May 9, 2019

MAY 09, 2019

VO L . 1 1 1 , I SS UE 1 The University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

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YOUR UNI VE R S I T Y O F SAS K ATC H E WA N ST UDE NT NE WS PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 1 2

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Victoria Becker / Photo Editor Pipes in the basement of the Memorial Union Building display red asbestos paint labels at the U of S in Saskatoon on April 28, 2019.

University undergoes asbestos inspection The U of S cites their continued efforts to health and safety for renewed asbestos audit.

ERIN MATTHEWS OPINIONS EDITOR

On April 24, an email from Safety Resources was circulated through the University of Saskatchewan, announcing plans for a campus-wide asbestos audit and inspection starting in May. The email stated that this inspection is part of the university’s ongoing commitment to ensure workplace safety.

All campus buildings are audited for asbestos with a clear

identification, labeling and monitoring program led by Facilities Management Division. The majority of asbestos found in university buildings are used in insulation and fireproofing, and it is mostly isolated to mechanical rooms and insulation for steam pipes.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be separated into flexible fibres. It was valued for its insulation and fire resistant abilities. Intact asbestos does not appear to pose a great

health risk, but if the material is disturbed in construction or renovation work, the airborne fibres are quite dangerous.

Before the ban in the 1970s, asbestos was used frequently in both commercial and residential buildings. The fibres were incorporated in insulation, floor tiles, siding and textured ceilings.

Canada banned the manufacture of most asbestos materials in 1979.

If inhaled, asbestos cannot be expelled from the body and can

accumulate within the lung tissue, leading to chronic illness like asbestosis, pleuritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Long-term exposure to airborne asbestos fibres can lead to mesothelioma, cancer of the thin lining of the lungs, which holds the grim title of the number one cause of occupation­-related cancers worldwide.

The Sheaf reached out to the U of S to comment on whether the audit occurres annually and if any employees brought forward

health concerns this past year.

However, the U of S did not get in contact in time for publication.

General information about asbestos along with a public question and answer forum is slated to be held in the next few weeks, with event details to be announced. The university stressed its commitment to the health and safety of those active within the campus community from workplace to classrooms to research laboratories.

NEWS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nykole King editor@thesheaf.com NEWS EDITOR Ana Cristina Camacho news@thesheaf.com CULTURE EDITOR Tomilola Oja culture@thesheaf.com SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR Tanner Michalenko sportshealth@thesheaf.com OPINIONS EDITOR Erin Matthews opinions@thesheaf.com STAFF WRITER Noah Callaghan staffwriter@thesheaf.com COPY EDITOR J.C. Balicanta Narag copy@thesheaf.com LAYOUT MANAGER Aqsa Hussain layout@thesheaf.com PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Victoria Becker photo@thesheaf.com GRAPHICS EDITOR Shawna Langer graphics@thesheaf.com WEB EDITOR Ming Au Duong web@thesheaf.com OUTREACH DIRECTOR Sophia Lagimodiere outreach@thesheaf.com AD & BUSINESS MANAGER Shantelle Hrytsak ads@thesheaf.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Amanda Slinger Jacob Lang Laura Chartier Matthew Taylor Mikaila Ortynsky Tyler Smith

board@thesheaf.com

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Mission // The mission of the Sheaf is to inform and entertain students by addressing issues relevant to life on campus, in the city or in the province. The newspaper serves as a forum for discussion on a wide range of issues that concern students.

Written for students, by students, it provides unique insight into university issues through a student perspective. The staff of editors, photographers and artists collaborate with volunteers as student journalists to create a product relevant to students on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Land Acknowledgement // The Sheaf acknowledges that our office is built on Treaty Six Territory and the traditional homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and affirm both the importance of our relationship with Indigenous peoples and students at the U of S and our commitment to recognize and remain accountable for our collective history.

T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // MAY 0 9 , 2 0 1 9

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U of S to release tuition rates four years in advance Next year, students will know their total program tuition despite annual increases.

J.C. Balicanta Narag

COPY EDITOR

The University of Saskatchewan is increasing its tuition rates at an average of 3.4 per cent for 2019-20, but the U of S is working on a method to predict tuition growth for future students.

