photo.

Sports in Brief Alex Bates

Buck scores first goal, women lose twice After a streak of five games where the Mount Allison Women’s Soccer Mounties did not lose a single game, they have been outscored 11-1 by opponents, losing their last three matches. A trip to Memorial University Oct. 18 and 19 resulted in disappointment for the squad. In the first game against the Sea-Hawks, the Mounties fell 4-0 to their opponents. The Sea-Hawks scored twice within the first six minutes of the game, and never looked back. Jesse Noseworthy scored twice for the Sea-Hawks in the win. The team attempted to re-group and took the field early Sunday morning to play Memorial once again, but the Sea-Hawks could not be overcome. The Sea-Hawks, at second place in the AUS standings, once again took advantage of the Mounties, scoring in the opening moments of play. Emma Bailey scored twice in the first half, and the Sea-Hawks scored twice more in the second half to open a commanding four-nil lead. Mt. A’s Courtney Buck scored in the eighty-fourth minute for the Mounties. Buck was substituted for Nicole Jollimore in the second half, and was able to put her attempt past Memorial’s Jaime Crocker for the Mounties. This was just Crocker’s fourth goal conceded in 2014. This was also Buck’s first ever goal in AUS action. This is her first year playing with the team. The Mounties will have a final home game against the Acadia Axe-Women on Friday, Oct. 24 on MacAulay Field. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m.

SPORTS

7

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8

THE NAMESAKES OF MT. A’S BUILDINGS

Mt. A’s campus buildings named for those who gave time, money Jean-Sébastien Comeau Cameron McIntyre Kevin Levangie Despite the variety of names gracing the buildings on Mount Allison’s campus, nearly half of those which bear names were financed and named for or by either the Bell family or Sidney A. Windsor. Nine of the 22 active buildings on campus named after individuals were primarily paid for by these two families, who have donated large

Convocation Hall and the music conservatory - Marjorie Young (Smith) Bell Born in Moncton, New Brunswick, in 1894, Marjorie Young Bell was Ralph Pickard Bell’s second wife. Her parents, John William Young Smith and Cornelia deLancey (Robinson) Smith were wealthy and influential, and left their fortunes to Marjorie on their deaths in 1936 and 1940 respectly. At the time of their marriage in 1944 in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Ralph and Marjorie both had sizable fortunes. When Young Bell died in 1964, she left a large bequest to the university, which was managed by Ralph until his death. Both Convocation Hall and the music conservatory bear her name.

October 23, 2014

argosy@mta.ca

Teachers and industrialists: the people behind sums of money to the university over the years. Of these 22 buildings, 18 are named after benefactors or their families. Four bear the names of prominent faculty, all of whom were either professors of mathematics or science. None of the buildings are named after staff. Five buildings on campus are named after women. Two of the buildings are named for Marjorie Young Bell, and the other three are named after some of Windsor’s female relatives. Windsor, and his foundation, which continued his charitable work after his death, naming North side buildings after female family members from both sides of his family. Below are biographical details of the people after whom the buildings are named.

Library - Ralph Pickard Bell Ralph Pickard Bell was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on March 28, 1886, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Allison College in 1907. The PickardBell family was noted for its long history of involvement with the institution, and Ralph’s mother, Mary Emrancy Pickard, taught at the Female Academy. He eventually became the first Chancellor of Mt. A University in 1960, remaining in office until 1968. After moving out west to work for the Fairbanks company, the couple returned home to Halifax in 1910. From then on, Bell was involved in the management of the family business, A.M. Bell and Company, Limited, until 1913, when he became involved in the Nova Scotia Good Roads Association. After leaving the family business, Bell became involved in land speculation throughout the development of Halifax’s Rosebank Park. Bell served as Secretary of the Halifax Relief Commission in the wake of the 1917 Halifax explosion, and as the Director General for Aircraft Production in Canada from 1940-1944. It is following his tenure at the Halifax Relief Commission that he became heavily involved with the Canadian Pulpwood Association. Bell married Marjorie Young Smith, a second marriage for both of them, in 1944. Bell became Mt. A’s first chancellor in 1960. The Ralph Pickard Bell Library, opened in 1971, was named after him. Bell died March 3, 1975 at his home, ‘High Head,’ at Murder Point in Lunenberg County, N.S.

Hart Hall - Jairus Hart The construction of Hart Hall was funded by Jairus Hart, born March 1st, 1819 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia to Tyrus and Margaret (Hull) Hart. Merchant and philanthropist of the late 19th century, he helped establish Young & Hart, one of the “largest flour and West India concerns in the Provinces.” Following his retirement from active business, he held office as director, and then president, of the Bank of Nova Scotia. With a fortune worth nearly half a million dollars, Hart was one of Halifax’s wealthiest citizens. Upon his death in 1906, as one of Halifax’s oldest citizens, he requested in his will that $20,000 from his estate be donated the establishment of a Ladies College in Sackville, N.B. Hart Hall, which opened in 1910, originally held classrooms and dorm rooms. An addition was made to the building in 1920. Barclay Building - Ross Barclay Lawrence Ross Coates Barclay was born on Oct. 24, 1928 in Wentworth, N.S. He attended Mount Allison University, and graduated with a BSc. in Honours Chemistry in 1950 and an MSc. in 1951. He obtained a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from McMaster University in 1957. He was originally appointed as a lecturer in Chemistry at Mount Allison University in 1951 and went on to be a Carnegie Professor of Chemistry and the Head of the Department (1967-1982). He retired from teaching in 1994. That same year the Chemistry building was renamed the Barclay building in his honour. The following year he was made a professor emeritus at the spring convocation in 1995 and continues to serve as a University Research Professor. He was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in 2000. He resides in Sackville, New Brunswick. Portraits clockwise from top left: Ralph Pickard Bell, Sydney A. Windsor, Purdy Crawford, Ross Flemington, Marjorie Young Bell. All portraits (Archival Photo/Mount Allison Archives)

