SINCE 1944
VOLUME 77 ISSUE 11
April 13 2022
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Student run since 1944
SPRINGING FORTH Annual Brewing Science Showcase 3 hosted by the Gait for the first time
The principle hosts a “sugar on snow” afternoon
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Open hearts on Earth Day
Bishop’s holds professional drag show at the Gait
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The transportation survey says...
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Sarah Halberstadt Renée Rosteius
2022 Gaiters athletic banquet closes out the year
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Casey Hebert
Leo Webster
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Tanya O’Reilly
David Rossiter
Layout design by Gabrielle Liu & Cassie MacDonell
Photo courtesy of Emily Crunican
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NEWS
THE CAMPUS APRIL 13 2022
Sarah Halberstadt, News Editor » thecampus.news@gmail.com
The SCC and the BU Outdoors Club partner for mindful masculinity hike Nicholas Masse - Contributor
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n March 30, members of the Sexual Culture Committee (SCC), the Outdoors Club, and fellow Bishop’s students met at the Johnville Bog for a pleasant hike and chat as part of the new Gaiter Gab series. This early excursion and club partnership was the first Gaiter Gab event, a series that looks to create a comfortable setting for open conversations on gender, emotionality, and just about anything. Prompts are handed out to participants to help steer and spark conversations on familiar topics, with questions like: what’s your favourite Olympic sport to watch?, and some less familiar like: what do you think of gender reveal parties? The goal is to normalize such discussions in the hopes that participants question social
norms and engage in these conversations with their peers. The Gaiter Gab series is an initiative created by a subcommittee of the SCC called Mindful Masculinity, which was established in the hopes of identifying and eliminating sources of toxic masculinity on campus to help improve the sexual culture at Bishop’s University. Other projects of the subcommittee look to improve services towards identified and self-identified perpetrators of sexually violent behaviours, as well as the implementation of school visits to teach young men about Mindful Masculinity in neighbouring high schools and CÉGEPs. Although the SCC was created less than two years ago, its establishment
Photos courtesy of Grace McArthur was decades in the making. Attempts at changing the University’s policies and culture occurred as far back as 2011 and 2014 but with little change. Bishop’s Policy for the Prevention of Sexual Assualt was enacted in 2018, and revised in 2019 and 2021. More attention was directed to issues of sexual violence following the rape allegation posted by an anonymous survivor on the Lennoxville bridge in November that ignited unprecedented student activism and media attention. Bishop’s policies and response plan have been renewed to better support survivors, and the implementation of the REES reporting platform and an ongoing independent legal investigation have all resulted from this emotionally charged fall semester. The
underappreciated behind-the-scenes work and calls for change by Anika Malone, Scotia Sharpe, Georgia Lapierre, and Amie Godward (to name a few) have finally been heard. Those most affected by the symptoms of a broken colonial and patriarchal culture are in better hands. However, they would be the first to recognize that much remains to be done. Although college campuses are often the scene of violence, gender stereotypes tint all spaces in our communities. They are also responsible for the many microaggressions and much of the suffering of all genders. Masculine conceptions of stoicism, toughness, and insensibility explain men’s higher rates of mental and physical health complications and suicide. All the while double standards, such as those regarding sexuality, continue to discriminate against sexually active women, despite encouraging men to enact the same behaviours, for example. While sadness and crying are frowned upon and remain ‘feminine’ reactions, anger and violence are deemed appropriate responses to suffering for men. This reaction often translates to violence towards women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other men. These norms that we all continue to enact are part of what is now called toxic masculinity, which Mindful Masculinity aims to address and dismantle through its initiatives. If you are interested in joining the SCC and being involved in bringing change to the Bishop’s community, do not hesitate to reach out to the SCC’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
Community clean up 2022: a huge success Danielle Storey - Contributor
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n Saturday, April 2, the Outdoors Club and Environmental Club at Bishop’s University collaborated to hold the annual spring clean-up activity. Students helped clean Lennoxville and the Bishop’s campus of any waste hidden below the snow all winter. After months of litter had accumulated, the student body collected upwards of 60 garbage and recycling bags that consisted of small litter, like cigarettes, to bigger litter – even a television was found! The clean-up was a great success and an enormous thank you goes out to all students, faculty, and families in Lennoxville who helped
cleaned our town. This leads to the reminder for students to dispose of waste properly. As we all know, May is move-in and moveout month, when all students are going through their belongings. Larger items, like couches and tables, seem to be left behind on the streets of Lennoxville each year, piling up and causing Lennoxville’s streets to be filled with trash. Instead of throwing used items into the streets, think of donating furniture to Estrie- Aide, a thrift store located at 345 rue Wellington in Sherbrooke. If instead you think the item needs to be disposed of, check out the “Ça va où?” website sent to student emails.
Photos courtesy of Danielle Storey
NEWS
SINCE 1944
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Sarah Halberstadt, News Editor » thecampus.news@gmail.com
Annual Brewing Science Showcase hosted by the Gait for the first time Sarah Halberstadt - News Editor
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his past Thursday, April 7, saw the Gait host the brewing science department’s annual showcase for the first time. This event allows brewing science students to present the different beer recipes they have curated over the year to the Bishop’s community. Appropriately held on National Beer Day, the showcase offered free food for anyone trying out the number of beers their peers created. Evaluation cards allowed students to vote on their favourite beer and rate each drink on flavour, aroma, bitterness, and complexity. This is the first instance that the Brewery has been able to sell its new recipes to the public this year, and brewing students were eager to see the reactions of people trying their drinks. “Usually they can sell out of the lab, but with COVID, this hasn’t been possible, so this is the first time they get to hear comments from others about it,” said Simon Desrochers, new brewing tech for the Bishop’s Arches and brewing science student. Though the variety of drinks were available throughout the night, the brewing science students, identifiable by their Arches Brewery shirts, were there to meet and greet from 5-10 p.m. “We want
to be able to be available for everyone, the early drinker as well as the late,” says Desrochers when asked about the fivehour event. Previously held at a brewery in Sherbrooke with the exception of the last two years, the showcase has been a traditional end-of-the-year celebration for brewing science students who are to complete the year-long program involving over 200 hours of beer brewing in the oncampus brewery. The move to the Gait made the event more accessible to the community rather than just the students in the brewing program. “We want to aim more local because Bishop’s is the main consumer of our products, so we wanted to make it here and we were able to make a deal with the Gait,” said Desrochers. Though a smaller group than years prior, six students will be graduating with their Graduate Certificate in Brewing Science this year and created 18 types of beer between them. The rest of the beers available were made by the class of 2020 to show how good aged beer tastes. Upon completing their program, the certificate students receive allows them to pursue studies in chemistry and brewing, get internships or jobs with other breweries,
Photo courtesy of Candelaria Diaz or even open their own brewery. “I think it’s a really good experience. In this program you can learn a lot of things, the people are really nice, and they help you a lot, not just to brew and learn the material but like a person,” said brewing science student Candelaria Diaz. Diaz hopes to one day take her knowledge back to Argentina, where she is on exchange from, and open her own brewery. Diaz, who is gluten-free, is interested in creating different types of gluten-free beer, which is a complex process compared to normal beers. “It’s complicated, it has different parameters, but you can do it,” said Diaz.