Tuition in Saskatchewan has been on the rise since the last provincial tuition freeze ended a decade ago. The average increase of tuition rates in 2018-19 was 4.8 per cent, 1.4 per cent higher than this year.

U of S Provost and Vice­ President Academic Tony Vannelli says the money students pay is going towards improving existing programs and implementing new classes for undergraduate and graduate students.

The five principles at the U of S in setting tuition rates are the comparability to similar programs at other Canadian research-intensive universities, accessibility and affordability for potential students, maintaining the level of quality, predictability of tuition and consultation with students.

By next year, the university will be finalizing a method for the predictability of tuition rates, according to Vannelli. Students will know how much they will be paying in the next four years when they enter university.

“You have to go with that principle to support the students and figure out a number and a mechanism that makes sense, and then we stick with it and say, ‘that’s our word,’” Vannelli said. “This will make it really exciting for students ... because they know what their tuition will be.”

Undergraduates will have more information about tuition prices before they start their program. This may allow students to plan for their post­­-secondary education and apply for funding support, if need be.

Vannelli will be working with the U of S Students’ Union and Graduate Students’ Association regarding the formula for predictability. Vannelli says students will know either a pre-established range of tuition increases or

Shawna Langer / Graphics Editor

a year-to-year predicted increased rate.

“Year over year, we [can] put a cap [of] two per cent [or] three per cent, or we [can] do, from year one to year four, no more than 10 per cent increase’,” Vannelli said. “It lets the students know it won’t be more than that because it’s a contractual agreement.”

While all the undergraduate program will see their rates increase next year, the amount is varied. In the College of Arts and Science, the science programs will rise by 4.1 per cent while arts courses are seeing increases of 3.5 per cent, closer to the average.

The College of Education tuition rate is rising by 5.7

per cent. The increase in tuition will offset the pressures the college has been facing after switching to direct entry a few years ago as there is a need for new courses and more faculty members, according to Vannelli.

Students from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine are facing the highest increase with their tuition going up by 10 per cent. Vannelli says the reason behind this is to maintain the programs offered in the college.

“Animal care is very expensive to maintain… Those are increasing costs that have been brought in for the students’ training and expertise that they have to acquire,” Vannelli said. “It was just the

cost of providing high-quality programs that has the highest accreditation and wanted to make sure that it’s maintained.”

This year, there were cutbacks of $5 million in government support for student accessibility, but the university will reportedly be absorbing most of the costs to support students. Vannelli says that more money will be allocated to the $67 million fund available for scholarships and bursaries to address accessibility and affordability, the second principle in setting tuition rates.

“Students that deserve to be here — we are going to make sure they come here, and they can afford to be here.”

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NEWS

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MAY 0 9 , 2 0 1 9

USSU Elder-in-Residence position finishes trial run, stays for 2019-20

Creation of Indigenous union secondary to more pressing issues: Indigenous Students' Council The new leaders want to tackle housing and food insecurity among Indigenous students.

The USSU and Elder Beaucage reflect on the success and limitations of the pilot project.

NOAH CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER

As the Elder-in-Residence has been approved to move beyond the pilot phase, the outgoing Elder says campus policies need to be changed to allow for smudging indoors.

The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union resident Elder project ran from Jan. 24 to April 12, with two-spirit Métis filmmaker Elder Marjorie Beaucage filling the role. The USSU will keep the paid position in the 2019-20 school year, though next year’s Elder has yet to be decided.

The USSU’s partnership with Beaucage provided students with access to teachings and discussion in the weekly “Elder Time – Tea With Kokum" events held across campus. In addition to giving presentations centred around the teachings of the medicine wheel, Beaucage provided guidance and instructed USSU executives in ceremonial protocols.

Former USSU President Rollin Baldhead says he invited Beaucage to be the USSU Elder because of her reputation as a storyteller, Indigenous leader and as someone “who could hold their own.” Baldhead originally intended the position to be primarily for mental health support and says he never would have predicted the student engagement sparked by the project.

“I thought we needed Indigenous ways of knowing in the USSU and why not create a position that can help bring a holistic approach to learning,” Baldhead said. “What we found out was there was a huge demand for this, not only from the Indigenous community but from the non-Indigenous students too.”

