The Plant April 2021 Vol. 54 No. 3

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SINCE 1969 VOL 54 NO 3

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Letter from the Editor “April showers bring May flowers” is a lovely saying. Every storm is a reminder that sunnier and bright days await us. As a May-baby, spring is my favourite season. Seeing nature develop and grow year after year grants me a peaceful joy.

As the days pass and the end of the semester approaches, I wish to give you strength in these last few weeks. Soon, we will be able to forget about our scholarly worries and slip into a sunshine induced lethargic state.

So, indulge in this month’s issue of The Plant as a well-deserved distraction. Keep in mind that applications for next year’s editorial staff are open now, and close on April 30. More information can be found on theplantnews.com!

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the first edition of our Visual Art and Creative Writing Zine Sprout, coming soon.

DAYLEN CONSERVE Editor-in-Chief

Index NEWS 3 ARTS & CULTURE 6 PLAYLIST 9 VISUAL ARTS 10 VOICES 12 CREATIVE WRITING 15 SPORTS 18 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 19 CURIOSITIES 20

The Plant is an editorially autonomous student paper. All opinions expressed in The Plant do not necessarily belong to The Plant, but are those of individuals. All content submitted to The Plant or its staff belongs to the paper. We reserve the right to reject or edit all submissions for brevity, taste and legality. The Plant welcomes typed and signed letters to the editor under 400 words.

Copyright 2021

NEWS 3 3

Dawson Democracy on Display: The results from the Dawson Student Council election are in!

ARWEN LOW

put up posters and having to go all over [Dawson] to get to people.”

In It 4 U, the current student government, has managed to follow through on their campaign promise.

The party had assured Dawson students that the Student Council would be up and running by the end of their 2020-2021 mandate. As of March 6th, this is the case.

In the month since its re-assembly, the student council has had one meeting as of the writing of this article. According to Maniratanga, meetings have generally been focused on discussing the DSU’s plans, the Student Council’s role and appointing student representatives on other committees. Baharun revealed that meetings so far have been smooth and neither “lofty” nor “intimidating”.

When asked about what is was like to collaborate with the Student Council, Arwyn Regimbal, the councillor for queer students, said that while they had a few disagreements with their fellow councillors about how to go about inciting change, “the intention behind challenging other students is never to diminish their experiences, but rather to help them find effective and proactive solutions that work for their concerns.”

Staff Writer

The functioning of the Student Council goes as follows: seventeen students sit on an advisory board to the DSU, ten seats belong to Dawson programs and five to demographics (Indigenous, queer, racialized, francophone and disabled students).

Meetings are held by the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, and councillors are invited to offer their own opinions on the DSU’s upcoming projects. As put by the DSU’s website: “While [student councillors] can’t make unilateral decisions, they make recommendations that will then be passed along to the Executive Committee.”

Evidently, the campaign process this year was out of the ordinary.

Conducted entirely online, students hoping to serve on the council had to solicit at least fifteen nominations from peers in their program in order to be eligible. For candidates in the Social Sciences, which holds 4 seats, this is where the process started and ended. The number of applicants evenly matched the number of available positions. According to YvesJusslin Maniratanga, a first-year student in Commerce and one of the newly-elected councillors, the nomination/campaign process was nonetheless difficult. “Conveying ideas to students was not as easy [as it would be in person] because connecting with people through an online platform is challenging” she says. For Yimaj Baharun, a first-year Social Science councillor, the online campaign process was “somewhat convenient, as it saves you from needing to

One element that united all councillors interviewed was their drive to serve their constituents.

Jordan Jerome-Pitre, the councillor for Indigenous students, is hoping to “establish a safe place for Indigenous students at Dawson to feel included, invested, welcomed, and appreciated,” and hopefully create Dawson’s first-ever Indigenous club. Amongst other things, Regimbal is hoping to prioritize overhauling of the DSU’s Safer Spaces Policy to “better pro-

Conveying ideas to students was not as easy [as it would be in person] because connecting with people through an online platform is challenging tect queer students, as they tend to be common targets of unacceptable conduct in the Union’s spaces.”

Andreanne Dussault, a 3D Animation student and a councillor for technical programs, hopes to find ways to “encourage students in technical programs to invest themselves in the work the DSU does.” Maniratanga wrote about advocating for increased support to students during the pandemic and “leveling the playfield” for students who might not have the same access to the tools and environment needed for online learning.”

Baharun stated that he didn’t take his position lightly. “I must admit that the issues we have discussed make me really understand that I'm finally not that young anymore” he explains, “I'm finally in a position where I have a say on substantial matters.”

The importance of the Student Council for these councillors is clear.

Dussault expressed that for a few years, the DSU has been shrouded in obscurity, leaving room for mismanagement. As a part of their Accountability initiative, which includes digitalizing all DSU documents and changing the by-laws for increased transparency, this year’s executive team re-established the Student Council. “I think just the fact that the executive committee made sure to have a proper council this semester is setting the DSU on a good path,” said Dussault COVID-19 delays mean that this year’s Student Council term is particularly short. Indeed, just one month after the Student Council elections have finished, the 2021-2022 general elections are already underway. For Rihem Bouaoud, Dawson’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, this is something to look forward to. “The Student Council election was very successful, and we are so excited for the next election we have!” he says.

If you want to throw your hat in the ring for the upcoming general election, you can find all the steps to submit your candidacy now on the @ Dawson_Elections Instagram page. p

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Teaching in Quebec: Why Teachers Have Had Enough JESSICA GEAREY AND JULIE JACQUES News Editor and Managing Editor

The Numbers and Collective Agreement It may shock you to know that, despite our province’s heavy tax burden, Quebecois teachers are among the worst paid in Canada. A quick look at Statistics Canada shows that in 2014, Quebec’s average elementary school teacher salary, after ten years of experience, was over ten thousand dollars lower than the next province. Between Quebec and Ontario, the disparity was over thirty thousand dollars. Even if you consider Ontario’s higher living cost, this discrepancy is extraordinary. Nova Scotia, the province with the lowest average annual income in the country (at $50 200), still boasts an average salary of $21 000 over Quebec’s in this same category.

