Acadia University’s student newspaper since 1874. November 19th, 2013 Issue 76.6
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There’s blood on your hands, too saRah williaMs staff writer Sitting down to a well-made meal is a welcome respite from studying. However recently, I sat down to a roast of lamb and found myself mired in powerful ethical quandaries. As I leaned in, the cut of meat staring at me from my plate, I wondered, “Is there any ethical way to eat meat?” Hungry, I poured some mint sauce on the lamb. For better or worse, I tucked in to enjoy my gourmet dinner. Do not let my guilt ridden language fool you. I have eaten my fair share of animals. Yet, throughout my life, the relationship I have had with eating meat has been a tumultuous one. I have agonized for months, even years at a time, about how to reconcile my need to eat with the prospect of eating another animals’ flesh. I have both ignored the issue, and dressed it down to its most raw components. Like many facets of life, the relationship one has to their food is a unique one. Certainly, there are those who see animals
as mere food stuffs. Here in the valley, the many malodorous chicken farms are testament to this way of thinking. It would be hard to ignore the caged trucks rolling through town, piled high with these birds, on their inevitable journey to your plate. But is this a necessary? No doubt, at least in factory farming, animals are not treated as sentient beings. Although there is a few farms that have well-treated livestock, they are not the norm. According to beveg.com, over 95% of the 665 million animals slaughtered for food annually in Canada are raised in factory farms. What’s more, factory farming produces a major environmental burden, being responsible for vast amounts of pollution. In her seminal work “Diet for a Small Planet”, Frances Moore Lapp brilliantly
compares the negative environmental detriment of far ming livestock
with that of farming plant-based proteins such as soy. The difference is considerable, and could make any die-hard environmentalist switch to vegetarianism. When considering the cost of a great steak, it seems necessary to consider the environmental and ethical cost of that slab of meat. Getting fed is not a simple task. Throughout our lives, many of us will interact with animals primarily out of need. Guiltily or not, most of us will encounter a barnyard of animals in various and sundry forms. But, like the cages that bind livestock to their fate, we have barred the true, gritty nature of our interaction with animals from mainstream consciousness. For lack of better
words, I find this eerie, and unsettling. Sadly, our culture lacks the vocabulary to describe the gut wrenching torture inherent to our food
system. And so, we lack the framework within which to truly understand one of the most basic tasks—how it is we eat. The language used is morbid, and devoid of any honest interpretation of the situation at hand. In reading about veal recently, I came upon a prime example of this in Peter Singer’s work Animal Liberation. Veal is a curt term, lacking any reference to the trauma infant cows endure before they end up in your casserole. According to Singer, baby cows are seen as a by-product of the dairy industry. They are taken away from their mothers before being
weaned and tethered in a tiny stall until their ultimate demise. Their diet must be milk only, as that produces a tender cut of meat. For this reason, any comfortable hay bedding is not allowed, as the young cows may eat it,
altering the taste and quality of their meat. These details barely scratch the surface of what many animals’ lives and deaths consist of. So, cutting into my near rare leg of lamb, I sighed. Admittedly, I know little of the life my dinner had before it ended up on my plate. Our relationship with animals is rife with hypocrisy. Eating meat is a complicated issue. Let us be honest about what we are doing, and the conditions our mindless
consumption is perpetuating. When we can lay our carnivorous souls bare, perhaps eating will once again become an honest endeavour.
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modusoperandi The Athenaeum is the official student newspaper of Acadia University and is published in print and online yearround at theath.ca. The opinions expressed herein do not represent the Acadia Student Union or the staff of the Athenaeum, they are held by the individuals who contribute to the Athenaeum as essential members of our completely student-run newspaper. The Athenaeum is created by and for students, professors and the entire Acadia University community, including the residents of the town of Wolfville. The Athenaeum is here as a medium of expression for student opinions
the athenaeum Tuesday, November 19, 2013 Issue 76.6 ASU Box 6002, Acadia University Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R5
advertising and as a forum for critical thought and engagement on campus. The Athenaeum strives to add to a culture of intelligent and thoughtprovoking dialogue, and to reach this point we require our student population to be engaged and critical of both the educations they are receiving and the environments and institutions they take part in. T h e A t h e n a e u m m ay a c c e p t submissions from any student or member of our campus, present and past, and is always looking for more writers and photographers. If you are interested then feel free to contact Iain
Bauer at eic@acadiau.ca or Stephanie Gumuchian at athmanagingeditor@ acadiau.ca Articles submitted will be published at the discretion of the editorial board. If there is content that we feel will not add to the philosophy, dialogue, or tone of our newspaper, it will not be published. That being said, all of our staff members look forward to working together with writers to improve their quality of writing, and to make sure the Athenaeum remains professional and well-rounded. There are open story meetings every Sunday at 7:30pm in the Athenaeum
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Gay Acadia Males’ Equity and Support laURen MccaRthy Contributor The word around town is that there is a new division of the Acadia Pride Club. A support group associated with the Acadia University Pride Club has been created to clear up this broken telephone. This group exclusively supports male students that question, hide, or bare their sexual orientation as gay. I met with Laurie Ogville who heads this new club to discuss the new group. Why create a group for homosexuals when there is an Acadia club that already focuses on that? G.A.M.E.S. members are welcome to go the Pride Club meetings; our group is just another activity in a sense. This “separation” is more of a concentration, centered around gay men to create a secure community that can answer questions and show empathy to a degree that others can’t. G.A.M.E.S. is here to specifically provide support for the gay males of Acadia because we have no sense of community, we’re extremely disenfranchised, we have no solidarity, we’re just scattered for the most part. Pride is a bridge between the heterosexual community and the homosexual community, which is great, but at the same time we don’t find relative support that I think is necessary.