Crabtree Building Harold Crabtree Harold Roy Crabtree was born on March 2, 1918 in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Harold and Louisa Alberta (Stafford) Crabtree. He graduated from Lower Canada College and received his BSc from McGill University in 1939. During the Second World War, he joined the Canadian Army and served as an officer overseas and was appointed an honorary colonel of the Royal Canadian Hussars of Montreal. He began his business career in 1956 with the Woods Manufacturing Company; within ten years, he was elected chairman and president. He held directorships in the Bank of Montreal, the Montreal Trust Company and Sun Life Assurance Company, along with various other Canadian companies. He served on the Board of Governors of Sir George Williams and Bishops Universities and the Board of Regents of Mount Allison University. In 1968, he became Mt. A’s second chancellor and assumed these functions until 1977. Crabtree married Caroline Ruth Hanna in 1945; they had three children, Sandra, Bruce and Stafford. Dr. Crabtree died on June 2, 1986.

Flemington Building - Ross Flemington Dedicated on Oct. 21, 1931, before being renamed in 1970 to the William Thomas Ross Flemington Building, Flemington is named after Ross Flemington, a long time member of the Mount Allison community. Flemington grew up in Newfoundland before moving to Fredericton to attend high school. Following graduation, he went on to graduate from Mt. A with an honours degree in Biology in 1922. He further pursued graduate studies at Mount Allison. Flemington held a teaching position from 1922 until 1939, lecturing in the Education Faculty. In the meantime, he was made headmaster of the Mount Allison Academy in 1930 and held this position until 1945. It was in 1945 that he went on to become president of Mount Allison University, remaining in office until 1962. Described as a masterful public speaker, Flemington held many positions outside of Mount Allison. He was President of the National Conference of Canadian Universities and of the Canadian Universities Foundation, Director of Education in the External Aid Office of the Department of External Affairs, Royal Commissioner and New Brunswick Ombudsman. Flemington was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, and “Principal Protestant Chaplain Overseas” during World War II. Flemington is buried in the Sackville Rural Cemetery on York Street.


The Argosy

THE NAMESAKES OF MT. A’S BUILDINGS

www.argosy.ca

d Mount Allison’s building names on campus

The Centre for the Arts - Purdy Crawford Purdy Crawford was born in 1931 in Five Islands, Nova Scotia and earned a bachelor of arts degree from Mount Allison in 1952. Following his time at Mt. A, he went on to earn a law degree at Dalhousie University before going on to complete a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School in 1956. After a stint working in his field of study, it was in 1987 that Crawford became chief executive of Imasco Ltd. which, at the time, held Imperial Tobacco, Canada Trust and Shoppers Drug Mart. He was Mount Allison’s fifth chancellor. The recently opened Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts bears his name.

Student Centre - Wallace McCain Wallace McCain, born in Florenceville, N.B. on April 9, 1930, was the co-founder of McCain Foods Limited. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Allison in 1951. His estimated net worth of $US 2.3 billion as of March 2011 made him the country’s 13th richest individual. Margaret McCain, Wallace’s wife, also earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Mt. A. She was New Brunswick’s first female Lieutenant Governor from 1994 to 1997, and prior to that, chancellor of Mt. A from 1986 to 1994. George J. Trueman, after whom Trueman House was named, was her great uncle. The Wallace McCain Student Centre occupies the extensively renovated Trueman House. The exterior has been relatively untouched, while the interior was completely revamped. Headquartered in FlorencevilleBristol, N.B., McCain Foods is one of the world’s largest producer of french fries and oven-ready frozen products.

Campbell Hall - Sarah Campbell Campbell Hall was built in 2004, replacing the long-standing Palmer Hall, which had been built in 1934. The newest residence on campus is named after Sarah Campbell, Sidney Windsor’s great grandmother. This “completed the circle,” according to the Windsor Foundation, both of North Side buildings, and of naming residences after Windsor’s female ancestors. The cost of $13.75 million was funded entirely by the Windsor Foundation. The university’s 15th residence, it is the fifth building to be built on this location: fire destroyed the first three buildings in 1866, 1882 and 1933, when it belonged to the Mount Allison Academy. Thornton House - O.B. Thornton Edwards and Thornton House were built simultaneously in 1969. Funding of $1.2 million was provided by the Windsor Foundation, which covered the entirety of the costs. Edwards was named after Sidney A. Windsor’s maternal great grandmother, while Thornton was named after the late O.B. Thornton, first president of the Windsor Foundation. Bigelow House - Harold E. Bigelow Bigelow was named after Harold E. Bigelow, professor of chemistry at Mount Allison from 1914 to 1947 and Dean of Men. “His work in chemical research is recognized the world over,” according to the town of Sackville’s website. He is buried in the Sackville Rural Cemetery on York Street.

9

Windsor Hall and the Windsor Quad - Sidney A. Windsor To this day, Sidney A. Windsor’s Windsor Foundation remains one of Mount Allison’s primary benefactors. A native of Miscou Harbour, N.B., Windsor attended the Mount Allison Boys’ Academy from 1907-08 to complete his studies at Mount Allison between 1908-09. Windsor made the bulk of his fortune in the canning industry.

at the time of his death, on Sept 18, 1960, he was president of the Windsor Canning Company. He remained a bachelor throughout the course of his life. The Windsor Foundation has funded a majority of the residences across campus. The distinction between “halls” and “houses” had nothing to do with the size of the building: houses hosted men, while halls hosted women.