The Quebec teachers’ collective agreement consists of 300+ pages which outline the entirety of their rights and responsibilities. This form of contract is common in many sectors, like nursing, but they are not automatically renewed when the contract expires. In fact, the Quebec teachers’ collective agreement has been expired for almost a year now, and negotiations are at a standstill. The union, which is responsible for negotiations on behalf of teachers, claims that the government refuses to negotiate in good faith. Most recently, in a “négo update” the Dawson Teachers' Union said that the CAQ simply didn’t give its negotiators the required money to meet union demands. But what might those be? And why are teachers unhappy?

You can pull out all the arguments about teachers you’d like – making government pension, having healthcare, not working in the summer (although it’s important to note that elementary and secondary school teachers’ salaries only take into consideration their contracted 180 days) – even if you think our teachers are paid enough, they definitely don’t have it easy.

Teacher Burnout & Pandemic Situation A 2014 study found that within 25% to 30% of teachers quit their profession in their first year, and that this number rises up to 50% after the first five years of work.

On April 14 teachers went on strike to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the government's lack of concern for teachers. With more strikes set to take place in the future, teachers are using social media to spread the message that they’re not only unhappy with their wages, but also with their teaching conditions.

A viral social media post states that teachers are not only striking for “better pay” but also for “class sizes, lack of staffing, impossible expectations, working conditions, and lack of support and respect.”

With teachers at already incredibly low satisfaction levels, the COVID-19 pandemic only worsens their situation. The pandemic places teachers on the frontline as essential workers while Quebec schools stay open despite rising COVID cases.

Patricia Dann, who has been teaching full-time at Howard S. Billings (HSB) Regional High School since 1999, recalls the stress and pressure added to her job due to the pandemic.

The grade 10 and 11 classes at HSB are divided roughly in half and alternate days, meaning each day, 15 students participate in online learning, while the remaining 15 students are in-person. Although the students stay in one class the entire day, Dann does not. In every class she teaches in, she wipes down her workstation and anything that she may touch.

The government has repeatedly said that education is a priority, but their actions seem very contradictory to those claims.

Dann then logs into Microsoft Teams, so that she can teach students at home simultaneously with those in person, which can be a lengthy process if there are technical difficulties. Due to the hybrid learning, Dann is “trying to teach the class and help [online students] at the same time.” She recognizes that her job description has changed: “I’ve had to become IT support for my students,” she says. While she tries, she doesn’t know how Teams works on all the different hardware her students use.

Sometimes her students get stressed and overwhelmed when technical difficulties occur. “I feel horribly for those students when this happens,” she states.

There has been an increasing amount of long term leaves throughout the pandemic, and it becomes more and more difficult to find replacements that have not yet succumbed to burnout or illness. The pandemic also means that if teachers come into close contact with a positive case, they’re then forced to take either short or long term leave. Dann explains that the amount of substitutes available has decreased, meaning that teachers who are available are “called to substitute during their spare periods.”

Consequently, teachers no longer even have free periods to catch up on their workloads.

NEWS 5 5 “That means I’m having to do additional work out of class time, on top of what I was already unable to complete,” Dann continues. The lack of replacements reflects the entire province, not just HSB, and is a heavy contributor to the already skyrocketing rates of teacher burnout.

Legault, the CAQ, and Campaign Promises During his 2018 campaign, Francois Legault made seven promises regarding education, two of which have been completed. Legault’s lack of consistency regarding educational progress transfers into contract negotiations.

Since the expiration of the agreement Dann says that “the government has repeatedly said that education is a priority, but their actions seem very contradictory to those claims.” Conditions have gotten worse and there has been no sign of practical negotiations. Dann explains that currently the government is focused on mask wearing and air quality in schools.

Teacher-student relationships are very important to every teacher. For Dann, the relationships she forms with students are an essential part of her practice. In order to touch base with her students she now uses the chat feature on Teams, “to make up for the distance.” Dann also shared how her students have been coping with the current hybrid system. “Students have shared with me their frustrations and their feelings about trying to focus and learn in this current framework,” she explains. Dann has had to loosen up on deadlines in order to help out her students and respond to the challenges they encounter.

However, the difficulties of a hybrid system aren't just affecting students but also teacher preparedness.

Dann says that the services she received from the government when transitioning to online learning were ineffective. “I had to teach myself,” she says. In a normal year, getting through the curriculum was already tough, so in a pandemic, Dann says she still finds completing the course tasking because of insufficient time.

Dawson’s Involvement & the Disparity Between Day and Night teachers The fight for fair wages and teaching conditions is not only focused in the elementary and secondary sectors.

Closer to home, Dawson teachers are also fighting. Just a few weeks ago, we saw the school’s support staff go on strike on March 31.

Something else you may have been hearing about in the past couple of years is the fight for continuing education professors at Dawson. Dawson teacher Adam Bright kindly agreed to speak on the matter.

“The wage disparity between day and night teachers,” he explains, “is crazy.” He points out that this disparity isn’t necessarily between colleagues; often, one person will be teaching both day and night classes at once, but living “two different experiences.” He explains that that’s the most complicated thing about the Continuing

Education movement: “you’re the same person, doing effectively the same job, in the same schoolroom, but your salary is different.”

“Also, as a continuing education teacher, you don’t get the same benefits,” Adam explains. So, for some teachers who may have day status one semester but night status the next, things like health-care status fluctuate drastically.

You’re the same person, doing effectively the same job, in the same schoolroom, but your salary is different.

He describes this feeling of uncertainty as the worst part of the situation, worse even than the heavy workload some may take on to make ends meet. Your scheduling, finances, and insurance are all in the air -- there’s no way to “know what the next six months of your life will look like.”

The continuing education movement isn’t specifically tied to the recent strikes happening all over the province.

However, a renegotiation of the collective agreement, as is happening now, allows for a reconsideration of how the full-time continuing education staff is being paid.

How can students help?

What’s most important to remember is that, as Dann reiterates, “teaching conditions are learning conditions.”

Bright believes that teachers and students have common interests, and that understanding this fact is the first step to improving our respective, inherently linked conditions.