Other students plan to stay in the academic field and learn more about the science of beer making. “I would like to dip in my knowledge more and more in this field of study,” said brewing science student Lisa Emad Youssef Halem, who has already received her master’s in microbiology from the University of Sherbrooke. Halem hopes to continue her education in the science of beer making and eventually earn a PhD in the subject. For anyone who missed the showcase or enjoyed a particular flavour, the majority of the Arches beers are now available for purchase at the Doolittle’s Co-op.
BU dance returns to the stage Jada van der Linde - Contributor
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n April 1, the BU Dance Club showcase took place on the Centennial stage for the first time since 2019, featuring dance numbers from the Bishop’s University Dance Club and competitive dance team. In addition, performances originally meant for the fashion show were also fit into the showcase so members could still make it onstage despite the fashion show being cancelled earlier this year due to COVID-19. “It was also so fun to have the fashion show dances too and have so many people come together at rehearsals. It really meant a lot that so many people were excited for our showcase,” said Caroline Homet, head coordinator of the dance team. A lot went into preparing for the event, and it was not easy. The fashion show members had a week to review and perfect all their dances. However, it was apparent in their performances that they put their all into the showcase. Though it was not noticeable to the audience, the BU Dance Club had only four practices together to prepare their dances for the showcase. It took many hours of
hard work and dedication to make the showcase possible in such a short period of time. “After performing I felt a feeling of relief, but I also felt proud of myself and everyone else who was part of this experience,” said Lara Croes, a dance team member. The competitive team, however, was more prepared to perform their numbers following their recent dance competition in Mississauga, Ontario, where they competed against much larger institutions such as the University of Ottawa,
McMaster University, and the University of Toronto. This is the first time the competitive dance team has competed at the varsity level, placing first in their category for hip hop. “We were the only entirely student-led dance club competing at that level. And overall we did get a great score,” said Homet. Everyone involved, from the dancers, coordinators, choreographers, and stage managers, had quite a bit of pressure on them to make the showcase possible. Dancers had to bring their all onto
Photos courtesy of Jacob Guité that stage to remind everyone how fun life is after a long time of uncertainty and darkness. “Preparing for it was a rollercoaster of emotions since many things happened in between comp and the showcase, but I was excited to perform in front of a crowd again,” said Josephine Wild, a competitive team member. The dance showcase brought so much joy and fun into the Bishop’s community. People were smiling, dancing, laughing, you name it. Everyone had a fantastic time, dancers and audience alike.
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OPINIONS
THE CAMPUS APRIL 13 2022
Safia Hafid, Opinions Editor » thecampus.opinions@gmail.com
Open hearts on Earth Day Renée Rosteius - Contributor
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Photo courtesy of Emily Crunican
arth Day – April 22 – is approaching, and in recent years I have begun to have conflicted feelings about whether or not I should celebrate this day. When I was 16, I read a quote from Yvon Chouinard – the founder
of Patagonia – that deeply resonated with me. He explained: “I’ve never celebrated Earth Day. I’ve always felt that all of that attention on just one day distracts us from the need to be taking action for the planet every day.” I had always been unsure on where I stand in regards to this day, and recently I have begun to reflect on this quote as well as my clashing feelings. One reality of Earth Day, and of many other days dedicated to social movements, is that there is a large influx of social media activism that would not be as prevalent otherwise. The posts tend to range from informative graphics about climate change, to countdowns and fear mongering, to vacation photos from around the world. As someone who stays informed on climate justice issues year-round, this trend of posts can be frustrating. On the other hand, many organizations and companies use Earth Day to donate money, announce changes to improve their environmental impact, and partner with environmental nonprofits – the options are numerous. This is certainly a
highly positive outcome of Earth Day and is important to acknowledge. Although, often, once the momentum of this date dies down, many of the companies or organizations that pledged to take climate action fall short of their promises. Notably, a household name such as Costco has announced they wish to reduce their environmental impact, but has failed to provide emissions targets or other objectives to help them achieve this task. In addition, many groups may also no longer publicize their environmental initiatives; it is much harder for the public to hold stakeholders accountable for their environmental impact when their action plan is no longer as transparent as it was on April 22. At a surface level, this day can seem largely unimpactful. However, the value of increased public awareness and open minds cannot be ignored. When people who may otherwise be less aware of the impacts of climate change learn more about the issue, it can be common to grieve what we are losing in the environment. In his Donald Lecture on March 30 of this year, Mr. Naheed Nenshi said, “A grieving heart is an open heart,”
and that an open heart is the most willing to change. Overall, I have always found that Earth Day has acted as an annual moral dilemma in my life. I have felt frustrated about why more attention is given to climate issues on this day than they would be otherwise. The social media activism of Earth Day may lack calls to action, and in some cases, can be actually counterproductive. This does not mean that Earth Day is a bad thing, however. As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite. People’s open hearts can instead be viewed as an opportunity to call people into justice-seeking movements and create more change. There is strength in numbers, and even if there are those who hop on an environmental bandwagon just because it is trendy, climate action movements are still growing. The fight against climate misinformation and fear mongering must continue, no matter the day. But altogether, I feel that everyone should be able to appreciate Earth Day and feel included, whether you are a seasoned climate activist, or someone who is completely new to the concept.
Deal between the The need for a break Federal Liberals and New Democratic Party between classes and Liz Beaumont - Economics & Business Editor final exams
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ecently, in the realm of Canadian federal politics, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party created an agreement with the New Democratic Party. This move will help to keep the Liberals in power until 2025, with assistant leadership from Jagmeet Signh’s NDP party. The two parties compromised in this deal and have made some promises to the Canadian public about their future deals together including dental care, reconciliation, and addressing the rising housing costs. When Prime Minister Trudeau was asked about the deal, he stated “we’re different political parties, we stand for different things. But where we have common goals, we cannot let our differences stand in the way of delivering what Canadians deserve. That’s why we’re taking this step.” This recent agreement between the two parties is incredibly interesting. The NDP is sacrificing their chance at winning over Parliament until 2025, but they are also restricting the Conservatives from obtaining leadership. In my Canadian provincial and territorial politics course, we discussed the details surrounding this deal and analyzed the strategic notions around it as well. With the recent truckers convoy that took
over Ottawa for weeks on end with quite a large number of federal Conservative politicians defending it, any thought of this party obtaining any leadership at all is questionable to some. This new deal puts off this concern for at least another two years and allows for the two parties to unite and serve Canadians on common issues. Given that they are strategically blocking the leadership of another party, the NDP has the opportunity to perhaps pass some legislation that would not have otherwise been tabled, since they are a small third political party in a historical two-party parliamentary system. This may be their open route to gaining popularity and thus more voters, as the Liberal Party has been a dominant force for many years. This agreement may be exactly what the NDP needs to show everything that they have to offer for the public and to showcase Jagmeet Signh’s political leadership capabilities. In a political world that seems to be increasingly uncertain, with growing cleavages between political parties, this is a refreshing move from the Liberals and the NDP. Politics is all about collaboration and consensus, and this is exactly what the two parties are beginning to show despite their differences.