Dunn Building - Sir James Dunn Opened on Oct. 14, 2000, it is named after Sir James Hammet Dunn, first Baronet of Bathurst. Dunn was born on Oct. 29, 1874 in St-Peters, on the outskirts of Bathurst, N.B. After completing his law degree at Dalhousie university in 1899, he went on to become an influential stockbroker on the Montreal Stock Exchange. In 1905, Dunn set up residency in London, one of the era’s most important financial markets. He had long lasting relationships with a number of the era’s influential artists, including Salvador Dalí and Augustus John. Many of these portraits, including Dalí’s portrait of Dunn and Marcia Anastasia Christoforides, his third wife, are exhibited at Fredericton’s Beaverbrook Gallery. In fact, Dunn maintained a strong friendship with Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook. Many post-secondary institutions across the Maritimes have buildings bearing Dunn’s name.

Harper Hall - Ella Harper Harper, built in 1965, was named after Sidney A. Windsor’s mother, Ella Harper.

Jennings Hall - Susan Jennings Jennings Hall, otherwise known as ‘meal hall,’ was named after Susan Jennings, Sidney Windsor’s maternal grandmother. It was completed in 1965. Owens Art Gallery - John Owens The Owens Art Gallery, opened in 1894, originated with an agreement between Mount Allison and John Owens, a successful ship builder and operator of allied commercial enterprises. Owens pledged to donate his collection to any institution that agreed to provide a building to house the pieces, along naming the building the Owens Museum of Fine Arts. His collection consisted of mostly 18th and 19th century European and North American art.

Bennett House - R. V. Bennett Facing York Street is Bennett House, named after the primary donor, Captain Ronald V. Bennett. Built in concert with Bigelow House, its neighbouring residence, it opened in 1959. Bennett was the brother of R.B. Bennett, who was prime minister from 1930 to 1935. Hunton House - Sidney Hunton Hunton House is named after Sidney Hunton, professor of mathematics at Mount Allison. He retired in 1933, after fifty-one years of teaching. Born in Ottawa, he studied at McGill before moving to Sackville. Hunton was awarded an honorary degree from the university for his many accomplishments. For the majority of his career, Hunton was the only professor of mathematics at Mt. A. He passed away in 1941; he is buried in the Sackville Rural Cemetery.

Buildings from top left: Hart Hall, Harper Hall, Windsor Hall, Campbell Hall, Flemington Building, Avard-Dixon Building (Jean-Sébastien Comeau/Argosy)


ARTS&CULTURE Reviews

October 23, 2014

A fresh take on vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive adds depth to tired genre Allison Grogan

Coyote – Proof of Life (Fountain Pop Records, Sept. 9)

As evidenced on their new album, Proof of Life, Coyote has mastered the holy triumvirate of pop music: catchy licks, smooth harmonies, and pulsing rhythms. Combining keyboard-driven riffs with misty and powerful vocals, the Charlottetown-based group exemplifies the indie pop genre while bringing something fresh to the table. The album begins explosively with “Your House,” immediately immersing the listener in the band’s addictive sound. The next two tracks, “Old News” and “Melody/Harmony,” take things down a couple of notches with a cool, jazzy feel and a focus on guitar. Notable tracks include “Future Love,” easily the album’s strongest recording. Starting small with syncopated intervals and swelling to a satisfying climax, this inspiring tune is perfect for a quick self-esteem boost. Overall, I encourage you to check out this album. With such a complex and diverse sound, Proof of Life is sure to stick in your memory and become a staple of your music library. – Daniel Marcotte

argosy@mta.ca

Just when you thought that all possible avenues for vampire movies were exhausted, we are greeted by yet another tale of the ageless undead. Contrasting the nuances of trivial human life with big-picture immortality, Only Lovers Left Alive explores the ongoing romance of two vampires whose relationship has spanned many centuries. Sackville Film Society’s latest screening follows the everlasting relationship of the not-so-subtly named Adam and Eve. Biblical motifs carry throughout the film, and if nothing else, these themes make their story all the more abstract and distant. What differentiates the story of Adam and Eve from a lot of contemporary vampire films is that it does not show the beginning or the end of their relationship. Because the

Adam and Eve, the film’s vampiric protagonists, enjoy some quality time at a dingy nightclub in Detroit. (Jim Jarmusch/Recorded Picture Company) audience knows that they’ve been together for hundreds of years and will be together for many more, the film is merely a snippet of a relationship unbound by the restrictions of time. This does not stop the pair from experiencing struggles in their relationship. While immortality may have its perks, it is clear that Adam has grown depressed and even suicidal, a situation which Eve tries to

mend. In addition to mental illness, the film also makes allusions to drug use by exploring how these particular vampires acquire blood and feed. For example, the few human characters in the film serve only as “dealers” for the vampires. Adam even refers to O negative as “the good stuff,” and after drinking blood from fancy glassware, the vampires appear in a trance or even high.

A major component of the film that successfully brought the whole project together was the score. Adam’s music is a big part of his character, and the film gave him a bit more depth by including the music that he composed. The score also facilitates the transitions back and forth between Tangier and Detroit, combining Moroccan music and rock and roll. There is also an edginess about the score that reflects both the landscape of a desolate Detroit and Adam’s sinking mental state. Only Lovers Left Alive also maintains a stagnant pace that suits its setting and subject matter. Because the story is a glimpse into the long lives of vampires, there are no real climactic plot points, but rather a series of events that continue to progress without any foreseeable conclusion. Whereas most stories in this genre feature a human lead that encounters a vampire and possibly even falls in love, this film offers no human perspective by which to place oneself. By omitting this human perspective, Only Lovers Left Alive tells a familiar gothic tale that leaves viewers to ponder the undead in a unique and exciting way.