So no female members? No, we are not a ratified club because we are exclusive. We are not discriminating against anyone, it’s just that gay men are scattered and most do not speak to each other for anything beyond those primal needs. If someone wants to create a lesbian version of this support group I encourage it. What is this support group offering the men of Acadia? Well first off, Lesbians are one sex and gay males are another. The Pride club is available for the support needed for those with sexual orientation that differs from the heterosexual, but we want to go further than that. Even something as simple as talking about boys, one can talk to a girl and they can empathize—but they can never really understand the same problems or the same views. In health classes we learned the heterosexual side to intercourse, but who is a gay male to go to for helpful information regarding that (meaning more than a guess or google)? That is an example of something that differs greatly for homosexual men and women. Even homophobic issues can differ greatly between lesbians and gay males; the internalized homophobia is a huge problem, especially in a suburban area like Wolfville where there isn’t a strong community like say Toronto
Wikimedia Commons or Montreal. So what are the group meetings like? Next week is our first meeting; it is going to be a group collection of ideas to figure out what we, the members, want out of it. We want to bring up topics and concern that a lot of men don’t know about along with meeting others to form a sense of community and understanding. We want to keep the group somewhat on the down
low, that’s why we’re doing things just through email, to give some security to the members because some men are still sexually frustrated, fear the social aspect of being openly gay, etc. Our meetings will be on campus because we want to support the Acadia community. We’re even talking about maybe opening this up to faculty for younger men to have a form of local role model. Even if you are questioning your sexuality you can be in an environment with people that
know that they are and they can be a mirror to reflect on, so it could be helpful to people that are struggling with their identity—it can really help with the stresses of questioning one’s sexuality.
However, the current challenge with these campaigns is not getting the word out, it is the amount of work associated with setting them up! For an organization or individual to make the decision to invest in these types of companies, research is required. Presently, most investment packages are just that—packages! To gain the most for your dollar, financial advisors generally put together a package that includes varying stocks that are dependent on the type of return sought. For those more aggressive plans, investments need to be made in industries that are moneymakers. Currently, these investments tend to favour heavy polluters, such as oil and gas companies. Therefore, in order to successfully implement a divestment package, it is necessary to investigate each individual company within that block of potential investments. To add to the challenge, legislation and organizational polices change frequently, as do the concerns and priorities of the investors. Furthermore, what might apply to one area of the world does not necessarily apply globally.
Here at Acadia, divestments are merely a discussion. Although no formal divestment plan is currently in the works, the university has made some strides in this direction. Presently, there are two investment options for employees of the University; investment funds and endowment funds. Both options are overseen by a committee under the advisory of an investment manager, who monitor the ethical practices of the companies they invest in. The ASU also has it in their constitution that investments must be ethically sound. Unfortunately, the VP Finance did not return attempts to discuss this section in more detail. There is, however, buzz stirring around campus that students are trying to put together a divestment campaign; a result of the recent AYEC Speak Up! Conference hosted at Acadia last month. There is more emphasis on discussion regarding ethical investment.
If someone is interested in the group how can they get involved? They can email games@acadiau.ca
Acadia and ethical investment eMily KenneDy staff writer Acadia students place a lot of their hard earned money into their education. However, how these funds are used can seem to be an mystery for many. Where does our money go? In whose hands will it end up in? Would
top divestment campaign Fossil Free, divestments are “the opposite of an investment–it simply means getting rid of stocks, bonds or investment funds that are unethical or morally ambiguous.” Basically, this means having the option to select portfolios that invest in companies who use ethical and environmentally conscious practices. If this trend can continue to grow, it could mean big things for the market itself. Companies, not in compliance with the demands of these divestments, wo u l d n e e d t o m a k e a decision—continue with their current practices, or reevaluate and conform to the demands of investors. This results in creating change amongst certain industries, as the basis of these divestment portfolios is to reduce the amount of investment in companies who create excessive fossil fuel emissions. This could another way in which to lead environmental change for the future at the individual level. Cully Simpson
we be willing to tolerate our funds going to companies who engage in dubious ethical practices? A recent trend in the climate change debate is concerns financial matters. Universities across Canada and the United States, along with other groups and organizations are making the switch to more ethically focused investment deals, in a little something called divestments. According to the
For more information on Fossil Free’s campaign, visit their website at http:// gofossilfree.org.
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A letter to the Kings County Advertiser twice per week).
Matthew Rios Contributor
When individuals generalize students at Acadia, they i n va l i d a t e a l l t h e work our students do to contribute to this wonderful community. As re presentatives of students, we will not allow comments of this nature to go unchallenged.
Acadia Student Union President Matt Rios submitted this letter to the Kings County Advertiser regarding their publication of the article Students partying in Wolfville. The letter was sent on behalf of the Student Union and the student body at Acadia University. November 12, 2013 Jennifer Vardy-Little Editor Kings County Register/Advertiser Kentville, B4N 2N1 I am writing in response to the article “Acadia Students Partying in Wolfville” (November 7th). This article highlighted incidents that occurred over the Halloween weekend and suggested all incidents were caused by Acadia University students. The Students’ Union has taken tremendous exception to the unfounded generalizations this paper has made towards Acadia students. This piece of writing is a reflection of those in our community who sensationalize the ‘student problem’ to their own benefit, without providing any concrete recommendations on how to address the issues we face together. There is a lot of positive work occurring between the Town and the University. Misinformed articles like this do not complement those efforts. If the writer of this piece had done due diligence they would have discovered that a number of the incidents in question were not perpetrated by
Respectfully submitted, Matthew Rios President Acadia Students’ Union
Acadia students, but rather by visiting individuals. In light of the lack of balance in this piece, we have taken it upon ourselves to provide the full context of Halloween weekend activities. • On October 26th, Acadia students from Seminary House hosted their annual haunted house, which raised $1,500 with $1000 going towards Wolfville’s L’Arche Homefires. • On October 31st over 100 students participated in “Trick-or-Eat,” another
• On the Halloween weekend we had over 250 students participate in S.M.I.L.E., a volunteer program that fosters fundamental motor development for children and youth with varying disabilities (this program occurs three times per week). • We had another 55 students work with Kinderskills, a group that works in developing motor development skills with kids aged 0-5 (this program occurs
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Devouring delusions Jacob Verhagen News Editor Where does our food come from? This is a question often glossed over by students when they purchase their next meal from a store. Often it is seen as ‘pretentious’ when someone goes out of their way to buy local or sustainable food. However, is it unrealistic to buy local? Is it actually as time consuming and costly as some would have it to buy local? Researcher Jenna KhouryHanna asks this question for her Honours thesis in Environmental Science and sustainability studies. Khoury-Hanna seeks to challenge the assumptions made about buying local and sustainable food through showing the availability of local food and by price comparison between local and conventional food baskets. There are two parts to Khoury-
Hanna’s research, first is a study popular perceptions of local and organic food. She wrote of her first step. “This was done by conducting interviews to discuss food purchasing habits and perceptions of local and organic food with participants. I then hosted workshops to teach the participants and to discuss what local and organic means and completed a practice food costing activity with them at a grocery store and at a farmers’ market. Each person then completed a food costing activity at a grocery store and alternative food store in their community to compare the price of local and organic with conventional food options. A month after they completed the food costing activities they were re-interviewed to see what they had learned, if their food purchasing habits had changed at all or if their perceptions had changed”.