Sydney Wilson - Contributor
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or the fall semester of 2021, Bishop’s University piloted a fall reading week after a vote from the student body. While I was very happy for this reading week at the time – a necessary week off from school – by the time it came to final exam season, my happiness was gone. There was no break between the end of classes and the beginning of exams, which was quite frustrating. Some classes have projects due on the final day of class, for example, and a final exam shortly after that. This creates an unfortunate situation for many students, who did not have much time to study for the exams. Normally, the break between the end of classes and the beginning of exams is around three or four days, allowing students some time to study and get into exam mode without having to juggle with going to classes as well. Studying for exams is stressful enough
without having to also attend classes, some where you are still learning new material. The winter 2022 semester has worked out a lot better for students, on the other hand. We had a reading week in March, and there are several days in between the end of the semester and exams. Classes end on April 12, and Easter weekend ensures that exams do not start until April 19. This gives students a week to focus their energy on studying for their exams. This made me very happy because I have an exam on April 21, which allows me plenty of time to study. Something that I believe should be considered for the 2022-2023 academic year is to have a gap of a few days between classes and final exams. While it would largely depend on when reading weeks and holidays end up occurring, it is still important to allow students a break so that they can study.
OPINIONS
SINCE 1944
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Safia Hafid, Opinions Editor » thecampus.opinions@gmail.com
A double standard in popular media: the Mary Sue vs the relatable male hero Leea Rebeca Ruta - Graphics Editor
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ou might be familiar with the term “Mary Sue.” It stems from a satirical Star Trek fanfiction published in 1973 by Paula Smith in which a 15-year-old girl with no flaws caught the attention of both Captain Kirk and Spock (vox.com). Today, the term is used to refer to mostly female characters who are “too perfect.” This term seldom refers to male characters. A popular debate in the last few years has been regarding Rey Skywalker’s character in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and if she qualifies as a Mary Sue, which most male fans seem to agree on. Of course, there are female fans who also strongly believe this as well. It has reached such a consensus within the fanbase that there is definitely peer pressure in conforming to that interpretation. The Force Awakens (2015) was supposed to be a reboot of the original Star Wars trilogy, which is why the movie is very similar to A New Hope (1977), and consequently, Rey’s story follows a similar path to Luke Skywalker’s. Yet no one ever called Luke a Mary Sue. Most of the arguments against the idea of Rey being a Mary Sue are directly present and explained in the films, albeit more on the nose. “She defeated Kylo Ren on her first try.” He was injured from being
shot with an arrow. “She defeated Kylo Ren again.” He was going to win had Leia not intervened. “She defeated Palpatine on her first try.” No, she did not. She had the power of a thousand Jedi behind her. It took all their combined strength to kill Palpatine, and that power being channeled through her killed her! I could go on. Where is this double standard coming from? If the protagonist of the sequels had been a man, they would not be as hated, and he would not have been called a Mary Sue. This semester I had to read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss for my English fantasy course. I still do not understand why this book is considered a masterpiece. It is written well, but too long for no reason. While the worldbuilding is interesting, the main character Kvothe is so obviously written by a male author. All the female characters are there as objects or eye candy for Kvothe. Kvothe is also so incredibly smart that he only makes a mistake once. Not to mention that in the second book, he, a minor, has sex with Felurian the Fae (who is also an older woman). Men have died from having sex with her, but not Kvothe. How is this character not considered a Mary Sue? How is this not a male fantasy? “Kvothe has suffered trauma from losing
his parents.” So did Rey. She also had to grow up an orphan, fending for herself in a harsh world. “Rey has no struggles.” She is literally afraid of herself, which is what The Last Jedi (2017) was all about. “I’m not a misogynist, I love Leia.” What about your mental breakdown when you saw Leia training to become a Jedi? It seems you only love Leia when she is not the main character and in a nice slave outfit, a scene which has always made me feel uncomfortable.
Graphic courtesy of Leea Rebeca Ruta My point is that stories that feature a female protagonist will always garner less attention and more hate, especially from male fans, despite most of these stories paralleling each other. It is not farfetched to say that the ratings of the sequel trilogy would have been better if Rey had been dressed more provocatively. Carrie Fisher, for example, made sure Rey would not be sexualized. But most men are not ready for that conversation yet.
and educator simultaneously presents upcoming teachers with a very rare opportunity to consider the new struggles of the pandemic, which in the end adds to the student’s experience in their profession. While the pandemic has taken its toll on students and teachers in many forms, a final word of advice for upcoming teachers from Delage in an interview proves to bring hope and enthusiasm into the workplace. “Read, put your mind at ease with positive literature so that you may come to class and bring positivity and humour into the classroom and train in order be physically healthy because you will soon come to realize that those
Graphic courtesy of Leea Rebeca Ruta kiddies in front of you always remain relatively the same age and are full of vigour so it is of utmost importance to be on top of the ball! Run, ski, go biking, weight lift...stay as young as you can be!”
COVID-19 and education Connor Kay - Staff Writer
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he COVID-19 pandemic has led to multiple changes these last few years through a series of restrictions, lockdowns, and the relaxation of restrictions and their subsequent retightening. One occupation among the many that have been through a variety of changes in the pandemic is teachers. Between coordinating online and offline school, the changing regulations, and now the war in Ukraine, this has only added to the mix of chaos and stress in day-to-day life. Much like with teachers, the educational surroundings, social lives, and mental health of students has been heavily affected. When Joanne Delage, an experienced high school teacher, was asked about the newfound student conflicts that came with COVID-19 regulations in the workplace, Delage said: “Students did not like to have to adjust to the masks, I do not blame them; I hated wearing them too, but I had to be convincing that they were in our best interest to wear them.” The difficulty came not only with enforcing students to wear masks, but also making it challenging to pronounce and project instructions to the class while wearing a mask.
Considering the education level of the students in comparison from the beginning of the pandemic to present day, it has notably been tougher to get students back on track with their learning because of the constantly changing requirements for students to adhere to. Delage commented: “I often feel the kids are unmotivated since the beginning of the pandemic. Being off- and online did not help the students who were already struggling with school. It just made things worse. Even now, I can see that our level three’s, who are basically in their firstyear of full-time school, are extremely behind those that I taught in previous years.” Having this brought to light raises the stakes of the pandemic to not only the standard of a threatening virus but it also creates a worrying issue. This will affect the education of our youth, and can impact the future of generations to come. The issue on its own affects students beyond high school – including those in post-secondary education. University students in the education department have been subjected to the struggles of both high school teachers and students alike. Being part of the world of a student
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SPORTS
THE CAMPUS APRIL 13 2022
David Rossiter, Sports Editor » thecampus.sports@gmail.com
2022 Gaiters athletic banquet closes out the year Event back in person for first time in years David Rossiter - Sports Editor This award is just what it sounds like: an award for a true student-athlete. To win this award, one must excel on and off the field. Malou Merovitz is a senior midfielder for the Gaiters. She was a trusted player for coach Paul Ballard. Three times this season she logged over an hour of playing time in a single match. In the classroom, she is a computer science major and an Academic All-Canadian. With this award, Connor Kelly from Brockville, Ontario now has two trophies to take home for the night. He is a sports studies major and an Academic AllCanadian.