Forbes holds first solo show Exhibition plays with medium and message Daniel Marcotte

Arts & Culture Editor

Gravity Falls (The Disney Channel) Being a young adult with a generally unusual taste in entertainment, my eyeballs receive a steady diet of cartoons. These are my thoughts on one of them. Gravity Falls follows Dipper Pines and his twin sister Mabel, who are sent off to live with their Great Uncle “Grunkle” Stan. Soon after arriving, Dipper finds a journal in the woods describing the unexplained events in the town, and thus the adventure of the Pines twins begins. When watching the show, the first thing that got my attention was its theme song: a wordless yet excessively catchy tune. The show also contains a diverse array of jokes that range from silly to witty. Each character has a different personality and charm, with the continuous narrative and subplots providing suspense and anticipation for future episodes. Easter eggs and cultural references are icing on the animated cake. Gravity Falls is a fun, unique and surprisingly intelligent show. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cartoons. – Gabriel Christie

As Marshall McLuhan once famously said, “The medium is the message.”This sentiment is shared by fourth-year fine arts student Kyle Forbes, whose work with both prints and electronic media explores the distillation of complex meaning into a single, simple form. Forbes’ exhibition, “I Don’t Even Know// Where to Begin,” was recently featured at START Gallery. Through a series of silkscreen prints that depict various scenes of nature and travel, Forbes conveys a sense of remoteness and isolation. Rather than working with a complex colour palette or abstract visuals, Forbes prefers to keep things simple by using accessible, geometric patterns and relatable images. Forbes enjoys the solitude that comes with long hours in the print shop, and sees this as conducive to creative inspiration and activity. Some of his works, like Surrounded and House in the woods, were even inspired by summers spent in quiet contemplation at home or outside. “[I like to find] that weird line between feeling isolated and alone, but also using that time to be pensive,” said Forbes during an interview. One of the pieces in the exhibition, entitled What can hurt you the most, was created using a combination of lithography and screen printing. Forbes discussed the organic process of making the piece and the nuances

Forbes stands with his exhibition, “I Don’t Even Know// Where to Begin,” in START Gallery. (Chris Donovan/Argosy) and imperfections that are a natural product of lithography. “You come in with a certain amount of the image, and the stone brings the rest,” said Forbes, after describing the labour-intensive process that goes into each print. “I like working with that unpredictability.” Forbes’s exhibition also included two electronic installments. The first, entitled AL1, was an audio piece that further contributed to the theme of solitude. The piece features audio recordings of background noise in places where Forbes is routinely alone, such as the library, the print shop, or his car. “You don’t really notice that you’re by yourself until you listen, and you hear the absence of noise,” said Forbes.

“In acknowledging the silence, you hear new things.” The second electronic piece, entitled Can you hear me now?, consisted of a television screen depicting a single, blinking light. It flashed in Morse code, and Forbes included a guide for translating the message. It turns out, however, that his message was an illusion, as it translated to nonsensical Latin. “It’s just meaningless text,” said Forbes, noting that this clever trick on his viewers also carried a deeper implication for art interpretation. “People are constantly trying to make sense of everything and find patterns in things,” said Forbes. “I really liked the idea of people trying to translate something that had no meaning. They

thought it said something important, but it didn’t.” Originally from Fredericton, Forbes is in his third year at Mount Allison and his fourth attending university. He initially dabbled in graphic design, but discovered a passion for printmaking and he stuck with it. Rather than taking a planned or systematic approach to art, Forbes prefers to let ideas come impulsively and take form in a natural manner, which is reflected in the title of the exhibition. “It’s about accepting that I don’t have to have a beginning,” said Forbes. “[When I create art], I feel like I’m starting in the middle and working my way out. I don’t know what I’m going to make until I’ve made it.”


The Argosy

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ARTS & CULTURE

Sackville artists open studios to the public Tour offers glimpse into artistic process Michael Dover

Arts & Culture Reporter Sackville is a town with a diverse artistic scene, a rare blessing in such a small community. However, our four galleries and frequent visits from artists all over the country sometimes overshadow the local artists and artisans who live and work in Sackville year round. To remedy this oversight, the town of Sackville presents “Art Across the Marsh,” an annual studio tour that allows curious students and locals to explore the great art being created in our own backyards. This year, the event encompassed nineteen studios and over twenty artists working in mediums ranging from printmaking to pottery. Indu Varma is one such artist, a Sackville local and retired school teacher who creates sculpture, paintings, and block prints from her Salt Marsh Studio on Wellington Street.

Onlookers inspect Kaeli Cook’s pottery. Her Sackville studio was one of many stops along the tour. (Chris Donovan/Argosy) Varma’s work encompasses a wide range of different mediums and styles to explore familial relationships and the unique worldview of children. Varma is particularly proud of her recent series of prints entitled “Lessons Learned from Six Year Olds.” She conceived of the series two years ago after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Varma was overcome by the

idea that such tragedies could be avoided with better mental health awareness and services. To this end, all the proceeds from the sale of the prints will go towards the Atlantic Wellness Centre. Each print in the series was inspired by conversations with Varma’s grandchildren or with the children of friends, and mix realistic depictions of children at play with abstract patterns

and shapes. Margret Anne Capper is another local artist whose broad spectrum of work incorporates a variety of different styles and themes. An accomplished potter, she has been working exclusively with clay since graduating from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Her early work features flowing, abstract patterns that range from the figurative

to the Pollock-esque. These striking images were created by applying ink directly to liquid clay before it had been fired in a kiln, and mirror the gravitydefying undulations in the physical structure of her pieces. Her recent pieces are created by pressing textural patterns onto the clay. The resulting images range from geometric forms reminiscent of Mayan temples to representational

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depictions of plants and other natural themes. Angela Thibodeau was one of the younger artists on the tour, a proud Mount Allison alumna who works from her home and studio on Bridge Street. Thibodeau initially worked with oils, but is currently exploring the possibilities of combining black ink with watercolour. This unique mix of media allows her to contrast her bold yet delicately layered depictions of cloudy sky, barren marsh, and craggy wilderness with detailed, hyper-realist drawings of man-made structures, such as Sackville’s historic American Gothic homes or looming electrical towers. The resulting paintings illustrate the curious relationship between the concrete and synthetic realms of human society and the ethereal power of a traditional landscape. The event took place on Oct. 18 and 19, and showcased galleries from Sackville to Dorchester, N.B. to Jolicure, N.B. Most of the artists have private local galleries where their work can be viewed and purchased throughout the year.

