The Argosy January 30, 2015

Women’s team goes 2-1 over weekend, pg. 6

ARGOSY

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Poking the bear since 1872

News pg. 2

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Opinions pg. 4

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Activists foreground colonialism, pg. 2

Mount Allison University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Sports pg. 6

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Arts pg. 10

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Science pg. 12

January 30, 2015 Vol. 144, Iss. 14

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Humour pg. 14

In review: Stereophonic 12 Wooley-Berry wins presidential race

MASU ELECTION

WILLA MCCAFFREYNOVISS News Reporter Dylan Wooley-Berry, Mary Emma MacNeil, Annie Sherry, and Ryan Lebreton are MASU’s new executive. The election results were announced to a group of eager students and candidates on Tuesday night. The snowstorm did not stop a celebration at local bar, Thunder and Lightning, when the election results were delivered by current MASU president Heather Webster during the official election results party.

Wooley-Berry, a second-year international relations student, was the first victor announced and will serve as next year’s MASU president. WooleyBerry, who is currently Harper Hall’s president, was elected by students with 46.42 per cent of vote in the first round, receiving 80.99 per cent in the second round. 34.60 per cent went to his opponent, Arts Senator Piper Riley Thompson, in the first round. 244 students out of 1,284 voters abstained from voting a presidential candidate.

“She [Riley Thompson] was a great competitor and since the day she got to this school, she has advocated and fought for students’ and their interests and I sincerely, sincerely hope she will continue to do so next year in some sort of capacity,” said Wooley-Berry, “She is someone I want on my team.”

This election was the first time the position of president has been had more than one candidate since executive elections in January of 2012.

“One of the reasons I ran is because I knew our organization would be stronger if there was a competitive

election,” said Wooley-Berry “you have the best ideas rise to the top and those ideas are the ideas of the students.” Wooley-Berry said there will be a list of MASU’s priorities for next year released to students, pending the hiring of a vice-president of communications.

Mary Emma MacNeil was elected vice-president of academic affairs with 52.26 per cent in the first round. 37.80 per cent went to her opponent, offcampus councillor Cole Murphy. This will be MacNeil’s first time sitting on council.

The vice-president academic elected last winter, Kyle Nimmrichter, recently resigned from the position. Council is still deciding between whether to extend interim vice-president academic Steven Black’s term to finish Nimmrichter’s year, to have a by-election, or to ask the newly-elected vicepresident academic to start their term early.

MacNeil is in no rush.

“Personally, I feel like because Steven [Black] has been so active in council this year and working with Kyle Nimmrichter, that it would be in the students’ best interest for me to wait,” MacNeil said.

Third-year international relations and economics major, Ryan Lebreton, was elected vice-president of campus life. Lebreton received 53.60 per cent of the votes; his opponent, Hunton residence assistant Delaney Losier received 38.48 per cent. Lebreton sat on council this year as an off-campus councillor and hopes to finish his work on the off-campus meal plan proposal before he starts in office.

‘Results,’ pg. 3

Mount Allison alumnus Corey Isenor was one of several artists featured at this year’s Stereophonic music festival in Sackville. See the centrefold (pgs. 8-9) for full coverage of the event. Chris Donovan/Argosy.

MASU ELECTION

Mansbridge denies supporting Riley Thompson Presidential candidate ‘strung together’ purported quote from conversations TYLER STUART News Reporter When Peter Mansbridge posed in a photo with a “#Piper2015” sign, the Mount Allison chancellor said he did not know it would be used as an endorsement for Piper Riley Thompson’s campaign for president of the students’ union.

Days later, the candidate and news anchor have distanced themselves

from the campaign post. Anger and accusations of misconduct have spread as far as the CBC. One thing is clear: MASU’s election rules say it is okay for a Mt. A administrator to endorse a MASU candidate.

The photo was posted on Riley Thompson’s Facebook campaign page from her personal account on Friday night, Jan. 17. It received more than 140 likes and sparked debate in the comment section about the photo’s appropriateness given the upcoming

election. On Thursday afternoon, Jan. 22., the post was deleted.

Accompanying the photo was a quotation attributed to Mansbridge.

“Mount Allison’s Chancellor Peter Mansbridge said of Piper’s campaign: ‘I know Piper from her work on Parliament Hill as a Jaimie Anderson Parliamentary Intern and have full confidence in her ability to lead the Mount Allison Students’ Union as President,’” the caption read in part.

Mansbridge said he did not say this.

“I never said that, and anybody who would have printed that knows very well that I never said that,” said Mansbridge, who had been at Mt. A for the third annual Mansbridge Summit.

The photo of Mansbridge was posted at least three times, twice with Mansbridge’s purported remarks.

Both of these were posted from Riley Thompson’s personal account, one of which set the remarks in quotations.

Riley Thompson refused to say who uploaded the post, attributing it to her

“campaign.” She also refused to say who else, if anyone, has access to her personal Facebook account.

Riley Thompson characterized the situation as a series of misunderstandings on her part and others. She said her misquote of Mansbridge was a “personal, grammatical, referencing error.”

‘Mansbridge,’ pg. 3

News

Editors: Cameron McIntyre & Kevin Levangie | January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

MASU ELECTIONS

Former, current executives dominate elections

Sitting and former execs weigh in loudly on candidates and their platforms Willa McCaffrey-Noviss Politics Reporter In some ways, students’ union executive elections in Sackville are as much about the incumbents as the candidates. This year was no different, with current and former MASU executive members weighing in publicly, offering students their opinions and advice through social media.

Current and former students’ union executives were vocal throughout the campaign, readily offering their opinions about candidates and their platforms on Twitter and a blog founded by a former MASU president, MTApathy.

“In-depth Mount Allison Students’ Union election coverage, opinions, and editorials on Mount Allison campus politics from those who know them best” is the tagline on the MTApathy blog, which was started as a way for then-MASU president Pat Joyce to comment on executive elections in 2013.

When Joyce was partway through his second term as MASU president, he started MTApathy to share some of the opinions he had about the candidates and issues. Inspired by similar blogs at Dalhousie and the University of British Columbia, Joyce wanted to start an accessible conversation about student politics.

After nearly two years of radio silence, Joyce partnered with current MASU president Heather Webster to write analysis-type blog posts about the election. Webster and Joyce focused largely on the presidential candidates Piper Riley Thompson and Dylan Wooley-Berry.

“With regard to election platforms: overall, I have been underwhelmed.

There is little innovation and nothing particularly exciting for students,” Webster wrote in a blog post. Webster gave an outline of the various campaigning techniques that candidates have used “Loving the Snapchat account from Piper and the Popcorn Distribution earlier this week,” Webster wrote. “Shout out to Dylan for his consultation sessions.

Although I take issue with the fact

that the platform wasn’t built ahead of time.”

Wooley-Berry said he did, in fact, work on his platform ahead of the election. “[Webster] knows very well I built a platform ahead of time,” said Wooley-Berry. “She’s been giving advice to myself and Piper.”

Executives were also active on Twitter, especially during the question period following Thursday’s MASU speeches. The @MASUOfficial Twitter account, run by MASU’s vice-president communications, Ryan Harley, encouraged spectators at the speeches to tweet with the hashtag ‘#masuvotes.’

Webster and Harley themselves were active tweeters. “I noticed that Heather and I were the most active tweeters during the debate,” said Harley. “But, I also think you’d be hard pressed to find two people in this community that care more about the future of the MASU than Heather Webster and I.” Harley and Webster were also vocal with in-person questions during the event. Both used their personal twitter accounts – not their official MASU accounts – and made

posts critiquing the responses from candidates. “If my questions and contributions shape how members vote, then that’s great,” said Harley.

The current vice-president external, Annie Sherry, publicly favoured one candidate in the presidential race. Sherry, who ran unopposed, endorsed Riley Thompson, with the two running on a slate together. The two candidates posted a picture on their social media accounts with the #PiperandAnnie2015 with the slogan “Stronger Together,” on Jan 19. On the last day of campaigning, Jan. 25, Sherry posted to Facebook, reiterating her support for Riley Thompson. “If you are placing your vote with me again this year, I ask that you place your trust in me in supporting Piper,” said Sherry’s post.

Webster further involved herself in candidate proceedings by joining Riley Thompson in an interview with The Argosy Friday, Jan. 23 concerning the #Piper2015 Mansbridge picture in which Riley Thompson admitted to misquoting Mt. A chancellor Peter Mansbridge.

Joyce, who currently works as

the executive director of the New Brunswick Student Alliance, said it’s not abnormal for sitting executives to be involved in elections. “I think it varies from year to year. I think you’ll get some executives who will take a very hard line position that they’re neutral and won’t speak about any candidates, and I think a lot of the reason for that is because executives know, when they’re outgoing, that they’ll be responsible for transitioning in new people,” said Joyce.

“I think you’ll also get student leaders who will publicly voice their opinions and there are student leaders who I’m sure have endorsed candidates in the past, as well.”

From Jan. 22 to 25, MTApathy received several hundred visitors, spiking with 344 views on Jan. 25.

Joyce doesn’t think he’s stepping on anyone’s toes, though.

“I tried to qualify what I said, with respect to the two presidential candidates whose platforms I analyzed, as best I could, and I certainly hope that wouldn’t lead to any tension in a working relationship, but I expect that it probably wouldn’t.”

BLANKET EXERCISE

Workshop reenacts Canada’s colonial history Interactive activity traces history from the first arrival of Europeans to the present day Jean-Sébastien Comeau News Reporter When students and community members first walked into the room, blankets of various colours, patterns and shapes were laid out in no particular order on the floor, slightly off centre. The narrators, three members of Canadian Roots Exchange, invited everyone to stand on the blankets. Participants were told they were standing on land initially inhabited by Canada’s aboriginal peoples, before the arrival of European settlers.

Each blanket represented the territory occupied by a specific nation and participants represented members of that community. Your position within the blanket area also affected the outcome of the activity: those facing north, representing Canada’s Inuit populations, faced a different outcome than those facing west, representing the country’s Métis peoples. A number of participants were handed scrolls, written as fictitious first-hand accounts.

Periodically read out loud, they added a personal aspect to the narrative.

At first, the narrators, playing the role of European settlers, spoke of collaboration between indigenous peoples and Europeans. But as the narrative progressed, land was gradually taken away and things looked increasingly bleak for Canada’s aboriginal populations. As the blankets became smaller, participants

became increasingly isolated. Some were told to step off the blankets, while some were told to move in a completely separate portion of the room. There was no longer any talk of collaboration. Rather, aboriginals were dying of illnesses brought by Europeans and were taken away from their families to attend residential schools. At the end of the activity, there were about 10 participants left on the blankets. Everybody else had either died of an illness, had been taken away, or had decided to move out of the reserve.

“Even if [participants] do know about the history [of indigenous relations], they still come out pretty shocked, just feeling heavy and guilty,” said Killa Atencio, a member of Canadian Roots Exchange.

Atencio, a resident of Listuguj, Que., was one of three representatives from Canadian Roots Exchange.

The blanket exercise, held on Friday, Jan. 23, was developed by KAIROS, a Canadian faith based humanitarian organization. It aims to demonstrate through the use of blankets Canada’s colonial history and the evolution of our relationship with Aboriginal Peoples.

“It hits home for me because I understand, that’s the kind of environment I grew up in. The stories aren’t news to me,” said Emma Hassencahl, a member of the Aboriginal Support Group and resident of the Tobique Band.

A debriefing session followed the exercise, where all participants,

sitting in a circle, had a chance to share their thoughts on what they had just experienced.

“The activity was very emotionally powerful. It was so different than learning it in a textbook in school, because you actually felt these emotions,” said Sébastien Engelmann, a third-year student.

“It brought those things to life and that was really interesting, just to see how everything was taken away from us so quickly and then very little was gained back. It didn’t seem right what was given back,” said Engelmann.