“To an extent, your teachers are struggling,” he says.

“No teacher wants to make the classroom political – that’s not our job.” He continues, however, to say that this is ultimately part of a larger political question: how much is Quebec willing to invest in our education?

Bright, in a rather ‘rally up the people’ tone, explains that that funding for education shouldn't reflect the political whims of a particular administration or a particular minister. It should reflect the will of the people.

“Students,” Bright says, “have a huge vested interest in what the future of education looks like.” We, as Bright says, have “lots of agency” when it comes to the topic of education, and certainly “a loud voice.” The worst thing to do is allow the strikes to pass us by and not speak up, not help out. Inaction would only elongate the already yearlong collective agreement battle, leaving our teachers out in the cold. p p

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Hamilton: A reflection on America ANNABELLE LAJOIE Contributor

With Broadway and theatres all over the world being closed, the movement to "save the arts" is more alive than ever. Performers are dancing on the streets, waiting for the reopening of the theatres. Musical fans are missing those shows. With Broadway's one-year closure, the Disney streaming platform used this to their advantage, releasing a year sooner the cinematic stage performance of the original Broadway production of Hamilton.

The musical Hamilton is a sensational global phenomenon. It is the most expensive Broadway show ever, with tickets that can come close to $1000US. But luckily for us, LinManuel Miranda brought his Tony

This musical will bring you on a rollercoaster of emotion from complete bliss to tragedy.

Award-winning musical to our homes with a film production of the show with its original cast. This production allows us to feel like we are at the front seat of the theatre. It was filmed during the performances through June 2016 at the Richard Rogers theatre. The filmed version offers both closeup shots and the entire stage, giving us the best experience from the comfort of our homes thanks to the director and co-producer Thomas Kail.

It follows the 10-dollar Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, from the age of 14 until his tragic death. During the show's first act, we see this brilliant man writing his way up, fighting for Independence with his friends Laurens, Mulligan, and Marquis de Lafayette, becoming the right-hand man to the general and America’s first president, Washington. In the second act, Hamilton struggles to build a country, defend the Constitution, and create a financial system, all while

dealing with personal drama, obsessing over his legacy, and competing head-to-head with his frenemy, Burr.

This musical will bring you on a rollercoaster of emotion from complete bliss to tragedy. Its emotional ending left audiences worldwide with tears and a newfound curiosity about the United States' history.

The songs are powerful and have lyrics that stay with you, such as the now famous: "I'm just like my country / I'm young, scrappy and hungry / And I'm not throwin' away my shot." These were composed by the musical mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda, who not only wrote the music but came up with the concept, produced the show, and starred in it.

It took him more than a year to write the whole song "My Shot" due to the various double meanings hidden in it. The musical has many other incredible lyrics, such as "I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich" and "who lives, who dies, who tells your story." However, none of this would have been possible without each member of the cast and their unique voices: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Angelica, and her strong voice; Phillipa Soo, Eliza, with her delicate voice; Daveed Diggs, Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, with his astonishing raps. Let's not forget Christopher Jackson, who performs Washington's emotional and

Photo VIA DISNEY+

inspirational songs. This musical is a mix of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway.

The story was inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The show is filled with carefully thought-out details such as the lighting; the only lights used in the show are white, red, and blue, resembling the United States flag colours. Or Maria Reynolds's outdated costume design, which shows that she doesn't have much money. The small details make this musical much more intricate.

It is essential to know that Hamilton isn't 100% historically correct; many things aren't mentioned.

In interviews, Lin-Manuel Miranda said that he wanted the audience to leave the show more curious than ever to learn their history. Most of the cast are visibly members of minority groups in the United States, which adds diversity to what is mostly white men's history. It allows young people of minorities to still feel connected to the story of their country.

Hamilton profoundly impacted the culture, politics, and education in the United States due to its powerful messages. It shows the history of the country not as perfect but proud. For this and all the reasons above, it is a must-watch. p p

ARTS & CULTURE 7 7

Photo Retouching and Young Women MAIJA BARONI Staff Writer

Editing on social media has drastically evolved since the classic heavy sepia and vignette filters plagued our Instagram feed a few years ago. Now, filters and retouches are often barely noticeable, subtly making their users’ cheeks and lips fuller, eyes bigger, or noses slimmer at the click of a button.

Whereas photo retouches on standard advertisements are expected, editing on social media disguises itself as real life, posing much more dangerous complications. Instead of enhancing pictures, it distorts faces or bodies into something unnatural, then markets the result as an achievable goal.

The Kardashians have practically made a living off this deceptive practice, and are regularly caught cinching their waists and bringing out their hips to create that trademark, exaggerated hourglass figure. Khloe Kardashian has been under the most heat over the last few months, due to her recent posts being so heavily retouched that she is no longer recognizable.

Most recently, on April 5th, 2021, an unfiltered shot of her in a bathing suit was accidentally posted and spread online. Instantly, Khloe and her legal team had it copyrighted and wiped out, with some who had reposted the picture having their accounts suspended and threatened with legal action.

Though Khloe, like anyone else, has the right to remove any image shared without authorization, the intensity with which her team attempted to completely erase the picture sends an alarming message: Even with plastic surgery, cosmetic procedures, and flattering, thousand-dollar outfits, her body is still not good enough to be seen by others.

Without filters and retouches first, of course.

This detrimental idea is not solely perpetrated by Khloe and the rest of the Kardashian clan, but also by

Photo VIA KOLKATA

most stars dominating the online social environment — an environment in which teens and young adults are spending an increasing amount of our time being told something is wrong with the way we look.

But influencers and celebrities aren’t necessarily to blame for breeding this impossible standard — they’re victims of it too.

In other words, this is a cycle that hurts everyone. It continuously feeds itself by pressuring influencers into feeling the need to edit their images and fit the illusion they’ve created in the first place. Consequently, it leads to their followers interpreting the fabricated ideal as reality and making it the expectation.

As younger and younger generations of girls begin consuming social media, the issue continues to deepen and expand.

Social media’s significance in our lives and interactions is only growing.