Playwright collects Pat LePoidevin brings solo acoustic talent to historic venue cultural narratives Beloved performer returns home Amanda Cormier

Arts & Culture Reporter Imagine going to a concert and seeing only one musician on stage, and yet hearing three or four voices singing at once. It might sound strange, but that was the exact experience that Pat LePoidevin provided last Wednesday at the Sackville Music Hall. LePoidevin, a celebrated musician and Mount Allison alumnus, performed alone and equipped with a few instruments: a guitar, a ukulele, two microphones, and a looper pedal. With these tools, he recorded a song on stage as he played it, in a way that was both complex and beautiful to witness. LePoidevin recorded a particular strumming pattern, and then played the recording back while playing along with a new strumming pattern. He repeated this process several times until eventually, the audience could hear three or four layers of music that blended together flawlessly— all done with a single guitar. He used this same method to record different vocal parts,

LePoidevin serenades an enthusiastic audience in the dimly-lit atmosphere of the Sackville Music Hall. (Chris Donovan/Argosy) ultimately harmonizing with his own recorded voice. The result was an auditory illusion: had I heard the music without seeing the stage, I would have thought that there were multiple musicians playing the different parts. Even while watching the show, it was sometimes hard to tell which part he was actually playing at any given moment, as opposed to what was already recorded. LePoidevin’s unique folk sound, combined with the dim lighting, created a soft

yet powerful atmosphere. Compared to many Sackville concerts, the audience was relatively large and enthusiastic; many of them had obviously seen him before or knew him personally, which further demonstrated his closeness to the Sackville community. In turn, he spoke to the audience casually throughout the show, even taking the opportunity to poke some fun at the current midterm period. “You should all come over… unless you have a midterm tomorrow morning, in which

case you should come over anyway,” he joked in reference to the after-party, which took place at Thunder & Lightning. LePoidevin treated the Sackville audience to a brand new song. “We’ll see what happens,” he said just before playing. He played two sets, with a 15-minute intermission during which people could buy merchandise. He ended each set with an acoustic song. For this, he would take the guitar or ukulele and come down to the floor, playing right in front of the audience. Because his playing style has a wonderful and unique sound, LePoidevin’s acoustic performances are thoroughly enjoyable. Without all the other recordings, I could focus on his voice and strumming patterns in their natural states. This method, I found, made it much easier to really appreciate the complexity of his voice and, in particular, his vocal range. The fact that there was very little lighting where he stood added to the organic, intimate feeling of the acoustic performance. There is something that is indescribably special about Pat LePoidevin’s music. Prior to this concert, I had never listened to his music, and yet somehow his presence felt pleasantly familiar. His songs tell stories of nostalgia, family, love, and other themes that can strike a chord with anyone who is willing to listen.

Buenaventura celebrates oral traditions Amanda Cormier

Arts & Culture Reporter “The first step to becoming a storyteller is to listen,” says Nicolás Buenaventura, a Colombian script-writer, film director, and actor. Celebrated internationally for creating performances based on myths and stories from Latin America, India, and Africa, Buenaventura brought his international experiences to Sackville last week with a performance of Maestra Palabra, or “Master Word.” Buenaventura is an expert in the art of oral storytelling. Although based on his own publications and collected stories from many languages around the world, the performance retained an improvisational element that is central to oral expression. In addition to his passionate manner of speaking, Buenaventura also used a few unique instruments to enhance the storytelling. For example, in a story about two frogs, he used a jaw harp to make a “boing” sound, like frogs hopping along. Other instruments, like singing bowls, were used to create different sound effects

and moods to accompany the stories. Buenaventura emphasized the importance of music as a method of communication and as a language in itself. “Before language, there was music,” he said during the question period following his performance. The last section of Thursday’s performance, a story from Mi’kmaq oral tradition, was spoken entirely in Spanish with a brief introduction in French. Buenaventura used a singing bowl and other nonverbal cues that conveyed the melancholic yet serene emotional context of the story. Overall, the performance was beautiful, engaging, and eye-opening. Because Buenaventura has explored a wide diversity of languages and cultures, his method of storytelling is a powerful way of relaying these experiences. By sharing and telling stories from different cultures, writers like Buenaventura spark discourse about oral traditions and cultural memory. Presented by Mount Allison’s Department of Modern Languages, the performances catered to speakers of two different languages: the performance on Thursday, Oct. 16 was done almost entirely in French with a section of Spanish at the end, and Friday’s performance was entirely in Spanish.