Beaucage says the position is a step towards Indigenization, but that her potential to fulfill the role has been hindered by the university’s smudge ceremony guidelines that limit indoor practice.

“It should be available anywhere on campus to professors and students when they need it,” Beaucage said. “They have to accept that we have a different worldview. I couldn’t use my smudge and the policy has got to change if they want Elders to come to campus.”

Beaucage says smudging is

an instrumental part of Elders’ work and having to go outside limits her capacity to fulfill her duties.

“It’s a shame if I can’t bring my tools into my work,” Beaucage said. “If the students need spiritual and cultural support, that’s part of the medicine.”

Baldhead says the position can enrich the university by respecting Indigenous perspectives as valid alternatives to Eurocentric approaches.

“We need to start recognizing our Elders — Elders meaning knowledge-keepers of human life,” Baldhead said. “They matter; their voice matters within this university and holds weight.

It helps us research and create different avenues to get to our end goals.”

Beaucage appreciates the USSU student leaders taking the initiative to launch their own Indigenization projects.

“I think it's great that the students are taking on things for themselves because they are freer than the institution,” she said.

“This way the students can be more self-governing, and they can choose what they need and make it happen.”

In her time as the Elder­-inResidence, Beaucage says she has built relationships through discussion circles aimed at fostering a sense of community through storytelling in a culturally­-safe place.

“Story is medicine, and when we share our stories, we understand each other fully and build new relationships,” she said.

“You have to know each others’ stories, and that is part of Indigenizing, if you will, because people need to reflect together on our history.”

The position will continue to be developed in the future and Baldhead hopes to see the program expand to having more Elders providing knowledge across colleges. He is also pleased to see this Indigenization program surpass his term as USSU president.

“As an Indigenous person, having an Elder on campus is unimaginable. It’s essential for Indigenous people to be within our organizations and closing the education gap,” Baldhead said. “It's all about looking for how you could move the needle a little bit more for your successors to have that much easier of a time.”

Sydney Lerat/ Supplied

KIENAN ASHTON

The Indigenous Students’ Council at the University of Saskatchewan held elections on April 10 and 11. The incoming president wants to continue pursuing an Indigenous students’ union but second to addressing other pressing issues impacting Indigenous students.

A total of 114 students cast ballots in the ISC election. The new council is headed by Kaitlin Bird as president, and her four vice-presidents are Gabriel Michael, Brendan Bear, Janene Bigknife and Tyler Buffalo. The arts and science representative is Heaven Adams, the Edwards School of Business representative is Heather Robinson and health sciences will be represented by Tianna Greyeyes.

Bird, a third-year political studies student, ran on a platform that promised “accountability,” “interconnecting” and advocating for an Indigenous students’ union. She spoke with the Sheaf after the council’s first meeting where they discussed their plans for the year.

These plans include creating ties between the ISC and northern reserves, renovating the Aboriginal Student Lounge and updating the council’s constitution.

Bird also wants to strengthen their ties with Indigenous students from different U of S

campuses by establishing more councillor positions.

“I [want] to bring in some councillors from other campuses,” Bird said. “Prince Albert should have a councillor so we know what’s going on with [the] Indigenous students there.”

Bird says that she will stay accountable to Indigenous students through weekly public meetings.

“I [am] going to have weekly meetings with the VPs and council, and I [am] going to have the minutes published,” Bird said. “I [want] [the meetings] to be open, so other Indigenous students could come meet, too, if they wanted.”

Bird plans on consulting other Indigenous student unions in order to get a better idea of how to form one. Bird says that overall her main focus is on supporting Indigenous students, especially those with housing and food security issues. While Bird does wish to see an Indigenous students’ union, she believes that it is secondary to these more immediate issues.

Regan Ratt-Misponas, incoming U of S Students’ Union president and outgoing ISC president, has frequently advocated for the creation of an Indigenous students’ union.

He was ISC president when the group first called for union status in March 2018.

“When we brought this up, there was a group of us that

saw that there was a need for resources within our community. Also, we saw an opportunity to practice our self-determination as Indigenous people and Indigenous students,” he said.

In the past, Ratt-Misponas has put forward that Indigenous students’ USSU fees could be rerouted into an Indigenous students’ union. Despite his past support for the cause, Ratt­ Misponas says he must remain neutral in his new role as USSU president.

