The Athenaeum, issue 79.5

Acadia’s Student Newspaper, since 1874 January 25th, 2017 Issue 79.5

EDITORIALS have hope page 2

FEATURES take a tour page 6

ARTS rough on rogue page 9

OPINIONS date (or don’t) page 12

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The Athenaeum Acadia University’s Student Newspaper Issue 79.5 ASU Box 6002, Acadia University Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R5 Editor-In-Chief: Andrew Haskett Email: eic@acadiau.ca O�ce Hours: Tue & Thu 1:30-4:30 Advertising/Business Inquiries: tompkins.biz@acadiau.ca wile.biz@acadiau.ca Section Editors

Management

Arts & Culture: Sidharth Kondapuram Creative: Kelsey Crosby Distractions: Thane Mullen Features: Katrina Kwan News: Allison Smith Opinions: Emma Hughes Sports: Hayley Phoenix Science: Hope Latta

Production: Adam Langille Photography: Anjuli Ripley Business / Ads: Noah Tompkins & Colleen Wile Managing: Hannah Hutchinson Copy Editor Kody Crowell Editor-in-Chief Andrew Haskett

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 Students 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.

We pride ourselves in publishing and participating in a diverse community, and we are more than eager to work with anyone, regardless of age, economic situation, race, creed, sexual orientation, or any other defining or diversive human trait. In the spirit of great debate we will argue with you and your opinions to the ends of the earth if we deem it necessary.

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 If there is content that we feel will not add to the philosophy, dialogue, or tone of our newspaper, it will not be published.

We’re always looking for controversial and rowdy material that challenges society and its norms, but any material deemed offensive or hateful will be met with scrutiny. 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.

The Athenaeum may accept submissions from any student or member of our campus, present and past, and is always looking for more writers and photographers. If you are looking for coverage of an event or story, would like to notify us of a complaint or correction, or would like to submit a letter to the editor, contact Andrew D. Haskett at eic@acadiau.ca There are open story meetings every Wednesday at 5pm in the Athenaeum office, room 512 in the SUB. Everyone is welcome, and we encourage you to join us!

The Athenaeum, since 1874.

Call it like you see it.

On the Cover: This week’s cover photo was taken by Anthony Chu

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Andrew D. Haskett Editor-In-Chief By the time this issue of the Athenaeum reaches newsstands we’ll be in the throes of the first days of a new American experience. The prospect of such an experience leaves many people frightened and anx-

ious. These feelings are to be given concern and proper attention but they cannot be allowed to overwhelm us. As we enter this uncertain period we must remember the strength and resilience of our community and our ability to spur meaningful grassroots action. We

must remember to help one another, lift each other up, and fight for the peace and justice we know the world deserves.

On that note I welcome you to enjoy this issue of the Athenaeum. We aim to provide a factual, equal platform through which members of the Aca-

dia University community can contribute and engage. If you’ve got a chip on your shoulder or a story to share, we’d love to hear from you.

All the best, Andrew D. Haskett Editor-in-Chief, the Athenaeum

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WORK FOR THE ATH Do you like writing about interesting things? Are you interested in publishing and creative design? The Athenaeum is HIRING for the 2017/2018 school year!

The following positions are available: 1. Editor in Chief: manages all aspects of the paper. This involves keeping all sta� accountable and making sure all operations of the paper are running smoothly.

2. Photography Manager: in charge of photographers and timely uploading of photographs to the website.

3. Production Editor: in charge of producing the print paper. This involves knowledge of Adobe InDesign, though training is provided to the successful candidate.

4. Copy Editor: in charge of reviewing grammar and clarity for all articles, and frequently publishes edited articles that are submitted to the website.

5. Managing Editor: deals with management aspect of the paper, ensuring editors meet quotas and deadlines.

6. Business Manager: deals with advertising and payroll. This involves communication with local businesses for online and in-print advertisements.

7. Webmaster: deals with all aspects of the website, including maintaining/updating installed packages and promoting articles online.

8. Section Editors: acquires and edits articles related to their respective section: • Arts and Culture • Science • Sports and Wellness • Creative • Opinions • Features • News Editors write at least one article per issue, and uploads edited articles to the website in a timely manner.

9. Sta� Writers: writes a column for each issue. This can be on any topic, from sex to politics to beer reviews.

10: Photographers: under the supervision of the Photo Editor, photographers takes photographs for articles written, and are responsible for uploading them to the website.

Please submit a resume and a writing sample to <eic@acadiau.ca>. Be sure to specify your name, year, student number, and the position(s) you are interested in. Decisions will be made before the end of the semester by our Editor-InChief, Managing Editor, and Copy Editor.

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HUMANS OF ACADIA

Photo by: Colin Mitchell “I absolutely enjoy the process of what I’m doing and the kind of work that I do. Looking at where I was during my undergrad and last year of undergrad, and I know I’ve come so much further from that. I’ve gained a ton of self confidence and I’ve learned how to do things more critically, but there’s still kind of a sense of insecurity. You keep questioning yourself and asking ‘Where is this Master’s degree going to lead to?’ I wasn’t even thinking about doing an M.A. until my last year of undergrad, when there was a Politics Department get-together at Paddy’s, a prof asked ’Have you thought about doing your M.A. here?’ I’m not going to pretend it’s been easy or always fun, but it’s been rewarding.”

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TRUMP TAKEOVER Allison Smith News Editor

By the time this is published Trump will have been sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America. Perhaps there is already Nuclear War, perhaps he has surprised us and solved child poverty. Regardless, awestruck leftists need to wake up and smell the fake tanner. It’s time to prepare ourselves for what Trump will do once he is actually running the country. Trump put a lot on the table during the election, everything from building a wall to locking up Hillary Clinton. However, no one is quite sure what legitimate policy options he will actually pursue and what he was just rhetoric to get blood boiling and votes rolling.

Here are some of the ideas he has spit-balled since the election, and we should look out for early in a Trump Presidency.

Trump and Pence have both claimed that on his first day of o�ce they will repeal the A�ordable Care Act, also known as Obam-

acare, without any plans for a replacement program in place. Speaking of repealing 8 years of hard work under Obama, Trump has vowed to repeal every order that has been enacted under Obama. This has since been reined in to about 25 executive orders according to his campaign team.

We can also expect Trump to handle the logistics of being President in an unprecedented way as seen through his actions thus far. He failed to hold a press conference until 2 months after winning the election. This demonstrated his mistrust in the press furthered by calling many news outlets “garbage” and we can look forward to hearing more from him on Twitter, which he claims is the only way he can resist the press. Another promise for his first day is deporting 3 million illegal immigrants with criminal records and starting his wall between Mexico and the United States, which may turn out to be more fence than wall. He has also begun shrinking government to save us from corruption.

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He plans to put a freeze on all federal employees and enact a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on congress people. I wonder if Trump knows that he can’t unilaterally make constitutional amendments or even policy decisions for that matter.

Foreign policy is a particularly noteworthy area of this transition. As the strongest world player, Trump’s stay home attitude is particularly alarming for countries around the world. He has voiced everything from plans to build safe zones for civilians in Syria to the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russia. He didn’t ensure NATO that he would have their backs and he threatened to leave NAFTA. This has alarm bells ringing all over the world. Here at home, Trudeau is flashing that charming smile and probably shitting the bed as he praises America for being one of Canada’s closest friends. True friends don’t leave true friends alone in a trade agreement though.

As Canada’s largest trading partner and responsible for the livelihood of many Canadians, a NAFTA

COUNTING CALORIES IN CANADA Sarah Bachar Contributor

Apparently, Ontario has the same New Year’s Resolution as your roommate: to shed a few pounds. As of January 1, 2017, Ontario’s new Healthy Menu Choices Act, 2015, requires that all food service providers within the province with 20 or more locations post the caloric value of all menu items (including drinks) right on the menu.

This act is a part of a larger piece of legislation, the Making Healthy Choices Act, passed on May 26, 2015, and e�ects not just fast-food restaurants, but includes movie theatres, co�ee shops, and ‘fast ca-

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sual’ restaurants as well.

The Healthy Menu Choices Act was designed to combat obesity, and create more awareness about ingredients in food so as to encourage more informed decision-making concerning food.

But will it work? Dr. Yoni Freedho�, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, sees this act as a quick-fix solution to a more complex problem, stating, “singular interventions don’t solve complex problems. When it comes to diet-related disease, like Type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension […] these are not caused by single problems. We need a myriad of interventions

designed to help deal with it.” In addition, there is concern that while calorie counting on menus may make a very small impact on the lives of those who su�er from obesity and related diseases, it may bring more harm than good on an already overly food critical society, and may be triggering to those su�ering from eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

In New York City, where food-labeling laws at restaurants have been required since 2008, they have found (in a 2012 study in the American Journal of Public Health) that there was little to no di�erence in food consumption

without Trump is sure to cause some tension on the playground.

The vibe from South America is one of pity. Renowned Columbian cartoonist Vladimir Florez called Trump’s victory “a nightmarish mutation of the American dream.”

Mexico’s foreign minister Claudia Massieu made it clear that Mexico refuses to pay for the wall and is probably on the phone with Trudeau sharing tears over NAFTA’s deterioration.

Formally, the EU congratulated Trump and passively reminded him of his responsibility to the rest of the world as a world super power. Individually, leaders of European countries are expressing their disappointment, discontent, and fear of a Trump presidency. Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister called Trump’s victory, along with Brexit “warning sign for all those who believe in liberal democracy.” Guy Verhofstadt, a leader of European parliament, sees this as an opportunity for Europe to stop leaning on the United States and “take charge of their own destiny.”

Countries of the Middle

East also seem to have mixed feelings about a Trump presidency and rightly so, after all the hate he has spewed for Islam, widely practiced in the Middle East, and claims that he will pull out of all military operations there, not to mention demanding that they should “give us free oil for 10 years.” So far most countries in this region are keeping quiet and trying to stay on his good side. Asia has taken a business as usual response to the Trump presidency.

The overwhelming message was not about how nations felt towards the President or the results but that they looked forward to maintaining and building strong relationships with him in the future.