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

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Thursday, October 23, 2014 volume 144 issue 7 Since 1872 Circulation 1,700

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

506 364 2236

Email argosy@mta.ca

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

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

ISSN 0837-1024

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

editorialstaff

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Richard Kent

OPINIONS EDITOR Tessa Dixon

MANAGING EDITOR Allison O’Reilly

SPORTS EDITOR Alex Bates

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Cameron McIntyre

HUMOUR EDITOR Taylor Losier

­­­NEWS EDITOR

ONLINE EDITOR Sam Moore

Kevin Levangie

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Daniel Marcotte

productionstaff

­­­

SCIENCE EDITOR Vacant

PRODUCTION MANAGER Vacant

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Chris Donovan

PHOTO EDITOR Sarah Richardson

PHOTOGRAPHERS Chris Donovan

COPY EDITORS Rachelle Ann Tan

ILLUSTRATOR Vacant

reportingstaff NEWS REPORTERS Jean-Sébastien Comeau Tyler Stuart

ARTS REPORTERS Amanda Cormier Michael Dover

POLITICS REPORTER Willa McCaffrey-Noviss

SCIENCE REPORTER Clay Steell

SPORTS REPORTER Benjamin Foster

operationsstaff BUSINESS MANAGER Gil Murdock

IT MANAGER Vacant

OFFICE MANAGER Alex Lepianka

CIRCULATIONS Vacant

contributors Samuel Clements, Shane Grogan, Graham May, Madalon Bur-

nett, Paul Lynch, Marya Peters, Patrick Allaby, Allison Grogan, Gabriel Christie, Sylvan Hamburger, Chad Morash, Joanna Perkin, Kyle Forbes

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

disclaimers and copyright The Argosy is the official independent student journal of news, opinion, and the arts, written, edited and funded by the students of Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of The Argosy’s staff or its Board of Directors. The Argosy is published weekly throughout the academic year by Argosy Publications Inc. Student contributions in the form of letters, articles, photography, graphic 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.

October 23, 2014

The politics of ‘being right’ It’s important to talk with people – not at them Willa McCaffrey-Noviss Politics Reporter

Advanced polls opened this past Tuesday for residents of the Greater Toronto Area to vote for a mayor, a school board trustee and a city councilor. Toronto mayoral elections have become a hot topic among Toronto and general Canadian youth, especially in light of Rob Ford’s scandalous behavior. I recently voted in advanced polling, which sparked conversations about politics among my friends and family. Political debates cover some of the most heated topics. A person’s political beliefs tend to parallel their morals. Political discussion is often skewed with fancy garble that confuses or embarrasses people into silence, but politics isn’t as complicated as it is made out to be. Political ideologies are essentially the way in which someone wants

the world to work. When you attack someone’s political schemas, you are attacking their character, judgment, and all that they stand for and pretty serious arguments can stem from that. Growing up in Toronto, I was surrounded by people that were typically politically left leaning. An NDP voter in Toronto usually supports initiatives such as government subsidized housing, increased spending for the arts and further increasing some of Toronto’s high taxes. To break this down a bit, an NDP voter generally believes in higher taxes for the wealthier residents in order to reduce the financial stresses of the less wealthy. In high school, students said that they would never associate with a right wing person because they ‘couldn’t understand’ how someone could have such selfish world views. Although my teachers were not as bold, they would often smile in agreement. Outside of school, the people in my life generally held entirely different views. They often dug into the school system’s cushiony pension plans for teachers and viewed arts as a hobby rather than a career. I often heard them remark that people should never expect handouts and work for everything they had. On many occasions, I tried to talk to classmates, teachers and my family

about different political perspectives. This was greeted with a lot of eyerolling and scoffing, followed by a loud and defensive statement as to why what I just said was ridiculous. When their immediate responses were that dismissive, I could tell there was no room for active listening. Is it more important to learn something or prove that you’re right? Political ideologies are so close to our hearts that people are consumed with being right and defending themselves to the point that they can’t even entertain another possibility. In heated political debates, a common tactic is to talk at someone, rather than have productive two-sided discussion. This is usually done in a raised, defensive tone of voice with the hope of possibly changing someone’s mind. In an ideal world, we would be less concerned with being ‘right’ and more interested in learning from one another. In reality, however, we are hypocritical. We are far too concerned with the notion of sacrificing our opinions to hear others, rather than focusing on what we will gain from learning about new ideals or perspectives. We say that we respect other people’s opinions and want to have balanced debates–we are more interested in hearing what we have to say than pursuing more information or understanding new insights.

argosy@mta.ca

Letter to the editor

This past week here in Sackville, I attended a wonderful public presentation: one of the Canadian series of The Walrus Talks. “The Art Of Conversation” was hosted by Mount Allison University. Seven prominent Canadian women each related meaningful thoughts on certain conversations. It was well worth the $10 ticket. However, I wonder if the organizers are aware that their sponsor, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, is very heavily threatening the future of New Brunswick. The only conversation that CAPP offers is the highly controversial one that leads to the development of the unconventional shale gas (fracking) industry here in our beautiful province. Enbridge Gas (full page ad in the current Walrus) is currently suing the New Brunswick government for $7,500,000. Corridor Resources is currently suing our province for $100,000. I enjoyed listening to “The Art Of Conversation” and congratulate the organizers for bringing such a wonderful, thoughtful group of women together. For the sake of our next generations, it is critical to divest of fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy. Meredith Fisher Sackville, N.B.