Mount Allison’s Aboriginal Support Group organized the activity in collaboration with Mount Allison’s Centre for International Studies. About 30 people attended the exercise.

Organizers were pleased with the turnout.

“It’s really nice to see a big group of people, because you can separate the [blankets] more, which causes more of an impact when you see three people taken away as opposed to just one,” said Atencio.

Canadian Roots Exchange’s mission is to “build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in Canada by facilitating dialogue and strengthening relationships through leadership programs.” The organization’s teams travel all across Canada to host events like the blanket exercise and are made of both indigenous and nonindigenous peoples.

Students huddle together on rolled up blankets representing the last remnants of Aboriginal held land. Chris Donovan/Argosy.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

NEWS

‘Mansbridge’: Chancellor posed but didn’t support Mansbridge’s former producer on CBC’s The National, Leslie Stojsic, said she was skeptical of the origin of the quotation.

“No one speaks that way,” Stojsic said. “I don’t know where [Riley Thompson] got that quote.”

In an interview with The Argosy, Riley Thompson effectively said that the quotation was not verbatim.

“It’s strung together from a conversation,” Riley Thompson said.

“So it’s word-for-word in the sense that that’s what was expressed, but I didn’t record it.”

Both Riley Thompson and Mansbridge brought up a letter of recommendation written by Mansbridge for Riley Thompson in which similar sentiments may have been expressed, but Mansbridge said, “I certainly never said that about anything to do with a race for a student office.”

On Jan. 19 in the comment section of her Facebook post, Riley Thompson wrote, “[Mansbridge] also ran the photo by his former producer, Leslie (who I also know from working on Parliament Hill and the Mansbridge Summits) who gave the post the go-ahead.” However, both Stojsic and Mansbridge have denied seeing or approving of the post to the campaign page.

Riley Thompson later contradicted her comment which claimed Mansbridge and Stojsic had approved the post. In an interview on Jan. 23, a week after the picture and purported quotation had been posted, when asked if either Stojsic or Mansbridge approved the post beforehand, Riley Thompson responded, “No.” Near the end of the summit reception, after dozens of students had taken photos with Mansbridge, Riley Thompson approached him with her campaign sign.

“Anybody who would have been standing around there would know that I made it clear that this wasn’t to be used in any fashion in terms of an election campaign,” Mansbridge said. “There was no formal endorsement photo.”

Fourth-year political science student Serena Retson was in the room when the photo was taken.

She wrote on Jan. 18 in the comment section of the post that Mansbridge looked “exceedingly uncomfortable.”

“He was looking at the sign and he clearly looked pretty conflicted,” Retson told The Argosy. “And then he looked up for a moment and said, [...] ‘I can’t do this. I’m the chancellor of your school.’”

Others who were present also said the exchange between Riley Thompson and Mansbridge was awkward to observe.

Mansbridge does not remember specifically what he said at the time, but he said his comfort level was beside the point.

“It wasn’t a question of whether I was uncomfortable,” Mansbridge said. “I said specifically that it was not to be used for campaign purposes.”

Riley Thompson wrote in the comment section of the post that her and Mansbridge “had spoken earlier on Friday, [Jan. 17] about him taking a photo supporting [her] campaign.”

This contradicts multiple sources that have said Mansbridge told Riley

THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD

3

Compiled by Mike Roy 30 killed in clashes between police and rebels in the Philippines Heavy fighting between police forces and Muslim rebels near Mamasapano, Maguindanao led to the death of at least 30 people on Jan. 25. The attack shook the foundation of a one year-old peace treaty established between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The treaty granted the Muslim minority a wider scope of political and economic power under a new autonomous government in the south of the Philippines. Sources stated that police entered a Muslim community in search of bombing suspect when an encounter with militants sparked the clashes. Army forces said MILF and a rival faction, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, were known to be operating in the community. The ramifications of this event, one of the biggest single-day losses in recent history of the Philippines, could jeopardize the longevity of the peace treaty.

Mansbridge poses with #Piper2015 sign. Facebook.

Thompson not to use the photo for her campaign. Riley Thompson later said she had not heard this.

“I wholeheartedly stand by the fact that in my memory of last Friday, I don’t believe I was told it couldn’t be used as campaign material,” she said.

When read the comment written by Riley Thompson stating Mansbridge was “thrilled to take a photo promoting [her] campaign, was aware the photo would be posted to social media,” Stojsic said: “The chancellor’s comments aren’t as clear as they can be, but that’s contrary to what the chancellor had said.”

MASU President Heather Webster, who has supported Riley Thompson’s campaign, argued that simply posing for the photo with the sign was an endorsement whether Mansbridge meant it to be or not.

“He took a picture with a campaign material, making it a campaign picture,” Webster said.

Regardless of whether Mansbridge intended to endorse Riley Thompson, the events of the summit have already made waves in the Mt. A community.

Robert Hiscock, director of marketing and communications at Mt. A, said he expressed his personal opinion to Riley Thompson about the post.

“I thought it might have been a better idea if it wasn’t there,” Hiscock said.

He spoke with Riley Thompson after informing Mansbridge of one of the posts on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

The day before, opposing presidential candidate Dylan Wooley-Berry filed a complaint with CBC’s English-language ombudsperson about Mansbridge posing for the photo, saying he felt the anchor’s conduct demonstrated poor journalistic ethics. The ombudsperson, Esther Enkin, forwarded the complaint to Jennifer McGuire, the general manager and editor in chief of CBC News.

Wooley-Berry also filed a complaint with the MASU

ombudsperson challenging Mansbridge’s behaviour in his capacity as chancellor.

But the posts broke no campaign rules, according to MASU’s elections policies. Only five people are explicitly barred from endorsing candidates, all of whom are MASU staff.

“There is nothing in our operating procedure that says the chancellor himself is not allowed to endorse a certain campaign,” said MASU’s chief returning officer, Rayan Bouhlel, who oversees MASU elections.

Webster accompanied Riley Thompson during her interview with The Argosy. According to Riley Thompson, Webster was present in the capacity of “campaign manager.” Webster disputed the label of campaign manager, but said she understood why she could be perceived as such.

Webster interjected into the interview at two points, and seemed to indicate approval a number of times when Riley Thompson showed something on her phone screen to Webster before responding to individual questions.

Webster also said she gave campaign advice to other candidates, including Riley Thompson’s opponent, Dylan Wooley-Berry.

Just over an hour after her interview with The Argosy, Riley Thompson posted an acknowledgement that she had deleted the post, and apologized for “causing concern for some members of the Mount Allison community.”

“I acknowledge the upset that this has caused to the Mount Allison community and I apologize unreservedly,” the post reads in part.

“I hope we can now return our focus to the remainder of the campaign.”

—With files from Kevin Levangie, Cameron McIntyre and Richard Kent of The Argosy, and Jane Lytvynenko of the Canadian University Press.

Leftist Syriza party scores victory in Greek elections Greek Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras and his party won 149 of the 300 seats in parliament on Jan. 25, taking 36.5 per cent of the vote.

The party’s victory, just short of an outright majority, scored 8.5 points ahead of incumbent Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his New Democracy party. Tsipras’s government will attempt to overturn the huge budget cuts and rising taxes imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund as conditions for their 2010 bailout. The structural adjustments accompanying the bailout sent unemployment rates soaring past 25 per cent and pushed millions into poverty. The Independents Greeks, a rightwing nationalist party, met with Tspiras on Jan. 26 to hold coalition talks, as both parties oppose and are attempting to rise above the restraints of the bailout deal. Left-wing parties across Europe have commended the Greek party’s win. The British Green Party said that Syriza’s win is an inspiration, while Spain’s anti-austerity party Podemos welcomed the party as a true alternative to the current eurozone framework.

Reverend Lane becomes first-ever female bishop in the Church of England Reverend Libby Lane became the first female bishop consecrated by the Church of England after experiencing pushback from traditionalists for years. Lane became the Bishop of Stockport in northern England after a ceremony was met with near unanimous praise in a ceremony at York Minster cathedral on Jan. 26. The consecration is being heralded as a step forward for gender equality in the Church of England, after it began ordaining women as priests over two decades ago. Though Anglican provinces in many Western countries like Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia ordain women as priests and sometimes bishops, many others in developing countries have not yet modernized their approach and still restrict women’s inclusion in the upper ranks of the church’s hierarchy. Lane hopes that her consecration will lead women to believe in their capacity and potential as leaders in their communities.

Sons of Mubarak released from prison in Egypt On Jan. 26, the sons of deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak were released from prison. An Egyptian court granted the release of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak pending a retrial in a corruption case attributed to the pair. Though stability has been somewhat restored within the nation under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the release of the brothers is being examined as a potential spark for tensions following the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled the autocracy of Mubarak. Judicial sources stated that Hosni Mubarak, who is currently being detained in a military hospital, could soon be freed as well pending retrial in a corruption case of his own.

‘Results’: Sherry returns as external The current vice-president of external affairs, Annie Sherry, was re-elected and will fill the position for a second time in her fourth year of studies. Sherry, a third-year sociology student, was the only unopposed candidate in this election and received 86.02 percent ‘yes’ votes, 92 abstentions, and 82 ‘no’ votes.

Sherry ran on a slate, supporting presidential candidate Piper Riley Thompson throughout their campaigns, but says she is still excited to work with the president elect.

“From the beginning, I was happy to work with either,” said Sherry, “I’m really excited to see him [Wooley-

Berry] get involved in our external organizations.”

Sherry commented on being the only elected executive serving a two year term in her position.

“I think that any of these elected positions would really benefit from having a two year term,” said Sherry.

“It allows for a lot of consistency.”

Sherry said some parts of the job are easier after more than one year of work, like better familiarity with the CASA and NBSA bylaws.

“I think it’s going to be a good year, externally,” said Sherry. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Opinion

Editor: Tessa Dixon | January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

THE ARGOSY

QUEBEC

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Friday, January 30, 2015 volume 144 issue 14

Drainville’s revison of the charter doesn’t really tackle fundamentalism

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

Since 1872 Circulation 1,700

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

506 364 2236

Charter of values is exclusionary Chad Morash

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

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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

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Kevin Levangie

SCIENCE EDITOR Tyler Pitre

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Daniel Marcotte

productionstaff PRODUCTION MANAGER Kyle Forbes PHOTO EDITOR Sarah Richardson

PHOTOGRAPHERS Chris Donovan Adrian Kiva

COPY EDITORS Austin Landry Tina Oh Rachelle Ann Tan

reportingstaff

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Chris Donovan

ILLUSTRATOR Anna Farrell

NEWS REPORTERS Jean-Sébastien Comeau Tyler Stuart

ARTS REPORTERS Amanda Cormier Michael Dover

POLITICS REPORTER Willa McCaffrey-Noviss

SCIENCE REPORTER Clay Steell

SPORTS REPORTER Benjamin Foster

operationsstaff BUSINESS MANAGER Gil Murdock

IT MANAGER Vacant

OFFICE MANAGER Alex Lepianka

CIRCULATIONS Vacant

contributors Allison Grogan, Kael MacQuarrie, Patrick Allaby,

Emily Jeffers, Gabriel Christie, Mike Roy, Sasha Weekes, Madalon Burnett, Chad Morash, John Perkin

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

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

Bernard Drainville, a member of the Parti Québécois, recently proposed a revision of the failed 2013 Charter of Values. Drainville seems to believe in the necessity of a secular society, but may be going too far in his attempt to prohibit the expression of religious beliefs in public institutions. The original charter would prohibit all public sector employees from wearing overt religious symbols or clothing.

The revised chater would only affect new employees including police, teachers, daycare workers, hospital employees and civil servants.

University and CEGEP employees, as well as current employees in the public sector, would not be affected by the charter.