Perhaps this is a message that more citizens of our global world should take to heart. Regardless of political ideology or personal preferences and values, Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States and nations across the world will have no choice but to strap in, hold tight, and go along for the ride or push back until they can get the hell o�.

choices in New Yorkers since their laws came into e�ect. Though Ontario is the only province to have undertaken these measures, Nova Scotia and Quebec has expressed similar interests. According to Statistics Canada data, 54.6% of Ontario residents over the age of 18 were overweight or obese in 2014, whereas Nova Scotia’s rate stood at 62.6% — among the highest in the country. The chief public health o�cer of Nova Scotia, Dr. Robert Strang, has strongly supported the Ontario legislation, stating that “I think we do need to look at…having better information on there to allow consumers to make better informed choices around the nutritional or health value of the food

they’re looking to buy.”

Despite his support for the Ontario HealthyMenu Choices Act, Dr. Strang proposes a more comprehensive approach for Nova Scotia, including not just the amount of calories in a food item, but the amounts of sodium, fat, sugar, and other important components which contribute to an item’s nutritional value.

This program has the potential to be more successful than that of New York or Ontario.

Whether you agree with the measures Ontario has taken to combat their province’s obesity rates or not, it is hard to disagree that Nova Scotia’s own high obesity rate is concerning, and needs to be addressed.

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YOUR RESOLUTION:

The Psychology of Habit Formation

Katrina Kwan Features Editor “New Year, new me,” or so the expression goes.

You’ve made a resolution and this time you’ve sworn to see it through.

But as the new semester starts and the assignments start rolling in, that today’s the day mentality starts to turn into I’ll start tomorrow. There’s no shame in not achieving your New Year’s resolution.

In fact, you’re probably not alone. A recent public survey found that only an approximate 40% of adults complete their New Year’s resolutions. But what if I told you that there was an easier way to achieve your goals and make that resolution of yours a reality? With a little help and understanding of the psychology of habit formation, this could very well be.

Like many motivated individuals, you’ve proba-

bly decided to go all out in the pursuit of achieving your New Year’s resolution. I want to quit smoking, so I’ll go cold turkey. I want to lose weight, so I’ll go to the gym seven days a week.

I want to eat healthier, so I’m going vegetarian this year. Your resolve is certainly admirable, but not necessarily set up for success. Drastic changes in behaviour are not sustainable for longterm objectives because of lacking foundational habits. Quitting smoking is di�cult if you’re used to smoking several times a day. Going to the gym seven days a week is di�cult if you’re simply starting out of the blue. Eating a primarily vegetarian diet can be di�cult if you haven’t done your research on what nutrients you need and haven’t planned out meals that are filling. If it is not a regular behaviour, you are more likely to return to your old

FRONT AND CENTER: The Portrayal of Women in the Media Daniel Allen Contributor During the summer of 2016, the Olympic Games took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although nearly half of the 19 world records broken that year were by women, the female athletes were treated to headlines like (famously), “‘Wife of Bears’ lineman wins bronze today in Rio Olympics,” and “PHELPS TIES FOR SILVER IN 100M FLY; Ledecky sets world record in women’s 800 freestyle.” Not to mention the troubling issue

of the di�erence in questions that reporters would ask as emphasised by the #CovertheAthlete campaign. Although the female athletes of the Olympics proved themselves equally as capable as the males, they were still subject to the media’s portrayal, which could shape public opinion and ruin careers.

The issue is that this sort of coverage perpetuates a social norm. If the media acts in a way that is blatantly sexist, it imposes those values onto our lives. The media holds great con-

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habits.

Habits are defined as a settled tendency or practices in response to environmental cues.

Habit formation is the process of replacing these certain behaviours with new ones. As many of us may know, developing new habits can be rather di�cult. As the adage goes, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks … unless you have the patience for it.

One of the first steps of habit formation is to be aware of the habit you are trying to replace. If you are a repeat o�ender of biting your nails, the first step is to realize when you are biting them. These bad habits occur often mindlessly, so to recognize and acknowledge these actions will be the first steps to habit formation.

“But it’s hard!” may be a complaint that you have.

Changing habits has a tendency to be so. This is where step two comes in. Initiate reminders to help motivate you to stick with your new habit. If you want to go

to the gym first thing in the morning, set an alarm. If you’re prone to snoozing, set multiple alarms. Pack your gym bag the night before and place it directly across from you so that in the morning it’s the first thing you see. Set your co�ee maker to automatic and start your day with a good old Cup o’ Joe. Put your sneakers directly by the door.

Develop your environment so that it is a constant reminder of your goal and leave yourself no excuse to break the habit.

This being said, it’s important to do this in stages. There is a di�erence between training yourself into go into the gym more frequently and forcing yourself to go seven days a week.

This is the easiest way to burn yourself out, and the fastest way to disturb habit formation.

Going all out for the first week will most likely see you relapse into your old ways because you have failed to establish a habit. You are going to

the gym with a feeling of reluctance, not because you have trained yourself to want to go. If you develop a habit over time, the likelihood that you will relapse to old habits is significantly less and will help you achieve your goal in the long run. It is better to teach yourself to go to the gym twice a week for an entire year than it is to go everyday for the first two weeks of January.

The last step is to actually have a goal. Many of us start the New Year by saying that want to lose weight. But how much weight, and by when?

You want to quit smoking, but by when? Having an actual goal in mind will help with your overall levels of motivation over the year. By setting small goals to achieve over a longer period of time, you will feel rewarded each time a smaller goal is met. A resolution is a marathon, not a sprint.

With these things in mind, good luck in the New Year!

trol over our society. The 2016 Presidential Election was the most media-crazy event in the history of the planet, spurned using new technologies and social media. Social media is the portal between the average person and the entire world. It’s such a powerful influence on the rest of media, and we must be strict with what we allow to influence us in our everyday lives.

The key to being strict with our media is to hold them accountable. If we hold journalists and publishers accountable for their actions and call them out when they write and publish false truths and lies, we can encourage them to be more conscious as to

how things may be perceived by the public. The Chicago Tribune, responsible for the comment about the “‘Wife of Bears’ Lineman” winning a medal, was quickly called out for the tweet and shamed across Twitter and other media. This goes to show that when you see something that is wrong, you can do something about it.

Instead of blindly allowing our young people to consume this sort of neopatriarchal media, we can stand up for what’s fair and equal by exposing journalists and publishers when we see it.

During 2016, women rose to the occasion. From the Beyoncé’s release of the empowering “Lemonade,”

to the first ever female presidential nominee, women took the world by storm and made headlines around the world. However, not all the headlines seemed to reflect the great strides that feminism has taken in the past months.

The portrayal of women in the media has never been good, but perhaps we’re now entering a critical stage in the portrayal of women in popular culture. What will dominate this critical stage is what we the people consider acceptable. With the evolution of social media and the ability to hold publishers accountable for their words and their actions, we can change the way the media covers women.

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ACADIA HELPING REFUGEES ASSOCIATION Tori Dexter Contributor

Acadia Helping Refugees Association started in the Spring of 2016, when the Syrian Refugee crisis was everywhere in the mass media. A group of individuals got together who were trying to make as much of a di�erence as they could.

After watching a short BBC documentary on the horrific state of Syria, we grouped together and started to plan events around fundraising money for the refugee families in the Annapolis Valley.

As well as providing aware-

ness on Acadia campus, and around the community, about the current situation and the new families joining our community.

Over the year we raised enough money to send the children of the refugee families to summer soccer camps, allowing them to progress their English as well social connections. Our goals this year are to raise money to either do the same thing or to get the family jobs within the community. One setback we have is finding jobs for the parents of the families, since the government only

gives them enough resources and money for the first year, and in February they need to find work to support their households needs. One obstacle of finding jobs is the lack of English the parents know. As they are not in school socializing practicing English, the parents have a tougher time picking up the language. However, they can communicate when needed, and they cook amazing food, and sometimes even have a booth set up on Wednesday nights from 4:00-7:00 at the Wolfville Farmer’s Market. We are looking to col-

laborate with other groups for fundraising events as well as reaching out into the community for more community support and to raise awareness for the families.

We have word that more families are coming to New Minas as well as the Annapolis Valley in the near future.

We are also looking to raise more awareness and acceptance in our town of the issues surrounding the crisis. Awareness is one of the key elements we are going to focus on. The media portrays refugees in a certain light and we want

to actively provide the factual information to make sure individuals do not get caught up in what is being falsely portrayed.

We have a Facebook page called ‘Acadia Helping Refugee Association Events’ where we post the events we are doing weekly. Some of these events included are, selling popcorn at Just Us! as well as doing movie nights at the KCIC located on the Acadia University campus.

We are looking to host a dinner night, with the Syrian families cooking, and 100% of the proceeds go towards them in the New Year as well as many more community involved events.

ACADIA GLOBAL BRIGADES IS A FARCE: Leave it to Professionals Anonymous Contributor

Humans are inherently selfish. The only reason students volunteer is to have something nice to look at on their résumés in the hopes that future employers will think that they are well-rounded individuals and should be hired. That statement alone is enough to trigger emotions of outrage, I understand. But allow me a few minutes out of your day to explain to you that volunteering with such groups as the Acadia Global Brigades is an absolute farce. It provides doe-eyed naïve students that opportunity to take a profile picture to shape an altruistic image of themselves while leaving those in need eversearching for actual solutions.

Let me pose to you a question: if you’re sick and in need of some life-saving injection, do you want a student administering that shot for you? Do you want a student giving you advice about your nutrition? Do you want a student building your homes? The answer is no. You want an actual doctor giving you medical attention. You want fullytrained nutritionists giving you advice. You want ac-

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tual labour-skilled workers building your home. By participating with the Acadia Global Brigades or similar voluntourist groups, you are e�ectively treating the people seeking assistance as guinea pigs for your own “training.” These are students, unlicensed and not yet professionally capable to give assistance. In fact, if a student remained here in Canada to conduct the same actions, they would be charged with fraud. The fact that the Brigades takes place in Honduras makes everything okay though.

It’s far away and so are the consequences. Who are you to play doctor with actual human lives?

The email I received advertising the Brigades asked me if I wanted to “get involved during [my] university experience.” Key word: experience. The Brigades is being pitched to me, to students, as an experience.