A dignified death is a right Terminally ill people should have the choice to die Samuel Clements Gloria Taylor, an elderly woman from British Columbia, died peacefully in 2012 in a hospital bed surrounded by both a friend and family member. While her simple, dignified passing may seem mundane and commonplace, this notion could not be farther from the truth. Taylor, who had been suffering from ALS – a neuromuscular disease – is to this day the only Canadian ever to be given the right to die with dignity in the country. However, this unique position may soon change, with the recent appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on the issue of physician-assisted death. This appeal aims to give consenting adults with irreversible medical conditions the right to ask a doctor for assistance in ending their lives. This advocates for what would be a positive change in Canadian policy. ‘The right to die,’ as advocates for the appeal call it, coincides with section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, guaranteeing the rights to their life, liberty and security. It protects a

The law on physician-assisted death is in the process of appeal in the Supreme Court. (Colin Rose/Wikimedia) person’s independence and personal legal rights from the actions of the government. A consenting adult with irreversible illnesses, therefore, should be permitted to decide how and when they wish their life to end. If a person has a right to their life – as they should – then they should have the liberty of deciding how and when that life will end. In making this choice it must be remembered that the patient not only chooses how and when to die, but also how they will be remembered and how they will say goodbye to the ones they love. This is not to say that all terminally ill people will choose to

die, but it will give them the option they deserve to do so if they wish. Twenty years ago, ALS sufferer Sue Rodriguez asked, “Whose body is this? Who owns my life?” She asked these questions as a plea, seeking to be given the right to own her own life and the ability to consent to its end. Now, these questions are being asked once more and the Supreme Court should respond accordingly with respect to an individual’s right to die with dignity, free of suffering. The Supreme Court should enforce Canadian values that support those who wish to die with dignity rather than those who would see the ill

rendered unable to make decisions regarding the circumstances of their lives and deaths. If a person wishes to end their suffering and die in the arms of loved ones with dignity and acceptance, there is no reason why the Canadian government should continue to hold that out of their reach. All Canadians are promised this in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and I hope that soon the Supreme Court delivers on that promise.


The Argosy

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OPINIONS

CAPP has no place at The Walrus Talks Petroleum producers had nothing to do with the theme of talk Graham May There’s an ideological war being waged across Canada – it has even reached Sackville. If you don’t know who CAPP is, you’re probably a target. Last week’s Discourse and Dynamics conference kicked off with a surprise appearance from Canada’s biggest oil and gas lobby group. Among the first speakers at The Walrus Talks, the conference’s opening event, was a friendlylooking woman from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. She was given about five minutes to explain how the oil and gas industry is “constantly engaged in conversations” with the Canadian public. CAPP was also the only funder verbally thanked at the end of the event. CAPP has almost nothing to add

The Walrus Talks kicked off the Discourse and Dynamics conference last week. (Chris Donavan/Argosy) to a conversation about “Canadian women as public intellectuals,” the theme of the conference. According to their website, CAPP is “the voice of Canada’s upstream oil and natural gas industry,” a coalition of petroleum extraction companies in the oil sands and elsewhere. CAPP lobbies the Canadian government and public on behalf of its members, such as Shell, Syncrude, and ExxonMobil. Presumably, to be given such prominent time at the mic, CAPP must have been a major funder of The Walrus Talks. A quick browse

through any volume of The Walrus magazine, and it becomes clear that CAPP also spends a lot of advertising budget there. Why would CAPP target The Walrus and Mount Allison? They are both fairly liberal institutions – a strange relationship for a Calgarybased gang of oil barons. The Walrus’ audience was mostly comprised of well-educated, upper-middle class and thoughtful people. They are not deeply engaged in environmental issues, the ‘Canadian political class,’ if you will. Interestingly, this is the same

demographic that many (though not all) Mt. A students fit into. If I were an oil company executive, these are the people I’d want to access in a onesided “conversation,” for which the talk provided an opportunity. Should events on campus and by extension our university, accept strings-attached money from Big Bitumen? It’s not uncommon for Mt. A groups to turn down oil sands money. EcoAction, for example, has repeatedly refused Enbridge’s offers to fund the annual Campus Climate Challenge. It’s also becoming

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common for universities to pull their money from fossil fuels, which are sometimes seen as risky and unethical investments. Last May, Stanford announced its divestment from coal, joining twelve other US colleges that have voluntarily shifted their endowments away from fossil energy. The movement went global just this month, with divestment announced at the University of Glasgow and Australian National University. There’s a student club on campus lobbying Mt. A to become the Canadian leader in divestment. Do you agree with CAPP’s onesided “conversation?” Are the oil sands a safe, sustainable, ethical resource which should be exploited with both hands? I’m not unbiased. I think the oil sands are a pollution-intensive, human rights abusing, boomand-bust economy with industryset regulations, catastrophically deficient infrastructure with a high concentration of deformed fish (just ask aboriginal groups living downstream). Although, I’m not the one CAPP is trying to convince. You are. So don’t take my word for it and don’t take CAPP’s. The Oil Sands are going to fundamentally change Canada’s future. Make up your own mind about them; if you don’t, CAPP will gladly make it up for you.

The dangerous culture of censorship Universities should be bastions of free speech Shane Grogan In 2006, Canadian journalist Ezra Levant published the infamous Danish Mohammed cartoons in an Alberta-based newsmagazine, depicting, among other things, a Muslim man with a headdress shaped like a bomb. Levant was subjected to multiple complaints from the Alberta Human Rights Commission for “exposing a person to hatred and contempt” before enduring a nearly three-year battle with the provincial government. He was not promoting the cartoons’ hateful messages, however. He printed the cartoons to demonstrate his concerns that democracy is undermining free speech. Since then, I wish I could say that such cases were fewer and further between. The simple truth is that offending someone is grounds for punishment or a lawsuit in Canada through the guise of defamation. In a country praised for fantastic progress in the realm of gay rights and fostering a general culture of openness, what was once tolerance has since digressed into widespread condescension. Unfortunately, it has now manifested itself through law enforcement.