“Unfortunately, due to fiduciary responsibility that I have to the USSU, I must keep my involvement in the movement for an Indigenous students’ union limited,” Ratt-Misponas said.

“What I can do is offer the space to have those conversations.”

Ratt-Misponas wants to bring a new life to the USSU Indigenous Student Affairs Committee as a place where Indigenous students can collectively discuss how to move forward.

“We have an Indigenous Student Affairs Committee that, over the last year, has not been running… My desire is to kind of pick that up and to bring the conversation to that table,” Ratt-Misponas said. “This has never been a decision just for me to make. It was a collective effort of students that wanted to see a change at a time that we weren’t seeing those results being produced.”

NEWS / 3

SPORTS&HEALTH

T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // MAY 0 9, 2 0 1 9

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Time to buy-in: The future of sports in Saskatoon has never looked brighter The Paris of the Prairies has long been considered a total afterthought within the national sports landscape, but things are changing.

TANNER MICHALENKO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

There’s never been a greater time to be involved with sports in our province as some big developments will be coming to fruition.

Starting this summer, young athletes will reap the benefits of the biggest sports project in Saskatoon’s history now that the volunteer- and donor-driven Gordie Howe Sports Complex is open for business. The complex will bring forth unprecedented opportunities to local talent from Saskatoon and the rest of the province.

Organizers have raised $42 million of their $62 million fundraising goal. The remaining amount will allow them to complete maintenance and renewal projects for existing infrastructures. They anticipate over 175,000 visitors to the sports complex each year which should cover the annual operating costs of $1.25 million.

The points of interest inside the complex are highlighted by a 90,000-square-foot Multisport Indoor Athletic Performance & Training Centre, with the new home to the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame attached to it.

The sports complex, located between Avenue U and Avenue P South, will also house a multi-purpose turf field, 13 baseball and softball fields, a CFL-sized football field, Kinsmen Arena, a complex for speed skating and another for track and field. The Gordie Howe Sports Centre will be used for administrative and event-based purposes. The sports complex is expected to be completed by 2020.

A prominent event taking place on the Saskatoon Minor Football Field within the complex is the inaugural Saskatchewan Summer Soccer Series.

Promoter Joe Belan wants to bring professional soccer to the province with a friendly match.

The game will be between a Saskatchewan Selects team

and the reigning USL League 2 champion Calgary Foothills Football Club. The event took place on May 4, and acted as a test pilot to gauge interest and support from the local community.

Huskies men’s soccer head coach Bryce Chapman is in charge of soccer operations for the Saskatchewan Summer Soccer Series and was immediately intrigued by the initiative.

“We’re in Saskatchewan, and sometimes we’re forgotten.

Now, we have the opportunity to showcase our talent,” Chapman said in an interview with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

For Belan and the organizers, their goal is to bring the Canadian Premier League to Saskatoon. If successful, a Saskatoon CPL team will join the seven-team professional soccer league which kicks off their inaugural season this summer with 98 total matches, 20 of which will be broadcasted nationally on CBC. Saskatoon will be busy with the soccer match tak-

Gordie Howe Sports Complex/ Supplied

ing place a week before the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Saskatchewan Rattlers begin their inaugural season at SaskTel Center on May 9.

The Rattlers have promised to deliver a unique entertainment experience on game days, in hopes of replicating support that the Saskatchewan Rush see from their fans.

Filling a 15,000-seat arena during the hot summer months in Saskatchewan will be quite a challenge. As president of Western operations,

Lee Genier has been an executive in professional sports for over two decades. Most notably, he spent 19 years with the Calgary Stampeders before becoming president of the Saskatchewan Rush in 2016, later being named the executive of the year by the National Lacrosse League.

Exciting times are ahead, as these developments could produce immediate and long-term rewards for a community that’s long been left out of the national sports conversation.

New U of S research links self-compassion with enhanced female athletic performance Researchers in the College of Kinesiology discover that self-compassion is a better tool for overcoming sporting challenges than self-criticism.

NOAH CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER

Kinesiology PhD student Margo Adam’s dissertation studied over 80 Saskatchewan female athletes’ approaches for dealing with high expectations in competitive sports, challenging previous assumptions that self-compassion causes complacency.