Photo courtesy of Emery Gbodossou
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April 11 nnually, the Bishop’s Gaiters officially conclude the school year of sports with an awards banquet. After no 2020 or 2021 event (the 2020 winners were announced online), the crowd of athletes was back at the Delta Hotel in Sherbrooke like usual. Excitement was high as all the athletes, dressed to the nines, filtered into the lobby. After a cocktail hour and plenty of pictures in the photo booth, there was dinner and then finally the main event. The format was slightly different this year than in years past. Rather than do one sport at a time, the organizers jumped from sport to sport while handing out the team awards. This helped keep everyone engaged throughout, instead of having people tune out after their teams’ awards were handed out. For team awards, every team gives out a freshman (or woman) of the year and a season MVP. The other awards vary by sport, but common themes are awards for “most improved” and “leadership.” A list of every team and the athletes they honoured is included below. Then, as always, the major awards were the grand finale. Major awards mean that all Gaiters athletes compete for the
award, no matter the sport. All major awards are below. Ray Almond Award: Andrew Cowell, Coach of Men’s Rugby The Ray Almond Award has been given annually since the 1973 banquet. According to the Gaiters website, “The Ray Almond Award is given annually to a dedicated member of the Bishop’s Athletic community who rises above the expected to deliver an invaluable service for Gaiter Athletics.” Andy Cowell is the longtime head coach of the Bishop’s men’s rugby team. He is officially retiring this year and handing over the reins to Gaiters’ alum Nick Lapinson. Cowell’s years of service and dedication to Gaiters athletics earned him this honour. Student-Athlete Leadership Award: Kayla Kyle - Soccer, Connor Kelly Basketball New this year, the Student-Athlete Leadership award was created alongside other recent initiatives that aim at helping student-athletes thrive as leaders in the Bishop’s and Lennoxville communities. Connor Kelly and Kayla Kyle both won RSEQ leadership awards this season, making them shoe-ins for this new
Bishop’s honour. Kyle is a senior and captain of the women’s soccer program at Bishop’s. She was involved in the creation of the Student-Athlete Leadership Council (SALC), which is one of the aforementioned initiatives. Kyle also is very involved in the community, like many of her soccer team members. She can be seen at the Junior Gaiters youth soccer practices as well as at annual events around Lennoxville like Kick for the Cure and Pumpkin Patrol. Kelly is also a senior and captain of his team, the men’s basketball squad. A three-point specialist, he had a breakout season points and minutes-wise. Like Kyle, he was a founding member of the SALC. Kelly helped organize the Bishop’s Motionball Marathon these past two years while being a participant his two years prior. The marathon of sport is a fun day of sports with special needs athletes that raises funds for Special Olympics Canada. Academic Student-Athletes of the Year: Malou Merovitz - Soccer, Connor Kelly - Basketball
Bishop’s Freshmen of the Year: Victoria Gauna, Charles Robert Basketball For the second time in a row, basketball swept the freshmen of the year category. Charles Robert made a seamless transition from CEGEP to university ball this year for the Gaiters. The rookie forward/center contributed on offence and defence, with 25 points against Laval as his season-high for scoring. Victoria Gauna joined the Gaiters from Argentina this year. The 6ft 1in forward was a force with rebounds. She had three double-doubles on the year. Athlete of the Year: Amaiquen Siciliano - basketball, Louis-Phillipe Gregoire - football. Football’s first major award winner in two years, Gregoire carried the Gaiters offence this year through quarterback uncertainty. He has the second-most yards in the AUS with 591 and had the most yards per game with 98.5. Gregoire also punched in three touchdowns. This is his last year at Bishop’s, retiring after being a member of the football team since 2017. Amaiquen Siciliano was a shoe-in for Athlete of the Year. The chants of “MVP MVP MVP” while she stood to get her award was emblematic of the command she has over Gaiters athletics. Siciliano was also the athlete of the year in 2020. This year, she once again led her team (and this time, the whole league) in scoring, with 21 points per game. The Argentinian-born point guard finished her fourth year by leading her team to the RSEQ semi-final game. Continued on page 7
SPORTS
SINCE 1944
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David Rossiter, Sports Editor » thecampus.sports@gmail.com
Continued from page 6 All team awards below: Cheerleading Rookie of the Year: Daphné Dupuis Most Valuable Player: Emma Jones Golf Rookie of the Year: Patrick Cormier Most Valuable Players: Avery Mack & Ben Chasse Lacrosse Rookie of the Year: Antoine Tremblay Lacrosse Coaches’ Award: Ian Connors Defensive Player of the Year: Karl Szabo Offensive Player of the Year: Sam Firth Chris Lesanko MVP Award: Zakary Sparks
Men’s rugby Rookie of the Year: Marshall Mather Cody Triggs Award: Jack Wallace Men’s Rugby Coaches’ Award: Scott Sharma Best Forward: Matthew Shufelt Best Back: Kyle Corrigan Most Valuable Player (Development Team): Archie Morris Most Valuable Player (Varsity Team): Quinn Hayhurst Women’s rugby Rookie of the Year: Zenith Leroux Myriam Cozen-McNally Memorial Award: Melody Leggett Most Improved Player: Isabella Aguiar Most Valuable Forward: Katie Locke Most Valuable Backs: Erika Scott & Kayla Ouellet Most Valuable Player: Savannah Leroux
Men’s basketball Newcomer of the Year: Charles Robert Garth Smith Award: Connor Kelly Michel Fontaine Award: Anthony Sanogo Most Valuable Player: Ibrahim Ngom Women’s basketball Rookie of the Year: Victoria Gauna Nancy Knowlton Award: Jennifer Louis Most Improved Player: Jasmine Martel Most Valuable Player: Amaiquen Siciliano Hockey Rookie of the Year: Neleh Vigneau Sarge ant Charles Chapman Award: Jade Shushu Saulnier-Cyr Al Ansell Trophy: Jöelle Gagnon Defensive Player of the Year: Gabrielle Rousseau Most Valuable Player: Angélique Pagé
Football Newcomer of the Year: Marco A. Briones Marcel Lebrun Award: Jake Kelly Special Teams Player of the Year: Lucas Spencer Offensive Player of the Year: Nykolas Pierre-Masse Brian Morley Defensive Player of the Year: Keagan Hughes Best Lineman of the Year: Remi Desbiens Most Outstanding Player: Louis-Philippe Gregoire Congratulations Gaiters!
Two RSEQ All-Stars for Gaiters Cheer Squad David Rossiter - Sports Editor
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he young Bishop’s University varsity cheerleading team had an exciting return to action earlier this year. After their first season was followed by two cancelled years, the Gaiters hit the mat on point back in March. On March 19 in St-Hyacinthe, the
Gaiters had their first competition of the season and were stunned, putting together a flawless performance. They scored “zero,” which means no errors were committed in the routine, however they did not win the event. Unfortunately, this was the only
RSEQ cheerleading competition for this year’s university sector. Despite this, some impressive performances by individual Gaiter athletes certainly made an impression. Emma Jones is a first-year student from Gatineau, Quebec. She brought over 10 years of cheerleading experience
with her to Bishop’s and immediately made an impact. The RSEQ named her to their first-team all-star list. Gaiters cheerleading captain Kaileigh Helmer is in her fourth year at Bishop’s. Helmer was recognized as a second-team all-star.