Drainville agreed that the cross in the National Assembly could be moved pending agreement from other members of the legislature.

According to Drainville, Quebec should be a secular society and he hopes that the revised Charter would cut down on religious fundamentalism and terrorism.

Banning religious symbols is a rather cosmetic but invasive way of removing religious influences in the public sector. Whether or not people wear hijabs, kippas or crosses, it does not serve as an accurate gauge the

Bernard Drainville has headed both versions of the Quebec charter of Values. US Embassy Canada/Wikimedia. extent that public employees separate religious convictions from their work.

The Charter limits the freedom of individuals to express their beliefs. To some people, it is very important to be able to wear religious symbols in public.

Will all religious symbols be banned equally?

Given that Quebec has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic, it is worth wondering whether

Quebecois authorities will turn a blind eye to Christian infractions. It is reasonable to assume that seeing crosses worn by members of the public has been highly normalized, and may go undetected by many people who see a crucifix as more of an accessory than a religious symbol.

Pierre Karl Péladeau, a main candidate for PQ leadership, has yet to comment on Drainville’s revisions.

This says that others within the party

may think that this is too strong a secular position for the party to take.

If that is the case, I agree.

There could be possible alternatives to attain a more secularized state, and the party should focus on the alternatives that are least likely to create inequality and discomfort for Quebecers.

Chad Morash is a third-year psychology and sociology student from Nova Scotia.

THROUGH STAINED GLASS

Chapel fosters sense of community Manning Room has a long, diverse history Rev. John C. Perkin This past weekend, the University Chapel hosted “the Blanket Exercise,” an interactive learning activity developed by Kairos, the Canadian inter-church agency that works towards social justice. It was a tremendous time of learning and reflection, and participants came from various groups on campus to share in this powerful experience of learning about aboriginal issues and rights in Canada. As we gathered for this event, I began reflecting on the many positive and powerful experiences I have shared in the Chapel, particularly in the basement multi-purpose room where the Blanket Exercise took place.

When I first arrived at Mount Allison over twenty years ago, space was at a premium, and the Sexual Harassment Office was housed in the basement of the chapel. A small space there was used for three years as a quiet and private place where students or staff could meet with the Harassment Advisor. This small office space, now used by Chapel Assistants, was once

used in the 1980s as the working space of a Canadian writer, working on her debut new novel there with the permission of the then-Chaplain. The space has been used for storage, office space, meeting space, drop-in space and a study space. Along the hall from that room is what was once the “Chapel library,” a room with books on Christian theology and devotion available for anyone who wandered in. It now serves, and has done for over fifteen years, as a multi-faith prayer room used by students from a variety of religious traditions who seek a quiet and sacred space that is not dominated by the iconography of any one tradition.

The Manning Room, the large multi-purpose room, has been the site of many things one would expect in a chapel basement on a university campus: meetings, play rehearsals, movie nights and games nights (Scrabble, anyone?), special lectures, discussion groups and activities. During each exam period, it turns into a quiet study space. It has even been exhibition space for student artwork. I have held grief encounter groups there and shared

in group counseling and support following the sudden or tragic loss of students and faculty members.

We have held bible studies and prayer groups as well as multi-faith discussions around prayer, sexuality, faith and international politics. It has been used for presentations, job interviews and labor negotiations.

Jewish students have hosted Sabbath suppers and Hanukkah celebrations.

Muslim Friday prayers have been held. National political leaders have met with students to talk about faith and politics. It is home to meditative yoga.

Classes have taken place in the Manning Room. The room has been adapted to different teaching and learning styles. It is expected that services,weddings and funerals will take place in the sanctuary. What many will not know is that the Manning Room has also played host to receptions and events following services; family and friends have told stories and offered comfort to one another after funerals and memorials on many occasions; less frequently, wedding receptions take place downstairs.

The Chapel basement, if it could talk, would tell some interesting tales of people meeting, encountering, exploring, growing, relaxing, reading, healing and celebrating. In the Manning Room, many tears have been shed, many joys shared and many meals have been eaten.

While the beauty of the sanctuary is stunning, the basement room is anything but beautiful in its late ‘60s panelled decor and windowless walls. Its beauty lies instead in the amazing diversity of activities that bring people together. It breaks down barriers and walls and that nurture people’s growth in faith, citizenship and action. It’s not much to look at, but as you are passing by the Chapel, stop in and go downstairs, have a look and think of the many people who have passed through this room, and whose lives have been changed as a result of having done so. Sometimes the light of meaning, hope and change shines through the lives of others in a shared experience, rather than through stained glass.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

OPINIONS

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Egyptian forces commit abuses Baird’s hypocrisy is an affront to Canadian ideals

Michael Dover

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird returned to Canada last week from a three-day diplomatic tour of Egypt and the Middle East. Most of the press coverage of the tour concentrated on what Baird was unable to accomplish: the release of Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy.

However, according to Baird, the trip to Egypt was a diplomatic success and he announced several initiatives designed to promote Egypt’s stability, security and economic growth.

While in Egypt, Baird promised to support Canadian NGOs working in the region, such as Save the Children Canada, which is working to provide education to Egyptian and Syrian children living in Egypt’s refugee camps. Baird stressed the importance of fostering human rights in the volatile region, but it is difficult to reconcile Baird’s concern for human rights with his ongoing support of the Egyptian police.

Since the overthrow of Egypt’s democratically elected government in the summer of 2013, the actions of the Egyptian police have been criticized by a host of independent observers, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Coalition for Freedoms and Rights. Over the last year and a half, all three organizations have made it a priority to monitor the actions of the police and security forces operating under Egyptian

Amnesty International has accused the Egyptian security forces of abusing human rights. Essam Sharaf/Wikipedia.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s autocratic regime. Their findings have been shocking.

Last year, Human Rights Watch released a 188-page report covering the Egyptian state’s backlash against the largely peaceful protesters voicing their discontent with President elSisi’s military coup. The most horrific example of police brutality examined in the report occurred on Aug. 17, 2013, when the Egyptian police used armoured vehicles, helicopters and assault rifles to deter as many as 85,000 protesters from Cairo’s Rab’a al-Adawiya and al-Nahda Squares.

Within twelve hours, Human Rights Watch estimated that the Egyptian police killed at least 817 protesters, while noting that hundreds more were allegedly executed in police custody or killed while fleeing from the massacre.

In contravention of international

law, the police offered no respite for the injured or those attempting to treat the injured. Human Rights Watch said that, “Security forces from the morning fired at makeshift medical facilities and positioned snipers to fire on those who sought to enter or exit Rab’a hospital.”

Since the Rab’a Square massacre, there have been no public demonstrations against the elSisi regime of a comparable scale.

However, Amnesty International continues to report incidences of Egyptians being tortured and deprived of medical treatment while in police custody. As recently as November 2014, Egyptian security forces evicted over 1,000 families from their homes in Rafah in North Sinai in order to improve border security. Once again, this forced eviction contravened national and international statutes.

Yet, despite these ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Egyptian security forces, Canada has committed $2.1 million to strengthen Egyptian law enforcement capacity.

The Canadian government claims that the initiative is designed to prevent cross-border terrorism, but seems willing to turn a blind eye toward the acts of terror perpetrated by the Egyptian state. It is blatantly hypocritical for the Canadian government to promise support to NGOs operating in Egyptian refugee camps, while simultaneously providing financial backing for a regime that is evicting citizens from their homes. It is time that the Canadian government realized that regional security should not be maintained through state violence and that stability should never come at the expense of human rights.

MENTAL HEALTH

LETTERS

5

Professor supports divestment I am writing to add my support to Emma Jackson’s call for Mount Allison University to divest from fossil fuels (Letters, Nov. 27, 2014).

Last May, at the occasion of longstanding VP Administration David Stewart’s retirement, President Campbell spoke admiringly about Mr. Stewart’s commitment to the principle of intergenerational equity as a cornerstone for the university’s prudent approach to financial planning. Applied to the challenge of global climate change, the ‘Stewart Doctrine’ of intergenerational equity offers considerable guidance for university planning. What might this principled shift look like in practice?

Members of MAFA recently voted to allow for the inclusion of ethical funds as an option for members’ pension portfolios. Such an incremental change arose because faculty listened to our students. I have hope that because of this decision our pension managers will seek to keep our business by offering members the choice to divest. This small but important step is how incremental positive change occurs.

I challenge the University to take similar incremental steps as it confronts the threat of climate change that the best science informs us is caused by society’s addiction to fossil fuels. I strongly encourage the stewards of the university endowment to begin to have the conversations that would enable a shift away from investments that directly compromise the world which future Allisonians will inhabit.

Sincerely, Tim Reiffenstein Head of Geography and Environment

Let’s talk about Bell

#BellLetsTalk campaign whitewashes their exploitation of workers in pursuit of profit

Kevin Levangie

Despite what they may try to tell you, Bell is not a sincere ally in the struggle against mental illness. Bell’s role in the communications oligopoly made up of Bell, Rogers and Telus that dominates the Canadian cellphone market is representative of some of the worst aspects of capitalism. Corporate charity is not motivated by altruism, but veils and softens the edges of an economic system that is inherently exploitative and fundamentally dangerous to the mental and physical well-being of workers everywhere. #BellLetsTalk’s success can be

attributed to its reliance on the wellintentioned and on those who are always eager to publicly broadcast their commitment to ending whatever it is we’re trying to end this week.

For 24 hours on Jan. 28, Bell offers a donation of 5 cents per text from Bell customers, per long distance or local call, and per tweet including #BellLetsTalk in a purported effort “to break the silence around mental illness and to support mental health all across Canada.” It’s been wildly successful at attracting participants, with 112 million “overall interactions” by 12 p.m.

Its success should not be a surprise.

It not only latches on to an issue that has preoccupied university campuses and high schools of late, but then places the onus on Bell customers and Twitter users to do the emotional and physical labour of promoting Bell’s initiative and raising funds for mental health care and stigma reduction.

If a tweeter or a texter decides to not promote Bell’s advertising

campaign, then they are heartless and become responsible for not taking advantage of Bell’s generosity. All of a sudden, the chronic underfunding of mental health care in Canada is not a disgraceful political problem that can only be resolved by a concerted and grassroots effort, but is a problem of not enough retweets.

Bell is not doing this because it is right. They’re doing it because they can profit from it. Not only is Bell legitimized by their display of altruism, but so does the economic system that makes Bell’s participation in a communications oligopoly possible. Driven not by altruism but by the pursuit of profits, Bell regularly lays off workers across the country, underdoubtedly to the detriment of their individual and family mental health.

Corporations strive to maximize profits no matter its effect on the health – mental or otherwise – of their workers. Workers, who labour for long hours at menial tasks, are

constantly under threat of layoff in order to turn a profit for shareholders and their bosses. The companies then mount public relations campaigns using some of the surplus value extracted from their workers.

Despite Bell’s public gestures, their corporate conduct is harmful to the mental health of their employees. Bell has donated $67.5 million to mental health related charities since 2010.

While admirable, it’s a tiny fraction of their yearly profits ($2.6 billion in 2012), and is a negligible amount compared to will be necessary to solve the problem.

Facing stigma is certainly a problem for those with mental health issues, but the larger issue remains access to mental health professionals who can treat their conditions. The solution to a lack of mental health care is not a corporate ad campaign, a few million dollars doled out in a way that has been meticulously calculated to create the biggest PR buzz, or “raised awareness,” but a governmental effort

to properly allocate mental health resources where they are actually needed, such as small towns in rural New Brunswick underserved by mental health professionals.

Tweet if you want. The money won’t hurt, to be sure, but it is certainly the wrong way to go about helping.

“Awareness” and “the removal of stigma” surrounding mental illness are admirable goals, but if that awareness is not turned into political mobilization then it is all but useless.