Previous research at the University of Saskatchewan suggested that female athletes’ believed self-criticism helped them reach performance goals. However, Adam consistently found that it was negatively related to how women perceived their own athletic performance.

“Within sport contexts, self-criticism, harsh evaluations and outcome orientations are very common,” Adam said.

“However, within my qualitative PhD research, the women described how self-compassion helps them manage the challenges they face in sport contexts.”

According to Adam, her most significant discovery is the positive relationship between self-compassion and how it could function as a helpful

4 / SPORTS & HEALTH

resource to promote athletic improvement and general well-being.

The research project “Women Athletes’ Self-Compassion, Self-Criticism, and Perceived Sport Performance” was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Huskie Athletics and Sask Sport Inc. The latter two connected the research team with female athletes from a variety of sports to study. The research participants shared their motivations for applying self-compassion and how it helped them deal with struggles they faced while playing competitive sports.

“They also talked about highly individual ways and reasons that self-compassion helped them be their best in sport,” Adam said. “This finding is significant as athletes in previous research have been hesitant toward adopting self-compassion due to the perception that it would lead to complacency.”

Adam’s supervisor, Leah Ferguson, notes that new research exploring the impact of self-compassion is still in its initial stages, but Adam’s work is advancing the literature. In their

study, athletes who scored higher on a self-compassion scale also had higher scores on perceived sport performance.

“Though we have a lot more research to do to examine this relationship and establish the direction of the relationship, the conceptual idea of selfcompassion leads us to believe that developing athletes’ self-compassion might be influential on performance,” Ferguson said.

Adam and Ferguson propose self-compassion as a tool for women athletes to rely on; an approach influenced by “positive psychology” and “Eastern philosophy” as a “kind, connected and clear-sighed self-attitude that is based on self-kindness.”

“Most of my research stems from that very idea that activity can be fun and beneficial with immediate and long-term benefits, and we as kinesiology researchers can explore ways to make those positive opportunities as frequent and enjoyable as possible,” Ferguson said. “Conceptually, the self-compassion research suggests that individuals are not just seeing through rose-coloured glasses, rather,

Dave Stobbe / Supplied

they are able to accept who they are, both strengths and flaws.”

Although Ferguson highlights that their research findings are specific to sport contexts, the concept of self-compassion is applicable to other life challenges as well.

“Self-compassion is all about extending kindness, balance and connectedness to oneself when enduring difficult experiences,” Ferguson said. “So, if self­ compassion can be learned and applied, then, in theory, it has no bounds.”

Adam was the 2018 recipient

of the Provost’s Graduate Student Teacher Award and Ferguson’s first PhD student.

“I was very fortunate to work with an extremely professional young woman who really set the bar high for future students,” Ferguson said. “Adam takes a lot of pride in her work, and I really believe her research will have a lasting impression on self-compassion in sport literature.”

They think future research into sport psychology and athletes’ experiences could show that integrating self-compassion into sports training has potential.

MAY 0 9 , 2 0 1 9

CULTURE

WWW.T H E S H E A F.COM // @ U SAS KS H E A F

Learning about #consent on July Talk is not afraid to speak up for what they campus: Fostering a culture believe in One of the band's lead singers talks about their activism in the community of sexual responsibility and standing up for important issues.

Local theatre is taking the social aspects of sex education into their own hands.

A trailblazing Saskatoon theatre company is educating youth on healthy relationships with their latest production #consent, a topic that is especially important to a university audience due to the ubiquity of sexual violence on campus.

Sum Theatre is a local, independent company known for their Theatre in the Park shows.

Five of the theatre’s values of community, innovation, sharing, citizenship and accessibility are embodied in their new play #consent. The theatrical piece dives into the connection between personal relations and the impact of social media movements like #MeToo in the conversations about consent.

The play toured high schools around the city, approaching the heavy topic of sexual violence with grace and humour. Multiple artists collaborated on the script which intertwined poetry, humour, music and movement to portray experiences of sexual violence and examples of what consent culture looks like. The emotional depth of the production evoked waves of sadness and anger from the audience which was then soothed by the occasional interjection of laughter.