Photo courtesy of Bishop’s Sports Information
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FEATURES
THE CAMPUS APRIL 13 2022
Manu Bissonnette, Features Editor » thecampus.features@gmail.com
The principal hosts a “sugar on snow” afternoon Casey Hebert - Contributor
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he month of March oscillated between warm weather and snowy storms, typical for the annual baitand-switch of early spring months. While many were eager for the warm weather to return for the season, the weather did not often oblige, with snowfall after snowfall delaying the start of spring. True to its essence, though, Bishop’s University found a way to spread joy and excitement in spite of the fickle weather and lingering cold. On Wednesday, March 30, the Principal’s office organised a “Sugar on Snow” afternoon in the quad, where students, faculty, and staff could enjoy maple-flavoured treats. Partnering with La Cabane à Guillaume, a local maple manufacturer based in Mercier, Quebec, Bishop’s brought the sugar shack treats of the season to campus. A path was woven through the quad with a line stretching past the arches to hit every stand of goodies along the way. The first stop was a maple reduction shot offered by the SAFS club, followed by a stand offering vanilla ice cream with caramel-maple sauce. Next, La Cabane à
Guillaume had a truck set up where you could get maple-sugar covered churros and donuts and maple taffy on snow. The Bishop’s community was certainly more appreciative of the snow when covered in maple syrup! Reaching the end of the line with hands and stomachs full of maple snacks, attendees could buy artisanal products they had tasted from La Cabane à Guillaume, including maple-flavoured delicacies such as syrup, sugar, caramel, and more. The line then flowed out into the quad where picnic tables had been installed on the lawn. Bishop’s traditional Wednesday hot chocolate and apple cider stand was also set up in the quad, rounding out the sugar on snow event. With luck, the sugar shack afternoon fell on the one sunny day in a spell of rain, snow, and cold. A clear blue sky made the quad all the more inviting, in spite of the muddy patches of grass where snow had been melting throughout the day. La Cabane à Guillaume came equipped with speakers and a playlist of Celtic music in both English and French, which added to
Photo courtesy of Manu Bissonnette the spirited atmosphere of the afternoon. After yet another year of stress from shifting COVID restrictions now paired with a war in Ukraine, this afternoon came as a breath of fresh air and glee to carry us through until the end of the semester. Lasting only an hour and a half, the event was a great hit with students, staff, and faculty. The waiting line stretched consistently past the arches, indicating the popularity of the event. Principal Goldbloom made his way from group to group across the line, though, keeping everyone entertained and conversing with members of the community he represents.
Unfortunately, the short time window and long line left several unable to benefit from the occasion. Originally conceived as a larger event with more stands and including the greater alumni community, there are high hopes that this event will make another appearance on a greater scale in the future. Given its popularity this year, even on just a few days’ notice, it would be hard to imagine this as a oneoff initiative. Hopefully, turning the quad into a sugar shack for an afternoon will become a winter semester tradition.
The club will start boiling the sap over the weekend. They are welcoming anyone who would like to experience this slow process to join them at the farmhouse. According to Watson, transforming the sap into maple syrup requires patience. The boiling process consists of boiling sap on an open fire, letting the water evaporate, and adding more sap again and again until there is none left. “It is really time-consuming,” says Watson. “In fact, this whole project is time-consuming.” Nonetheless, she is enjoying the process and is proud to be a part of this project. Kramer nods in agreement. This year’s edition of the maple syrup project is significantly bigger than the first, which took place in the spring 2021. In addition to tapping about 20 additional maple trees, the club has received funding from the McConnell Student Opportunity Fund to buy equipment including buckets, taps, pails, barrels, and materials to refurbish a wood-fueled evaporator. This fund is endowed by the McConnell Foundation and is intended to encourage student-initiated projects that foster innovation, according to Bishop’s University’s web page. The funds have helped the club provide more opportunities for hands-on learning to SAFS students and the general student population, which is its main purpose according to Kramer. “We want students to be able to learn by experience and share their knowledge with each other,” says Kramer, who
Photos courtesy of Emily Crunican created the club in January 2021 as a way to complement the university’s evergrowing SAFS department. “We want to get students out there doing things!” adds Watson, who contends that this is the club’s main philosophy. In its one year of existence, the club has hosted various events in addition to the maple syrup project, including workshops on fermentation, bread-making, apple cider vinegar, seed saving, and apple and pear harvesting.
The SAFS Club is making maple syrup Manu Bissonnette - Features Editor
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he Bishop’s University’s Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (SAFS) Club will be completing the second annual edition of its maple syrup project in the second week of April. The club, which is entirely student-led, is currently making maple syrup from scratch, using sap collected from maple trees on the university’s educational farm. The maple syrup project is the club’s biggest event of the year, according to lead Karina Kramer. The club’s executive team and members have been working on the project for four weeks now, guided by event leaders John Noble and Sara Watson, who both have experience in maple syrup production. They have accumulated 55 gallons of sap so far and are expecting to produce one gallon of syrup. The club started scoping the forest surrounding Bishop’s University’s educational farm and identifying which trees to tap in the beginning of March. They tapped 26 maple trees on March 9 and installed a hook and metal bucket on each. For almost a month now, the club has been walking up the 1.3 km trail to the farm almost every day to collect sap, which flows out of the trees one drop at a time. “We need temperatures below 0 at night and above 0 during the day for sap to flow out,” explains Watson as club leads and members stroll from tree to tree, dodging inconvenient branches and stepping over multicolored leaves. “With the sunny weather we’ve had lately, the
buckets have been filling up every day.” As the group stops to empty an overflowing bucket, Watson instructs one member to hold a muddy five-gallon pail underneath the metal bucket and slowly tilts it to let the sap pour out. “If you have a water bottle, you can try the sap,” offers Watson. “It’s really good, it tastes like sugary water.” In a few minutes, the three pails are full. The group makes its way back to the gravel road, where Kramer is waiting with her car to transport the pails to the farmhouse, a nearby property where the club is storing the sap and will soon start boiling. Boiling sap to make maple syrup requires a long-lasting open fire, and the fairly new educational farm does not possess adequate installations yet to provide that. A generous Lennoxville resident, who is a club member’s acquaintance, offered his property as boiling headquarters for the duration of the project. “We are incredibly grateful to be able to store and boil the sap at the farmhouse,” says Kramer. “But it has been really difficult to transport multiple gallons of sap daily from the sugar bush on campus to the property in Lennoxville.” In the future, the club is hoping to install a permanent boiling structure at the educational farm to concentrate all production in one location. “We want to ensure the longevity of the club and the project,” says Kramer, “since most of us are graduating next year.”