Therefore, action is urgently needed — and the UK seems to be taking the hint.

According to BBC, the UK is proposing legislation that would oblige advertisers and publishers to disclose images that have been digitally retouched. Suppose The Digitally Altered Body Images Bill is passed when put forward in the House of Commons for a second reading on October 16th, 2021. In that case, it could potentially apply to social media influencers as well.

And then the cycle repeats.

Contrary to most criticisms of this phenomenon, it isn’t a problem with women feeling too insecure.

It isn’t a problem with women feeling jealous. It’s a problem with the warped, misleading online portrayal of bodies and faces on the internet.

Naturally, young women will compare themselves to this manufactured beauty standard when encountering it on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

When they inevitably can’t measure up, they develop a toxic relationship with their self-image. The worst cases lead to eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and other health and mental issues.

Though it is an effective surface-level remedy for this growing mental health and self-perception crisis, the greatest solution must work inward to stop the problem at the root.

Along with legislation, if influencers use the platform they have to promote realistic body imagery, social media could turn itself around.

Rather than be a source of insecurity and control, the way platform creators and influencers shape the conversation could drastically transform the online space into a source of empowerment, impacting all women. p

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ARTS & CULTURE

Astrology: Myth or Reality?

What sign am I most compatible with, in a relationship or friendship or in a workplace? “I cannot say that I look for specific zodiac signs, but it is always in the back of my head,” says Emma. She only sticks to the compatible signs in a relationship but not so much with friendships. “You are more compatible with signs that you had good encounters or experiences with,” says Emma. “You will stick with the good ones and the ‘bad’ ones will fall through,” says Tara.

Photo VIA WOMAN’S HEALTH

EMILY ZAHIROVICH Contributor

A scroll through Tik Tok reveals that Gen Z is fascinated by astrology, to the point that many believe that it can help them discover who they are and improve their life. But is there really something to astrology? Do zodiac signs portray humans accurately? Is it valid for my generation to be so hooked on horoscopes?

According to Astrology and Medicine in Antiquity and the Middle Ages by François Retief and Louise Cillier, astrology is a pseudoscience based on the assumptions that the well-being of humankind, and its health in particular, is influenced in a constant and predictable fashion by the stars and other stellar bodies.

It originated in Mesopotamia in the third millennium BCE. The zodiac came into being as an imaginary belt across the skies that was then divided into twelve houses, or signs, that became associated with certain months.

Emma Milivojevic, also known as “The Astrology Queen” at her school, is a high school fashion student in Toronto, but she spends most of her time talking about astrology,

doing tarot readings, “manifesting” (turning visions into reality), discovering new crystals, and using her diffuser. Her best friend Tara Jotanovic is a college student at the Collégial international Saint-Anne, studying Social Sciences, and she also spends a lot of her free time learning more about astrology. Both of them are Cancers.

Emma started her journey in astrology around three years ago.

That is when she had her “spiritual awakening,” as she calls it. Tara always enjoyed “the divine world,” and began her journey a few years ago by getting herself a manifesting book.

Compatibility is a word that surfaces a lot in the astrology world.

Astrology is a pseudoscience based on the assumptions that the well-being of humankind is influenced in a constant and predictable fashion by the stars and other stellar bodies.

According to Emma and Tara, the Zodiac signs do not determine our personality. Instead, they tend to reflect the encounters and experiences we have lived. “They can say a lot about your upbringing,” says Tara.

“What people need to understand is that it does not define you as a person,” adds Emma. To Emma, astrology should even be incorporated or emphasized in the sciences, while Tara thinks it is more a belief.

Branko Jelic, a second semester Commerce student at Dawson, insists on astrology’s irrelevance in the classroom. “It should not be taught because it is not a recognized field of study,” says Branko. Ana Carolina Meza, a second semester International Business student at Dawson, disagrees. She says that “it should be offered because so many people are interested in astrology.

If Dawson College offers it, then Dawson would be the only college to offer it.”

A survey sent to 61 Gen Z people revealed that 45.9% agreed that zodiac signs reflect you as a person, 29.5% did not agree, and 24.6% were undecided. A total of 32.8% think that the family planning for having “a perfect baby zodiac” is ridiculous; 9.8% believe it is reasonable, while 57.4% couldn't care less.

In the end, I agree that zodiac signs do not reflect one's personality; they relate more to one’s experiences. And in the hopes of gaining new experiences, I am looking forward to continuing my astrology journey. p p

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PLAYLIST 9

Playlist & photograph by PIPA JONES Graphic Designer

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A sneak peek of SPROUT April’s Visual Arts section is special. Here, you’ll find a small preview of the first edition of our nature-themed creative writing and visual arts zine, Sprout. It’s a work in progress, but should be physically printed (!) and sent out to those interested before the summer. Follow us @theplantnews on Instagram for updates!

JULIE JACQUES Managing Editor

Photo by BRIANNA RODRIGUES @RODRIGUES.WITH.AN.S

Photo by ASH BELLAM @ASH.BPHOTOS

VISUAL ARTS 11 11

Photo by TABÉA BENLAKEHAL @TTA8EA

Photo by PIPA JONES @PIPALUQ

12 THE PLANT

Ask The Plant BEATRIZ NEVES Arts and Culture Editor Dear The Plant, Am I ugly?

Sincerely, The (Ugly?) Ducklin Dear Potential DUFF, To find out if you are ugly, here is what you’ll need: A mirror, some clothes and very good vision. Did you put on your contact lenses? Good.

Next, dress in your favorite clothes. Something that enhances the best part of you. Are you clothed? Great.

Now, look at yourself in the mirror. Does it hurt your eyes? Yes? That means, and I’m sorry to say, you’re an eyesore. Chances are... You’re ugly.

Your face certainly isn’t for everyone. Your body most likely does not fit the media’s body standards; otherwise, you probably wouldn’t be asking me if it hurts to look at you. You probably have a nose, an eye or maybe a mouth that is slightly crooked or that drifts a little to the left. But, then again, everyone kinda does.