Experience like going on a vacation, experience like going to a concert. Don’t try to pitch it to me that I’m going to be single-handedly responsible for improving “quality of life, resolve global health and economic disparities and work collaboratively with community members to work towards

an equal world all while respecting local culture.” If you wanted to respect local culture, you should not be involved in perpetuating Western forms of “development.” It was the West who defined what it meant to be in poverty. It was the West who pursued to change the standards of other countries to match their own interests. Let the people of Honduras find there own ground-up solutions. Who are you to come in and dictate what the people need?

Do you ever think about the impact that you’re leaving behind when the voluntour is all said and done? You take a few pictures with local community members, with the ever-smiling kids.

If you get a picture with a foreign child who’s all laughs and carefree, that earns you over one hundred likes on Facebook. Good for you. Push that social media agenda and half-assed attempt to tugging at people’s heart strings. You want to look like a good person, so go on the voluntour. Go ahead and build bonds with those kids. Play with them, sing with them, show them that you care. And when every thing is all said and done, you can go ahead and abandon them. Abandon them and go home to Canada, looking upon lovely pictures to remember them by.

Leave them to their shoddily built houses made by 18 to 22-year olds with no building experience.

So, no. I don’t want to partake in this supposedly “amazing experience.” I don’t want to “find that out on [my] own.” I am aware of my actions, domestically and internationally. If you’ve thought about joining the Acadia Global Brigades, I suggest you read the book Damned Nations

by Samantha Nutt, MD. Educate yourself before you unwittingly place somebody else at more risk then they already were. It would suck to find out that the house you built for a Honduran

family came crashing down on them because it was poorly constructed. It would suck to be on the receiving end of a needle, being prodded like cattle. It would suck to make friends with a foreigner only for them to leave and not give so much as a second thought to how you were doing. Repairing schools and homes may make you feel great, but it may do more harm than good. Having good intentions doesn’t always lead to a good outcome.

The Acadia Global Brigades is a farce. Leave it to the professionals.

Photo by: Janani Chandramouli

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A CHRONIC OPTIMIST:

M en t a l H ealth Identities Nolan Turnbull Contributor

I suffer from severe anxiety. Tight chest, hair tugging, sleepless night, and nail biting until you bleed severe anxiety. Why am I telling you this? Humans love categorizing things, and these labels are obviously necessary for many items, products, and other aspects of our daily lives.

However, sometimes these labels are applied to human beings, and this can have conflicting results. These labels may be empowering or degrading, and they may make up part of our identity, thereby shaping how we face the world each day. This article is not a rant about what is appropriate to say to another person or not; we are all grown adults who should not have to Google the Golden Rule. This is me hoping you to consider how you label yourself, specifically when it comes to dealing with your mental health.

I have labeled myself as someone with anxiety. Is this a bad thing? I think everyone should be open about mental health regardless of whether or not they have a diagnosed condition. It is an awesome power to be open about your mental health if you can. Not everyone feels comfortable sharing their condition. I once did a rant about how labels may prevent us from learning who we are, finding happiness with who we are, and loving our perceived identities, and how these identities may prevent us from adapting and embracing change.

The same applies for when we label ourselves, whether it be a sense of pride as an Acadia student, or something you may be burdened with, such as depression. In my case, I found my diagnosis of anxiety empowering.

In fact, I burst into tears when the physician told me what her explanation was for my sleepless nights, chronic fatigue, crippling fear of seemingly ordinary tasks, and heart palpitations so vigorous I thought it would burst at any moment. These were not sad tears, for a weight had been lifted from my shoulders – I finally knew. In reality, I always knew, but now someone had given me the power

to take action and fight. This is coming from someone who was a resident assistant and counseled his peers on the support around campus, and who guided them to resources and support to help them manage and find wellness.

Unfortunately, I did not take my advice until I was burnt out, and had spiraled back into depressive episodes that I had not dealt with in a year. My diagnosis empowered me to take action, finally understand what I had full-heartedly preached to my peers, and accept help.

Knowing I have anxiety has allowed me to be more open with my friends and family, my professors, and most importantly myself. I understand that being labeled with a condition can have the opposite effect as I have friends with a plethora of mental health conditions.

Some of my friends can be open about their conditions, while others struggle even to tell their closest connections.

All I ask is that you do seek help, do speak openly about mental health, and if you are able to do so … talk openly about your personal condition. It may help you gain a better understanding of yourself and allow you to make positive changes for the better whether it be finding local supports in similar individuals, finding support through treatments such as meditation, exercise, or medication, and most importantly help you move forward. Just promise me you will not let your illness define who you are.

Mental health is a part of you, but it is not who you are. As I have said before, life is what you make it. I challenge you to accept your mental health condition and speak out about it. You may just find yourself feeling better, and possibly even helping those around you.

By understanding yourself and your situation, you will empower yourself to recognize that your condition is just one tiny part of the quilt that makes up your identity, and allow you to focus on the aspects of that quilt that you deem worth celebrating.

I think you are worth celebrating. I hope you agree.

Photo by: Kamryn Minors

QUICK RECAP: Mental Health Fair at Acadia Sarah Ross Contributor On Friday November 25th, the Acadia Players Association hosted a Mental Health Fair in Fountain Commons. Through the funds that were donated the previous year from the Athlete Auction held at the Axe Lounge, the committee organized an afternoon of guest speakers and visitors, who collectively helped to raise awareness towards Mental Health on Acadia’s Campus. This event was meant to bring together all students at Acadia so that they could unwind for an afternoon whether that meant making Christmas ornaments with the Clayground, learning drumming techniques, meditating, or even play with Timbit, a dog from the St. John’s Therapeutic Dog program.

To start o� the event, our Athletic Director Kevin Dickie started o� the speaker portion not only reflecting on what the day would look like, but what the purpose of this day was. In an intimate setting, speaking to around 60 people, all of our speakers were able to emphasize the importance of mental

health awareness.

We were fortunate enough to have a guest speaker from Bell Aliant who works with Bell Let’s Talk. Jessie Bower is an individual who is living with a mental illness. Her inspirational speech left everyone in silence as she reflected on growing up and being diagnosed with having a mental illness.

It was amazing to see not only how intently people listened to her story, but also how many people took the opportunity to speak to her one on one, either asking about their own lives or asking on behalf of a friend.

To end the speaker portion of the event, Erica McGill from the Acadia Counseling Center on campus, came to talk to the students about the prevalence of Mental Health on campus, as well as the resources that are available.

She also spent some time in the down time portion of the afternoon, speaking to students one on one.

It was extremely rewarding walking around seeing students learn about the facilities on campus, cuddle Timbit the dog, make posters about what mental health means to them, and so much more.

It was incredible to see how students really came together to listen about the issue, learn about how together we can work through it, and just in general have a fun afternoon. I myself participated in the meditation classes and played with Timbit! The reality of mental health is that in some way or another, every single person is impacted by it. Whether it is with someone personally, a friend, or a family member.

By recognizing how prevalent mental illness is, it is important to recognize that it’s not a negative identifier. It should not have this negative stigmatization, as it is not an uncommon trait. Something interesting that was established during the speaker portion of the event was that today, we focus so much on our physical health, ensuring that our bodies are healthy and properly functioning. Why is it that we don’t place the same emphasis on our mental health?

Through personal experience, I have learned that if I am not placing enough importance on my mental health, physically I am unable to be my best. Its okay to not be okay, what is not okay is being too scared or embarrassed to try and find a solution. This was the first time this event was held at Acadia, and the hope is it will carry on for years to come.

January 25th, 2017

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Sun—buzz—rise Chris McEwnen

Cosmopolitan Love Sid Kondapuram

As he stared into her eyes, the silence seemed to creep up onto them. It hung there, sitting with them.

Buzz. Buzz.

Her phone. Her parents must have walked into her room where she was supposed to be sleeping. She took it out of her pocket, glancing at the glaring name of her father, pressed end, and placed the device back into her pocket. She returned her gaze upon his.

“You should probably go.”

He saw how her warm green eyes were reaching out. She didn’t want to go. They reminded him of the mother he used to know, though the whites of her eyes were usually pinkish. Her whites were whiter than an undisturbed, fresh snowfall. He wished his eye scould be like hers, so perfect and untouched, but his had started to look like his mother’s more and more often. She was so perfect. The early light of the sunrise finally hit her face, caressing it. She turned her head to face it. The light bounced o� of her pale face, illuminating it.

“My, isn’t it beautiful. I have never seen anything like it.” She smiled. Her teeth seemed to become opaque white crystals, brightening the sunrise.

“Yes it is,” he replied, without even looking into the direction of the rising sun.

She turned her head and saw his gaze. The silence of nature was never broken. They spoke through their gaze. They began to lean in.

Buzz. Buzz.

Buzz. Buzz.

She shoved her hand into her pocket and picks up: “What?”

“Where are you young lady?”

“I woke up early and went for a walk.”

“Why didn’t you leave a note?”

“I thought I would be back by the time you guys got up.”

“That is no excuse, young lady. You are to come home immediately.”

“But dad…”

“No buts. We will discuss your punishment when you get home.”

“Fine.”

She stu�ed the interrupting device back into her pocket.

“I should go.”

“You should.”

He nodded. With the phrase leaving his mouth, he felt their hearts tear apart. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“We should do this again.”

“Yeah, we should. ” She then sped away to race home to parents who would end up giving no punishment, or a minor one at least.

He sat there in the silence, procrastinating. He did not want to go back to the place people would call home. He did not want to go back to a place where they wouldn’t even care to ask him where he has been. The only thing that might happen is that they ask him if he has any money to satisfy their itch. He did not want to go back to the room he sleeps in, ignoring the problems around him. He did not want to go back to hell.

All he wanted to do was watch the sun rise high into the clouds. He wanted to watch how the sun lit up the world. He wanted to see the pearly white smile light up his world. He wanted to make this peaceful sanctuary last a bit longer before the brutality of the urban world destroys it. He laid back and let the pinkish rays illuminate and warm his dark cold body. He felt free. He felt happy. He wanted to stay in heaven, but reality had enough of it and tore him down as the rumble of the morning garbage truck barged by.

My darling, with her clothes littered on a floor painted orange.