But, more importantly than that, redeeming a corporation – and an economic system built on harm – is a step in the wrong direction if you’re concerned about mental health.

If we let the logic of the market structure all aspects of human interaction we won’t be able to provide adequate mental health care to those who need it, and we certainly won’t encourage any other kind of human flourishing.

Kevin Levangie is The Argosy’s news editor.

Sports

Editor: Alex Bates | January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Defence back-stopping Mt. A playoff run Kate O’Brien has found her groove between the pipes for the Mounties

Kate O’Brien (31) and the Mounties defence have shut down opponents, leading to a Mt. A resurgence in the AUS standings. Sasha Weekes/Argosy.

Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter Kate O’Brien and the Mounties hockey team have shown serious promise in the past three games in their attempt to repeat last year’s success, winning two and losing a close game against the best team in the AUS. “Our past three games is what true Mountie hockey looks like; filled with hard work, smart play and good execution. We are confident in our ability down the stretch and feel as though we’re coming together at the right time,” said Lindsay James.

O’Brien got her chance to get back in net for the Mounties last weekend when Keri Martin got pulled in back to back games. All season the Mounties have been splitting the time in net between O’Brien, Martin and Megan Colpitts, but a number one starter had yet to emerge, until now. The past four games have seen O’Brien take over between the pipes, sporting a .933 goals-against average, highlighted by back-to-back games where she only allowed one goal, allowing Mt. A to pick up the win in both games.

The Mounties played the UPEI Panthers Friday night, looking to gain ground on a team they are currently

chasing in the AUS standings. The Mounties dominated the Panthers, skating their way to a 3-1 victory.

James opened the scoring halfway through the first period with her third goal of the year. UPEI struck back early in the second when they put one past O’Brien. It was all Mounties after that as Emily van Diepen scored the winning goal just four minutes after UPEI had tied the score.

Shelby Colton scored an insurance goal halfway through the third period. O’Brien continued her hot play with twenty-one saves on twenty two shots, while being the backbone of the Mounties penalty kill that killed off five UPEI power plays.

Mounties leading rookie scorer Rosie Heffernan tallied an assist. van Diepen and Colton also added one assist.

On Sunday, the Mounties faced the top team in the AUS, the St. FX X-Women. The X-Women have lost just one game all year.

With O’Brien once again in goal, the X-Women looked like they were going to once again have an easy win against the Mounties. Just eleven minutes into the game, St. FX held a 3-0 lead and were all over Mt. A. But the Mounties would not go down like they did against the X-Women in their last match-up.

Amanda Volcko and Jennifer

Bell scored twice in the following ten minutes to make the score 3-2, a critical point in the match for the heavily favoured X-Women. Kara Power completed her hat trick to pad the St. FX lead, 4-2. As quickly as the Mounties could think about the goal they had just gave up, van Diepen put another puck behind Sojung Shin to make the score 4-3.

The last thirty minutes of the game saw the Mounties play some of their best hockey all year, outshooting the X-Women 27-15 in the final two periods. Unfortunately for the Mounties, Shin would not fold in the net, holding on for the 4-3 win.

“We played a great game against the [X-Women]. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out on the winning side of things. There are a lot of positives to take from the game. It was a great example of our team’s resiliency. We will look to build off that as we move on to next weekend’s games,” said James.

The Mounties are sitting two points out of the last playoff spot in the AUS, trailing the Panthers.

Four games remain in the season. It is still a possibility that the Mounties could finish as high as third in the conference as Saint Mary’s is currently five points clear of Mt. A. Three of their last four games will come at home against Saint Mary’s, St. Thomas and Dalhousie, three teams that they can still catch in the standings.

Next Thursday, the Mounties will play their final away game of the season against second place Moncton at 7 p.m.

BETTER KNOW A MOUNTIE

Reeder a true leader on the varsity swim team

Even in times of adversity, fourth-year commerce student Andrew Reeder leads by example Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter Second-generation Mount Allison student Andrew Reeder has fulfilled all the goals he set out to accomplish when he first stepped foot on the Sackville campus. Reeder, who captains the Mounties Varsity Swim team, is set to graduate this May. “My grandfather went [to Mt. A]. I always kind of knew about the school.

He encouraged me to apply so I did.

Long story short, it came down to Mt. A or Dalhousie and since Dalhousie had a mandatory co-op program for their business program, I decided I didn’t want to go to Dalhousie for four years. It made the decision easy,” said Reeder.

The 22-year-old started swimming competitively at the age of 10 and has been hooked ever since.

“It is all individual-based in age group swimming. I definitely had my fair share of medals out in Calgary.

I wasn’t the best, but I was making finals in everything I swam and having some pretty good results.”

He continued his success into his

first year at Mt. A, earning the male rookie of the year award of the varsity team.

“First year was a lot of good memories and a lot of good experiences. It was a big change from age group swimming just because the sessions lasted like four hours in age group swimming because there were so many people, and here they last like an hour. I was also used to swimming eight events per swim meet and I came out here and we are only allowed to swim four or five,” said Reeder.

This didn’t stop Reeder from winning his first two medals in 201314. The captain of the squad could have earned a third medal had he not been wronged by a computer error.

“Last year was by far my best year.

I won one individual medal and one medal on a relay. I got snubbed out of a medal and placed in fourth because the touchpad didn’t register the time.

A lot of people saw me touch third but then the time that the system logged me as placed me as fourth. I’m not saying any negativity towards any other swimmers – fourth place is still very good,” said Reeder.

Reeder is the Male captain of the swim team. Submitted/Mount Allison Reeder’s trademark humility is one of the reasons he was named captain

of the swim team in his final season.

“I’m the only fourth year male on

the swim team right now. But just because I’m older, doesn’t mean that I know everything so we all help everyone out. It’s really nice.”

Reeder holds the all-time Mountie record for the fastest 50and 100-metre backstroke, having achieved times of 27.12 seconds and 59.08 seconds, respectively.

This season serves as Reeder’s last chance to makes nationals, but even if he fails to qualify at the AUS Championships, he is still very satisfied with the four years he spent in Sackville.

“Races have been okay so far.

Things looked really promising at the Dalhousie meet, which was our biggest meet so far. What I want to do with the last couple weeks left is do the most I can and make sure it all wraps up the best way I can make it. If I have an exceptional race, [nationals] could happen,” said Reeder.

Reeder was offered a job at KPMG to pursue a career as a Certified Professional Accountant after his graduation.

Better Know a Mounrie is sponsored

by ScotiaMcLeod and the Connors Group.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

SPORTS

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

BASKETBALL

Mt. A wins thriller against Dal AC

Umlah leads team over ACAA-rivals in a game that goes down to the wire Benjamin Foster Sports Reporter With every successive game meaning more and more as the Women’s Volleyball teams approach the ACAA playoffs, last weekend’s games were paramount to the Mounties playoff hopes. After two straight wins against Université de Sainte-Anne the previous weekend, Mount Allison tried to keep their win streak going against two teams they’re fighting for playoff spots against.

The Mounties traveled to Saint John on Saturday to play the UNBSJ Seawolves, looking to tie the Seawolves in the standings. Despite winning the first matchup between the two foes in five sets, this game was a different story. UNBSJ took advantage of their home court advantage, taking the first two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-19.

The Mounties were able to find success in the third set, winning 2518. The Seawolves would finish off the Mounties by the same score in the fourth set to even the season series at one game apiece.

“The [Seawolves game] was a bit of a disappointing loss, since we had beaten them early in the season. In the end we were just unable to get the momentum we needed to secure the win. It definitely showed us a few more things we still need to work on,” said power hitter Katia McKercher.

In McCormack Gymnasium on Sunday, Jan 25, the Mounties played a key game against the Dalhousie AC Rams, looking to pass the visitors in the ACAA standings. The Mounties dominated the first set, winning by a score of 25-12. The rest of the match was a different story with both sides going back and forth for almost two full hours, before the Mounties were able to eke out a five-set win.

Mt. A are fifth in the ACAA and climbing, with hopes of returning to postseason action next month. Adrian Kiva/Argosy.

After the dismantling performance the Mounties put on the Rams in the first set, Dal AC struck back in the second set 25-18, winning the last five points to put the Mounties away.

Back and forth, the Mounties turned yet again in the third set and won 2523.

Mt. A held a 22-20 lead in the fourth set when Dal AC called timeout. When the two teams came back on the court, it was all Rams and they won five straight points to force a fifth and final set.

The last set proved even more

how closely matched the two teams are. When the teams switched sides after Dal AC had taken an 8-6 lead, the Mounties appeared as though they would drop their second game of the weekend. With the light of the playoffs slowly slipping away, Sydney Umlah and the rest of the Mounties stepped up in the nick of time. After getting packed in the face by the ball, Umlah served six straight points and the Mounties won nine of the last ten points to take the thriller three sets to two.

“Getting the win today was huge.

We really needed it to get a chance at making playoffs. [It] would have been great to win yesterday too but at least now we are tied for fifth and still have a shot,” said power hitter Lynne Arsenault.

With the win, they tied the season series at one game apiece, which is very crucial as the first tiebreaker for a playoff spot is head-to-head record. It moved the Mounties into fifth place, with seven wins and seven losses, just one win outside of a playoff spot.

“The game today was a big win, since we were neck and neck with Dal AC. The last time we played them we lost, so this win gives us the opportunity to beat them in the standings. This was definitely one of the most important games so far.

We’re now split 1-1 with them as well as UNBSJ and STU, so the third game against each of these teams are the ones that determine whether or not we make playoffs,” said McKercher.

McKercher, who missed a large portion of the first half of the season with an injury, played a large role for the Mounties with key blocks in the win.

“I’ve been trying very hard to make few to no errors. I like to go into games setting a goal for myself, maybe something like no service errors and only one or two hitting errors. It gives me a way to compete with myself and improve,” said McKercher. “I’ve been working really hard all season to get back into shape after my surgery first semester, Most of all, I’ve been going into games lately with an open mind since I’ve been jumping back and forth between right side, middle and power. I have to go into games ready to play wherever Paul wants me to.”

The Mounties will continue their push for the playoffs next weekend against top-ranked MSVU at home.

WEEKLY WELLNESS

A fruit with equal benefits and drawbacks

Packed full of nutrients, grapefruits make a great snack Madalon Burnett Grapefruits often don’t receive the credit they deserve for their health benefits; they’re low in calories, don’t contain a significant amount of fat or sodium and are high in nutrients like vitamin C and vitamin A. This means eating them promotes weight loss, reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke and helps with healthy skin.

What’s really interesting about grapefruits, however, is their effects on certain types of prescription medications. A drug interaction is when chemicals in other medications or foods eaten alter the effect a certain drug is supposed to have on the body.

Some common food and beverage types which cause drug interactions include alcohol, chocolate, licorice, and – you guessed it – grapefruits.

Grapefruits inhibit the ability of control pills. Some interactions are a certain enzyme responsible for minor and have only a small effect breaking down drugs. This means on the body. Other combinations of drugs are left in the body for longer drugs and grapefruit can have severe than they are supposed to, so they consequences, such as changing the can reach toxic levels much faster rhythm of the heart. For this reason, than if they had been taken without it is extremely important that a the presence of grapefruit. Grapefruit doctor or pharmacist is consulted can change the before eating “Grapefruits inhibit the grapefruit while absorption of some drugs for over 24 ability of a certain enzyme on prescription hours, so for people responsible for breaking drugs. on some types of down drugs. This means T h o u g h regular medications, grapefruit juice drugs are left in the body there is no safe has been the major for longer than they are fruit studied to time to consume supposed to.” grapefruit or determine drug grapefruit juice. interactions, other There are over 85 types of drugs citrus fruits can have the same effects which can react with compounds when taken with drugs such as Seville in grapefruit, including drugs that oranges and limes. Most other fruits lower cholesterol, certain antibiotics, are safe to take with drugs, though anti-anxiety medications and birth there are exceptions. For example,

when Allegra, an over-the-counter antihistamine used to treat seasonal allergies, interacts with grapefruits, apples or oranges, its effects diminish markedly.