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Manu Bissonnette, Features Editor » thecampus.features@gmail.com
Students present “academic prowess” in 2022 research week Rihannon Day - Senior Copy Editor
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esearch Week, an annual event organised by Bishop’s University’s Research Office, recently took place between March 28 and April 1, giving students an opportunity to, as Dr. Amy Svotelis said, show off their “academic prowess.” This event covered many different topics, from research in astrophysics to the Spanish language, and gave faculty, researchers, and students alike the opportunity to present, discuss, share, and learn from each other. This week encompassed many different daily events: research talks by the Canada Research Chairs here at BU, a workshop encompassing pitching ideas, and student competitions through poster presentations and three-minute snapshots. Director of Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Svotelis, explained that “it’s a very student-focused event, it is very much to provide students that experience to present, and how to communicate research.” The poster presentation was an opportunity for students to share the research they have been working on for the
Photo courtesy of Dr. Amy Stovelis past year. It took place in the Centennial Lobby from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. As student participant Ana Santos said, “I wanted to make [my poster] so someone who has no idea about psychology could understand my work.” Dr. Svotelis explained that the point of this event was not to present ground-breaking results, but rather to give students the experience, confidence, and skills to become researchers. “The point, at this stage in undergrad, is the introduction, question, hypothesis, methodology; the results and conclusion are not really the key part,” she said. Then, students were invited to present their research in a three-minute “snapshot” in Cleghorn from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Supervisors, curious students, and professors looked on as students in their undergrad and postgrad presented their research in a casual format. Manu Bissonnette, a second-year in Hispanic studies, presented her research on the Spanish language. For preparation of the speech, she explained: “I drafted it on a Word document, then I cut it to
make it underneath three minutes. Then I rehearsed it a few times.” She mentioned that what she appreciated about the experience was the opportunity to look at her work from a different standpoint. “It made me think about my project from an outside perspective. I spent so many hours on my project, I know everything about it, but I never really stopped and thought about the important parts to explain. It made me stop and think about that.” Both of these events were in a competition format, and winners along with short presentations of their work will be announced by the Research Office in the coming weeks. These events were organised for the students. “It’s (these students’) Gaiters moment… This was their moment to have people cheer for them. This was the culmination of the work they’ve put in, it was a final competition,” says Dr. Svotelis. The two student-focused events were organised as a culmination of the years before 2022. Before the pandemic, Research Week would only include the poster competition. Due to the success of the Research Snapshots last year in a virtual format, the Research Office decided to offer both in a unique Research Week 2022. “We decided to combine the two (research posters and snapshots), because they provide two very different experiences,” said Dr. Svotelis. The Research Office also mentions the importance of the networking opportunities that were provided for students. Dr. Svotelis recalled a particular moment that stood out to her: “There was a table of students: there were undergrads, one of our grad students, there was a postdoc, and a visiting scholar all sitting at the same table. I don’t think any one of them were in the same field. I
laughed and said to them ‘You guys are the perfect picture, because nowhere else will you find people of these different fields and education sitting comfortably together and chatting about their experiences’.” Ms. Raphaëlle Mercier-Gauthier, Research Officer and organiser for Research Week explained that “Research Week is for the students, which is why it is so important that more faculty members are involved and interact with the students and give feedback on the projects. It’s an important learning experience. We need all of the BU community to be there to participate.” For next year, the Research Office plans to collaborate with students in order to plan events to better fit into schedules. Mercier-Gauthier mentioned that she would have loved to see more students at the research talks: “We had staff, we had faculty, and some students who came, but not a lot… if it’s the scheduling that doesn’t work, we have to talk about that and see what we can do!” Student participants have also agreed, with Bissonnette mentioning “what I would do differently is put it earlier in the semester, I had so much stuff to do.” Santos also explained that “everyone had class, all the Honours students had seminar classes they couldn’t miss. One thing to improve would be to make Research Week a priority, maybe professors could implement that into their schedules.” Participants, organisers, and faculty alike encourage students to take part in the events and look forward to Research Week 2023. As Dr. Svotelis explained: “Research is basically knowledge creation. [Research Week] is the recognition that research affects our daily lives continuously.”
Lennoxville community cleanup: Facilitating a community-centered mentality Cora Camire - Contributor
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his past Saturday, April 2, the Bishop’s Outdoors Club and Environmental Club teamed up to lead a community-wide cleanup across Lennoxville. Both clubs were blown away by the level of participation not only within the Bishop’s community, but within the Lennoxville community as well. Everyone from student athletes to families came out on the beautiful sunny Saturday to help clean up our community. Overall, the volunteers picked up over 60 bags of garbage. As Bishop’s students who live in Lennoxville, it is important
that we take the time to give back to the community that we call home. With the bustle of student life, it is easy to lose sight of our impact on the greater community around us. Having a more community-centred mindset and taking the time to reflect on our individual contributions to our communities is exactly the kind of mentality that we wanted to facilitate with this trash pickup. As students brought bags filled with trash that they picked up, we head remarks of surprise at the level of garbage that had accumulated around the student village.
This realization sparked conversations about how we as students can reduce our footprint in both our community and the greater community. As a member of the Bishop’s Outdoors Club, I work to incorporate Leave No Trace (LNT) principles into everything we do as a club. LNT is a set of seven principles that guide individuals to leave minimal impact on the outdoor places they enjoy. The individual principles are all relevant to outdoor activities, but the idea itself is something that can be incorporated into daily life. Treading
lightly as we move through life allows us to keep the places we love, like Lennoxville, a community where we can grow, thrive, and prosper. Events like a community cleanup encourage us to think about how we impact our community, both positively and negatively. On behalf of Bishop’s Outdoors Club and the Environmental Club, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the community cleanup on Saturday, as well as those who continue to contribute to our community in positive ways.
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Quinn Ruby, Arts & Culture Editor » thecampus.artsculture@gmail.com
Drama department’s season closes with Everybody Casey Hebert - Contributor
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he Bishop’s University drama department opened two shows in late March, including Everybody, directed by Mary Harvey. The play was written in 2018 by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins as a retelling of the mediaeval morality play Everyman, one of the earliest recorded plays in the English language. While the newer adaptation follows a similar narrative structure and plotline, elements and language were reworked to speak to modern audiences. Everybody, like its predecessor Everyman, follows the journey of an average person, the “Everybody” character, as they reckon with their good and bad deeds in life while moving into an unexpected death. Everybody must prepare a presentation for a god-like figure about their life and seek help from an allegorical cast of characters. The play follows a metaphorical approach to finding meaning in life, pointing out the places where we go looking for them and the issues in that. It abandons the strict biblical teachings of Everyman to favour universal contemplation of themes that unify us all. This play was the first chance these students got to put on a production on
the Turner Studio Theatre stage. While many actors had previously participated in student-run festivals, this was their debut in professionally-directed drama at Bishop’s. A number of the students stood out in their breakout roles, such as Linus Mulherin as the titular Everybody, Schuÿler Edgar Holme as Death, Erica Lesiak as Friendship, and April Judd as Stuff. These actors are sure to steal the show in their future acting careers at Bishop’s! Though two shows, Clue and Everybody, shared a set and show weeks, the concurrent performances contrasted heavily. While both included comedic elements, Clue leaned more heavily into farce and overt humour, while Everybody included darker humour and encouraged deeper reflection. The way each play used the space also differed, with darkened dream-like sequences in Everybody. The latter was a much more stripped-down performance. A particularly strong point of Everybody is the way in which it boils down human interaction to its essence. Everybody’s personified characters of Friendship, Kin, Love, and Stuff (representing materialism) reduce bonds to their bare bones and point out the
Enchantments and curses Safia Hafid- Opinions Editor Darkness settles, a warm embrace While shards of glass fall Glittering like frosted snow; Enchantments protect – Weave, guard, shield While curses wound Clawing and biting and fierce. Yet when is an enchantment not an enchantment? When a curse protects Instead of wounding;
Photo courtesy of Casey Hebert superficial formula that can be applied to most relationships. This was particularly glaring in the character of Friendship, whose “check all that apply” responses almost painfully stripped back what it means to be friends. To see a theatrical performance pull back the curtain, as it were, on real interactions is an effective use of the medium that precipitates reflection that lasts long after the final bow. Alongside Clue and Speech and Debate, Everybody marks a strong swing back into live theatre from the Bishop’s University Drama Department, which promises to entertain for years to come.