The windows did not come prepared.

Cactus on a stool, and a stack of our vinyls (we bought them in a far away fair).

The nights are force with a paint of its own; the windows steer it in, clothes light up in appeasing glee.

When you get out of bed, and look down a familiar walk to the tub.

It’s a feeling that digs into my chest, and into the air that’s in between.

Shunning out the sheets that were over us, stuck in a place I want to be.

Remember where our vinyls were?

They’re fuzzing away a black night’s sound with a warring fervor.

Her wine’s surface bows to fuzzing sound too.

How Can I Know What Love Is Benjamin Pierce Love is one of the earliest concepts I remember being introduced to. It was the unbreakable connection between family. You could fight all you wanted and the love stayed strong. I never understood that love; it never seemed as strong as the anger I held as a child. Yet something soothed the anger, shrinking the blinding flames singeing my emotions. I still never felt it outright, but in hindsight that was my love for my family. I still felt wrong about how I loved. It felt weak, simple, and easy to lose. Surely love should feel like more than cheap, thin, one-size-fits-all gloves. Despite wanting to love di�erently, there were problems at home. The glove still got wet, was lost, or formed holes. My fingers still froze. I wish this paragraph was meant to go somewhere, unfortunately this isn’t the time for that to happen. My discomfort about my lack of love still has a stronger e�ect than the love itself when it comes to family.

Fortunately, I have found a love that feels good. It has a warm, calm e�ect. It is wrapping yourself in a blanket fresh from the dryer. I feel that love for a bird. She knows who she is and she’ll hate me for writing this. It’s often said that writers are mainly motivated by their pursuit of sex. Personally, I would agree with that, but not on this occasion. Today I’m simply writing for marmite. You see, love is absolutely not something I understand. I do, however, embrace it. To be specific, love comes from a friendship through which you often stay up until near the dawn discussing your lives, school, politics, the mundane and everyday, you also share in your adoration of a particular trio of British automotive journalists, police o�cers who are reflections of the best and worst parts of you both, a small, fictional paper company based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, love is understanding what it can mean for a bird to have a complete and utter disregard for marmite.

I’d rather not have another, darling.

Her hand won’t write like yours, and her dresses won’t sing like yours, and the rain won’t stick to her neck like yours.

People find something worth looking for, I’m not willing to look that far.

It’s already read in the sweat, and in the walk to the Nest.

We’ll talk about the stars that were clawed into the ceiling with a box nail.

My darling—she reaches for the glass of water on the nightstand.

Her lips are parched when thin winter trees peek in; spaces between them peek too.

Their eyes veer throughout the night though, focusing momentarily on cactus.

Where our vinyls were.

Irreconcilable Circumstances Amy Parkes Out of focus save for a lock of chestnut hair, my father wholly in shadow and his hands around my chest.

My mother watching but even then consumed by her own darkness.

It’s my second birthday, and my father is just home from sea, still in uniform, his gold bars on his shoulders.

Not one face clear, but you can tell they tried; five years into a failing marriage that in five more would fall through.

But I remember that couch.

I know that painting, only the bottom edge visible.

It’s a homemade cake with unlit candles but you can tell they tried.

Photo by: Kamryn Minors

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STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

Weapons of Mass Distraction J.D. Porter Contributor

I know that not proclaiming love—nay— adoration for Star Wars will upset people reading this review. People are alarmingly reverential about Star Wars, and critiquing it will net you surprising levels of hostility. Glancing at the front-page user review that greeted me on IMDb: “I feel like the void left in my heart by episode VII has been filled now.

14 December 2016 | by dorteel (Aalborg)” Wow—“void left my heart.” I wouldn’t say that I have a “void” so much as I feel something missing. I fill it with work, relationships, people, and reading, but this guy chooses Star Wars. So, is Star Wars really that good?

No, no, no. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a muddled and lengthy special e�ects show filled with a thin plot and even thinner attempts at characterization. Riz Ahmed’s character wears a pair of goggles strapped to his forehead for the entirety of the movie (even after he leaves the desert where he’s first introduced). He’s a character with no personality, so they try to conceal this by giving him a costume. It’s like that goateed, fedorawearing guy you sometimes see at comic book shops. He thinks wearing something weird on his head somehow gives him personality. He thinks he should be a “character,” not a person. He also wonders why, deep down, things from childhood don’t really make him happy

now like they used to.

The whole production is lifeless, bland, boring, and borrowed. There are multiple pull-away shots of busy hangers featuring people reloading ships and the like. I’ve seen sequences like these done much better in Pacific Rim (a movie I recommend over this one) There are also multiple scenes of the players walking through crowded market streets, but all I see during these moments are actors in masks and baggy costumes. The “troll market” scene from Hellboy 2 did this better as well.

I keep scratching my head, wondering about Star Wars’ appeal, and the answer is depressing. This generation has been infantilized.

George Lucas, creator of Star Wars himself, has stated that Star Wars is for children: he’s very right. What’s scary is that media created for children—like superheroes and Star Wars— is enjoyed mostly by grown men. Go on, ask a Star Wars fan anything about the SW universe and they’ll surprise you with names, dates, locations, and enough information to flesh out an entire wiki.

Then ask them why Ahab can be considered a hero, how Hamlet can be considered a villain, the capitals of di�erent countries, the root of the Ukraine Crisis, or how a telephone works, and they’ll fall completely silent. What’s even scarier is that both Star Wars and Marvel are owned by a single corporation.

Disney.

Is a slave a slave if he doesn’t know he’s a slave?

January 25th, 2017

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SHA… REALLY? Christopher Vanderburgh

Contributor

This article really should come with a trigger warning. Beheadings, stoning, lashings, and everything else that comes with living in a Muslim majority country (where do these things come from?). Under Sharia law, countless people su�er at the hands of hard line Islamist regimes. These things promoted by Islam are wrong.

I am not saying that I hold the belief that Islam is wrong, but many do, and I thought it was about time somebody started talking about it.

Those who practice Islam constitute the second largest religion in the world with the majority of Muslims living in North Africa and the Middle East. There are an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. The problem with Islam seems not to be that the religion itself is violent – it is Sharia law , a law system based on the Quran, that is most harmful. Under Sharia law smoking, drinking, pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, apostasy, theft, accusations of crime without witnesses, homosexuality, and murder are illegal. The punishments for committing these “crimes” under Sharia law include but are not limited to: beheading, crucifixion, stoning, amputa-

tion of the hands or feet, and flogging. What is perhaps most surprising is how easy it is to commit an o�ense that would result in beheading or amputation. Almost any of the crimes under Sharia could carry with them such a sentence. Perhaps my least favourite aspect of Sharia is that all of these punishments are to be carried out in public.

You may be asking yourself how much support the Sharia legal system has amongst Muslims. The answer is a lot. 42% of Russian Muslims think that Sharia law should be the law in Russia. Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia have support that ranges from 7286%. Some may say that the opinions in these countries are extreme, however 45% of American Muslims think that homosexuality should be discouraged by society.

In Muslim majority countries, the state itself has often adopted the principles of Hudud, which are the punishments for transgressions against Sharia. Countries in which Sharia law is the predominant legal system are widespread, ranging from Saudi Arabia to Mauritania. It has been said that most countries prefer other forms of punishment rather than those prescribed by

Sharia; however, on December 12th, 2016, Global News published an article that described the punishment for a Saudi woman who posted a picture of herself wearing a dress on Instagram. For her crimes, she was sentenced to imprisonment and lashings. What is most disturbing about the article is that many men tweeted that the punishment should be much worse and that she “would be lucky if all she got was a beheading.” Beheadings as a method of execution are actually quite common in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With 157 people beheaded in 2015, this is the highest number of beheadings in nearly two decades.

63 of those beheadings were for non-lethal o�enses. In Afghanistan, more than four hundred individuals are currently penalized under sentence of death. This is compared to 28 people who were put to death by lethal injection in the United States in 2015 and those sentences were given for violent crimes, often multiple homicides or rape.

Before you judge my writing too harshly, I would ask you to consider the ramifications of Sharia law on life here in Wolfville. Let’s use the average Saturday night out as an example. You’re getting ready to head to the ‘Vil and you decide to stop by your friend’s place for a couple drinks before the bar.

equality. Sadly, alongside these advances, there has been a swing away from the equal opportunity of women to “man bashing,’ by a small but loud segment of the feminist movement. This group disallows men to claim any su�ering or mistreatment as they believe their gender precludes them from understanding the experience of women. When these individuals are called out for their comments, they often fire back with accusations of sexism even if untrue. These unjustified assaults have made potential allies cautious and emboldened those who do wish to stop the spread of equality through society.

I was the only boy in the school choir through most of middle school. In high school, I continued to be part of the vocal music groups including an allmale choir. The choir included straight, gay, and transgendered young men. Throughout those years of school, the

choir guys often were targeted as “the faggots.” When I have discussed this treatment with people, the most common reaction is that these actions were just “boys being boys.”

I have often a time seen the surprised look on someone’s faced when I revealed that this bullying was predominantly lead by women in the schools I attended. I was treated as less of a human being because I enjoyed singing and dancing on stage because I embraced my so-called “feminine side” (a description I abhor). This kind of double standard continues beyond areas of life where men choose to express themselves in creative or sensitive ways.

Like many people here at Acadia and across the world I was the target of bullying through the entirety of my time in school. My mother still talks about when I would come home with bruises on my back from when someone had shoved me into a wall or onto the ground. Not only did I have to deal with the physical injuries inflicted on me, but also the ones that left me question-

GIRL TROUBLE Jonah van Driesum Contributor

When asked about my interest in writing this opinion, the first thing I thought was “I am walking into a minefield.” I am, along with most men I know, afraid to talk about women’s issues. Part of that comes from the fact that I am a tall, privileged, white man but the other part is that I’m afraid of being attacked for either saying or doing the wrong thing. All my life I have been surrounded by strong women and have always believed that someone’s actions are what should define their success in life, not their gender. I felt compelled by their example to speak my mind on this topic, even though it might be uncomfortable at times.