The important message here isn’t to avoid grapefruit at all costs. In fact, since they’ve got a lot of health benefits, they’re a great addition to the average student’s diet. What is important to recognize, however, is that when taking prescription medications, it is important to research the effects of different foods, drinks and drugs on the way your medication reacts within the body.

For students who don’t need a lot of medications, the list of possible interactions for a drug can be quite small, making grapefruits the perfect choice for an afternoon snack.

Madalon Burnett is Mount Allison Universities Health Intern

7

13-point opening lead erased

by Mystics Alexander Bates Sports Editor The Women’s Basketball squad is starting to feel more and more relaxed with their chances of making the playoffs in 2015. The league currently has four clear playoffcalibre teams, and three teams, UKC, CU, and UNBSJ, who have six wins between themselves. With four teams guaranteed a playoff spot, the Mounties, who sit in fourth but are six points clear of fifth-place UKC, have a strong position in the ACAA standings with seven games to play.

With their 72-59 win over UKC, the Mounties solidified their position in the standings.

The Mounties suffered from a poor start on the road against the University of King’s College Blue Devils. The Mounties trailed the Blue Devils 22-13 heading to the second quarter.

At half-time, the Mounties still trailed the fifth-place Blue Devils 37-30. This was a game the Mounties squad could not afford to lose.

Holding on to the fourth and final playoff spot, Mt. A could not afford to give up any ground to a team with just two wins all year. Mt. A dug deep in the third quarter and found their groove in the fourth, outscoring the Blue Devils 23-6 in the final frame to win 72-59.

Lauren MacEachern, who had a season-high 22 points, and Mackenzie Gray, who scored 21 points for the Mounties in the victory.

The Blue Devils, who were able to take advantage of strong free throw shooting, netting 13/16 free throws in the game, were lacklustre with their overall shooting, causing the team costly points down the stretch.

Mt. A was able to make 28/70 field goals in the game, while the Blue Devils were able to manage to net only 21 of their 75 attempts.

On Sunday, Jan. 25, the Mt. A offence could not keep up with the boards of the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics, losing 71-63.

The Mounties started the game on a 13-point run, but that outburst was nullified by the half. The Mystics tallied 18 offensive rebounds in the game, which allowed them 16 extra field goal attempts, ultimately the difference in the game. Despite strong first and fourth quarters by the Mounties, Mt. A allowed 23 points in the second quarter while scoring only 11, which sank the team’s hopes.

Mt. A now has two home games against the Crandall Chargers ahead of them. The Chargers have tallied only two wins in 10 games thus far, which foreshadows two strong performances in the games. The first game will tip-off on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. in McCormack Gymnasium. The second will be played the following weekend, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m.

8

STEREOPHONIC XII

January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

Stereophonic XII rock

Thursday Night

Frid Nig

Lily Mackie Arts & Culture Reporter The first evening of Stereophonic 12 was a casual affair, but memorable and well-received nonetheless. At 7 p.m. on Thursday, Bridge Street Café welcomed an audience of all ages to listen to the mellow tunes of Corey Isenor and Adam Mowery.

Both artists performed independently, accompanying themselves on the guitar (and in Isenor’s case, several harmonica solos).

Isenor started off the show with “The Navy Blues,” one of his newer songs. Both the song and Isenor’s voice were refreshingly original, with just enough familiar tones thrown in to be considered folk or country.

Throughout his performance, Isenor remained genial and modest. His casual back-and-forth banter with the crowd members – friends and strangers alike – set a cheerful tone for the rest of the evening.

While Isenor played all originals, Mowery decided to stick with mostly covers and sang everything from Beck to Roy Orbison. While his smooth voice and mellow guitar undeniably did the songs justice, Mowery really shone during his original pieces. Mowery was charismatic and engaging, periodically wandering over to a table to casually perch a foot or two away from an audience member. Perhaps one of the most memorable moments was when Mowery put down his guitar, stepped away from the microphone, and wandered around the crowd singing a

Michael Arts & Cultu

soulful a capella tune.

The Bridge Street atmosphere was perfect for the two coffee-house style performances. The small space quickly became crowded, even if some were only there to take a break from the cold with a cup of coffee. Both artists seemed happy to return to Sackville, and they maintained an air of familiarity with the audience, pausing between songs for a quick story or anecdote. Isenor and Mowery, while each distinctive in their own style and sound, complemented one another nicely and served as a wonderful lead-in to the rest of the weekend’s performances.

Thunder and Lightning in turn proved to be an interesting location for the following bands. The bowling alley, bedecked with a disco ball and lights, was a tight squeeze for the many second-wave concertgoers. The venue offered very little seating, and even less

possibility for a view of the stage.

The first band to take the stage was Sackville’s Old Bones. The fourpiece of two guitars, an electric bass and a drum set, was joined by Klarka Weinwrum who would play again on Friday night at The Vogue. The upbeat alternative style was completely appropriate: an easy rock which still fit the vibe of the previous Bridge Street performances. Old Bones worked well as a group, smoothly transitioning from a slow to a more energetic tempo, but with a reserved sound that prevented it from becoming overpowering.

Next, The Painful Shivers appealed to the increasingly enthusiastic audience, delivering a more rock-and-roll sound, heavy on the distortion. The band delivered noisy music to a noisy crowd, and while they remained engaging throughout their performance, their slower songs tended to be the ones

that truly shone, allowing space for their subtle harmonies to be heard and appreciated.

However, the truly remarkable part of the night was when the final act took the stage and began playing. Almost instantly a hush fell over the crowd as all stopped to listen to the crooning voice of Bry Webb.

Webb and his accompanist were laid back and the music they produced was hypnotic. Their mellow, carefullyplaced harmonies lulled the crowd into a trance which was periodically broken

by Webb’s amiable commentary and stories. Webb’s smokey voice blended and flowed with the accompanying instruments (mandolin, lap steel and acoustic guitar) and interspersed with several intricate solos. The performance ended the night on an exceptional, albeit mellow note, and it left audience members eager for the shows to follow.

Day two of Stereophonic was a something to please music lovers mix of country, indie rock, folk, audiences dancing, singing, and the morning.

The night began with the Saskatoon’s own Zachary Luc mesmerized the audience with h and lyrics celebrating life on the “Is there anybody here from S packed crowd at the Vogue Cin hands, Lucky continued, “Well think that we just spend our tim honest, doesn’t that sound pretty Lucky then transported the childhood, recounting stories em country living.

Lucky was followed by Klark that chilled out the audience with gaze inspired vocals. The band ja oversized silhouettes leered over screen.

Rounding out the show was Show Band, which brought the into the aisles to dance along country and classic rock.

The beats got heavier and the m second show at George’s Roadh took the stage to thunderous a with their home-grown blend of The concert segued to Jon M with his signature blend of folk intimate stage at George’s offere up-close to the Sackville native w Winter Carnival concert aside H Closing off the night was Coa band with members hailing fro group’s intense punk sound bro fever pitch. The trio dazzled the optimistically titled “All You Ha Drummer David Barclay expla inspired by the band’s success at S was the band’s first performan “What’s important is going out a shouted Barclay from the stage.

Keyboardist Juls Generic agre in some neo-liberal way where a will succeed; if you don’t succeed This sentiment was followed the audience singing along to the don’t give a shit” from a packed m Day two of Stereophonic was audiences to a full spectrum of E smorgasbord of musical styles to

Photos clockwise from top left: C acoustic set at Bridge Street Caf Show Band entertains at The Vo Struts Gallery; Jon Mckiel plays Donovan/Argosy.

STEREOPHONIC XII

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

ks six Sackville venues

day ght

l Dover ure Reporter

a night not to be missed, with s of every persuasion. An eclectic , power pop and post-punk kept moshing until the wee hours of

crooning country ballads of cky, a Canadian cowboy who his blues-inspired acoustic guitar Canadian prairies.

Saskatchewan?” Lucky asked the nema. When no one raised their l, I know that you all probably me farming and curling, but be y darn good?” audience to the farms of his mbodying the simple pleasures of

ka Weinwurm, a Sackville band h their slow indie tunes and shoe ammed on the stage while their r the audience from the Vogue’s

s The Legendary Golden River audience out of their seats and to the group’s upbeat blend of

music got louder at the evening’s house. Sackville’s own Kavorkas applause, prepping the audience indie-rock.

Mckiel, who charmed the crowd and alternative garage rock. The ed Mckiel’s fans a chance to get who also appeared at last week’s Hey Rosetta. ach Longlegs, a St. John’s, N.L. om Halifax and Montreal. The ought the concert’s energy to a e audience with hits such as the ave To Do Is Try.” ained that the song was partially Sackville’s own Sappyfest, which nce outside of Newfoundland. and doing what you want to do,”

eed. “The song shouldn’t be read all you have to do is try and you d, who cares?” up in “Give a Shit,” which had e chorus, loudly proclaiming “we mosh pit. s a rousing success, introducing East Coast artists who offered a please every palate.

Corey Isenor performs an fe; The Legendary Golden River ogue; Zakary Slax rocks out at s at George’s Roadhouse. Chris

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Saturday Night Kael MacQuarrie A dollar store disco ball hung from a metal chain in the middle of the ceiling at Struts Gallery, but the music that would fill the venue throughout the evening was anything but disco.

The evening began with Union Suit, a self-described post-rock and noise musician, whose suitcase full of effects pedals were used to layer dense walls of guitar noise over one another, creating a dystopic soundscape. Hampered by issues with his loop pedal which led to the opening two songs cutting off after a minute of buildup, the guitarist was forced to improvise his set.

It is admirable that the musician was able to fill a set without the pedal that was essential to his performance, but the lack of structure through the 30-minute set made it hard to enjoy, especially considering post-rock is such a structure-driven musical form. As the set went on, the guitarist slowly descended to his knees as if he were praying to the gods of distortion, fiddling with pedals in his case and holding his guitar to his amp to abuse the sounds the instrument was emitting.

Zakary Slax followed, playing a set of in-your-face punk rock. The lead singer was dressed in tight pink pants, a sequin glittering tank top, and light up glasses, shredding out quick jams and engaging the crowd like a bizarro glam boy. The band was the tightest of the acts of the night, chugging through their set like a four-headed punk rock hydra. Several plodding breakdowns

provided the only respite in these hard hitting tracks.

The night was closed out by Halifax outfit Old and Weird. The group was comprised of three women, who played loose indie rock driven by pop-conscious melodies and vocal harmonies that created an off-kilter sound, in the best way possible.

Though the three acts were not stylistically similar, the lineup worked well and provided a mix that left something for any fan of modern guitar based music.

On Saturday night, people braved a rare January rainstorm to crowd into the legion for the closing show of this year’s Stereophonic. Despite the fact that the two of the evening’s acts, Heaven For Real and Monomyth, could not make the show due to the evening storm, attendance was high.

Best Fiends was the first of the

bands to play, shredding solo-heavy guitar rock that sounded straight out of the So-Cal garage scene, despite the band’s Halifax origins. Every song was more intense than the one before: twominute bursts of pure energy that kept the crowd moving. The vocals sounded like Thurston Moore channeling Ty Segall, with a heavy groove set by the bassist and on-point drumming from the rhythm section. The show was very high energy, and the sound mix was one of the best I have heard in Sackville, with every instrument audible and equally represented.

Nap Eyes was up next, and were added to the bill last minute to fill in for the missing acts. While initially underwhelming after such a highenergy show from Best Fiends, Nap Eyes picked up as the show went on.

The first couple songs showed they could get the crowd as excited with

their jangle indie as the Fiends could with their garage rock.