If you don’t feel good with the way you look, you can try to fix it . That’s why people created makeup and plastic surgery. The only downside is that, as Beyonce warned us, pretty hurts. Besides the countless badly performed surgeries, the recovery is probably super annoying.

Maybe you also don’t have the money to do any of that, because let’s face it: if you had money you probably would already have done those things. So, we mortals must rely on the DIY beauty tips, skin care routines and homemade hair massages…ones that have only a 50% chance of actually working. A little advice though: beauty tips are not tips on how to be beautiful. Beauty tips are for those who already possess beauty. If you are, in fact, hopelessly ugly, maybe explore potential paths towards reincarnation.

There’s also the option to follow Christina Aguilera and Alessia Cara songs: accept yourself and your ugliness, even though that idea might seem unattractive even for certain members of this very newspaper. Make your peace with your face, body and weird feet. Maybe your look is not for the majority of people, but I am sure someone out there disagrees... Like your mother?

Still, you can always say that you are beautiful on the inside, instead of out.

After all, external beauty has an expiration date. Old age seems to only work for George Clooney. Or for actors preserved in formaldehyde like Jennifer Anistion and Tom Cruise. On the other hand, inner beauty has the potential to get better with age.

Ultimately inner beauty enhances your external beauty. So, maybe if you focus more on being good, people will not notice your ugliness.

Sincerely, Tha Plant

VOICES 13 13

An Exercise in Memory:

Two stories among

millions for Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day

BENJAMIN WEXLER Copy Editor

Lipot Lehrer became Ludwig Lehrer somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, and he arrived in America a new man. As a father, his memory is preserved, but as a survivor of the Holocaust, he remains a phantom.

He would not speak about the war. To new friends, he said that he immigrated before it began. According to the database of the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, he was murdered in the Shoah.

The best information we have was collected by his family, in particular his daughter, my grandmother. We know that he was born in Muncaks, Czechoslovakia (today, Ukraine), a town with thriving religious life and a burgeoning Zionist movement. He was one of nine children. One brother and two sisters immigrated to America before the war, and another brother immigrated to Palestine.

Nazi-allied Hungary annexed the region in 1938, and anti-Jewish legislation suppressed Jewish social and economic life. By 1940, many young Jewish men, including my great-grandfather and two of his brothers, were recruited for forced labour in the Hungarian army. The forced labour soon became a vehicle for Hitler’s “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” — genocide. Of the tensof-thousands of Jewish men forced to aid the Hungarian army in the war, over 80% never returned home. My great-grandfather’s brothers, Yosef and Moshe, were among the murdered majority.

As the tide turned against the Axis Powers, the Jews of Munkacs hoped to be liberated by the Red Army.

Instead, in 1944, the German army invaded Hungary. The remaining Jews were packed into ghettos. On 11 May 1944, the Nazis began deportation to Auschwitz, and only 12 days later, the

final deportation train left the town.

In the Auschwitz concentration camp, prisoners died of starvation, disease, beatings, medical experimentation, shootings, and, most of all, mass murder in the gas chambers.

My great-grandfather’s survival is a matter of family legend. One family member claims Ludwig killed a man and fought the Nazis with the partisans. In a rare moment of divulgence, he told my grandmother a story of hiding in the bathroom of an outdoor sports stadium. Regardless, like for most Jews, there was no future for him in Europe. In 1941, a census found 13,488 Jews in Munkacs. By 1945, only about 2,000 were still alive, and a fraction of those actually returned to rebuild their stolen lives.

My great-grandmother did not speak much about the war either. Eszter Bruder was born in Satu-Mare, Romania. Hitler’s rise to power prompted discriminatory measures preventing Jewish involvement in economy, government, and public education. Things worsened when Hungary annexed the region in 1940.

In the early forties, the Jewish Agency smuggled children and young adults from Satu-Mare into Palestine. The Satu-Mare rabbi, a religious anti-Zionist, forbade the evacuation, so my great-grandmother’s family refused the offer.

Eszter caught typhus, and Suri carried her some of the 540 kilometres on the march from Auschwitz. According to one cousin, while still in the camp, my great-grandmother was told to strip naked, and waited in line to be killed in the gas chambers. In the late-war scramble of mass-extermination, the chambers were too full to fit her, and she was spared — not by sisterly love, only dumb luck and more bodies.

My grandmother did not have a grandmother. There is a blip in memory somewhere along the family line.

And like so many other Holocaust Remembrance articles, this is an article about memory. The Nazis hoped to erase the Jews; when they realized they had failed, they tried to erase evidence of the mass graves. Trauma, too, does violence to memory. Time does not stand for a moment of silence — each year, there are fewer survivors, and soon there will be no-one left to give first-hand account of the Shoah.

What can one learn from six million dead Jews? Maybe there is some lesson here about evil, or injustice, or human nature. I won’t search for a moral. The only lesson I can find is memory itself. p p

With the conquering of Hungary by the Nazis, the Jews of Satu-Mare were forced into ghettos. Almost 19,000 people, the entire Jewish population of the city and the surrounding area, were then deported to Auschwitz to be killed. When the Russians approached the camp, the Jews were “evacuated” in a winter death-march.

One brother survived the war in a Russian gulag, but three of their siblings died in the Holocaust. My great-grandmother and her younger sister Suri kept each other alive.

Suri cried of hunger in the camps, and Eszter stole potato peels for her.

Lipot Lehrer in a labour battalion during WWII

14 THE PLANT

VOICES

Recipe Ramble: Pouding Chômeur DINU MAHAPATUNA Voices Editor

This column isn’t supposed to be informative; it’s just revealing.

It’s supposed to read hungry and mildly aggressive, like most of us tend to feel. But this issue I sense that my angst has faded. This month marks the gooiest days of my time as a CEGEP student. I’m weeks away from graduation, like many editorial members of The Plant, and my life has slowed to an ebb.