For most of human history, women got sidelined in what rights and opportunities society a�orded to them. Thanks to the feminist movement there has been real progress towards

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You head out and end up taking some fine young man or woman home with you. You wake up the next morning expecting to nurse your hangover, when instead there is an angry mob outside your home enraged that you were intoxicated and had pre-marital sex.

These people are prepared to behead you. You are then dragged to the steps of University Hall where your head is then removed (likely hacked o� at the neck) from your body as hundreds of on-lookers relish in your final moments on this planet all because you had a couple drinks. This is the sad reality for many in Muslim majority countries. It seems to me that there is a great deal of fear in academia and in Western media when placing this blame upon Islam. This should not be the case at all. These types of situations and punishments are a direct result of Islam and the extreme legal system that it carries with it.

I would challenge anyone to name a religion that sees these things as crimes and would suggest the same punishments for it. Or perhaps another religion that issues fatwas which are spontaneous religious decrees. Christianity? No. Judaism? No. Buddhism? No. I understand that marriage, divorce, exchange of property, and many other legal actions are the result of thousands of years of evolution of the Judeo-Christian system.

Christianity does generally

frown upon homosexuality, but no large sect of Christianity is suggesting that we kill anyone over it. Catholicism has historically been the poster child for intolerance in modern day religion, but un-der Pope Francis, the Catholic church has become far more progressive than anyone ever thought possible. Pope Francis was quick to come to the defense of the Islamic faith, saying that to associate it with violence is wrong and that many religious groups have sects of violent people. While this is true, it seems as though the principles and decrees of Sharia under Islam directly result in backward-thinking and violence against women.

Let me be perfectly clear about this: I do not blame Muslims or the entire religion of Islam for the su�ering experienced under Sharia law. Rather, I would blame hard-line Muslim extremists in Muslim majority countries.

Does the religion of Islam promote Sharia law? Absolutely, it does. Can we as a society say that there are parts of many religions that do not belong in mainstream society? Certainly we can. But there is no sect of any religion that I know of that treats women, members of the LGBTQ community, and many others in the way that Islam does. You may say I’m wrongbut the numbers on this issue don’t lie. I believe Sharia law has no place in our modern society.

ing my worth a person. I am unashamed of the fact that I have and continue to see a counselor to deal with these issues. I have also never tried to hide the facts about what I have endured and I that have sought help to deal with many of the issues with which I have had to grapple.

When we talk about feminism, it is often a topic of strength.

The strength to fight back, the power to express yourself and to overcome the stupid notion that women are weaker than men. But sensitivity and creativity when displayed by men are still viewed as weakness by society. For many men, admitting that one has su�ered abuse means he will be perceived as weak, even if he seeks help to reclaim that basic sense of dignity and purpose of which he feels stripped.

As I have worked my way through creating this article I have tried to think of ways I could suggest to help bridge the gap we face, as I did not want just to critique, but build.

I am not an expert on gender equality issues, nor will I claim to be, so I reached out to others so I could look past my point

of view. While there were more than a few di�ering opinions and thoughtful suggestions on how we can all better ourselves as individuals, what I always heard was it is important to have a dialogue. I am aware that many if not most of you reading this will disagree with what I have had to say. I hope you find a way to express what is on your mind as every person can add something to this dialogue.

I would consider myself to be an open-minded person, so I am sure I could learn a thing or two.

Over the last century, there have many strides forward in gender equality. In our nation, women have moved from being treated as second class citizens in almost every situation and are now viewed as equals. While we certainly have much further to go, I do not believe any reasonable person can look at what has changed and say it is not getting better. As we continue to push forward, we must not allow ourselves to become blind and only shift our biases from gender-based to those of one’s character.

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NOTES FROM A FEMINIST KILLJOY: A Narrative so Crucial to Today’s Culture Emma Hughes Opinions Editor Recently, I have become uncomfortable with my comfortable existence. After reflecting on the discourse of my life, I have realized that I had become content with the social norms that have been engrained in me as core values since I was a small child. I was taught to be feminine, but not too feminine.

I was always told how important education was, but would always feel slightly overlooked when attempting to express my intelligence. I was told that it was important to have male friends, but not too many or else people may get the wrong idea about what kind of person I am. I was continually told to smile if my face was resting, and I would oblige. Why? Who was I trying to impress? Why did I feel as though I had to smile for no reason, especially if I did not feel like it? Why did it bother me so much to feel as though I had to keep my opinions to myself, especially if I did not agree with someone when they were talking? Unfortunately, we have normalized a culture where women need to fit into a tidy definition of what is acceptable. We have constructed ideas that are specifically designed to leave a large majority of us on the sidelines.

In 2016, Erin Wunker published Notes from a Feminist Killjoy: Essays on Everyday Life. This

text explores the concept of the feminist killjoy, patriarchal culture, and what it means to be discontent with how normalized our everyday experiences have become. If you are a feminist, this article is for you. If you are not a feminist, perhaps you should read this twice.

First and foremost, let me begin by stating that I am not a bra-burning, manhating woman. I wear a bra, I love men. I identify as a white, cisgender female who comes from a middle class family, attends university, and has good friends, a nice boyfriend, and more privilege than many other people in the world. By means of the Westernized definition of what it means to be normal, I fit neatly into this category.

However, it is important to acknowledge and understand the struggles that others are faced with, further exploring how normalized western behaviors have had such a negative impact on those, including myself, who have felt a burning discontent about the status quo and the ways in which we live our everyday lives.

When I think of why I am a feminist, I often think of a woman in my family. She was a teenager in the early 60s. When she got pregnant at age 17, her Irish Catholic parents (my great grandparents) sent her away to a nunnery where she would give birth and have her child taken away to be put up for adop-

THE FEMINIST KILLJOY: Misconceptions Abby Newcombe Contributor My journey with feminism has been long and complicated, and has most definitely evolved over the years.

Looking back, it is abundantly clear that my parents raised me and my two sisters to be little feminists pretty much straight out of the womb.

However, it took me quite some time to accept the label myself and to begin to engage with feminism as a political movement. That being said, self-identifying as a feminist is tricky. By this, I mean that along with accepting and embracing this label of feminist, or being a feminist, you are faced with the plethora of negative connotations that come with that label. I learned

about the negative connotations behind the feminist label even before I truly began to understand the purpose and importance of feminism.

The first time I was called a feminist was in a class discussion in high school when it was used as some kind of insult.

Somewhere, somehow along the way, being a feminist in people’s minds became synonymous with being a “manhater.” This, I am telling you right now, is absolute complete and total bullshit. I will gladly accept the label of an angry feminist because honestly, I am angry. A lot of the issues that the feminist movement is fighting against make me really fucking angry.

Such issues range from my person (and ongoing) experience of being cat-called when I’m walking outside at night, to the fact that the current

tion. After returning home, life went on as if nothing had ever happened. The first time I heard this story I was fifteen, and I wept. I wept for my Great Aunt; I questioned why someone could have ever done this to her, let alone members of my own family. The response I got?

“It was the normal thing to do.”

I had so many questions. Why was controlling and regulating women’s behavior considered normal? Why was removing her right to choose the future of her own child normal? How could this be acceptable? Although today’s norms are slightly different in terms of childrearing and a woman’s right to chose, there is a normalized expectation for how a woman should behave, and we are all taught from an early age to accept this norm.

As a starting point, Wunker’s definition of patriarchy is necessary. She defines patriarchal culture as a culture in which masculinity – in people and in things – is privileged as inherently foundational to other states of being. In a patriarchal culture, systems, institutions, and social interactions reinforce this hierarchy. When you live in a patriarchal culture, as in any culture, you begin learning its rules and regulations, as well as the way you fit into them almost immediately.

It’s important to note that patriarchal culture is not an equitable culture (19). The definition President of the United States was elected even though it was blatantly clear he has no concept of what sexual consent is and bragged openly about sexually assaulting women. Now because those things make me really fucking angry, does that mean I hate men? No! Absolutely not.

Here’s the thing: those things make me angry but I also am educated enough on the topic of feminism to recognize that to direct my anger at individuals (read: individual men) for those actions is misguided.

So, while I may in the moment yell obscenities at the guy cat-calling me from his car, I know that my anger is really with the systemic socialization of our society that teaches people that yelling at people while they’re walking alone at night is okay.

The point of feminism is not to hate on men. Feminist scholar Bell Hooks said it best when she articulated the aim of feminism when she wrote:

of a patriarchal culture is not aimed at attacking all men, as many men do not fit neatly into this definition either. Patriarchal culture was a bi-product of upper class, white males. It was a means to an end; a way to ensure the status quo favored their way of life. However, its a�ects are extremely damaging.

We are all born di�erent, but end up inherently the same. We have continued to perpetuate this normalized cycle, further suppressing the majority of the population to favor a few. We have become comfortable within the means of our controlled existences. Thus, the birth of the feminist killjoy.

Wunker: The feminist killjoy takes pleasure in the works of interrupting the patriarchal norms that pass as joys. She is someone whose existence makes sense when we situate her within the context of an intersectional feminist critique of happiness (44). The feminist killjoy is not content with the current status quo: she pushes for equality and ignores the norms that are continually thrust upon her. When I was younger, I would often find myself remaining quiet in conversations that would bash feminist motives, often portraying them as violent and man-hating. I was scared to speak out about my burning need for equality. I wanted the unequivocal respect that is felt between two men when they meet, I wanted to be viewed as human, as an equal. I still want these things. I am not sure when I became more open and comfortable with being a feminist killjoy, but I want to try and make a di�erence, I want to “feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” All of us in society have been socialized to accept sexist oppression, including men.

Feminism is not an us vs. them battle, it is not women vs. men. It took me years to unlearn all the harmful sexist behaviors I had been taught my whole life, and I am still not there yet. There are ways I’m sure I myself still reproduce sexist oppression. Yet, through my understanding of feminism I have been able to grow as a human being and have learned how to treat other human beings better, both women and men. When you call feminism “man-hating,” you’re completely missing the point of feminism. You are reducing the sexist oppression that negatively a�ects everyone, regardless of gender identity – and the anger that comes with living under such a system – down to an individual level. To suggest that feminism is man-hating

try and change the conversations we are having today.