The night – and Stereophonic – were played out by Astral Gunk, a group of Sackville ex-pats who performed noise punk with an emphasis on the noise.

The crowd moshed their way through a set filled with bastardized classic rock riffs and screaming choruses about being a wreck. This band has played around town a number of times through the years, and always elicit an overwhelming reaction from the crowd. This evening was no exception: the legion devolved into a crowdsurfer’s paradise.

As the shows came to an end, everyone filtered back out into the storm and walked through the slush home. It was not an issue for most, as some slush is a fair price to pay for some Gunk.

Arts & Culture FILM

Who knew Bill Murray could make you cry?

Editor: Daniel Marcotte | January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

LITERATURE

Home sweet New Brunswick

Acclaimed writer and Ontario educator reads Sackville-inspired works

Allison Grogan On paper, St. Vincent looks like an average Hollywood comedy: the premise is quirky, the actors are wellknown and the soundtrack is familiar.

However, the story of an irritable, crotchety and alcoholic Vietnam War veteran who acts as an unlikely babysitter for the son of his new neighbour is not quite as simplistic on screen as it seemed in the trailer. The fortunate coming together of a great script, well-developed characters and a talented cast of actors yielded plenty of laughs and a few muffled tears from the audience last Thursday night at The Vogue.

Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy, who are so often cast in the same predictable roles, were given complex and well-written characters in this film. At first glance, the character of Vincent (Murray) seems static and overdone.

However, over the course of the film he gradually develops, adding layers of backstory and complexity to the familiar character trope of “grumpy old man.” Combined with the actors’ personal spin and comedic timing, the unorthodox cast of characters compliments each other perfectly.

Vincent’s character would have been diminished if not for the stellar debut performance of 10-year-old Jaeden Lieberher as Oliver. Son of newly divorced Maggie (McCarthy), Oliver challenges Vincent’s offputting disposition without stopping him from going about his regular drinking, gambling and general grouching. When Oliver’s school assignment is to research an “everyday saint” in his life, he begins to look at his neighbor-turned-babysitter in a new light.

St. Vincent tells several stories at once, but the film’s subtle subplots comment on the life of aging Vietnam veterans. Once the film gets past Vincent’s exterior, the story unfolds to reveal the many other trials ongoing in his life. Refreshingly, the film doesn’t try to justify Vincent’s behaviour with an oh-so-sad backstory.

Though it gets sentimental towards the end of the film, the writers struck an ideal balance between terms of comedic and serious material.

Vincent is shown gambling, drinking in excess, and clearly has issues with anger management. He’s also in debt up to his eyeballs, and has a pregnant girlfriend for whom he cannot provide his share of finances.

Despite his problems, the film does not glorify Vincent as a saint merely because he fought in combat for his country, but rather explores what a young boy sees as sainthood in his day-to-day interactions with his quasi-babysitter and friend.

Mark Blagrave reads from sections of his short story collection, Salt in the Wounds, in the foyer of the Owens Art Gallery. Adrian Kiva/Argosy.

Lily Mackie Arts & Culture Reporter After the recent release of Salt in the Wounds, Mark Blagrave returned to

the place that inspired his collection of short stories.

A Mount Allison alumnus who now works as the Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Huron University College, Blagrave read excerpts from

his new publication at the Owens Art Gallery on Monday, Jan. 26.

Blagrave explained that a chance encounter in Sackville served as inspiration for his recent work. “I came across a book in Tidewater Books downtown here actually called Salt: A World History,” said Blagrave.

“I actually bought it for my wife for her birthday and then didn’t give it to her because I got so fascinated with it.”

For Blagrave, place and location play a central role in his writing process. “There are places in the world that I feel at home, and I like to write from those places,” said Blagrave. “Bermuda is one of them, Sackville is one of them, Saint John is one of them. I have to sort of get my feet down in a place and really feel comfortable, and then it flows from there.”

Just as with Salt in the Wounds, Blagrave also said that many inspirations for his stories are chance encounters. “I can find inspiration almost anywhere,” said Blagrave.

“It’ll be something [like a] book that I see somewhere, or a building that I see and then I think ‘Oh, OK, what happened here? What’s the story of this building?’”

During the reading, which was cosponsored by the Centre for Canadian Studies and the Department of English, featured excerpts from three of Blagrave’s stories. The first two, “Rupert and Sophia” and “The Salt in Our Wounds,” are set in set in Saint John, N.B. and Austria,

respectively. Blagrave referred to his final reading as a “Sackville story,” and the three pieces were bound by the titular ingredient and focused on the ideas of basic human connection and communication.

Although the events and characters in the stories are fictitious, Blagrave explained a personal connection with all of the locations that served as motivation and inspiration for his writing. Blagrave also emphasized the importance of being open and receptive to the world, especially when it comes to inspiration.

“Never close your mind to where the next big idea is coming from; usually if it’s really good, it’ll surprise you,” said Blagrave.

Blagrave said that one of his challenges is balancing his writing with his work at the university. “I like to do research and I also like to [write], so I’ve put them together in a little bit of an unusual way,” said Blagrave.

Blagrave received acclaim for his novel, Silver Salts, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Novel and the 2009 Margaret and John Savage First Book Award (Atlantic Book Awards). His short stories have been published regularly in leading Canadian literary journals, including The New Quarterly and The Fiddlehead. His plays have also been produced professionally and in university theatres.

There are places in the world that I feel at home ... Sackville is one of them.

Arts & Culture

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca THEATRE

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Upcoming V-Day play will feature two new monologues Mount Allison to host ‘The Vagina Monologues’ and pre-show talks on sex and gender Gabriel Christie Mount Allison will host a production of The Vagina Monologues this coming Valentine’s Day, this year in the newly-built Motyer-Fancy Theatre in the Purdy Crawford Centre.

This year’s show will include two monologues previously not featured in Mount Allison productions.

The first, entitled “My Short Skirt,” addresses women’s clothing and sexual harassment, while the second, “My Revolution Begins in the Body,” takes a political and ecofeminist approach to representations of women’s bodies.

Other additions to this year’s

production include two talks to complement the show concerning female sexuality and gender-based violence, as well as discussion periods after The Vagina Monologues to encourage an exploration of and debate on the above topics.

The two pre-show talks will include “Vulvas and Vaginas: a How-to Presentation” by Lisa Dawn Hamilton in Dunn 113 on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. and “Queering Domestic Violence: Critical Feminist Interventions Within the Carceral State” by Professor Ardath Whynacht at The Pond on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

“We are also really hoping to attract more people who wouldn’t otherwise consider going to the show,” said Erin Lapp, the director and producer of

the forthcoming show.

Unlike previous years where actresses and participants would work independently with one director, this year the production process involved a collaborative element by grouping actresses together, with the occasional assistance of Professor Glen Nichols.

Lapp commented on this process of collaboration amongst the performers. “The intention has been to capitalize on the aspect of women coming together to discuss the issues in the monologues,” said Lapp.

The Vagina Monologues is an international theatre project that has been produced and performed annually at Mount Allison since 1998. The play, written by Eve Ensler, consists of compiled highlights from

interviews with 200 women regarding gender, sexuality, and gender-based violence.

“I truly feel that [the play] is accessible to everyone because it is thought provoking and inspiring,” said Lapp. “The point is to have the message of ending violence against women and trans people reach as many people as possible.”​ Besides her work in theatre, Ensler also created V-Day, of which The Vagina Monologues is a significant part. Since its inception, the play has won an Obie Award and has been performed in 48 languages.

In conjunction with the play, V-Day activists have worked to raise awareness regarding women’s experiences, funded rape crisis

centres and domestic violence shelters, and raised over $100 million for humanitarian missions. In accordance with this philanthropy, proceeds from the Mt. A show will go to the Autumn House Women’s Shelter in Amherst, N.S. to fund counselling and advocacy for victims of gender-based violence.

The Vagina Monologues will be performed from Feb. 12 to 14.

The events will run from 7:30 to 9 p.m., with the option to stay for a discussion period afterwards. As of Feb. 2, tickets will be available at the MASU office, Jennings Hall, and at the box office. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for non-students.

The Argosy’s Media Reviews Fall Out Boy – American Beauty/ American Psycho (Island Records, Jan. 16) Despite some obvious changes to their sound since their 2010 hiatus, Fall Out Boy’s new album American

The Decemberists – What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (Capitol Records, Jan. 20)

Meghan Trainor – Title (Epic Records, Jan. 9) If you’re not a fan of Meghan Trainor, you’ve probably heard “All About That Bass,” the first single from her new album Title. What you may not realize is that the controversial song is only one small part of an album

Belle and Sebastian – Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (Matador Records, Jan. 20) The city of Glasgow boasts a variety of successful bands, but few have experienced a career of such longevity

Beauty/American Psycho does not disappoint.

Before their hiatus, Fall Out Boy was placed in a few different genres, mainly pop punk and pop rock. With their 2013 reunion came a new sound: while the band has kept elements of their old rock sound, they have added elements of pop, including the obvious use of electronic enhancements that were often absent

in their older albums.

Though the musical style has changed a bit, AB/AP still feels and sounds like the pre-hiatus Fall Out Boy in many ways. Creative and interesting lyrics, chanting vocalizations, and lead vocalist Patrick Stump’s high belting notes are added in all the right places. Anybody who is familiar with Fall Out Boy will have no problem identifying their

new music when it plays on the radio.

Despite what some critics have to say, Fall Out Boy really hasn’t changed much. They sound like their old selves, and they sound great.

Honestly, the album’s most dramatic change is its lack of ridiculously long song titles for which their earlier albums were known.

– Amanda Cormier

If you’ve been longing for a new indie rock group to adore, you might want to check out The Decemberists with their new album What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.

The Decemberists have a soft and mellow, yet emotionally powerful style. Acoustic guitars, harmonicas, and some soft and steady percussion beats create an easy-listening, coffeeshop style vibe. The vocalists create

nice harmonies with their soothing voices, while highlighting further some of the album’s relatable and emotional lyrics.

For some, these lyrics hit home more than others. Frontman Colin Meloy said that one of the songs, “12-17-12,” refers to Barack Obama’s national address following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The song is serene and addresses the

event respectfully, and also contains the album’s titular line.

Overall, the album is a wonderful combination of softness and power, of passion and subtlety. It’s the kind of music you would expect to hear being played live at any of our local bars. If you want that experience in the comfort of your home, give The Decemberists a listen.

– Amanda Cormier

which, overall, is quite good.

The album, inspired by music from the 1950s and 1960s, incorporates pop, reggae, blue-eyed soul and other similar genres. It definitely sounds different compared to most of today’s mainstream genres. If you’re an old soul, this album may appeal to you.

Claps, finger snaps, acoustics, doowops, and three-part harmonies can be found throughout the album: it

really does sound like what you might hear from a jukebox at a 1950s diner.

The album doesn’t do much in terms of autotune, electronic or techno elements, and overall Trainor’s music feels organic, natural and genuine.

The songs on Title, especially “All About That Bass,” have received negative feedback based on the lyrics. Common accusations are that Trainor’s music promotes skinny-

shaming, anti-feminist messages and cultural appropriation. Despite this, Trainor deserves plenty of positive critical reception from the album, mainly because of her musical style.

Title is the kind of album that can appeal to many different audiences, as it’s new and fresh while having the ‘old soul’ spin.

– Amanda Cormier

like Belle and Sebastian. Not unlike a Scottish proto-Arcade Fire, Belle and Sebastian have tried on more hats than they have band members and this album-to-album variety has undoubtedly contributed to their longevity.

Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance fuses all of these sounds together in a way that makes the album chaotic yet cohesive. The distinct voices of

lead singers Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin anchor the songs which might otherwise appear mismatched.