When you’re in limbo, you float. You feel present in every vein of a moment, as if you were once a part of the stream, but, now, you’ve stopped to watch the syrup drip over your eyes and blur anxiety into icing sugar. You’ll find yourself turning around, looking to where the honey has pooled; it’s your vast consciousness, past and aspiration. It’s every single article I’ve written and edited for this newspaper. It’s the crush I had when I wrote about banana bread and the pain oozing out of my edits when I doubted my ability to write altogether. It’s the sprinting humour of one Ask the Plant that made me realize the potential of this newspaper and the sweetest doodles next to the poems and the horoscopes I never want to believe. They’re sugar in my veins, as I hope they are yours.

In other words, yes, I’m feeling sappy, but a recipe ramble needs a recipe to validate the ramble and nothing is sappier than the Quebecois classic: pouding chômeur.

My first pouding chômeaur was in high school, on a trip to a Cabane à Sucre. The snow had finished falling in wet clumps when I enjoyed the pudding (really a steamed cake drenched in a cream-infused maple-syrup reduction). Like most of the meals served within that stifling log-cabin, the richness of the dish, all butter and sugar, is fit to debilitate Olympic athletes (no pun intended).

Photo BY DINU

For me pouding chômeur and the four times I’ve consumed it are part of a story of growth and change.

The first time I tasted it, I was an immigrant who questioned the sanity and general health of Quebecers everywhere (seriously artery-clogging). The second time, I was still a kid, celebrating my father’s birthday at a brasserie; I ate the ice cream on top of the pouding and nothing more (the pudding was a civilian casualty in my onslaught). Now I’m an adult, ready to fly the proverbial coop, and I’ve eaten the pouding twice more because it would make my heart ache more not to (warning: eating this dessert will also make your heart ache; you’re trading emotional pain for physical, but bragging rights are maintained only in the physical course).

My little sister has made the dessert twice in the last two months. She spends two hours on an hour-long recipe, painstakingly condensing maple syrup into cream, before scooping cake batter into an oven-tray of the mixture. I think I know why she enjoys watching the cake steam in the syrup; it’s practical magic, science and fantasy, an ingenious little treat in life.

Each time she’s made it, I’ve abandoned any usual grudge against the sickeningly sweet and eaten myself into a coma. Why? Because she made it. Because it was intended for my family and I feel like these precious moments of us all together are evaporating fast. My youth like yours, is syrup in a pouding chômeur, soaked into the cakey mass of existence and eaten by sugar-addicts without any sense of delicacy (and here returns that elusive teen angst).

As much as I like to accuse the pudding chômeur of being single-handedly responsible for this province’s obesity rate, there is much to appreciate about the dessert’s richness. For one, you never forget the weight of it in your stomach. Sure, it’s suffocating, but it’s also warm and all-encompassing. It’s a dessert that leaves an impression on your body (not always in the form of cholesterol), as we all hope to leave an impression on this world.

My sister’s preferred recipe: www.ricardocuisine.com/en/ recipes/5411-maple-pudding-cake p p

CREATIVE WRITING 15

April Showers To me the poems this month all have that feeling when you wake up to a gray sky, everything is wet, and it’s raining. It’s the start of a day of inconsistencies; since the sun is hidden, morning lasts all day. Maybe it’s in their rhythms that pattern like drops. Gorgeous sunshine March has passed, and spring slows in April. These poems reflect that: mud and worms and pools on asphalt, and finding a lost earring or two.

Peace and Love,

MAYAN GODMAIRE

Creative Writing Editor

Glittering Generalities VANESSA MIA LOZZA Contributor A gold palace A yellow brick road A familiar land that is unknown If one stands too close beware and be warned not to be blinded by the gold

Untitled BASTIEN MACLEAN Contributor There’s a pretty pale blonde girl crying in St-Laurent In a house on a street on an island on a rock she shares with a million strangers A city of hollow souls mournfully sings her silent symphony Charcoal embers and soot drift past black tar hobos Clad in paper brown coats riddled with holes Misty vapor, translucent like a poisoned diamond Blowing bits of broken glass and gravel along empty streets Under a dark starless sky bleeding synthetic red Burning metal towers smoke grey storm clouds Carcinogenic and clinging to the aluminum corpse Carmine acid tears rain down, toxic to the touch Looming high in the chemical atmosphere is a faceless bourgeoise Blindly drinking brandy and battery acid as celebration for Chamomile green paper etched with the faces of dead white men Gorging on greasy profits slimy with black sweat and blood She’s still crying in St-Laurent And now I’m crying too

16 THE PLANT

Genie FAB PILON Contributor Back where we started again Lost, words parched You look at me; Hear the desert.

We left for the desert together years ago Are they months are they days, The sky crumbles like bread too dry Rocks and things and dreams of something better We left for the desert lives ago Our throats dry from the sound thrown away The horse collapsed, named at last We shall be named as well if the graves deliver Until then we stand faceless Sexless Salt statues in the great empty The desert is hot and our skins grow rigid Grow moist like a fever We leak like monsters We shiver like ghouls I would sell all I have to be back in the morning bed I would sell All I have Not much But the thought counts, it counts, it counts To be back in our morning bed Your hand full of dunes, Of cracked valleys I give you water, give you water, give you water From my lips to your lips I give you water O my lips are so dry now And your hand freezes away There is water no more, and no one to give it to We stare at the sand as the silence screeches The desert has a mouth full of hunger in the morning We wake and find ourselves swallowed up I think we thank him, or perhaps we scream For what else can you tell the desert And our names fall upon us like metal on the anvil And we lose consciousness with a flash of understanding.

I wake up in the morning bed I wake up in the evening bed My lips are dry; I can feel you nowhere Tomorrow the desert.

CREATIVE WRITING 17

Ode to Opportunity BETH FECTEAU Contributor You died when you were only fifteen. I remember My science teacher projected it on the SmartBoard And I excused myself to the bathroom.

I myself was barely sixteen. How sad it was That I was allowed to continue while you powered down.

My battery is low and it’s getting dark.

Achingly human last words, Even though you were a robot, a mechanical insect Skittering across the surface of the Red Planet The way an ant skitters across my knee when I sit on the pavement too long.

So small. I am so small.

I was sixteen, knowing that it was you Who would make a bigger mark on the world Even though you lived and died Two hundred and sixty-four million kilometres away.

I read that you sang happy birthday to yourself every year.

I wonder if the sound echoed.