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annual event that collected over 2600 food items for the local food bank.
Secodly, Khoury-Hanna wanted to know whether organic and local produce actually does cost more than conventional produce. “I am using the food costing data collected by the participants as well as data from FoodARC (Action Research Centre) to see if local and organic food actually costs more than conventional food or not and if yes or no, what the difference in price is. The food items used in the costing activity come from the National Nutritious Food Basket which is a tool the government uses to determine how expensive buying groceries are for Canadians so a comparison can be made there.” Khoury Hanna’s thesis has broader implications for the province as well. “This is important because the government is in the process of developing a goal and strategy to make 20% of food purchases made by Nova Scotians local ones by 2020.”
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Feeding your brain DaRcie slateR Contributor Some of you may think, “Why should I care about what foods go into my body? I am young, I am healthy, and I do not need to worry about that until I am much older,” but really you should be thinking about proper nutrition now. Not only is it not possible to be healthy without a healthy diet, but nutrition correlates directly with mental health, a predominant issue for people in their late teens and early twenties. Dr. Susan Potter graciously agreed to be interviewed on this topic to help students on and off campus understand the implications
of nutrition on mental wellness. Dr. Potter is a psychology professor at Acadia, and her current research interests are focused on the effects of nutrition on psychological functioning. At this time, she is investigating the gut microbiome in relation to anxiety and depression, and using probiotics as an intervention method. In the interview, Dr. Potter stated that, “The implications of nutrition on mental health are huge, because mental health depends on your brain functioning properly, and your brain functioning properly depends heavily on nutrition.” She also explained that if you are not receiving proper nutrition, your body can not function properly, meaning that your kidneys will not be expelling toxins, your liver will not be processing fats etc., and this will negatively affect your brain functioning. All the vitamins and minerals are important for your body to function, and there are ones that your brain specifically needs. For example, many enzymatic reactions require zinc, and it is also important for immune functioning. However, your brain needs zinc to make neurotransmitters, which are required to send signals to specific areas of the body telling it to
perform a function. In comparison to zinc, a micronutrient like vitamin A is very important for maintaining cells, vision etc., but it is less important in brain functioning. Furthermore, the vitamins and minerals that are less important for your brain are typically needed by the rest of your body. If you are deficient on those nutrients, your body as a whole is not functioning the way it should, and your brain will be negatively affected as well. Dr. Potter said that, “the central nervous system has very specific nutrients that you need high levels of because they are particularly credible for mental health.” These nutrients include the macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and protein), as
The Athenaeum well as the micronutrients such as magnesium, zinc, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, folic acid, calcium, iron, copper, and selenium. Considering the macronutrients, fats are particularly important because your brain and nervous system are highly fatty. Within the fats, long chain omega 3 fatty acids are critical, as they form cell membranes, and make up about 70% of the fatty acids in your brain. If you are deficient in omega 3s, your body will substitute them with omega 6s, which are abundant in our diet, to do things such as fixing brain cells, but they do not work as well as omega 3s. Dr. Potter stated that there is only one source of these long chain omega 3 fatty acids, and that is cold water fish. A risk from eating cold water fish is bioaccumulation, meaning the larger your fish, the longer it has been around and the more toxins it may have picked up from eating smaller species. Eating sardines is the best way to acquire omega 3 through the diet without risking high levels of harmful toxins such as mercury or other heavy metals. The ideal kind of omega 3s for the brain are long chain fatty acids found in fish, but a second kind are short chain fatty acids that are plant-based.
The short chain fatty acids have to be converted to long chain fatty acids by an enzyme in the body before it can be used by the brain, but many people are deficient in this enzyme. Therefore, people who do not eat cold water fish can obtain omega 3s by eating things like hempseed oil, chia seeds, omega 3 eggs, and flax seeds. S i m i l a r t o m a c r o n u t r i e n t s, micronutrients are also very important for brain functioning. People are often deficient in critical micronutrients such as zinc, selenium, and magnesium, as they are hard to obtain in the diet. These nutrients are so important because they have antioxidant properties, meaning they neutralize free radicals formed from metabolism in the body. Free radicals can attach to DNA, our genetic blueprint that codes for proteins, and disrupt the function of it. If DNA is disrupted you will have many issues within the body, but antioxidants neutralizing free radicals prevents the damage of cells. Foods darker in colour are said to have more antioxidants, so make sure you eat those dark, leafy greens! Magnesium in particular is directly related to the nervous system, so if you are deficient, your nervous system will not function properly, contributing to symptoms like irritability, depression, sleep problems, and premenstrual syndrome. Most micronutrients are critical for the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and GABA. Deficient serotonin levels are associated with disorders like depression, sleep apnea, and insomnia, and if you are deficient in dopamine, you might have trouble experiencing pleasure. Deficiencies in norepinephrine are associated with issues regulating serotonin and dopamine levels, and GABA is involved every time a neuron fires. Dr. Potter also discussed mental health in relation to weight loss/ gain. She stated that there are forms of depression that give patients a veracious appetite, but most lose weight. However, a lot of medications will cause weight gain as a side effect. In particular, Dr. Potter spoke about some aspects of her research, explaining that the gut microbiome is all the bacteria in our gut. We have about 10 times more bacteria in our gut than cells in our body, and our immune system functioning is directly tied to our gut microbiome function. Dr. Potter also said, “The gut microbiome influences mental health. The gut microbiome is also associated with obesity, so there is a pathway there somehow, but beyond that there is not a huge link between obesity and mental health. Maybe people that are obese are more likely to be depressed and anxious because of the environment that they are in as a result of people mistreating them and discriminating against them because
they are overweight, but there does not seem to be a really strong link between obesity and mental health except that depressed people are less likely to get up and exercise and do things, and therefore they might gain weight.” In comparison, people with anxiety are more likely to be really thin because they are burn so many calories from their anxiety. Dr. Potter stated that studies have shown a relationship between a person’s gut microbiome and mental illness. Having a marred gut microbiome can precede anxiety and depression symptoms, and research suggests that a huge percentage of people with anxiety and/or depression have digestive issues, the most common being irritable bowel syndrome. One interview question addressed nutrition and the likelihood of developing a mental disorder. Dr. Potter spoke of the diathesis-stress model. This model proposes that mental illness arises from an interaction
between a vulnerability (i.e. genetic or environmental predisposition) and a series of stressors that trigger the predisposition. If you are malnourished, that could make you vulnerable to developing a mental disorder. This implies that nutrition is very important for mental health, but as for mental illness, it is only one of many contributing factors. If anyone would like to know their daily intakes of nutrients, Dr. Potter suggests the website nutritiondata.self. com. You enter what you eat in a day, and it produces an analysis of your nutrient intake. Dr. Potter and staff are currently conducting a research project looking at effects of probiotics on anxiety and depression in adults, and anxiety and ADHD in kids between ages of 6-12. They are looking for participants, and if anyone is interested, they can get more information on their website: probioticstudy.com.