Ezra Levant has raised concerns over free speech infringement. (Raj Taneja/Flickr) Of course, this dilemma derives from Canada’s lack of a robust free speech clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, whose first section explicitly grants Parliament the ability to restrict Charter rights. This leads to a culture of overbearing political correctness in which those who speak against popular conceptions of right and wrong are not only chastised, but also prosecuted. In April 2014,

Christian activist Peter LaBarbara – in a completely non-violent protest at the University of Regina – publicly professed his views on abortion and homosexuality. He was subsequently taken away in handcuffs, but not without the applause of many students. Such is the double standard we have accepted in today’s society: we have become tolerant of all people

except those who are deemed ‘intolerant,’ merely based on their personal opinions. This dangerous culture of censorship exists not just because it has the law on its side, but because it has college campuses nodding in agreement. It is thus no surprise that in September 2013, Maclean’s Magazine cited a report from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms concluding that twentythree of forty-five selected Canadian universities received an ‘F’ in free speech. With young social justice warriors abound, university campuses across Canada are supporting this crackdown on supposed dissenters. In 2014, Ryerson students attempted to form a men’s rights group, only for student politicians to nip it in the bud. In 2011, Youth Protecting Youth, a pro-life group at the University of Victoria, was accused of “harassment” by the Student Society for demonstrating with signs featuring images of aborted fetuses. Two years later, they were barred from protesting altogether. This dissent is not limited to organized events. In this new era of trigger warnings being incorporated into course syllabi, in which being offended by someone’s indirect speech is grounds for legal action, dissenters are more vulnerable than ever. At this rate, it should be clear that this is as much a fault of culture as it is one of public policy. Instead of accepting that there are points of view with which people will take offence or disagree with, we as a nation have accepted that free speech is equivalent to harassment if others are offended. Censoring the people of a parliamentary democracy is bad

enough; for the people themselves to support such a holier-than-thou outlook on free speech, to me, is not just unfortunate. It’s downright scary. It is important to draw the line between free speech and harassment. My goal is not to encourage harassment, because that crosses the boundary of free speech. To speak freely is to have the liberty to publicly state your opinion, even if it flies in the face of good taste. If one is offended by another’s speech, all they have to do is turn the other cheek and not have to deal with it anymore. In harassment, however, those offended cannot help but have to deal with it, because they are being targeted. As a person who was bullied for three years in grade school, I learned very quickly where policymakers ought to draw the line between freedom and torment. I have many LGBTQ, black, and female friends whose oppression I would never support. If I heard a neo-Nazi ranting about white supremacy in public, I would certainly be discomforted in thinking how a person could hate others so much. I would disagree with what he says, but like Voltaire, I will defend to the death his right to say it. Canada, like all other Western nations, should stand to promote those rights which despots and citizens alike seek to snatch from us day after day. This is more than a legal problem, it is a matter of changing our attitudes about individual liberty in Canada. To ignore this travesty of human rights is to watch the very foundations of Western democracy crumble beneath us.


HUMOUR

October 23, 2014

Last issue’s answers:

65- Climbing vine; 66- Otherwise; 67- Watched intently; 68- Bugs bugs him; Down:

(CUP) — Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission. Across: 1- Like some bears and icecaps; 6- Attire; 10- Thick slice; 14- Busy; 15- Winglike parts; 16- Rich supply; 17- Museum piece; 18- Fragments;

argosy@mta.ca

19- Mother of the Valkyries; 20- Sickness at the stomach; 22- Tied up; 24- Belief; 26- Chauffeur; 27- West Indian musical style; 31- Land in la mer; 32- German submarine; 33- Perform better than; 36- Litigate against; 39- Purple fruit; 40- Magazine copy; 41- Indication; 42- Collector’s goal;

43- ___ a time; 44- Virile; 45- SASE, e.g.; 46- Earache; 48- Lady of Spain; 51- Flee; 52- Fully; 54- Combining form meaning “ yellow “; 59- Makes lace; 60- Chemical used on trees; 62- Billiards shot; 63- Iranian coin; 64- Shrivelled, without moisture;

1- Fishing reel; 2- Draft classification; 3- Corker; 4- Garage sale sign; 5- Exchange need; 6- Chatter; 7- Came down to earth; 8- Like most movies; 9- Straddle; 10- Arm cover; 11- Mr. Moto portrayer; 12- One who uses an abacus; 13- Glass ornament; 21- Donkey; 23- Hawaiian city; 25- Bullwinkle, e.g.; 27- Drinking vessels;

28- Competent; 29- Boor; 30- Sweet potato; 34- Born in the ___; 35- Teacher; 36- Do a number; 37- Wrinkly fruit; 38- “Only Time” singer; 40- Augment; 41- Baseball’s Bando; 43- ___ about (approximately); 44- Handcuff; 45- Isolate; 47- Prom duds; 48- Slowpoke; 49- Kett and James; 50- Kind of cat; 52- French 101 verb; 53- Easy to steer; 55- Arrest; 56- Streetcar; 57- Give an edge to; 5 8- General Bradley; 61- Sunburnt.

If we’re being honest

Taylor Losier Humour Editor


The Argosy

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HUMOUR

15

COLOUR

Procrastination at its finest

Patrick Allaby

Taylor Losier

‘Tis the season

Humour Editor

Taylor Losier Humour Editor

Mt. A pondering

Taylor Losier Humour Editor


Tantramarsh Blues Society presents the:

A torch-bearer for the new generation of bluesmen, Larry McRay’s sound is a combination of soulful vocals, a savage blues-rock driven guitar and understated funky rhythms. His strong work-ethic was established on a GM assembly line and nurtured on hundreds of stages across N. America and Europe. Come prepared for an evening of booty-bumping blues.

Saturday, Oct. 25th. 9 pm, George’s Road House, 67 Lorne St., Sackville NB Ticket Price: $12 in advance (at Ducky’s) and $15 at the door • Tantramarsh Blues Society: www.mta.ca/tbs Rod Allen’s Used Cars


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