Chaos KIARA COLOMBO Contributor walk through the forest’s path where the spiders unleash their wrath. filthy webs of bugs and guts, knee-deep cause i’m such a klutz! fall into mossy swamp water then take a nap on the lily pads and slaughter slimy green frogs. they never could beat the odds! run between the trees and avoid the wrapping vines, on your right! don’t you ever read the signs? the radioactive river is still so blue it’s a deja fucking vu! humankind made the river radioactive, untouchable but it’s still so attractive. if you eat the poisonous berries, you’ll get to play with fairies! but don’t trust the fae and their murderous ways it hasn’t always been Tinkerbell since the beginning of days just another dream story by the hands of humankind that will leave you blind! anyway, i’m talking out of line. grab a squirrel off a tree by his fuzzy tail now, fire up the grill and sip on homemade pale ale i haven’t been making any sense and i think i need to learn self-defense! the truth is, the forest and the frogs and the bugs were here first. and now they’re cursed. my hands are bloody, and yours are too; the world will never be brand-new.

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SPORTS 18

Sex Work and Sensuality in Sport Pole Fitness on the Rise MIA KENNEDY Sports Editor

In 2017, the Global Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF) officially recognized pole dancing as a professional sport. The battle for pole began in 2006 when Katie Coates petitioned to get it into the Olympics. She amassed more than 10,000 signatures. Thus, pole fitness began its rebranding journey.

Today, pole fitness has a scoring system, rules and anti-doping procedures. The International Pole Sports Federation, run by Coates, hosts world championships. Pole has even found its way to Dawson.

Saskia Morgan, a first year in Arts and Culture, found a love for pole at the beginning of the pandemic. “You don’t need too much space for it, so that’s why it’s accessible and a good method to workout during COVID times.” Gesturing to a silver pole set up in her bedroom, she explained its physical benefits. “Your full body is working out. It’s hard to find a sport that you can do inside that’s actually fun. For me, lifting weights gets boring. With this, you can watch your progression.

You can play around, be creative and feel comfortable in your body.” Pole dancers make it look easy but lifting your body by the strength of your shoulders, wrists and legs is quite the workout. Not to mention the flexibility and endurance it takes to make the effort look graceful.

Unlike other sports, pole doesn’t only focus on the workout aspect.

There is also an inherent sensuality to pole, which unlocks a world of confidence on and off the mat. To Saskia, this is a fundamental part of the sport.

“I’m doing it for myself and not for anyone else. I’m doing it to get strong, but I’m also feeling comfortable in my sensuality.”

The sport’s benefits are sometimes overshadowed by its role in sex work, which has led to an ongoing

Saskia’s pole, set up in her bedroom. / Photo BY SASKIA MORGAN

debate within the pole dancing community. Some argue that the association with sex work makes pole fitness more difficult to take seriously. In 2015, pole dancers voiced their concern by using the hashtag #Notastripper on their Instagram photos. Strippers spoke out, claiming the tag stigmatized sex work.

They also felt that it took credit away from their influence on pole dancing as an art form. Despite the backlash, some athletes continue to push away from pole’s origins.

Others, like Saskia, recognize the value of the sport’s roots but highlight that pole dancing doesn’t always imply sex work. “When I talk to people about it, it’s always ‘Ooh, do you put that on OnlyFans?’ That sort of thinking is really frustrating.” OnlyFans is a content subscription service. It has become a popular platform for sex workers to sell photos and videos of themselves.

Some propose destigmatizing sex work as a solution. After all, isn’t pole dancing in strip clubs just as physically challenging as pole fitness? Saskia points out that pole dancing could be empowering for strippers, too. She

proposes that issues within the stripping industry and inappropriate clients could be at fault for the stigma around pole and sex work. “For example, the person who got me into pole is now considering stripping. She’s extremely smart, a fantastic person and super creative. She’s considering it because she loves pole and she can get money for it. It’s not to get gross looks from men.

She’s doing it for herself. I think that’s fantastic.”

In recent years, Katie Coates, president of the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), has pushed to get pole into the Olympic Games.

Pole employs the same precision and attention to detail as Olympic sports like acrobatics, so pole dancers think it would fit in at the international event.

“It’s such a fun sport and so easy to do. For that to be widely seen is pretty awesome. I don’t know anyone else who openly speaks about doing pole and the Olympics would change that,” says Saskia. For now, pole remains out of the Olympics, but I would love to live in a world where platform heels are considered Olympic gear. p p

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT 19 19

Dawson’s Green Earth Club is the Solution!

KENZA BENNANI Contributor

In the weeks leading up to 27 September 2019, hundreds of Dawson students gathered in the school’s lower atrium to prepare posters for the upcoming strike against climate change. As whispers of Greta Thunberg’s involvement began to spread, the momentum grew at an incredibly rapid pace. John Nathaniel, an executive from the Green Earth Club, having just transferred schools, recalls it as being the craziest few weeks of his life. He lost count of how many green felt circles he cut and stamped for students to wear in solidarity of the movement.

You simply could not walk down a hallway without seeing tons of people wearing them.

The Green Earth Club consists of an engaged group of Dawson students wanting to reawaken the student body’s sense of environmental responsibility. Having recently become a bit more political, the club focuses on activism and collective direct action by mobilizing students to attend protests and educational events. It was because of the club’s efforts that the Dawson Student Union took a stand against the GNL project in Quebec. Members of the club also hope to effectively connect the dots between the climate crisis, racial injustice and the fights of Indigenous people as an attempt to make their fight intersectional.

Heidi Brisebois, an activist in the North-South studies program at Dawson, believes her drive to fight is fueled by the moral aspect of the cause. “I've been greatly inspired by the resilience of marginalized communities in my fight against climate change,” passionately explains Heidi.

“It's so easy to remain in our privilege.

I became more aware through the works of BIPOC people, and through their stories.” The young woman,

never stumbling on her words, very clearly laid out how fundamental it is to recognize the hardships this crisis has put certain communities through.