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By: Sarah Williams Big geese Swaddling the water hole Black and white With long necks and fine, beautiful feathers They are majestic, somehow. And when the warm wind blows Muddying their reflection in the water below They are the stillness and poise of pressed glass. But far from this scene of elegance Lies the king of pates Furrowed in his insidious down duvet Or supermarket aisle, alike. You see, ignorance and cruelty often go together. For the world loves foie gras And all such fine things To feed our desire
These geese are made fat-force fed with funnels A ritual lacking in any semblance of class They say, though, that goose liver pate Grey matter DNA Tastes good with a little bubbly Hold the sigh of displeasure And please remember, The still life beauty and poise of These primordial beasts, These geese, feathers ruffled in the windy weather In the end, their beauty will be mired In a lifeless lump, contained within a tin, And it is quite a contrast.
Mira Dietz Chiasson
Erased
By: Stephanie Gumuchian
Elbow grease Used to wipe away Antique assertions Backward expressions Leaving grey remains Of things Left unsaid
Nathan Kaulback
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friends food foe r fea
Fierce howls In the wind Raw life Real life Tracks in the snow Traces, leading to places Only they know Amber eyes Padded paws Soft noses The hidden fierceness,
Sleeping in the genes Of our domestic friends
To flesh and bone on a plate And it’s so easy to stop caring About that being.
I see Raw life, real life In wild life And I hear Real strength In their voices
And it’s easy to fear Fierceness Easy to put distance Between Us and Them.
Animals: Friends or foe, To fear or feed Or feed on?
Until we remember That they are Us And we are Them.
It’s so easy to go From feathers and feet, A moving, breathing, running Being
By: Mira Chiasson
If you remembered
Kelsi Barr
By: Mira Chiasson
The woodpecker told me that we had broken all the rules. Woodchips flying from either side, As the crow shot across the sky like an arrow. Touché. Human, if you stood on four legs instead of two, Perhaps we could see eye to eye. If you remembered who we are. If you traded arrogance for wings, We could teach you to fly. If you remembered who you are. Nothing more than an ape, Who leapt from the trees In recent memory, Stood up and Started walking. You think you’ve conquered The world But if you remembered to give As much as you take, You’d lessen that ache. And if you listened, You would find answers In the wind.
Kelsi Barr
When was the last time We coexisted In these woods? When was the last time You thought of us As your kin? Human, if you knew. If you remembered.
{
Affinity By: Stephanie Gumuchian
slip-tongues, catch phrases. one-ups and soul mazes, tricky little bastards, suppressing our giggles. It’s a struggle to be intimate, stale smirks, successful thinking, pretense upon pretense, we feed off of one another.
{
Do you fear Feathers, fur Fangs Do you fear Death By tooth, by claw By gaping jaws
Common ground meet feisty eyes, as shadows legitimize our locked fingers, turn-tables, deceit fumbles, simple late night match ups, become early morning flees, fast-forward, stick-stuck-standard, you could have scared me.
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Between the sheets: Sex toys Grace Blyss Sex Columnist Penetration. For me, this is arguably the best part about sex and I am pretty sure that it should be it’s own sexual orientation (seriously, why is it not already). I believe whole-heartedly that everyone should have a goddamn dildo. Every single person. They are amazing, and I do not think you can really appreciate them until you have used one. They can seem pretty strange at first: the idea of thrusting a jellyfeeling fake dick inside of yourself can be weird for the first time, no doubt. But I promise after your first use, you will love it. It is like love at first sight (but without another person, so I guess it would be more appropriate if I said love at first fuck).