Many women are content with claiming that they are not feminists in order to avoid uncomfortable conversations and exchanges in their daily lives. However, how can these claims be made when we continue to reap the benefits of the women who came before us?

When we step into the voting booth, when we wear skirts that are cut above the knee, when we are given equal opportunity to enter the workforce and the education system we often forget that these opportunities were granted to us through the hard work and su�ering of the women who came before us. In today’s society, it is crucial to remember that, although we are all in some ways di�erent, our struggle is the same. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi said, men and women, all of us, need to work together to change the conversations we are having with children today. We need to ensure that they are valued, and that they know how important individual expression outside of social constructs are. To be a feminist is to believe in equality for everyone, it is to strive for a world of equal opportunity, of acceptance, of love for everyone.

Perhaps this is overwhelming to some, but to many, it is an opportunity to fight for social justice and equality for every individual.

For reference, please pick up a copy of Erin Wunker’s works.

Erin Wunker, Notes from a Feminist Killjoy: Essays on Everyday Life (Toronto: Book Thug, 2016), 7-204. suggests that feminists are just angry, or that feminists simply do not like men. This ignores everything feminism is actually fighting against and instead just perpetuates the system of sexist oppression.

At the end of the day, feminism is a movement that is working towards making the lives of others (and ourselves) better. Yes. negative connotations and stereotypes of feminism unfortunately continue to exist, and yes, I will admit that these stereotypes initially made me hesitant to claim the label myself. However, once I realized that anybody who thinks that me labelling myself as someone who cares about equality and the wellbeing of others makes me crazy is not somebody I want in my life, I got over it. So yes, hello, here I am, an angry (not man-hating) feminist.

To anybody who knows me well, you’re already aware of this. To anybody who doesn’t – now you know.

January 25th, 2017 11

athopinions SOCIAL ETIQUETTE & THE ‘DATING DILEMMA’ Erin MacInnis Contributor

Here is an awkward social situation that I’ve personally encountered multiple times in the course of my adult dating career here at Acadia. I call it the Dating Dilemma.

This is the scenario: A nice boy from class approaches me somewhere on campus and asks me if I would like to hang out sometime, or maybe more specifically grab a coffee, and then requests a phone number exchange. This act seems innocent enough, even courageous if we consider the ease with which technology has virtually eliminated the inherent social pressure of such interactions – and yet this person has opted to kick it ‘old school’ and risk the possible face-to-face rejection: a bold move, indeed, good sir. That is, assuming this is a dating proposition.

Let’s say I am in fact a heterosexual female. Let’s say I’m currently committed to a monogamous relationship. Let’s also say that the year is 2017 and remarkably, despite being a cisgender female, I have somehow managed to amass an impressive array of platonic friendships with humans from every degree of the gender spectrum, cisgender males included.

While I hesitate to admit that antiquated social convention would dictate that yes: this interaction is obviously a dating proposition, I also happen to be what my Victorian foremothers termed a “New Woman.” I drink, I flirt, I wear blue jeans, I carve out my own career path through higher education in the hopes of one day becoming a fi-

nancially independent adult, and most importantly, I keep company with multiple single adult men with whom I share absolutely no expectation of sex. It’s all very scandalous, I know.

This is the dilemma: While I beg you pardon my sarcasm, the point that I’m trying to get across here is that I don’t want to assume he’s asking me out if all he implied is that we’re “grabbing co�ee” or “hanging out.” I want to assume that if he had intended to propose to me a potential relationship, he would have made that clear in his opening statement. So this is the awkward part. The ball is in now in my court, and I have two real life examples for the possible directions in which this conversation could go based solely on assumption.

Example #1: I assume his intentions are purely platonic, and while the thought briefly crosses my mind that I should probably mention my boyfriend somewhere in this conversation, the New Woman in me says “no, I refuse to believe that the only possible scenario in which a man would ask me to hang out is because he finds me sexually appealing. To assume such a thing would be vain and also a little depressing, if I’m being honest here. Therefore I will proceed under the assumption that this male person simply wants to connect minds, not bodies, and establish a meaningful friendship.” With that, I fork over my number, and we make plans to “hang out.”

Long story short, somewhere down the line, he sheepishly admits that these hangouts have been dates all along,

and tries to advance the relationship into new territory.

Suddenly, I’m the bad guy here for having failed in my obligation to announce my relationship status to every stranger I encounter in the run of a day. This person now believes that some dark magic has taken place in which I’ve purposely concealed such information for my own malicious purposes. They are hurt, they feel betrayed, and they may even resort to some egosaving tactic such as calling me a slut for leading them on.

Example #2: I begrudgingly follow that antiquated social convention I mentioned earlier, and immediately announce the existence of my boyfriend. I do this because nice boy from class is male, and I am female, and therefore it is my civic responsibility is to assume that by “hang out” he actually meant “make out,” and by “grab co�ee” he actually meant “grab each other’s butts,” because that’s obviously the only context in which I could possibly spend time with a member of the opposite sex. This action on my part is guaranteed to yield a variety of awkward results depending on his initial intentions (which are still unbeknownst to me, I merely took a guess and went for it).

If he actually was asking me out, he may now feel embarrassed and attempt to save face by pretending he was just asking for friendship all along – making me feel presumptive and vain – and as part of this he may even still take my number but will likely never use it. On the flip side, perhaps he really was just asking for friendship, but now

believes I’m enslaved to some control-freak “Jabba the Hutt” boyfriend who doesn’t allow me to hang out with other males, and decides to steer clear lest he be identified as competition and subsequently targeted. At best, he simply accepts this information with dignity and tells me to have a nice life.

The solution to this ‘dating dilemma’ is simple, virtually pain-free, and guaranteed to save everyone involved from having to assume the position of ‘the bad guy’ at any point during the interaction. This applies to all gender and sexual orientations. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been guilty of this myself on occasion. All it takes is a little social etiquette. Here it is: clarify your communication. When asking someone out on a date, don’t hide behind vague statements like “hang out” or “watch Netflix.” You’ve come this far, so dare to sprinkle a little honesty into your question to avoid confusion. For example, slip the term ‘date’ in there so they understand your intentions and can respond more accurately. This will not only aid you in achieving desired results (and/or avoiding disastrous ones), but it’s also simply a polite thing to do – you’re not leaving any implications hanging in the air and therefore you’re not putting the other party in an awkward situation in which they have to make a judgment call on how best to respond. To clarify my point, here’s how these two situations would play out in a perfect world, free of those dreaded antiquated (and frankly, sexist) social conventions:

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Example #1: A nice boy from class approaches me somewhere on campus and asks me if I would like to hang out sometime, and then requests a phone number exchange. Since “hanging out” is understood to be a platonic activity, I am free to agree or disagree regardless of my relationship status – or either of our gender identities – because both of those pieces of information are irrelevant in this social situation. We make plans to hang out, and have a great time in which nobody’s feelings get stepped on, because we’ve both understood the context of this relationship from the beginning. Hey, maybe I’ll even introduce him to my boyfriend and then we can all be friends.

Example #2: A nice boy from class approaches me somewhere on campus and asks me if I would like to go on a date sometime, and then requests a phone number exchange. I am either single, in which case I am free to agree or disagree at my leisure, or I’m not single, but I understand the context of this proposition and am therefore free to disagree with or without explanation. At no point during the conversation am I obligated to awkwardly insert my relationship status in case it’s relevant, because it’s not.

In summary, the awkward Dating Dilemma is easily avoided with a little social etiquette in which intentions are clear, nobody is put on the spot, romances blossom (once you find someone who agrees to go on that hot date with you, that is) and the magic of friendship prevails without any unforeseen expectations based on age-old assumptions about gender roles. Hallelujah!

2016 WASN’T TERRIBLE. HAVE HOPE FOR 2017.

Colin Mitchell Contributor

Sitting down at the dinner table with my family, I faced an awkward conversation. It started with griping about the state of the world: America, Europe, crisis after pandemic after crash. It was a depressing start to a conversation to say the least. The picture that was painted was one resembling the worst of the first Mad Max films, or the beginnings of Roland Emmerich’s 2012: undesirable and unnecessary.

After some thinking, I chimed into the conversation. Yes, I wasn’t going to

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lie, things did look bad. There were a lot of things that were beyond the scope of positivity. But after the dinner was over I stopped and asked my parents: why did they think things were so bad? Their answers were di�erent in their wording but the general message was the same: things were changing and they were changing in a direction they didn’t like.

It’s undeniable that the world is changing. Former reality TV star Donald Trump is now President of the United States, the UK is (trying to begin the process of) leaving the European Union, Syria is falling back under the control of

Bashar Al-Assad, and the Islamic State is branching out around the world, with attacks occurring everywhere from Christmas markets in Berlin to bazaars in Turkey and malls in the United States. It’s a different world, and it’s one that doesn’t have the prettiest face.

By a lot of metrics, the world is sliding back into a reality eerily reminiscent of the 1930s, with fascism, racism, and neo-Nazism on the rise and tensions erupting around the world. This all came to the boiling point in 2016, a year we’re all very glad is over.

Denying that the world is facing a challenging new reality is arrogant and

irresponsible. To say that everything is going to be fine and dandy is dangerously naïve.

But it doesn’t warrant being pessimistic about the future.

2016 will be a year that will be long analyzed by historians of the future. We lost countless stars, from David Bowie to Prince and Carrie Fisher, we saw the worst of humanity in Aleppo, and we saw hate take precedence over love through xenophobia and racism. Needless to say, it was a year that will live in infamy.

But it doesn’t warrant despair. In the face of adversity, the worst thing one can do is curl up in a ball and refuse to believe that anything they do can change things. Even the

littlest of things, from throwing your co�ee cup in the recycling or telling somebody they look good today makes a di�erence. It may be small and but it is not insignificant. Maya Angelou once said “people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” In the face of an uncertain future, it makes all the di�erence to be there for one another.

As much as those around us may want to be pessimistic about 2016, there were just as many reasons to be optimistic.

The Colombian government signed an agreement with the FARC, ending a decades long conflict that had killed thousands. Tiger numbers around the world were on the rise for the first time in 100 years. A solar powered airplane flew

ath athscience (2017 HOPE CONT.) across the Pacific Ocean.

World hunger has reached its lowest point in 25 years.