When it is a curse That saves the day Striking back at unscrupulous attacks Preserving all life within the castle. Darkness settles, a warm embrace While shards of glass fall Glittering like frosted snow; Enchantments have betrayed Yet not all hope is lost A princess and her kingdom Safely ensconced within.
Bishop’s holds professional drag show at the Gait Leo Webster- Junior Copy Editor
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elly Jester lifted their tall hat and pill bottles spilled across the stage. The crowd screamed. “I find this strangely attractive,” my roommate whispered to me. Welcome to the first professional drag show held at Bishop’s University, featuring La Freak Du Show, Miss Fountain, Poppet the Banshee, and Jelly Jester. The event was organized as a part of the annual ArtsFest, but the response from the community predicts that the show will be the first of many in the Gait. I had little idea what to expect, though I had previously been to events hosted by drag queens, as well as non-professional drag events. There’s a part of me that longs for the traditional, queers-only experience of Paris is Burning, when drag was an underground imitation of the straight world. I have always been suspicious of the portrayal of drag in today’s popular culture, where the only qualification seems to be that men dress up as women, leading to some “drag shows” that are really just straight men in prom dresses. Judith Butler, the notorious gender theorist, uses drag as an example of gender performativity, meaning that drag can’t tell you what femininity is, but it can certainly deconstruct how femininity
is performed in our society. This show set a new standard for me by busting all my preconceived notions. The show began with a performance of Florence and the Machine’s “King ‘’ by La Freak Du Show. The song expresses the desire to be more than a stereotype of womanhood, which was a theme throughout the show. In another routine by La Freak Du Show, they addressed their complicated relationship with their body by stripping off their costume in front of a mirror, then throwing the mirror to the floor and shattering it. After they finished performing, they explained that the performance was inspired by a lifelong struggle with their body image, compounded by an unsupportive family. Other routines expressed issues felt keenly by transgender people, such as a performance of religious trauma by Poppet the Banshee, which involved hitting herself with a bible and screaming as if possessed. She explained that she’s not religious, and the performance was a way of expressing the frustration she feels when people change their minds about dating a trans woman, even if they knew this fact going into the relationship. Miss
Fountain’s first routine began with her picking up the phone and hearing death threats, then switching the line to talk casually to a friend (set to Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” of course). This was part of the comedy of the show, but it also reflects the reality of some transgender people. Many of the routines were lighthearted as well, including Jelly Jester dancing to “Circus” by Britney Spears, and Miss Fountain performing to a song from Burlesque in an incredibly sparkly costume. I was delighted by how unique the performances were and how there were absolutely no filters on emotion. This is drag in its essence – it’s not about assuming a particular gender, but about the experience of having gender. The show was enormously successful, in my eyes, not only because it was fun, but because it created a community space for LGBTQ+ people in the normally very straight environment of the Gait. The queens reminded the audience that this was a safe space and we could talk to any of them at any time if we felt that there was a problem. It was the highest percentage of queer people I had personally seen in any space on-campus. There were plenty
Photo courtesy of Leo Webster of straight people there, with one crew of guys wearing stick-on rhinestones and mustaches, which seemed like a slight misunderstanding of what was taking place, but they were a good crowd nonetheless. I am hopeful for more LGBTQ+ events at Bishop’s in the next academic year. Being able to go out to the Gait with friends made me realize how much the typical Bishop’s party culture is not designed for queer people, and how it can be hard to find spaces to meet other queer people on campus. If you missed the show, all the queens have social media accounts and perform regularly in Sherbrooke. @missfountaindragqueen, @ lafreakdushow, @thejellyjester, @ poppetthebanshee
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Quinn Ruby, Arts & Culture Editor » thecampus.artsculture@gmail.com
BU ArtsFest Presents: The Mitre launch / ambient music at night Alexandre Bergeron- Contributor
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or me, the launch of The Mitre, Canada’s oldest student-run literary journal, at Cleghorn Hall on Saturday, April 2 signified one intense and palpable emotion: relief. As one of two artistic directors for the BU ArtsFest, The Mitre launch existed as a fruitful and exciting interdisciplinary collaboration with the English department: a celebratory event that would, ostensibly, conclude our festival after our opening reception kicked things off in (relative) style the previous Sunday. After the nearly six months of preparation (countless meetings, late nights, stress-infused mornings, farflung expletives) it took to create and implement the strange and wondrously varied ArtsFest programming, I found myself, on the eve of April 2, achieving an unprecedented state of delirium and feverish glee at the thought that it would all, soon, come to an end. The night prior we had hosted the Origin of Species drag show at the Gait, an event successful enough to single-handedly save the festival from succumbing to a massive budget deficit. I could almost smell the elation wafting from the ranks of the ArtsFest team as the audience lined up outside the venue, overflowing out the doors of the SUB and into the night. This was a triumph, pure and unadulterated. We had done it: all was not for naught. Following that night of blissful revels (I seem to recall a great deal of fast-paced dancing and an overwrought karaoke rendition of “Creep” from yours truly) I found myself in a weakened, but decidedly optimistic, frame of body and mind. Exhausted, determined, and with evening setting in, I somehow summoned
the will to single-handedly carry multiple massive speakers up McGreer’s grandest of grand escaliers to Cleghorn where The Mitre launch would later take place. Why all the equipment, you ask? Surely all that gear wouldn’t be necessary for a quiet evening of poetry readings, wine, and cheese. Because this is ArtsFest (aka “The Arena of Endless Masochistic Pain”). Nah, the truth is I had invited my close friends Nick Schofield and Yolande Laroche to enhance the vibe of the evening with some beguiling ambient synthesizer, clarinet, and vocal music. As my musician friends arrived at the steps of the iconic and stately McGreer building, I burst forth from the front doors to greet them, covered in sweat, like some kind of curatorial ghoul. I was happy to see them. As the night’s proceedings began to, well, proceed, we were once again pleasantly surprised by the turnout. People came! People cared! Whether it was the food and drink that lured them in, I’ll never know, but they came! Some wonderful readings from the glorious new edition of The Mitre ensued, inciting laughter, joy, and somber contemplation: Jill Mathers with “My Life in the Skew,” Lucie Casinghino with “New York City,” Safia H. Senhaji with “Childhood Home,” and Casey Hebert with “Growing Pains.” By this time, after a few glasses of white wine, I found myself becoming reacquainted with a state of being that had long lain dormant in the darkened recesses of my soul: relaxation. As my old friends began to play, swirling analog oscillations filled my brain. I smiled, I closed my eyes. I let it all wash over me like so many lovely lapping waves. We had arrived at the ending and I was so relieved.