Walking into any sex shop can be intimidating. As soon as you walk in, you have hundreds of tits, clitorises, tassels and whips shoved in your face. It is a lot to take in the first time; I will admit I was intimidated. But the best thing about sex shops is the amazing staff that works in them. They are so friendly and open and helpful! It really makes the first time a hell of a lot easier. I would definitely recommend looking online at the preferred store and browsing their online catalog first. Read as much as you can about the products you think you might be interested in so you are informed and feel comfortable. Also, do not be ashamed if you do not know what something means. Just Google it before going and nobody will ever know! (Asking people who work at the sex shop works just as well too.) I have a Hank from the website below! He is a beauty! This is a great starter dildo because it is not too big,
sensation. The dildo I have is a bit different from the one offered online. It is slightly more awesome because it is made of glittery-blue silicon instead of realistic flesh coloured silicon. You jealous? Should be. Hank is also water-proof (obviously) and is great for a quick self-fuck in the shower when you want an orgasm but are cramped for time. Shower orgasms feel like multitasking, and if you are like my roommate Natalie and worry about your roommates hearing you/walking in (or your
Venus Envy but not too small. The last bowl of roommates parents walking in, that is porridge if you will. And if you are like plenty awkward as well but I will tell me and really like G-spot stimulation, that story later), the shower can be your Hank curves upwards slightly for a rad safe haven. Just remember to lock the
Losing my virginity Grace Blyss Sex Columnist Alright, so now that we have gone through the basic shit last week, how about we get to know each other a bit better. Something I have learned is that you need to tell people something personal or embarrassing
about yourself so they know that they can trust that what you are saying is not going to be sugar-coated or “danced-around.” So let us talk about virginity. More specifically, the loss of my virginity. I was dating this guy named Andrew when I was 14, for about a year and a half. He was two grades ahead of me and had just gotten his own car. Imagine my 14-year-old heart fluttering. Looking back now, I can not believe
I wanted to lose my v-card to this skinny, spiky haired little shit, but for whatever fourteen-year-old reasons, I did. We had been dating for nearly six months when we first talked about it; he had had sex one time before, with his last girlfriend. However, he still considered himself a virgin, because she broke his poor wittle heart. I really want to stress that losing your virginity is a bigger deal to some people than it is to others. I am one of those people who never really thought of their virginity as something special for me to give to the right person. But however you feel about your v i r g i n i t y, y o u r opinion is fucking rad and power to you, baby! So one day when Peter’s parents were gone out to the movies, he asked if I wanted to take a Anjuli Ripley shower with him. I was really excited! I had never thought that sex was a big deal, and here was this really nice guy who was caring and willing to wait until I was ready. Why the fuck not? I wanted to. So we got into the shower, and he told me how to position my body to avoid hitting my head off the faucet while he entered me from behind. People always say that your first time hurts, and that there is usually blood, but that did not happen when I lost my virginity (although the
half bottle of lube I made him use might have something to do with that). He was more nervous than I was, and I can remember feeling confused because it didn’t feel as good as I thought it would. It didn’t make any sense to me what all the ruckus was about if this was all it was. So what happens when you are breathing heavily in a hot, steamy room? Bingo! You pass the fuck out. And that is exactly what happened. I do not remember what happened in between me (probably forcefully) pushing his hips away from my ass, and waking up bleeding in the tub, but I guess it is not very hard to fill in the blanks. I had smoked my nose off the side of the tub when I fell, and that hurt like a fucking bitch. So on top be being insanely embarrassed that I had passed out while losing my virginity to my boyfriend, I was also bleeding all over him, myself, and his bathroom. And you know how it just seems so much worse when blood mixes with water? The shower head was still going; the tub just looked like a goddamn murder screen. Poor Andrew, he looked terrified. I think he thought he had killed me. I had two huge black eyes for the next two weeks and told my parents I had opened Peter’s car door on my face. We didn’t try to have sex again for a few months after that, and we never really talked about it again. I didn’t understand how hilarious it was until I was telling my best friend the story and she was roaring with laughter. For everyone who is still a virgin, please do not fuck in the shower for the first time. It is a recipe for a broken nose.
bathroom door. (http://venusenvy.ca/categ or y/ catalog/dildos?page=1) Before I end this, however, there are two things I would like to make clear: JUST BECAUSE A GUY WANTS YOU TO STICK A DILDO (or finger) UP HIS ASS, DOES NOT MEAN HE IS GAY. EVERYONE HAS A WHOLE OTHER G-SPOT UP THERE AND IT FUCKING FEELS AWESOME WHEN YOU FIND IT. (SO GO FIND IT). (Yeah, asap). And lastly, if you do not feel comfortable going into a sex shop, why the fuck would you go into one? If you honestly do not like the idea at all, do not ever let anyone make you feel shitty for not wanting to go. They can go eat gum off the sidewalk.
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A time at Hal-con
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Food review: Privet House
Jacob Dawe Staff Writer
Kira Awrey Contributor
I am no stranger to sci-fi conventions; I have attended my fair share of them. In particular, Fan-Expo in Toronto are some of the best memories I have—to immerse myself in the culture that has become so intertwined with popular culture and my life. There is something special about these events, these convention,s that make them unique. The chance to meet and see a variety of people from television, movies, your favourite books, comic books, and every other vocation you can think of. To find strange and amazing things to buy that you have never seen anywhere else, and the entire time knowing that the people around you are thinking the same way. It is an experience that once you finally have a chance to feel, you can never forget. This year since Fan-Expo was out of reach I decided to try my hand at Hal-Con, and I had great expectations. The line up of guests had me intrigued: Jewel Staite from Firefly, Peter Davison the 5th Doctor, Pete Williams the creator of Undergrads (an incredibly important show to me during my youth), and the icon Billy Dee Williams (known most famously as Lando Calrissian from Star Wars). Making it downtown and finding a parking space is always a task. I made my way to the convention centre where I was treated to the first sight of something that would never disappear from the time I was at Hal-Con: The Line. I am by no means a stranger to the lines of a convention; I have waited in them for hours at a time. The line to get in I accepted as part of the experience and made my way into the convention centre.
Privet House is Wolfville’s chic upscale restaurant, created, run, and owned by Jamie Smye and Liisa Sellors. They are originally from Niagara, Ontario, where they began their careers as a Chef (Jamie) and manager (Liisa). Privet House combines local Canadian products with international tastes. Privet House is an upscale restaurant that most students do not have the financial stability to eat at. With little surprise I found that the food was amazing and service was arguably the best in Wolfville. The few downsides are the price,s which discourage students, and the lack of options for vegetarians, like myself. However, what you can find as a vegetarian is quite tasty. It’s greatest menu item by far is the ice cream. A common issue for stressed, stricken students is that there is no great ice cream in Wolfville. Cold Stone just does not cut it sometimes. Little do most know homemade ice cream is the Privet House’s best kept secret. Flavours change from week to week and they are all amazing. One of the best flavours I have encountered thus far was Skor bar ice cream. Some other great menu items that never fall short are the Mixed Green Salad and their daily made soups (butternut squash, in particular, is delicious). Overall it is a great place to eat, even if you try it just once for a special event. They will even give you a little taste tester to “clear the palette.” If that does not scream high-class I do not know what will. It is by far the best place in Wolfville and the price is completely understandable, given the level of service and great food.
I am not one to condemn an experience at any point, and I truly enjoyed my time at Hal-Con. I have only one criticism of the event: the size and layout of the convention centre is not conducive to the amount of people who were inside. It was very clear that they had oversold the event, and the space was overwhelmingly crowded from one side to the other. Lines and crowds appearing seemingly out of nowhere, it was hard to tell where you were at times. Regardless, I pushed through these crowds and soldiered on to find what I could at the event. Going through the booths, looking at the different groups of Cosplay, artists, authors, and designers it was very clear the devotion to Hal-Con was the same as anywhere else. I became impressed and incredibly proud that the East Coast was just as fanatic as some of us in Central and Western Canada.