People pouring buckets of ice over their heads raised enough money to help isolate the gene that causes the ALS disease.

When you look back over the bigger events, last year wasn’t so bad.

It’s impressive how far we’ve come in the past year. The Paris Agreement has been signed, and even though there are plenty of climate change skeptics and outright deniers in high o�ce, the ball has begun rolling towards a greener future. We’ve seen compassion in Canada, with our own Prime Minister personally greeting refugees fleeing war and utter devastation.

Love him or hate him, it takes someone with genuine character to take ownership of an issue and face the fruits of their labour head-on. Even here at Acadia, our first year population has grown by 25%.

New blood and new minds are being welcomed into Wolfville – a stark contrast from the previous year’s intake.

I have hope for 2017. There are elections coming up around the world where candidates are basing their campaigns on an ‘us vs. them’ message, fearmongering and hatemongering. But while there are those candidates, there are just as many promoting what makes democracy worth fighting for: peace, compassion, tolerance, justice, and love. The fight for a free and fair society isn’t an easy or bloodless one. Relationships are ruined, reputations are soured, and feelings are hurt. But if you truly believe in something worth fighting for, stand up for it.

There will always be headlines that strike fear into our hearts. There will always be those who preach hate and practice malice. There will always be those who believe that the impossible is exactly that – impossible. Yet there will always be those tiny instances of human compassion that amount to something greater.

There will always be those who preach love and practice tolerance. There will always be those who believe that the impossible is exactly the opposite – possible.

Let’s not despair for 2017. Let’s go out and make it a good one.

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SAFER ROADS FOR PEOPLE AND ANIMALS ALIKE Emi Vargatoth Contributor

Those familiar with Nova Scotia’s seemingly endless stretches of highway are likely accustomed to the sight of roadkill. But now, Acadia Master’s candidate Stephanie White is researching a way to make our roads safer for both the animals that cross them and the drivers who want to avoid hitting them.

Wildlife fencing and wildlife underpasses/overpasses are common sights in many European countries and along the West Coast of Canada and the United States, where the frequency of large mammal crossings make them a more pressing safety precaution than in other parts of the world. In Atlantic Canada, the vast majority of wildlife road crossing preventative technologies are found in New Brunswick due to the high number of moose and deer in the region.

Nova Scotia, however, may also benefit from the addition of such safety measures, as to date, there are only two known underpasses in the entire province designed for wild animals to cross highways safely. There are other underpasses scattered throughout the province, but they see regular ATV usage which makes them not much more wildlife-friendly than the highways they intersect. The other two wildlife underpasses, which have a metal bar to prevent their use by ATVs, are located at the Cobequid Pass and in

Antigonish. Before Stephanie White’s research, neither had been studied to determine what animals used them and whether it would be worthwhile for more to be built.

The government-funded project started in May 2015 with thirty four trail cameras set up around the Antigonish underpass, which was situated at a highway undergoing construction. This underpass contained both an aqueous and terrestrial component and was designed for small to medium sized animals. A total of 300 000 photos were taken and analyzed. Variables such as the addition of wildlife fencing around the underpass and the useful-

ness of an atrium to allow light into the underpass were measured. While the study is still ongoing and the huge quantities of trail camera pictures are still being analyzed, promising findings are emerging.

These findings conclude that the terrestrial component is most often used by hares and porcupines, but since the addition of wildlife fencing on the side of the highway, an average of one black bear a week has been observed crossing the underpass. The aquatic component sees animals such as musk rats, wild minks, beavers and families of ducks crossing it. The findings of ducklings using the underpass have espe-

cially exciting implications for road accident prevention as many drivers are tempted to stop or swerve when they see a trail of ducklings following their mother across a highway.

While this project is still ongoing, it indicates so far that investment in wildlife fencing and wildlife underpass construction could reduce the number of small and medium sized animals crossing Nova Scotia’s highways. This could significantly improve the safety of Nova Scotia’s animals and drivers along the many kilometers of highway running the length of the province.

Photo by: Kamryn Minors

ACADIA COMPUTER SCIENCE PRESENTS: A Text Editor Seminar Series Mrugakshee Palwe Contributor On January 13th and January 20th, the Acadia Computer Science Society (ACSS) and Jodrey School of Computer Science (JSOCS) hosted a seminar on how to use text editors. This seminar was put together for students in Computer Science and for anyone who is interested in coding. The importance of learning how to use a good text editor could be compared to the importance of strength and endurance training for athletes. Competing in a game for the ath-

lete is like coding for a computer scientist, the training part is learning to use the editor! In the same way that there are different programs that manipulate documents, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel, there are different editors that exist to make coding easier.

These programs include text editors such as Vim, Emacs, and Sublime Text. The seminar took place every Friday at 2:30pm. During the seminars, students learned how they could program efficiently, and about the advantages and disadvantages of different editors. During

the first week, the society arranged a “Battle of the Editors” where the competitors: Jim Diamond, Duane Currie, and Samuel Coleman (and Edwin Kravčenka as a sub) each picked a different editor and tried to sell it to the group. It was a fun seminar, with a great turnout and lots of enthusiastic participants. The speakers attempted to time themselves when coding passages to show the difference in efficiency between editors. Samuel Coleman joined the room (in the K.C. Irving Centre) via Virtual Network Computing (VNC).

During the second week, Jim Diamond and Duane Currie continued to teach Computer Science students

about keyboard shortcuts at the Beveridge Arts Centre.

Handouts were provided, as well as lots of additional information. This occasion was a fun experience for all, and was very useful. It was a great way to learn more about different educational tools in an enjoyable style.

The Computer Science Society will be hosting a LAN party on February 3rd from 7:00pm-12:00am at Carnegie Hall for anyone that would like to learn more about the University’s Computer Science Society. To learn more, search for the “Acadia Computer Science Society” on Facebook.

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UNAWARE AND UNDIAGNOSED: Common Symptoms of PCOS Hayley Phoenix Sports & Wellness Editor After years of intense pain, dramatic weight gain, and missed periods, I sat in the doctor’s office for what seemed like the billionth time trying to explain my symptoms to her. “It sounds like you have polycystic ovarian syndrome,” she informed me.

The months following included ultrasounds, even more pain, and one specialist informing me that if I just “lost the weight” then all my PCOS problems would be solved. For those of you who have never heard of this illness before, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (or PCOS) is a hormonal condition where cysts grow on the ovaries and where there is a drastic imbalance of hormones.

Although these cysts are relatively harmless, the side effects that come from them are not.

Having polycystic ovaries could mean the development of issues such as infertility, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. PCOS effects approximately 10% of females, but many go undiagnosed because they don’t know what to look for. The lack of awareness of PCOS has the potential to be life threatening. So, from somebody who has the unfortunate experience of cysts growing on her inner egg cartons, here are some of the signs to watch for.

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Irregular Menstrual Cycle An irregular menstrual cycle is the top symptom of PCOS. Most females with the illness have fewer than 8 periods in a year, and some people don’t have any at all. I can remember a time when I didn’t have a single cycle for two years.

While some readers may be thinking that I’m lucky, let me assure you that I am not.

Missing that many periods is unhealthy, and it means something is wrong with my body.

It also means that the longer I go without a menstrual cycle, the more it is going to hurt when I finally have one. This may not be true for every woman with PCOS, but for me the pain is so severe that I cannot get out of bed for the first few days of my period. It is a searing, migraine inducing, incapacitating pain that is persistent and stubborn.

This pain doesn’t even have to be accompanied with a menses! It can happen anywhere at anytime, regardless of cycles. Irregular cycles, especially painful ones, are big warning signs for PCOS. Abnormal Hair Growth and Hair Loss Bearded ladies are real. Rose Geil, Harnaam Kaur, and Diamond Smith are the names of females in the media who have come forward with their full beards flow-

ing, and each of them has been given a diagnosis of PCOS. While these are extreme cases, abnormal hair growth is unfortunately a top contender for the symptoms of the disease. That isn’t to say that hair growth is abnormal, because it is a perfectly normal function of the body.

What medical professionals deem as abnormal is the growth of hair on a female that would typically be seen on a male such as the face. However, it could also mean that places where hair is typically seen on a female, such as legs and arms, grows in excess.

This is called hirsutism, and it affects up to 70% of individuals with PCOS. But while you may be finding an excess of hair on other parts of your body, you may find that the hair on your head is thinning and falling out. It may seem like these two phenomena are opposing, but they are linked through the overactive testosterone that comes with the hormonal imbalance of PCOS. Weight Gain Many of those suffering with PCOS are overweight or obese. At the very least, there is likely some element of struggle when it comes to weight management. According to the International Journal of Obesity and Other Related Metabolic Disorders, half of those with polycystic ova-

ries are overweight or obese. Why does PCOS cause such drastic weight gain? Remember, it all relates with imbalanced hormones.

PCOS makes it more difficult for the body to use the insulin that is produced which typically helps transform sugars and starches into energy. If the insulin isn’t being used, it’s being stored. This alone can contribute to weight gain. The build up of insulin is said to also increase the production of a hormone called androgen, which makes it even easier to gain weight and even harder to lose it. It is an ongoing struggle that could lead to many other medical issues such as: high blood pressure, heart disease, and type II diabetes.

Psychiatric Complications While there are many other symptoms associated with having polycystic ovaries, the above are the top three that most, including myself, will experience. But these symptoms aren’t the worst of it. For myself, the worst part of PCOS are the mental health complications.

The most common mental health concern associated with PCOS is depression. It seems that there is a strong link between hormonal imbalance and depression. Who could have guessed? Although not all who have polycystic ovaries will develop mental illnesses, PCOS does increase the likelihood. My mood

swings are often out of control. I am easily irritable, overly emotional, and sometimes I lash out when I don’t mean to. While the physical pain of PCOS is overwhelming, the mental side effects are just as bad if not worse.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is different for everyone, and my experience with it will not ring true for all who also live with it.

I am not an expert in the area, and there are many other symptoms associated with the condition. The above mentioned are simply the ones that are most prevalent for myself.

But one thing that I am sure of is that there is no cure for PCOS. It is a condition that I and many others must learn to live with and endure for the rest of our lives. It is painful, incredibly inconvenient, and has intruded upon my life more times than I can count.