The first track “Nobody’s Empire” is distinctly reminiscent of early albums like The Boy with the Arab Strap and Tigermilk. Alternatively, “The Party Line” and “Enter Sylvia Plath” bring a distinctly Europop sound that is atypical but not unwelcome. The final track “The Book of You” perfectly

blends these traditional sounds with the newer upbeat pop tracks.

Overall, the album’s conflicting sounds feel on the verge of chaos, but the familiar vocals and poetic lyrics tie everything together. Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance highlights the group’s adaptability while still remaining true to their roots.

– Emily Jeffers

Science

Editor: Tyler Pitre | January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

PHYSICS

Cosmic ‘constant’ of light speed not so constant after all

Researchers show that light can be slowed down with modifications to their spatial structure Tyler Pitre Science Editor The massless particle that defines the speed limit of the universe can be slowed down after all. Researchers at the University of Glasgow have devised an experimental procedure which allows them to experimentally show that the speed of light can be slowed down in free space. This slowing down of light in the condition of empty, vacuous space, was once thought impossible.

The research was led by Daniel Giovannini, a research assistant at the University of Glasgow, and conducted

by a team of research students and physicists. They published their results in Science Express under the title “Spatially structured photons that travel in free space slower than the speed of light.”

In order to design an experiment to slow light down, the researchers placed a mask over an optical device in order to give the individual light particles a spatial structure as they were ejected from the laser. This modified the light particles to give them a particular shape before they are shot into space. The researchers then raced their modified particles against regular photons to see if they would finish at different times. They

found that the modified light particles were slowed down and finished later than their regular counterparts.

When the normal light appeared across the finish line, the slower light was about a metre behind.

Even when the machine stopped acting on the light, the particles remained slowed down and did not rebound to their original velocity. The perpetual slowed state of the modified light particles is quite significant.

Normal photons usually bounce back when they face resistance, but even after the machine stopped working on them, the light particles remain slower than their unaltered counterparts.

The idea of slowing down light particles is not new. Every time light passes through a medium such as water or glass, it slows down. As soon as it comes out of the medium, it immediately returns to its original speed.

“This finding shows unambiguously that the propagation of light can be slowed below the commonly accepted figure of 299,792,458 metres per second, even when travelling in air or vacuum,” postdoctoral student Jacquiline Romero said in a press release.

The accepted calculation of c, the symbol for the speed of light, is 299,792,458 metres per second. It is

often regarded as the cosmic speed limit and it is used as a universal constant in physics. Einstein’s equations utilize the constant in order to derive many significant results such as his special theory of relativity and E=mc2.

Slowing down the speed of light in a vacuum may force many physicists to rethink how they view the speed limit of the universe. Although it is doubtful it will have any immediate theoretical implications, Giovannini suggest it may have significant implications on how we use light in technology.

MARINE BIOLOGY

Study predicts mass extinction of ocean animals

Marine habitat loss is a major challenge in next century

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Many marine animals like these Sergeant Major fish may face extinction in the next century according to a new study. Clay Steell/Argosy

Clay Steell Science Reporter Earth’s oceans cover over 70 per cent of the planet’s surface, but despite their immense size, they are increasingly strained by human activity. A new study published in the journal Science predicts that marine animals are poised to undergo “a major extinction pulse”, a moment of sudden change, in the next century, comparable to the many human-caused extinctions of land animals. While its projections are grim, the study emphasizes that it’s not too late for humankind to alter its destructive practices and preserve marine animals.

The study was written by researchers from three major American universities, and led

by Douglas McCAuley from the University of California. The paper, titled “Marine defaunation: animal loss in the global ocean,” amassed

data from other studies to find patterns and make predictions about the health of marine animal populations. It states that humans began to intensively hunt animals in the ocean far later than those on land, so much so that the health of marine animal populations today are comparable to those on land 10,000 to 100,000 years ago. Since then, humans have been responsible for the extinction of hundreds of land animals while driving only 15 marine animals extinct, and none in the last 50 years.

The authors identify habitat destruction caused by new industries and technologies as the main threat to marine animals over the next 150 years. These threats include rapidly growing ocean-based industries, such as aquaculture, seafloor mining and oil drilling, as well as disruptive fishing practices. At present, an area of 50 million square kilometres, roughly five times the size of Canada,

has been disturbed on the ocean floor by bottom fishing and is expected to grow.

The paper also describes conservation opportunities that may help marine animals survive future habitat destruction. Marine animals tend to be much more widespread and mobile than land animals, so a species may survive if a local population becomes extinct. The creation of protected marine parks will be critical to conserve these wide-ranging marine animals. Only 3.6 per cent of the ocean is protected today, four times less than the area that is protected on land. The number of marine parks has grown in recent years, but at present is insufficient to fully protect marine animals.

While marine habitat destruction was the paper’s foremost concern, it warned that many marine species are still vulnerable to extinction from overfishing. Approximately 90 per cent of large fishes have become

extinct in at least parts of their historical ranges, and overfishing is unlikely to slow without better regulations. While the great whales were saved from total extinction due to a collapse in their numbers, highly valued fish today will only get more valuable with scarcity. Individual bluefin tuna today can sell for up to $100,000, and other luxury marine animal products, like shark fin, will probably get more expensive as they become rarer.

The paper also describes the many ways in which humans are dependent on healthy marine animal populations. Forty times the number of wild animals consumed on land is consumed from the oceans, which are of special importance to the diets of coastal developing countries. Marine animals are also important to the stability of the global climate. Corals release a compound that creates clouds which cools the climate, and predators like whales and otters

facilitate the blooming of plankton which sequester atmospheric carbon in the deep ocean. These benefits coming from marine animals will be reduced if the study’s predicted extinction rates become reality.

While relatively few animals in the ocean have been driven to complete extinction, many animals have become extinct in some regions of the oceans. The study predicts that more marine animal species will become locally extinct in the near future. Even if some marine animals do not become completely extinct, their numbers may have been driven so low by human persecution that they become ecologically extinct, that is, not common enough to play a part in their ecosystem. Many great whale species are considered ecologically extinct in the wake of human hunting, some with only 10 per cent of their prehuntedpopulations remaining.

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

Science

ASTRONOMY

New planets found in ‘Goldilocks’ zone

Eight new planets found in a region where liquid water could be sustained on the surface of the planet. Hekerui/Wikipedia.org

TYLER PITRE Science Editor New planetary discoveries suggest the existence of eight new planets in the Goldilocks zone. The region of space is so named because planets within it tend to hold liquid water on their surfaces.

Astronomers at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

have been working for a year on a study concerning eight potential planets in the circumstellar habitable, or Goldilocks zone. Among the eight, two seem particularly promising.

Both Kepler-483b and Kepler-442b have been singled out for their comparability to our own planet.

Their sizes are relatively similar to Earth, and their proximity to their star allows for significant solar radiation. The sizes of these planets

are particularly important, as size is a major determinant in whether a planet is rocky like Earth. Bigger planets, or a massive ones like Jupiter, tend not to be rocky and may not be able to hold any liquid on its surface.

Researchers have been at this study for quite sometime. They first identified these planet candidates during a Kepler mission. However, the ability to confirm important information, such as size and whether

or not they were even planets, came only after the researchers used a computer program called BLENDER. The following year, researchers used different methods of studying the planets, such as spectrometry and optics studies, in order to learn more about their composition.

Spectrometry involves a wide range of techniques of chemical analysis, and is used to determine the characteristics and properties of

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substances, while optics studies are concerned with how light interacts with matter.

Kepler-442b seems most similar to Earth. It goes around its sun once every 112 days and is about onethird larger than Earth. Researchers calculated that the chance of it having rocky characteristics like Earth is about 60 per cent, but receiving only about two-thirds as much sunlight from its sun. Finalizing the statistical analysis for Kepler-442b puts the planet’s probability of being habitable at 97 per cent.

Kepler-438b is the second planet considered to be similar to Earth. It has a greater chance of having rocky characteristics at 70 per percent, but receives 40 per cent more light than Earth does. The total analysis for this planet lies at 70 per cent chance of being habitable.

The extra sunlight poses the biggest habitability problem for Kepler438b. The Goldilocks zone refers to a planet’s distance from the sun: it is not too far from the sun to cause water to be in a constant solid state and it is not too close for the water to vaporize. Kepler-438b may receive too much sunlight to maintain liquid water. But compared to most planets, a 70 per cent chance of habitability looks pretty good.

The word habitable does not mean that a planet contains life. Rather, if a planet is habitable, there is a higher chance for the development of life.

“We don’t know for sure whether any of the planets in our sample are truly habitable,” said astronomer David Kipping from the centre.

Although these planets are interesting candidates as potential hosts of lifeforms, we may not be able to reach them for a very long time.

Kepler-438b is about 400 light-years away from Earth and Kepler-442b is 1,100 light-years away.

RESEARCH PROFILE

Belke lab researches psychology of exercise Researchers use rats to learn about psychological rewards Clay Steell Science Reporter While the Fitness Center may be filled with colloquial ‘gym rats,’ the basement of the Crabtree Building has actual rats that are just as fond of exercise. A professor and researcher in the Mount Allison’s psychology department, Terry Belke and his honour students, study the psychology of running in these rats. Their research has found that running itself has powerful psychological rewards, but that these hinge on the runner’s weight and fitness. While Belke and his honours students conduct their research on rats, their findings have implications to the human psychology of exercise and fitness.

Both humans and rats have an innate incentive to run. But this incentive appears to vary based on an individual’s weight, as well as other factors like genetics or diet.

“We talk about using exercise

Belke and his lab pose with their rats. Left to right: Lauren Kervin, Kim Blunden, Terry Belke, and Sydney Mann. Clay Steell/ Argosy to lose weight,” said Belke. “[Our] research suggests that it’s the other way around: if you lose weight, you will enhance the motivation to exercise.”

Belke’s lab measures how much rats are willing to “work” to satisfy

their urge to run. These rats must press a lever to release the brakes on a running wheel for a certain amount of time. By adjusting how often the rats have to press the lever, the researchers can test the strength of the rats’ incentive to run under

different conditions.

Belke’s honours students this year are also conducting research on the psychology of running.

Student researcher Sydney Mann is studying operant behaviour in the rats, or what the rats will do to get different kinds of rewards. She rewarded the rats with sugar after either pressing a lever or running.

When the sugar reward was taken away, rats would not press the lever.

Rats given sugar after running continued to run at the same rate when this reward was taken away, however.

Student researcher Kim Blunden is studying the effect of caffeine on the rats’ incentive to run. While caffeine has been found to stimulate physical activity and endurance, its effect on the incentive to exercise wasn’t examined.

“It looks as though there’s a possibility of an effect of caffeine [on the incentive to run],” said Blunden, “but the effect appears to be quite small.”

Belke said that running has many

positive psychological benefits such as fighting depression and anxiety, and has even been found to stimulate the growth of neurons, or brain cells.

He added that what his lab finds might inform people who want to exercise on how best to do it.

“The challenge is to learn how running is similar and different to other types of rewards,” Belke said. “We can use that information to suggest ways to enhance the enjoyment or value of exercise for people.”

The lab’s rats are also used in Belke’s psychology course on conditioning.

“Both Kim [Blunden] and I were in that class, and that’s how I decided to do this as my honours project,” said Mann. “Not many undergraduate students get to work with lab animals in bigger universities.”

The incentive to run may have evolutionary origins, said Belke.

According to the Activity Anorexia Hypothesis, the psychological rewards of running at low weights may have evolved for organisms to disperse in times of lean food.

Humour

Editor: Taylor Losier | January 30, 2015 | argosy@mta.ca

Ship’s Log

Crossword Puzzle

EVENTS

Garnet and Gold Musical: Anything Goes!:

S a t u r d a y, J a n u a r y 3 1 : 8 – 11:59pm Convocation Hall: Anything Goes Garnet & Gold will be staging its annual production in Convocation Hall from Januar y 29th to 31st at 8pm, with a 2pm matinee on the 31st.