My chance to see Billy Dee Williams and Jewel Staite was fleeting, but still incredibly satisfying, as always. It is a unique experience, meeting one of these people, and I have had my share in the past, being groped by a certain star from Doctor Who is something that never really leaves you (looking at you Captain Jack). Yet the crowds were something I could never get over, and the space just was not there for the event that was envisioned. This point was proven when the amount of people inside the convention centre exceeded capacity and the Fire Marshall was called and everyone had to leave the centre and re-enter, so that safety could be ensured. Three years ago an identical occurrence happened at Fan Expo, and it is not only annoying for the attendees, but also annoying for the people working. Fan Expo’s solution was to move to a bigger floor of the
Hal-Con Facewbook Convention centre, however this is clearly not a solution available to Hal-con. It is clear, though, that the growing interest and devotion to “Geek” culture, if I may be so bold to label it, requires a solution. If attendance continues to grow it is quite clear that something needs to be done, so that everyone can enjoy the convention, and new people can explore this experience for themselves. I neither present myself as an expert nor am I presenting a solution, this is merely some advice. Above all I wish to stress, that if you have an interest in this culture, and have the curiosity, GO to a convention. It will produce an experience you may never forget, and show you that your passion links you with so many others in the world. Excelsior!
The art of the home brew James Kelly Contributor Alcohol. Liquor. Booze. Brew. The Hard Stuff. Whatever your fancy, the local NSLC is likely to tickle it! From 3% to 75%, chilled or neat, there is a monstrous selection available from a short walk down Front Street and a quick chip off the ol’ savings account. However, what if I told you there was another way? An older way, an autonomous way? I present to you, the ancient art of the Home Brew. The art of the home brew is a fascinating skill to acquire. As we have all experienced in our first few weeks at Acadia, maturing human beings have a natural drive for self-
Kelsi Barr
efficiency, and I believe that brewing your own alcohol is no exception. Check this out: I made my f i r s t b a t ch o f honeywine from one ingredient trip to the grocery store, and a 10$ investment produced 5 bottles of wine. No gear, no chemicals. I am literally sipping on a glass of homemade firewater as we speak. It tastes great! If brewing your own alcohol is something that piques your interest, I strongly recommend giving it a shot. Through my own
trial and error, I have compiled a list of items that will get your own closet brewery bubbling: 1: Find a partner in crime. Brewing is significantly more enjoyable with someone who is as new and excited about the art as you are. 2: Google “Quick (insert alcohol of choice here) recipe”, and learn! The internet is full of equal parts ingrates and knowledgable sages looking to spread their passion with the world. It is easy to distinguish the two. 3: SANITIZE. I can not stress this enough. Bleach and thoroughly rinse everything that contacts the brew prior to fermentation. When science in a sealed container does its thang you are gonna want pure ingredients and no festering contaminants. 4: Keep a written brewer’s book.
Ingredients, dates, quantities, etc. Just trust me on this one. 5: Eat, drink, and be merry. Seriously, that is it. It is painlessly simple, and the hardest part is the aging! My first batch of mead (honeywine) required honey, water, oranges, raisins & bread yeast, required only 2 months to age, and finished at a delicious 14% alcohol. The sense of accomplishment that comes with brewing your own alcohol is not something that is easily conveyed through words, but rather something that resonates within the very fabric of your soul upon completion of your first batch. It is like that moment when Walt went for the drug bust ride with Uncle Hank. With time, you will be good at it. And you will really like it! “Yeah, Mr. White! Science, bitch!”
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The darker part of our appetites Jacob VeRhagen news editor
What is it like working at a butcher shop? Revealing is the best word I can use to describe it, though perhaps not in the way you may think. You may have just imagined Food Inc. style backrooms where nefarious workers stand around a pink piece of meat injecting it with Looney Tunes size syringes. No, that was not the case, but then again I worked in some smallscale operations in Toronto, we would never have the financial backing against an impending lawsuit. My foray into the meat industry began at the age of 15 when I ventured to answer an advertisement for a newly established butcher shop in my Etobicoke neighbourhood. Over the course of my stay I would come to eat all that creepeth and walketh upon the earth. Our shop specialized in ‘exotic’ meats, providing our clientele with the decision of kangaroo, camel, musk ox, alligator, or anything else for their dinner time novelty. I have also eaten most parts of a cow’s body as well, the liver, stomach, heart, brain, hoof, etc. I have never had the pleasure of enjoying intestines though I have been led to believe that they taste something like what they digest. It was certainly messy work. The smell of constantly touching the exposed muscle of deceased critters tends to be hard wash away, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean” I would chuckle. I would some days be enlisted to take off a lamb’s ribcages, stuff excess meat into tubing (your sausages), behead rabbits, or take the spines out of chickens. I literally had their backs. I was part of a long line of people, from the abattoir to the cash register, who played a part in hiding from the public what they were eating. You get to see a small fragment of flesh little resembling the being that it once was. I learned early the anatomy of the cow. When customers asked me where a Flank steak was from I would point to my abdominal muscle. My boss would chastise me of course; you do not want the customer personifying their meat. I a s ke d t h e g u y s f r o m t h e slaughterhouse once what they thought the hardest animal to kill was. I expected that soft cuddly lambs might be the answer, but alas it was pigs. Lambs and cows were easy enough, as they sat in the truck, aware but not disturbed. Chickens went about their business ruffling their feathers and generally pecking one another. Pigs though, they knew what was going on. The pigs knew there was a reason why they were being moved. The boys claimed the pigs had a sense that they were going to their doom. The
pigs would try and escape their fate, to hold on to their life, and this made it emotionally hard to kill them; they seemed just like people. Interestingly enough, pigs share a large portion of our DNA. They are a distant evolutionary cousin to us bipedal humans, and are generally regarded as the smarter of the barnyard animals. Pork also tastes, though I have never had the culinary experience myself, very similar to what human flesh would taste like. Apparently there was a tribe in Papua New Guinea whose word for roasted human flesh was “long pig.” The pig, also like us, is not only a cunning creature, but also a loving and social animal. You would not realize this when you buy your plastic wrapped pre-sliced bacon, now it is just a commodity. We are so removed from the animals that feed our insatiable appetites for dead flesh that the thought of them once being alive sickens us. We prefer to have the ugly parts of our food hidden; we want the ugly done somewhere else. We do not want to think that at one point that pork chop we are about to pan-fry with onions once had a family, social relationships, was loved and gave love. We want to be removed from that and with some money we can have the invisible hand of the market remove it for us. After work, I usually liked having a big Greek salad, the kind with dark greens, sliced sweet red onion, fat juicy olives, and good splash of nutty olive oil. This is not to say that I abstain from meat nowadays, I still partake. I have been presented with enough philosophical education, in particular Peter Singer’s All Animals Are Equal, to know that the numerous alternatives to eating meat make the activity ethically dubious. I am quite aware of my being a walking hypocrisy as a flesh eater. Perhaps it is terrible that I
take solace in that I have been privy to just a sliver of the process that turns a sentient cow into a juicy burger patty. The distant relationship of the
animals who make our meat and the individual who devours them helps us forget. It helps cast a curtain over the darker part of our appetites.