In the play, there was the comedic relief ‘consent coach’ played

by S.E. Grummett. This role guided other characters to practice consent by communicating boundaries and asking permission with any physical touch.

Humorous scenes with the consent coach — like the one where they pray to the ‘goddess of consent’ Lady Gaga — balanced the heavier scenes of harsh realities such as a trans man experiencing transphobia and a woman in an abusive relationship.

The sexual health education available to youth is not always effective due to the lack of guidance for non-heterosexual communities and in-depth discussions about healthy relationships and consent. When these issues are neglected, youth are left venturing into the foreign terrain of relationships without guidance on navigating healthy interactions.

To increase accessibility of this information, Sum Theatre put on seven free public performances in addition to their high school performances, one being at the University of Saskatchewan. The play has another connection to the U

of S with Heather Morrison, the lead creator of #consent, being an alumna who completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2008.

The opportunity to have this play on campus is important as sexual violence is a prevalent issue across Canada. One in five women experience sexual assault while attending university, and a majority of the cases occur within the first eight weeks of the student’s time at university.

In 2016, the U of S launched REACT to Sexual Assault, an initiative to bring awareness to and provide support for victims of sexual assault which includes a resource website and a safety app. While these support systems are necessary, #consent shows the need for bystander intervention and believing the stories of assault survivors.

The #MeToo movement has been crucial in raising awareness about sexual assault and creating a community of solidarity to support survivors. Educating students about healthy relationships is vital to foster a culture around consent — one that does not tolerate sexual violence. Sum Theatre is using art as a vehicle to spread the message that consent is not sexy — it is mandatory.

Shawna Langer / Graphics Editor

This project had a significant reach on the community and may tour again next year due to the support it has garnered. People are never too young to learn about consent, self-boundaries and communication.

Having seen this production, high school students — or soon to be university students — might have a better understanding of consent and healthy relationships and be able to reduce the number of assaults that occur at the start of the school year. Sum Theatre is leading the way in this conversation. Hopefully, others will follow.

Vanessa Heins / Supplied

TOMILOLA OJO CULTURE EDITOR

July Talk is known for their electrifying live shows and the stark but alluring contrast between the voices of the two lead singers. However, people are less privy to how they use their platform for activism.

Ever since the Toronto-based five-piece band started making music in 2012, July Talk has been neither shy nor quiet about their beliefs. As the band grew in popularity, they found that it became “much more important” to use their platform to speak about issues, says lead singer Peter Dreimanis.

The band has been very active in their support of marginalized groups and urging their fellow Canadians to do better for our country. This can be seen in their music workshops with a First Nations high school in Thunder Bay and their solidarity with the Unist’ot’en camp.

Rock and roll has a rich history when it comes to activism.

From fuelling social changes to its penchant for standing up to authority, rock and roll has always been about questioning society’s status quo.

Between Arkells’ involvement in giving back to the community, and Arcade Fire’s PLUS1 initiative to raise money for Haiti, Canadian musicians seem to know

the importance of doing their part to give back.

In the case of July Talk, using their platform to give a leg up to Indigenous people who are traditionally marginalized instead of speaking over them — or for them — has also been a priority.

“I’d rather focus on or listen to Indigenous voices talking about [issues] rather than mine because I am no expert. But I read what I can, and I try to learn more about things, and I think that we have a lot of changing to do… Right now it’s not a very equal playing field,” Dreimanis said.

Canada's treatment of its Indigenous community has a long and dark history that is still in the midst of being addressed and reconciled. On the road to reconciliation, it is imperative that Indigenous voices are heard and at the forefront of their fight for equality.

In their activism, July Talk avoids infringing on the communities that they are giving a platform to. However, they sometimes find their activist sentiments bleed into their music. Though they do not set out to write political music, they cannot always control what comes out when they sit down to write.

“It’s not exactly an intentional thing to say, ‘I’m going to write a song about this,’” he said. “You write songs about what you’re

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LAUREN KLASSEN

feeling, and I think we probably interact with [issues] in a different way when it comes to our art than we do in our lives.”

Though their last two albums dealt more with societal issues, their upcoming album is more about looking inwards than outwards.