The production features over 50 cast and crew from Mount Allison University and the community at large.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at the MASU office.

Tickets are 10$ (students) and 12$ (general) in advance or 12$ and 15$ at t h e d o o r.

Coptic Binding workshop: Andrew Wi ls on:

S u n d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 : 2-4 pm Owens Art Galler y Foyer: Pre-registration is required. Please call 364-2574 for more information.

(CUP) - Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission Across 1- Froth; 6- Central points; 10- CPR specialist; 13- Put to rest; 14- Till bills; 15- Perceive as fact; 16- Mother-of-pearl; 17- Home of the Bruins; 18- The very ___!; 19- Editor’s mark; 20- Erin; 22- Familiarize; 24- Official count of population; 28- Writer; 31- Actress Berry; 32- Style; 34- Salt Lake City player; 36- Breathe hard; 37- East ender?; 38- Unity; 41- Univ. aides; 42- Sly look; 44- Tic ___ Dough; 45- Domesticates; 47- Causing goose bumps; 49- Night flight; 51- Title of reverence for God; 53- Close up again; 56- Ray of sunlight; 59- General ___ chicken; 61- Hook’s helper; 64- Linguist Chomsky; 65- Device with 88 keys; 66- Some DVD players; 67- “Born Free” lion; 68- English architect Jones; 69- Small island; 70- Phooey!; 71- Heron, usually white; Down 1- Without;

2- Aristotle’s teacher; 3- Stomach woe; 4- Pertaining to Mars; 5- Spud bud; 6- Next after the third; 7- A single time; 8- Red or white, in the blood; 9- Designer Mizrahi; 10- Finish; 11- “The Simpsons” bartender; 12- Defunct airline; 15- Abduct; 20- Purpose; 21- O.T. book; 23- Monetary unit of Spain; 25- Roofing stone; 26- Arm bones; 27- Hardens; 29- Prevention dose; 30- Road with a no.;

32- Avarice; 33- Diciembre follower; 35- Regard; 37- Zeno’s home; 39- Musical ability; 40- Claims; 43- Salon jobs; 46- Assembly; 48- It’s bottled in Cannes; 50- Stage plays; 52- Type of sanctum; 54- Light ___; 55- Rope used to guide a horse; 57- Gaucho’s weapon; 58- 3:00; 60- Chimney residue; 61- Madrid Mrs.; 62- AT&T rival; 63- Absorb, as a cost; 65- Chart shape.

Last issue’s solutions:

Classic Film Screening:

S u n d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 : 8 pm S i r J a m e s D u n n Wu Centre: P e t e r B o g d a n o v i c h’s “ T h e L a s t P i c t u r e S h o w,”

Vu l v a s a n d Va g i n a s A H o w - To Presentation:

M o n d a y, F e b r u a r y 2 : 6:30 – 9pm S i r J a m e s D u n n Wu Centre: “ Vu l v a s a n d Va g i n a s : A H o w - To P r e s e n t a t i o n” b y D r. L i s a D a w n H a m i l t o n .

This presentation is part of a series of e v e n t s o r g a n i z e d b y, f o r and about vaginas in connection with “The Va g i n a M o n o l o g u e s ” dramatic presentation which is on in the Motyer-Fancey Theatre Februar y 12, 13 and 14.

Canadian Novelist: Cecil Foster:

Tu e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 3 : 7- 8pm Owens Art Galler y Foyer: Canadian novelist, journalist, and scholar Cecil Foster is the author of the non-fiction works ‘Distorted Mirror: C a n a d a’s R a c i s t F a c e ’ ( 1 9 9 1 ) ; ‘A P l a c e C a l l e d Heaven: The Meaning of B e i n g B l a c k i n C a n a d a’ (1996); ‘Isl and Wings: A Memoir’ (1998); ‘Where Race Does Not Matter’ (2005), and ‘Blackness and Modernity : The C ol our of Humanity and t h e Q u e s t f o r F r e e d o m’ (2007) and the novels ‘No Ma n i n t h e Hou s e’ ( 1 9 9 1 ) ,

‘Sleep on, Beloved’ ( 1 9 9 5 ) , ‘ S l a m m i n’ Ta r ’ (1998), ‘Dr y Bone Memories’ (2001) and ‘In d e p e n d e n c e’ ( 2 0 1 4 ) .

D r. F o s t e r i s p r o f e s s o r in the Department of Tr a n s n a t i o n a l S t u d i e s a t SUNY Buffalo, where he is also Associate Director of Canadian Studies.

Co-sponsored by the Centre for Canadian S t u d i e s a n d B S A AT. R e c e p t i o n t o f o l l o w.

Ever yone welcome.

Alban Berg Apprenticeship:

Tu e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 3 : 8-10 pm Br unton Auditorium: F a c u l t y R e c i t a l : “A l b a n B e r g ’s A p p r e n t i c e s h i p .”

Colleen Skull, soprano; Colleen Renihan, mezzosoprano; James Kalyn, clarinet; and Gary Tu c k e r , p i a n o . T i c k e t s are $10/$5, available at the door or at the Music dept. office. For more information call 364-2374 or e-mail music@mta.ca.

CYM Pe er Group:

We d n e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 4 : 7 -9 pm All Nations L ounge: Designed as a weekly s t r e s s - f r e e ‘s a f e s p a c e’ f o r students to get together with their peers. Join us in the All Nations Lounge, second floor Student Centre.

WOMEN’ S VOLLEYBALL:

S a t u r d a y, J a n u a r y 3 1 s t : 1:00 pm McCormack Gymnasium: Mount S aint Vincent vs.

Mount Allison

WOMEN’ S ICE H O C K E Y:

S a t u r d a y, J a n u a r y 3 1 s t : 5:00 pm Ta n t r a m a r C i v i c C e n t r e : S a i n t M a r y ’s v s . M o u n t Allison

WOMEN’ S VOLLEYBALL:

S u n d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 s t : 2:00 pm McCormack Gymnasium: Kings vs. Mount Allison

WOMEN’ S ICE H O C K E Y:

We d n e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 4 t h : 6:45 pm Ta n t r a m a r C i v i c C e n t r e : St. Thomas vs. Mount Allison

WOMEN’ S VOLLEYBALL:

We d n e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 4 t h : 7:00 pm Mount Allison at Holland College

The Argosy | www.argosy.ca

Humour

Potty talk

Why I have issues

A review of the best - and worst - campus bathrooms Taylor Losier Humour Editor

1. Meal Hall: Although these bathrooms are in a high traffic area, they are quite nice and fairly well maintained. Not to mention, they have excellent hand dryers.

2. Avard Dixon: Unequally scattered between floors, the Avard Dixon bathrooms are bewildering. Girls will know the frustration of the singlestall, inconveniently placed freezer that is the first floor bathroom.

3. Conservatory: Some nice bathrooms, albeit a little old.

Although they are essentially unremarkable as bathrooms go, depending on when you use the Conservatory facilities, you could find yourself being being serenaded while you sit upon your throne.

4. Hart Hall: Old but functional, these bathrooms are rather peaceful and I’ve been told that the basement ones sport some rather spectacular graffiti. Just don’t question why there’s a wheelchair accessible stall all the way up on the third floor of an elevator-less building.

5. Barclay: Here are some nice bathrooms... especially on the ground level. Clean, private, excellent water temperature control, Barclay is easily among the top contenders. Now if only the classrooms were as nice.

6. Flemington: Although well lit and spacious, not only are they on the chilly side, but they’re right on the edge of smelling too much like a bathroom. Not to mention, they were incredibly difficult for this reviewer to find.

7. Chapel: Some decent bathrooms; a good temperature and private to boot. Their downfall is that they have a tendency to echo. A lot. Tends to break the divine aura of the place.

8. Crabtree: Dark, old, high traffic areas, some doors that don’t lock…

Crabtree does not stand up well in the bathroom department. Points for the interesting tiles though.

9. Convocation Hall: These are bathrooms that are trying really hard to be nice, opera-house worthy bathrooms. I’ll give them props, although their flushing power leaves a little to be desired.

10. Library: These are bathrooms that are in need of an upgrade.

Although they’re now better than the days of the two-toilets-to-astall, the smell still lingers, and the (usually) politically themed graffiti is lackluster.

11. Athletic Center: Located around the AC, these bathrooms either smell like sweat, are damp from the pool, or bring back the memory of tears and desperation from exam time. If you can stand it, go for it.

12. Student Center: Although these bathrooms are some of the most upto-date on campus, there are a few factors playing against them: they’re always busy (unless you climb to the second floor) and they’re always a little questionable after big party nights.

13. Owens Art Gallery: The bathrooms at the Owens’ are similar to the Chapel’s: clean, private, but prone to echo. If you have issues conducting your visits during fancy, high brow events, these bathrooms may be slightly inconvenient.

Taylor Losier Humour Editor

Do you ever have the sense that you’ve forgotten something? Let’s say you’re walking to class and there’s just something niggling around in the back of your mind. You have the urge to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and awkwardly fumble with your backpack to make sure you have everything you need.

Sometimes you realize that you’re just being paranoid. Sometimes you get to class and realize you left your phone plugged into its charger, your hair dryer running in the bathroom and your final paper sitting neatly printed out on your desk. And then you panic.

This happened to my mum once.

It was an ordinary Sunday, driving home from church. She had that same niggling feeling in the back of her mind that something was missing. She would have called my dad, just to figure things out, but this was before the days of cellphones.

The Dark Ages when you actually had to wait for someone to show up instead of texting “Where are you?” every ten minutes.

And then she got home, counted her kids, and asked my dad: “Where’s Taylor?”

“Didn’t you have her?”

“Shit!”

15

And I was sitting quietly in a corner of my catechism class.

Seriously, in a corner. Behind a chair. I was one of those awkwardly shy kids who never spoke, which was probably part of the reason my family forgot about me.

I survived the ordeal and got a drive home from a friendly church goer. It helped to have experience the next few times I was forgotten: once by my sister at school, twice at the pool by my swim coach, and as early as two years ago, I arrived home from work to find my family had left town for the weekend and forgotten to tell me. It was cool: I got to eat whipped cream from the can for dinner.

So what’s the moral of this story?

Look to the title: I had issues. I was constantly afraid of being forgotten or left out. Today I manage it fine, but every now and then those issues pop up. But you know what? You have issues too. Don’t try and hide it. So does the person sitting next to you, and the guy at the front of the class giving a lecture. Everyone has issues because of something that has happened in the past. Don’t let it define how you see other people.

The only time you should let your issue be an issue – and I mean the only time - is when you’re desperately trying to get something out of someone.

Mom, Dad, how could you forget me at church?? (P.S. Send cookies and grocery money.)

14. Dunn: Confession: I’ve only ever investigated the 1st floor bathrooms.

However, further investigation was halted by the fact that the Dunn bathrooms commit the biggest bathroom sin: they smell like a bathroom.

15. Centennial Hall: I’ve never been to the bathrooms in the administration building. I tend to imagine that they’re all marble, with heated toilet seats, bathroom attendants and a jacuzzi. Yup. 16. Purdy Crawford: Don’t let the newness deter you, the PCCA has the nicest bathrooms on campus.

Spacious, well lit for selfies, notouch hand dryers, not to mention accessible and gender neutral; these bathrooms are the place to pee.

Illustration by Anna Farrell

Puzzle by WebSudoku.com

Patrick Allaby

We’re looking for our next

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Qualifications: Excellent leadership skills Interest in student journalism Experience in editing and design an asset Must be a Mt. A Student

Term: May 1, 2014 to April 30, 2015 Honorarium $5000 paid quarterly To apply, submit a cover letter and resume to:

argosy@mta.ca

Samples of work are welcome but not required.

Applications due:

Feb. 5, 2014