Joe Mabel Times may have changed since Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, or maybe we can simply pay to hide what we do not want to see.
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Putting fairness back in food saRah henRi Contributor Food is an intimate issue for many of us. For some people, food is just food. For others, it is a way to nourish and energize us as well as relate to family and friends. Our individual eating habits make us each unique, and it is troublesome when someone criticizes, judges, or knocks down these habits. As midterms, projects and essays are at their peak this semester, I find myself increasingly busy and often have to resort to quick and possibly unhealthy snack foods. This is a commonality among many university students, but I feel that being a nutrition student adds another layer of stigma. I suspect my hard work and credibility are questioned when my usually nutritious eating habits falter. In a perfect world, nobody except you and your health care provider should care about what you eat. If we decline junk food, we are labeled as picky nutrition students. Upon consuming junk food, we are seen as bad nutrition students. What would the result be if all students were held to such a high standard? For instance, are kinesiology majors expected to go to the gym everyday? Are psychology students criticized if they show any mental health concerns? These
alternative examples seem outrageous, and put students under immense and unnecessary expectations. There is an assumption that nutrition students and health care
investing time into one’s field of study and is able to give nutritional advice to others pertaining to their individual needs, one’s personal diet should not matter. The same can be said for a
surgeon can perform their job to the same standards that an attractive one can. One may argue that nutrition students and health care workers are
professionals maintain perfectly healthy and textbook diets, and that any sort of indulgence is reprimanded. Is it hypocritical for nutrition students to eat poorly? As long as one is
variety of professions—an overweight physical trainer is able to use his or her knowledge and education to help clients just as well as one who is in shape, and an unattractive plastic
Sarah Henri supposed to act as role models or serve as a positive example for the public, and that their diet should be acknowledged. However, the focus of a person’s study need not be reflected
in their personal life. Harshly judging people’s eating habits is unproductive and does not solve any issues regarding nutrition. If we carefully listen to the reasons why one eats what one eats— considering one’s environment, income, food availability, stress level, and time constraints, and remain open minded, we could better understand someone’s diet and form opinions accordingly. Health is relative—what one considers healthy is not indicative of what healthy means to the next person. It is frustrating and difficult when you constantly feel like your diet is being critiqued. We may or may not feel like eating junk food at a certain time, our field of study should not have anything to do with it. Food preferences are a personal matter, and it can feel like an attack when someone belittles our diet. Additionally, holding individuals to such a high standard only causes stress and pressure—regardless of study. It is important to recognize that we are only responsible for what we feed ourselves, and it is unfair to judge others. My advice for people is to try to look past their pre-existing stereotypes when interacting with others, and be aware that there are a multitude of reasons to which someone eats the food that they eat.
Hope Blooms: a call for community engagement eMily KenneDy staff writer On November 13, 2013, I had the honour of attending the live viewing of CBC’s Dragon’s Den with some pretty amazing kids. In the heart of north-end Halifax, an area known for being subject to violence and negative media coverage, a group of forty-three 7-14 year olds have created something spectacular. Hope Blooms is a community garden turned salad dressing business that represents the hard work of these “would-be” at risk youth. Over the last few years their business has been growing, starting by selling bottles of their product weekly at Halifax’s Seaport Market to turning down a deal with Sobey’s because they simply cannot keep up with the demand! If that is not enough to sell you on this initiative, their recent appearance on Dragon’s Den surely will! To be fair, I should probably disclose that I have several personal ties to this group of kids. For one, they were awarded an Awesome
Foundation Halifax award in July 2012 (for which my brother is a Co-Dean for, and I am an avid supporter), and they were a requested donor in honour of my Mom’s passing earlier this year. These kids have touched my life in a way I cannot begin to explain, but for the purpose of this article, I will try. In April of this year, six of the forty-three kids were flown to Toronto to pitch their business to the infamous Dragons. Asking for a ten thousand dollar loan in order to build a greenhouse to allow for year-round production, the outcome of the show left multiple Dragons in tears, and the group with forty thousand dollars and a pending deal with Boston Pizza. Not bad for a bunch of kids who were told they could not achieve their wildest dreams! Upon leaving the event in this now energized neighbourhood, I found myself inspired and pondering—if these kids can do it, and they had nothing, what excuse do we have? I mean, seriously, here we are attending one of the most highly regarded universities in Canada (and some could argue the world), and yet we do not
have individuals putting effort in like this group did! I am not suggesting that no community-focused initiatives have taken place here; we only have to look as far as our own Sharing Great Food, the Great Wolfville Food Challenge or Natural Cycles. But,
madewithlocal.ca with so much talent and creativity on campus, why are these types of initiatives not taking place more frequently? All too often we seem to be faced with our ever growing dependence on technology, which as a result has
made us distant from the communities that surround us. We are disengaged from the very thing we need to be engaged in—our ability to make the world a better place. Yes, I realize that this sounds completely cheesy, but when you look at things like the recent federal senate scandal, it has to make us question our priorities, does it not? I think the thing we need to consider most is that these meaningful connections do not have to be elaborate or attached to a high price tag. If we all were to take a minute and think of an idea or two, imagine what we could do! Imagine if we brought these ideas together. Think of the change that could ensue. As Mamadou Wade, one of the presenters for Hope Blooms stated at the beginning of the pitch “… it takes a village to raise a child… but sometimes it might just take the children to raise a village!” I think this is something we should all consider, particularly as the holiday season approaches us. For more information on Hope Blooms or to make a donation, visit their website at: www.hopeblooms.ca