“It’s probably a bit more of a personal album with less talking to the world, and maybe a little bit more looking inside ourselves and hoping that people can relate… I think a lot of songwriters that I really look up to sort of do that instead of trying to tell the world how to live. I’m a bit suspicious of anyone who tries to tell anyone else how to live,” he said.

July Talk has a special relationship with Saskatoon seeing as the city was one of the first the band toured to. Coming back to the prairies has always felt like coming home to them. Longtime fans may even remember both lead singers Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis performing at the Vangelis Tavern, now known as the Black Cat Tavern.

Fans can look forward to their new album set to be released later this year.

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OPINIONS

T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // MAY 0 9 , 2 0 1 9

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Hypocrisy in politics rings true at Daughters of the Vote The protest in the House of Commons illustrates that women still need to fight to be respected.

LAUREN KLASSEN

When old white men slam their fists on tables and heckle, it’s called politics, but when young women of colour silently protest, it’s called unprofessional. Speak your truth — unless your truth calls out the government.

Currently, approximately 27 per cent of the House of Commons is female. The Daughters of the Vote delegates, consisting of 338 women and non-

binary folks, took the seat of their Member of Parliament, filling the chamber with more women than have ever been elected in history.

On April 3, it was also noted on social media that women from marginalized communities threw a so-called “tantrum” in the House of Commons, or what I believe to be the house of colonialism since it still is a colonial institution that carries out systemic racism to this day.

This protest was a powerful demonstration made by the In-

Lauren Klassen/ Supplied

digenous delegates as they were occupying a space that was not created for them.

I am a Daughter of the Vote delegate, and since then, I have been collecting my thoughts on what happened during my week in Ottawa. I had hoped to feel inspired and rejuvenated after, yet I felt the opposite: exhausted and pessimistic. This event highlighted the progress that must be made to support women seeking election and the criticism that will come with that work.

The 30 delegates selected to speak in the House of Commons used their time to articulate the concerns for their communities. For instance, universal mental health care, climate change and the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls — issues that have gone unaddressed. If the critics had taken time to listen to the delegates’ speeches, the purpose of the protest would be clear.

The policies and programs that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer support can have negative implications on the delegates’ communities, such as Scheer’s

stance on anti-2SLGBTQ marriage. Although there was not just one reason for the protest, the movement was triggered by the ejection of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal Party caucus.

There was a recurring theme of hypocrisy throughout the event. The delegates were told by some guest speakers, panelists and organizers to speak their truth — a reference to Wilson­-Raybould's testimony on the SNC-Lavalin affair — while simultaneously being pressured into silence by other delegates.

The protest from the Daughters of the Vote delegates was not the only one to occur in the House of Commons this year.

On March 19, Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives slammed their fists on tables, stomped their feet and later walked out during the question period when Scheer accused Trudeau of covering up the SNC-Lavalin affair.

It seems that when old white men engage in a heated verbal combat, stomp and walk out of the House of Commons, no one bats an eye. But when women — women from marginalized

communities — use their space to demonstrate the frustration they have towards their government officials, it is called unprofessional, disrespectful, shallow and a tantrum.

As a disclaimer, I did not protest, but I wish I did. This movement took a significant amount of courage — courage I could not find in that moment. The delegates did not make these actions with haste, they organized and mobilized.

After the announcement of Wilson-Raybould and Philpott’s removal, about 50 delegates marched to Parliament Hill to create a video showing their solidarity for the MPs. The next day, the protestors used a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity of occupying space in the House of Commons to make powerful statements.

What I can take away from my experience is that being a leader and a political leader are not synonymous. Those in power that are willing to take risks and face the criticism for the decision to speak their truth will be the ones to bring change. Despite the hypocrisy in politics, the delegates did not choose what was easy, they chose what was right.

F’s don’t get degrees? Better saddle up that back-up plan Start fresh this spring semester with the Sheaf’s guide to re-evaluating your life after finals.

ERIN MATTHEWS OPINIONS EDITOR

Although it seemed like spring would never arrive considering the icy apocalypse we lived through this past February, April has come and everyone's favourite season, finals, has finished ripping our souls apart.

Maybe you killed it, raked in those 90s and are now among the ranks of high honours. Or perhaps you ended up with a less-than-satisfactory 80 or 70 and are now kissing your chance at med school goodbye. Maybe you are one of those poor souls who went to catch that 50, only to watch it slip from your grasp.