Considering that most students are currently isolated at home, their access to resources, as well as their motivation to get involved are all the more limited. “I find it way more difficult, because there’s only so much you can share on social media to spread awareness,” confirms Anthony Venditelli, a student currently in his 4th semester in the Arts and Culture program. “In person, there were more opportunities to educate yourself, like seeing the posters on campus and talking with people.”

The Green Earth Club encourages students to remain environmentally conscious in general, but most importantly, to continue growing their political footprint.

Consequently, actions have been put in place to prevent students, like Anthony, from feeling like this. The Green Earth Club has been putting more focus on their social media presence and online connections.

By doing so, they have quadrupled their following and mobilized many Dawson students to Instagram. John Nathaniel, currently in his third year of environmental studies, clarified that it’s completely possible to still get involved in the club. A simple private message to them on Instagram will do the trick! “We stay organized with a Discord channel,” explained John, “and we meet [virtually] every two weeks to discuss different projects and ways to get involved.”

Unfortunately, the narrative that continues to be fed into -- of it solely being the youth’s responsibility to

take actions -- is extremely harmful to the movement. “We need to stop pointing at each other and we need to start pointing upwards and look at the people who are actually making […] decisions,” passionately highlights John, alluding to the potential consequences ahead. Likewise, Heidi made sure to firmly emphasize the importance of Dawson College gearing its focus towards its actions as an institution, rather than only through the dedication of its students. “The college could use its position to challenge other schools, for example the funding that McGill attributes to fossil fuels. […] it could use its weight to hold governments accountable.”

She is, similarly to John, implying that more can always be done.

Indeed, it is fundamental to show up to protests, to vote, to encourage others to get involved and to speak up. John specifically remembers when Elizabeth May, previous leader of the Green Party of Canada, came to speak at Dawson last year, and accentuated the impacts of political pressure. Keeping her ideas in mind, the Green Earth Club encourages students to remain environmentally conscious in general, but most importantly, to continue growing their political footprint. “Our problems right now are because of governments and businesses, not because people use plastic straws! We need a big change,” clarifies John, half-jokingly. Initially, activism can feel like a daunting prospect, but joining the club is an approachable and effective way to get started! p p

20 THE PLANT

6 WAYS TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES SINCE PROTESTING APPARENTLY MEANS DESTROYING SMALL BUSINESSES: 1. Do some shopping 2. Order pick up or delivery from local restaurants 3. Share them on social media

4. Write a positive review 5. Sign up to their newsletter 6. Tell your family and friends

SOME BUSINESSES YOU SHOULD SUPPORT: - Ristorante Quattro - Helena Restaurant - Rooney Shop - NRJ Jeans - Chaussures Sandrini Shoes

COMIC

- Pizzeria Bros - Camtec Photo - Brit & Chips - L’empreinte coopérative

CURIOSITIES 21 21

Curiosities by

ADELA PIRILLO Curiosities Editor

HOROSCOPES Since it's finally starting to feel like spring, I hope that you all are enjoying some time to relax outside. School wise, this is the final stretch. As always, wishing you guys all the best!

VIRGO (aug. 23 - sept. 22): Allow this month to be totally booked with positivity, joy, and laughter for all you Virgos. As cheesy as it may sound, happiness will be your key to success.

BIRTHDAY: If you were born April 22nd, happy happy happy birthday! Also, if you were born October 22nd, happy happy happy half birthday!

LIBRA (sept.23 - oct. 22): Your intuition is more powerful than anyone’s advice.

Focus on trusting yourself, Libras.

ARIES (mar. 20 - apr. 18): Get ready for a month filled with hard work and success.

Your ambitious attitude will be your best friend, Aries.

SCORPIO (oct. 23 - nov. 21): People come and go and it might be hard to deal with.

Remember this month that the right ones will always stay. It's okay to cut our toxic relationships that no longer serve you.

TAURUS (apr. 19 - may 20): It is important to keep in mind that you reflect the energy you wish to attract. It all begins with your thoughts, emotions, and actions.

GEMINI (may 21 - june 20): Let your curiosity take over this month. Whenever you feel a sudden spark of creativity, use it. You’ll thank yourself later.

CANCER (june 21 - july 22): This month is all about growth, Cancers. You cannot become what you dream of by remaining how you currently are. You got this.

LEO (july 23 - aug. 22): Self love should be your main focus this month, Leos.

School, work, and life in general might start to get a lot to handle, but everything will be resolved if you prioritize your own health first.

SAGITTARIUS (nov. 22 - dec. 21) : It's time to stop letting last week, month, or year control you. In order to start fresh, try setting new goals for yourself and keep that positive attitude.

CAPRICORN (dec.22 - jan. 19): In your feels recently, huh Capricorns? Don't be afraid of vulnerability and remember that your own emotions matter the most.

AQUARIUS (jan. 20 - feb. 18): Make sure to not get caught up in other people’s opinions of you. Boundaries are important. Remember that you are the only person truly in control.

PISCES (feb. 19 - mar. 19) : Your accomplishments are worth celebrating. This month, focus on appreciating all the little things.

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MASTHEAD

CONTRIBUTORS

Daylen Conserve Editor-in-Chief

Tomas Oyarzun Cover Artist

Benjamin Wexler Copy Editor

Maija Baroni Staff Writer

Julie Jacques Managing Editor

Julia Quynh Staff Writer

Pipa Jones Graphic Designer

Arwen Low Staff Writer

Annabelle Lajoie Emily Zahirovich Ash Bellam Brianna Rodrigues Pipa Jones Tabéa Benlakehal Beth Fecteau Kiara Colombo Fab Pilon Vanessa Mia Lozza Bastien Maclean Kenza Bennani

Jessica Gearey News Editor Beatriz Neves Arts & Culture Editor Jill Goldenberg Visual Arts Editor Laura Gervais Sciences Editor Mia Kennedy Sports Editor Mayan Godmaire Creative Writing Editor Dinu Mahapatuna Voices Editor Adela Pirillo Curiosities Editor

CONTACT The Plant Newspaper Dawson College 3040 Rue Sherbrooke O Montréal, QC H3Z 1A4 2C.15 theplantnews.com theplantnewspaper@gmail.com @theplantnews

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