The Mitre’s 129th edition, entitled Power and Perceptions, is now available for purchase at Doolittle’s Co-op. Nick
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Schofield and Yolande Laroche’s music can be heard at www.nickschofield.com and www.orchidae.ca.
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STAFF WRITER Connor Kay
This issue’s contributors:
Nicholas Masse Danielle Storey Jada van der Linde Renée Rosteius Sydney Wilson Casey Hebert Cora Camire Alexandre Bergeron
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Elizabeth Beaumont, Business and Economics Editor » thecampus.businesseditor@gmail.com
Local business spotlight:
La Cabane à Guillaume Liz Beaumont - Economics & Business Editor
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ugar shacks are a springtime “must” in Quebec and there are a great number of them across the province. According to the owner of La Cabane à Guillaume, Guillaume BenoitPotvin, the maple season is in full force and all the shacks are incredibly busy. As the maple season itself is in full force, university students are also in full force academically. Finals are approaching and Principal and Vice-Chancellor Michael Goldbloom invited students and faculty to celebrate in the quad with the visit of La Cabane à Guillaume. Located in Mercier, Quebec, it serves the Quebec population a large variety of maple products, baked goods, and fruit.
The products served to students included maple syrup-covered ice cream, fresh maple syrup on ice, homemade churros, and homemade donuts. Each of these were directly from the sugar shack itself, all freshly and organically prepared for the Bishop’s community. The owner of the sugar shack, Guillaume BenoitPotvin, has been in the fresh farming and public market industry for many years and was excited to take his mobile cabane to Lennoxville. As a young 18-year-old, BenoitPotvin began his entrepreneurial career in public markets with the opening of his own fruit stand. Alongside fruit, BenoitPotvin stated, “I was selling flowers at
springtime and was looking for something to replace it.” This is where his shift to maple syrup and beginning his own sugar shack started. As sugar shacks are a Quebec staple during springtime, this was an incredible business opportunity to add onto his existing public market business. Benoit-Potvin was lucky enough to purchase the sugar shack that he had been visiting and purchasing goods from for years. “I bought the sugar shack from where I have been going since I was 18 to sell at my fruit stands this winter,” says Benoit-Potvin. The shack itself holds sentimental value and brings a strong sense of character to the culture of the
to campus was either work from home, biking, or public transport. According to the results, biking is currently the preferred mode of transportation for 6 per cent of participants while public transportation had a rate of 16 per cent. Unfortunately, these numbers are too low for Bishop’s to reach its sustainability goals. The most used explanation for cars as primary mode of transport is related to the temperature, their home location, and the time saved to get to Bishops. The main constraints as to why participants were hesitant to use more sustainable modes of transport are due to finances, time, and place of residence. Hence, one of the main incentives for users of sustainable transportation is financial compensation. Consequently, 58 per cent of student participants responded that they strongly agree to reinforcing the universal pass program, where a part of tuition fees would go towards every Bishop’s student being able to use the public bus system in Sherbrooke for free. Nonetheless, 55 per cent of students answered that they would only pay less than $100, even though
a regular subscription for four months would normally cost $326. By analysing the transportation survey, some changes that need to be made to increase walking are ensuring better maintenance of sidewalks, widening or adding sidewalks, and increasing travel safety through sidewalk lighting. As for biking, some changes that could be made include increasing the number of cycling lanes, adding more bike shelters on campus, and improving the snow removal from the bike lanes. In order to increase motivation to use public transportation, the frequency of buses could be increased and the cost of bus passes lowered. In the survey, a question was asked about incentives to increase motivation to use public transportation. The top answer was financial compensation when using an alternative mode of transport, followed by creating infrastructure or equipment that would facilitate the sustainable transportation methods. Thus, the sustainable development team at Bishop’s is trying to promote the use of sustainable transportation for
The transportation survey says...
business itself. Passion is an essential characteristic of owning a business and this is a trait that La Cabane a Guillaume certainly holds. The land itself of the cabin is beautiful and incredibly spacious. “It is a lovely land with 7,000 maple trees and 2,500 blueberry shrubs that you can go pick yourself,” says Benoit-Potvin. Not only is this a hands-on experience for those who visit the sugar shack, everything is farmed and grown organically for customers to enjoy. La Cabane à Guillaume sells only in the Quebec province. The cabane is definitely worth visiting as a study break.
Tanya O’Reilly - Contributor
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ne of the goals of Bishop’s University’s Sustainable Development Plan of 2020-2024 is to reduce greenhouse emissions. The university is trying to accomplish this by calculating the greenhouse emissions released by students and staff travelling to Bishop’s for school or work. To do so, a survey was sent out to the Bishop’s community about their transport habits, interests and issues. The university intends to determine how best to promote sustainable transportation habits based on these results. The survey was answered by 349 participants, which is a good representation of the community’s transport habits and opinions. Some of the major findings were that the preferred mode of transport by almost 40 per cent was using a car. This makes sense since 85 per cent of participants had a licence. Meanwhile, walking was the preferred transportation mode for 26 per cent of participants since a lot of students live in Lennoxville. Overall, the alternative to driving
Graphic courtesy of Leea Rebeca Ruta the month of May since it is the month of cycling. They will be holding one special event per week for those who take their bikes to get to Bishop’s. On May 3, the first event will be a screening of the movie MotherLoad, a movie about families who decide to sell their cars and commute only with bikes. It will be free to Bishop’s students, University of Sherbrooke students and CÉGEP students. Additionally, every Wednesday morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., coffee will be offered to cyclists in the quad. So, keep an eye out for these special activities throughout the month of May!
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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e acknowledge the Abenaki people and the Wabanaki Confederacy, the traditional stewards and protectors of the territories upon which we are learning. In performing land acknowledgement, we make what was invisible visible, and invite the land, the First Nations people, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into our conversations. This act of naming - of inviting something into language - is an underlying principle of advocacy and lies at the heart of higher education. The etymology of advocacy is ad (to add) + vocare (call or voice): the origin of the word’s meaning is to give voice to something or to call out in order to initiate dialogue. The “ad’ prefix makes explicit the importance of multiple voices - and by extension multiple perspectives. In this sense, advocacy compels us to acknowledge a diversity of thoughts and opinions as a starting point rather than as an ideal outcome. In institutions of higher learning, we have a responsibility to honour spaces for emerging and established voices to engage in productive, respectful, and sometimes even uncomfortable conversations where individuals are safe to speak truth to power, explore and challenge dominant ideologies, and call out injustices and inequalities in order to imagine new ways of existing.” —Dr. Jessica Riddell