If you are on track to disappointing your family with your shit grades and lack of achievement, the Sheaf has compiled a list of alternative career options just in time for the spring semester and another round of finals.

Influencer

Everyone with Instagram and a questionable integrity can be an influencer, right? Selling out is the first step to lifting your-

6 / OPINIONS

self out of the world of minimal passes, student debt and years wasted crying over your notes in the Murray Library at 1 a.m.

Why not get on the ‘gram and let your smartphone — and self-loathing masked by filters — light your way. You know you are just a few selfies away from securing a product deal.

You’re parents might still be just as disappointed if you finished your arts degree, but at least you have followers watching your stories and using your code at checkout.

Essential oils entrepreneur

Not quite savvy enough or have quite the pull for the golden crown of social media? Well, time to crack your knuckles and start with some simple Facebook sales spams.

Follow in the footsteps of the pros you already have on your friends list who are hawking beauty products and diet solutions. Perhaps now is the time to break into the essential oils scene. Want to boost your energy with the gentle mist of freshly peeled oranges? Want to live forever? The answer is in the oil.

Now, send that mass Facebook

message to everyone you knew in high school — don’t forget the exclamation points!

Cuddler

Were the Netflix binges and naps your fatal flaws that led to this shame spiral? Are you lonely and in need of human affection? Take the opportunity to do what you love and climb Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by becoming a professional cuddler.

Put up a poster in the Arts Tunnel or hand out your homemade business cards in the Bowl. You may not ever become self-actualized, but at least you will get a boost of dopamine that your shitty psych degree could never give you.

Meme page admin

We are all salivating for the sordid tales from the bowels of You Sask Confessions. Why not be the lord of the anonymous posts — the invisible administrator privy to all the deepest, darkest secrets, ready to tarnish the university’s reputation.

Imagine the power you will wield knowing the identities of those thirsty, damaged individ-

Mỹ Anh Phan

uals who must confess their sins for public flogging. Join the dark ranks of administrative apprentices. You can quit that Edwards degree because, my friend, you’ve finally made it.

Starbucks barista that calls themself an author.

Stay up all night jacked on those trenta cold brews, chain vaping those mango Juul pods because you are trying to quit smoking. You need to finish your novel, and you must bang it all out on that vintage typewriter you picked up at Value Village. You have unburdened

yourself from that English degree, and now you will break the bonds of coffee chains.

You’re an author, damn it, a true literary god just waiting to be discovered.

Sure you’ve only written 500 words, but it took Ezra Pound 57 years to finish The Cantos, and if he hadn’t died, it might have taken him 57 more! You may have given up on your degree, but you can’t give up on your dream or this job because your power bill is three months past due, and you have an open tin of cat food to last you until payday.

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MAY 0 9 , 2 0 1 9

Aries:

Leo:

Sagittarius:

March 21 - April 20 Is that smoke from a spring bbq or is your life going up in flames?

July 23 - Aug. 22 Pick some lilacs from a bush and crush them under your heel.

Nov. 22 - Dec. 21 Wild horses could drag me a very long distance away. I can’t feel my legs.

Taurus:

Virgo:

Capricorn:

April 21 - May 20 Take life by the horns or get gored. I don’t really know what to tell you.

Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 Wear white and dance around the maypole, but remember to honour spring with a bloody sacrifice.

Dec. 22 -Jan. 19 Beware the pines of President Murray Park.

Gemini: May 21 - June 20 Whatever you do, don’t look behind you. Don’t say I never warned you.

Cancer: June 21 - July 22 Careful, they milk horseshoe crabs for their blue blood, and you may be next.

Libra: Sept. 23 - Oct. 22 Self care or self destruction? It’s a fine balance, really.

Scorpio: Oct. 23 - Nov. 21 The calcified heart of your recent lover makes a great wedding gift.

DISTRACTIONS

Aquarius: Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 Sit quietly on a green bench in the Bowl and wait for the magpies to reveal their secrets.

Remember to bring them an offering of sticks for their nest.

Or else.

Pisces: Feb. 19 - March 20 Wait at the weir and make a wish when the pigeons fly over the CP Train Bridge.

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T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // MAY 0 9 , 2 0 1 9

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