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Nutrition for athletes, by athletes Stephanie Brown Staff Writer Young adults are the innovators, the movers and the shakers, that are going to shape the world into what it is as they grow up and take over the positions of power. At university we get the chance to think outside the box and push boundaries, and changes arise when students take the chance to use their creativity and work hard to make something happen. Melissa Bissinger, Charlotte Nutt and Lindsay Harris are among those at Acadia who have seen an opportunity to make positive changes and have worked extremely hard to make it happen. Bissinger, Nutt and Harris are all nutrition students at Acadia, Bissinger and Nutt will be graduating this year and Harris graduated this past year and is completing her internship now. They are all dietetic interns at Annapolis Valley Health in which they do a one year practicum, with an aspect of that practicum being a research project. Lindsay Harris is currently doing her practicum and her research is on the barriers in Acadia athletes’ nutrition for optimal health and performance, so Bissinger and Nutt teamed up with her to base a program off of that. Their program is in its pilot year right now which consists of education sessions with pre/post game needs, hydration and overall health. Their goal is to create a sustainable program that can be in place for years to come and that will create collaboration with the school of Nutrition and the Athletics program. Bissinger informed me that some coaches have requested
dietitians for their program so the girls thought it would be beneficial to use students from within the school which becomes a win-win situation; the teams get more knowledge and the nutrition students get experience. The girls understand the struggles that varsity athletes because they are all varsity athletes themselves: Harris was the captain of the basketball team, Nutt is on the soccer team and Bissinger has played varsity soccer as well. When speaking with Bissinger, she told me that nutrition is something people ignore even though it is a part of their everyday life. They want to change the culture of nutrition for the Acadia athletes so that they can perform their best and be their healthiest selves. Right now the girls are doing a gap analysis in which they are measuring the current state of affairs versus their desired state of affairs. From there they will hold a meeting with the coaches and nutrition professors at Acadia to formulate a plan that will lead them to their goals with the program. This program has received a great deal of positive feedback, especially from the girls volleyball coach, who has requested extra sessions; and the girls have led the team through a grocery store tour, talked about meal planning and giving them pamphlets with exact meal plans when they are on the road. Bissinger, Nutt and Harris understand that knowledge does not equal behaviour, so they hope to see positive changes in the future that will reinforce healthy living for the athletes such as healthy snacks in the Acadia Athletic Complex. It is routine that the girls basketball team will stay after their games to watch the boys, and it would be beneficial for them to have
healthy post-game snacks available. The girls recognize the barriers that meal hall presents with healthy eating but believe that meal hall tours can help athletes understand what is healthy and different choices they have. Bissinger explained that a dietician from Halifax worked with the volleyball team which helped the girls formulate their plan to work with all the teams. They recognize that different teams need different water breaks and snacks and will create individualized programs in the future. This first year has standardized programs which are important for all athletes and from there
the program will evolve. Bissinger and Nutt are using this program as their independent study program so they have the help of a professor if they need extra resources, but for the most part they and Harris are doing this program by themselves. They plan on making a club with other students who will be interested in the program as they will have to pass it on, and they hope that it will be integrated into the nutrition program in the future. The girls will be creating an abstract of their program and sending it to the Dieticians of Canada Conference in hopes that they will be able to present
Kelsi Barr their ideas at the Ottawa conference in the summer. It is inspiring to see students our age see a need for change and take the opportunity to do so. Bissinger, Nutt and Harris are created a program that can be used for any athletic program and at any school. Athletes can greatly benefit from learning about nutrition in the on and off seasons so it seems like a perfect match to create a program involving the Athletics Department and the Nutrition Department. I look forward to seeing all three women progress in their development of this program and seeing what will be next.
Meg Rector, Sarah Ross, Marissa Chin, and Amelia Grail. The second set began back and forth as well and was tied 3-3 but MUN took a lead with seven straight unanswered points. Memorial went on to make a few more point runs and took the set with a convincing 25-15 win. A highlight in the set for Acadia was when they broke a service run by Kristen Sorensen on Memorial by getting the point with a fantastic block by Marissa Chin and Sarah Ross. Memorial began the third set with a 4-0 lead as well, but thanks to an impressive six serves in a row by Tessa Bulmer that included an ace, Acadia eventually climbed to a lead of 12-9. From then on it was a much closer battle until it hit the 21 mark with the score tied between the two teams. The set ultimately went to extra points with Acadia having a few opportunities to clinch it. Unable to
convert in key point, Memorial took advantage and won the third and final set at 32-30. Kristen Bolduc led the team in kills with 10 and rookie Sarah Ross followed with 8. The Axewomen are now at two wins and three losses in the season, while the Sea Hawks are at two wins and five losses. After the game on Saturday night Acadia had three players in the top ten for kills in the conference with Meg Rector at fourth with 53, Kristen Bolduc at seventh with 44, and Sarah Ross at tenth with 40. Acadia sits at third in the conference, while Memorial sits at fourth. Acadia finishes their double-header with Memorial on Sunday and then travels to Sherbrooke for the second AUS interlock. St. Mary’s, Dalhousie, Montreal, Laval, and Mcgill will also be in attendance. Acadia then breaks for Christmas and does not play again until January 12th away in Cape Breton.
Tough loss to Sea Hawks Sarah Mackinnon Staff Writer The Acadia Axewomen volleyball team lost a tough 3-0 match Saturday night to the Memorial Sea Hawks.
Coming off an emotional win against the St. Mary’s Huskies and the Moncton Aigles Bleus, with both victories coming in five sets, the Axewomen were looking to continue that streak versus the Sea Hawks. The two teams have not met since the 2011-12 season due to weather
issues last year. Libero Hillary Monette was named one of Acadia’s Athletes of the Week this previous week for her strong performance last weekend helping to lead her team to the victory over the Aigles Bleus. The first set began relatively close with the two teams taking turns leading and keeping it within one point. Memorial was able to pull ahead at the end of the set with a point run that was spurred by a big block by Adrienne Penney and Samantha March. Acadia regained possession briefly but MUN re-took control and ended the set with a kill and two service aces. Despite the set loss Acadia had offence coming from a number of players with kills from Tessa Bulmer, Kristen Bolduc, Eric Cederberg