It has put me at risk for various secondary health concerns and at times, the symptoms make me feel unfeminine, unattractive, and hopeless. But I am not alone, and neither are you. So, here’s to my cyster sisters! You are strong, you are beautiful, and you are capable. If you feel as though you may be experiencing symptoms of PCOS, please speak to a health professional. While the condition is not curable, the symptoms are treatable which is the first step of preventing even more severe complications.

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WAX ON, WAX OFF:

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Kelsey Crosby Contributor

Hair removal is something that many men and women, myself included, strive to perfect. Whether it is through the drawn blood of shaving, expensive laser treatment, or painful wax pulling, we are all after that chic bald look. Some do it for their own pleasure, some do it for the pleasure of their partners, and some like me do it because they swear they can run away from their problems faster. I have been waxing my legs for almost a year now, and when six weeks post-wax arrives, I’m anxious to get them back in a salon again. The trouble, though, is that those services can be very pricey. To my delight on Christmas morning, I unwrapped my very own wax warming pot, complete with strips and various versions of goo to help calm the fire ripping little hairs from your body tends to ignite. I thought to myself, this is great! I’m going to save so much money with this! My mind happily skipped over the process of

what it might mean to wax your own legs.

However, Christmas day came and went and before I knew it, it was December 26. Around noon I decided I’d give my wax pot a go, since my legs were in dire need of some attention.

The instruction manual was thick enough to kill a rodent if it was rolled up, but I didn’t let that intimidate me. In fact, to reduce the intimidation, I disregarded all those warnings and do’s and don’ts all together. What I don’t know can’t hurt me was my frame of mind. Besides, I’d seen the bored salon ladies do it dozens of times without so much as a second thought. This should be a breeze.

I set up the wax pot in my bathroom, plugging it in and turning it on. After waiting a total of seven minutes I impatiently concluded my wax was never going to melt, so to ensure I hadn’t received a defect I consulted the instruction manual. As it turns out, the wax can take up to 40 minutes to melt.

This was my first encounter with misconceptions around

at-home waxing. I busied myself with other tasks, and finally my wax had become thin and pliable as the manual suggested. It was time to get to work.

I threw my leg up onto my bathroom counter, and I thought to myself how lucky I was that I was flexible enough to get my leg up that high. But after about 30 seconds with my leg up there, I started cramping up and realized that maybe I wasn’t all that flexible. Oh well, no pain no gain. So, I proceeded to dip my fancy popsicle stick into the wax. It was pleasant to apply, warm and smooth, but when I saw that there was still a thick bubble of wax on the stick and tried to re-apply in the exact same manner, my skin felt like it was ripping away with the already cooling wax. Sweat began beading on my hairline at this point, and I knew it would be a long road from there.

That first pull on the strip almost made me shit myself, and I had a wax strip that was hanging o� my ankle with still half a pull to go. Tears blurred my eyes but I refused to let them fall.

I swallowed the pain and decided there was no turning back, so on the exhale, o� the strip came. After my

UNPOPULAR OPINION:

Controversial Team Names Aren’t All That Controversial Anonymous Contributor The controversy of team names has been a hot topic in the world of sports as of late, and all the attention being brought to the topic has me thinking: are these team names controversial, or are activists just bringing it up to create controversy? Before you gasp in disbelief and accuse me of supporting cultural appropriation, just hear me out.

Think of other team names that aren’t considered controversial. The mascot of a team usually represents something

fierce and unstoppable.

Panthers, Eagles, Lions, and the list goes on. If a team isn’t named after an animal, it’s named after something that pays respect and homage to the team’s city, country, or background. This is where we get mascots such as the Maple Leafs or the Oilers. So, isn’t it possible that, like these team names, the “controversial” ones are also used to pay tribute to the Indigenous people? In my opinion, having teams such as the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Chiefs remind people of America’s

roots. These names aren’t meant to be racist. These names are meant to pay tribute to the strength, excellence, and determination of the Native peoples.

At the end of the day, people are o�ended by anything and everything.

Environmentalists will take issues with the Edmonton Oilers, tall people might take issue with the San Francisco Giants, and perhaps people are o�ended with the Boston Celtics because of the Irish. If we are going to insist that sports teams change their names to be

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first few attempts, the actual ripping o� the strips was really not that bad, I will admit. I even got the hang of how to apply the wax in a smooth motion, and things were going great. This was until I was ready to start on the back of my leg. My hamstring was pulled, I was in a full sweat, and my hands were starting to shake. I realize this may sound like I was just being a wuss, but I have a high pain tolerance and can usually endure more than most. I turned on my heel with my leg in the air trying to achieve that perfect angle. My back arched at a ridiculous angle and the wax residue on the front of my leg was sticking hard, and fast, to the counter top.

I applied the wax to the back of my upper calf despite the awkward contortion of my body, and reached for a clean strip. I lost my balance a little bit though, and the back of my thigh squished right into the hot wax I’d applied to my calf. This was becoming very messy, and now my leg was basically glued in a bent position. I checked the time; 45 minutes had passed since the first application of wax.

My waxing appointments usually don’t take longer than 30 minutes. “At-home

less controversial, then it should be consistent. Not just for the sports teams with Indigenous based names.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not stubborn in my opinion. I can understand why some people will take offense to these names. But I do not feel like the actions being taken are progressive in any way. It has been reported that many people have boycotted sporting events, reporters refuse to say the name of the teams on broadcast, and merchandise is being destroyed. So, my question is this: why is the team being punished for the name? They did not name themselves. These actions are directly e�ect-

hair removal is the way to go!”, they said. “At-home hair removal is quick and easy!” they said.

Balancing and juggling hot wax, applicator sticks, and cloth strips was becoming exhausting. My hands at this point were covered in sticky, unforgiving wax and there was so much residue on my legs that I was sticking to everything I went near. Finally, I finished my first leg. Out of breath, I took in my work. My leg was bald and beautiful, just the look I had sought after.

Along with my hairlessness, though, were broken blood vessels, a bruise forming, and patches of fine blonde hairs I had missed but didn’t care enough to revisit with the wax. At least my skin was soft.

All in all, it had taken me almost two hours to complete my at-home hair removal adventure. As I write this almost twelve hours later, my hamstrings are aching from the stretching and the skin around my ankles is still faintly burning.

But my calves are smooth as hell in between the missed patches of hair. This experience made me appreciate the work those bored salon ladies do, but you can bet I’ll be facing this task again in about six weeks.

ing the players, and that isn’t right or fair. There must be a better way to voice your discontent.

Alternatively, maybe those who are o�ended should see it from a different perspective and accept that team names honour their namesake.

The logos and mascots themselves is an entirely di�erent story, and I could see why that may be taken o�ensively. However, the team names and their mascots are di�erent matters and should be treated as such. Keep this in mind the next time you decided to hop on the bandwagon and protest something you didn’t care about a year ago.

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COCKADOODLES Sid Kondpuram Arts Editor

How did you come about this idea?

Connor: I was at a Chapters with my girlfriend sometime during the November of 2015, and we talked about the idea of how ‘adult’ they could get. We mentioned it to Chris, and we hashed it into a coloring book about dicks. We started hashing out what we thought would be funny, and it kind of snowballed into this idea.

Chris: The ball really started getting rolling in January and February of 2016.

Did you guys end up making all the art?

Connor: Yes, unfortunately.

Was it fatiguing drawing so many penises?

Connor: We’d be talking about it on Facebook all day. And I’d be like “Dude, I just had this great idea”,

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so we’d draw it and send it back and forth, kinda adding things in the process.

So, in that way it definitely was a bit fatiguing.

Chris: Subliminally I think that this coloring book came from that scene in Superbad when Jonah Hill draws a bunch of dicks during class.

When do you begin the distribution?

Connor: We’re submitting the order for the end of this month (December 2016) And for every one on our Indiegogo page: once they come they will be shipped immediately to you guys.

And our crowdfunding stage goes until December.

How was the crowdfunding process for an idea like this?

Chris: It’s definitely tough; I mean we’ve had a lot of people say “Yup I’d definitely buy that,” but getting them to go out and actually buy it is an ordeal. With respect to getting money to make this book, I wouldn’t say there was any sense of urgency and we kinda took it as it went. We’ve also had to rely entirely on our own advertising, and that was an interesting learning experience.

Cockadoodles is a “colouring book full of wieners. It’s full of things to colour, as well as colouring book activities like a wordsearch, maze, circle the differences, and more. It’s just like a classic colouring book but with page after page of penis.”

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Connor: There were also some other unique challenge with creating the

Indiegogo page. We had to skirt a fine line between showing as much as possible to get people enticed and at the same time keeping it moderately safe for work.

Chris: We don’t want to show every body everything.

What color do you think people are going to color these penises?

Connor: It’s definitely in the eye of the beholder, these are penises basically modeled o� of “Hey, what do we want this one to look like, and hey there’s this penis.” In fact, we modeled one out of Hodor, and there is an air of mystery around it because no one knows what it is.

How did you guys advertise this book?

Chris: We did everything from making a YouTube video, using Facebook to find our target market.We figured the main audience would be women and the gay community (for gifts and such) At least a half dozen of the orders have been “Hey! I’m gonna give it to my gay uncle, he’s gonna love it.” We’ve even had radio interviews like on 101.2 the Edge in Toronto.

Other than that we’ve got a prototype of our book, and we’ve shown it to anybody who was wiling to see it.

Connor: You have to be careful though, because it is a book full of dicks.

What is the reaction in your personal life?

Connor: I think they get it.

They usually want to see it, and we bring out our phones and we swipe through our prototypes to show them some of the half finished images and the reception has been surprisingly positive. The reaction we’ve gotten most often has been “I wish I had that idea!” I mean my girlfriend’s parents love the idea, which is definitely weird.

Chris: It is definitely art.

The funny thing is that Connor sent the ISBN number for the book to the Canadian Heritage archive, which is a common procedure for books printed in Canada.

Connor: It’s nice to think that there’s some government employee in Ottawa that has to file this book filled with penises into the archive.

Check out the book at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ cockadoodles-a-veryadult-activity-bookchristmas#/