October 31, 2019

OCTOBER 31, 2019

VOL.111/ISSUE 11

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The Halloween Issue:

Conjuring Curiosity

Feature: Haunting Histories 8-9

thesheaf.com @usasksheaf The University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

NEWS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nykole King editor@thesheaf.com NEWS EDITOR Ana Cristina Camacho news@thesheaf.com SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR Tanner Michalenko sportshealth@thesheaf.com CULTURE EDITOR Tomilola Ojo culture@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 Minh Au Duong web@thesheaf.com OUTREACH DIRECTOR Sophia Lagimodiere outreach@thesheaf.com AD & BUSINESS MANAGER Shantelle Hrytsak ads@thesheaf.com BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mikaila Ortynsky Laura Chartier Matthew Taylor Sonia Kalburgi Tyler Smith

board@thesheaf.com

ADVERTISING (306) 966 8688 EDITORIAL (306) 966 8689 COVER PHOTO: Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor 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.

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Federal government prioritizes international education with $148-million strategy While consultation to shape the program is ongoing, the funding aims to help underrepresented students go abroad.

NOAH CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER

Recognizing the importance of international education to Canada’s future prosperity, the federal government plans to reduce financial barriers for studying abroad.

The government’s plan to invest $148 million over five years, followed by an additional $8 million per year, is aimed at encouraging students to gain the skills needed to succeed in the global economy.

Over five years, $95 million is budgeted for the Outbound Student Mobility Pilot to support up to 11,000 undergraduate students to study abroad. The program provides financial assistance ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per year. Half of these funds are designated to promote international mobility opportunities to underrepresented students, which includes Indigenous students and students with disabilities.

On Mar. 19, the University of Saskatchewan made a statement praising the federal International Education Strategy 2019-2024 for aligning with the university’s own global aspirations.

How much the U of S will directly benefit from the new education strategy is yet to be decided. Alison Pickrell, assistant vice-provost of strategic enrolment management, says she was excited to see the prioritization of underrepresented students. This plan aligns with the goals of the U of S International Blueprint to increase the number of Indigenous students studying abroad.

“Our hope would be that some of the funding would give us an opportunity to provide additional support to our Indigenous students,” Pickrell said.

Pickrell says that the upcoming consultations between Canadian universities and the government this fall will decide how the program will exactly support students.

The International Education Strategy is based on three main objectives: supporting Canadian students to gain new skills from studying abroad, diversifying the countries where international students come from and increasing support of the international education sector across the country.

Mỹ Anh Phan

Pirita Mattola, manager of the International Students and Study Abroad Centre, says that fiscal constraints are the biggest barrier preventing students from studying abroad.

She hopes to see different types of study abroad opportunities being considered for additional funding. Mattola says that increasing funding for short term programs, experiential learning and international research can help students gain transferable soft skills that employers look for.

ISSAC is about to launch a series of consultations with the U of S colleges to better understand which study abroad and work integrated learning opportunities appeal to different degree programs, according to Mattola.

“We’re hoping to work with each college to identify their priorities in these areas and to maximize student participation in each of those types of activities,” Mattola said. “Their programming is so different that what might fit well in one college might not fit well in a different college.”

Another aspect of the Outbound Student Mobility Pilot is diversifying the countries that students choose to study in, which is away from solely English-speaking “traditional education destinations.” Mat-

tola says that ISSAC has been and will continue encouraging students to “think outside the box” when considering where to study abroad.

“We’re working closely with colleges as well to help identify destinations that may be good academic settings for students, or interesting destinations where they can take complementary opportunities that add something extra to their degree,” Mattola said.

Another of the International Education Strategy’s main objectives is attracting international students from a “wider diversity of countries.” It also recognizes the current concentration of international students in large Canadian cities and hopes to grow the international education sector by increasing enrolment across a greater variety of regions.

Pickrell says these priorities will support the Enrolment 2025 strategic document brought forward to the U of S Senate on Oct. 26. The plan has targets of increasing enrolment of undergraduate international students from 7 per cent to 10 per cent of the student body over the next five years.

“Part of achieving those goals is to look at where international students might come from and ensure that we have diversity,” Pickrell said.

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Legal // The Sheaf, published weekly during the academic year and periodically from May through August, is an incorporated non-profit that is, in part, student-body funded by way of a direct levy paid sheaf oct 31 to nov 6, 2019.indd 1 10/21/2019 1:48:35 PM by all part- and full-time undergraduate students at the U of S. The remainder of the revenue is generated through advertising. The financial affairs are governed by a Board of Directors, most of whom are students. Membership in the Sheaf Publishing Society is open to all undergraduate students at the U of S, who are encouraged to contribute to the newspaper. Absolutely no experience is required!

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NEWS

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Election night sees the prairies go blue Politicians and students look ahead at the future of a Conservative Saskatchewan with a Liberal government.

ANA CRISTINA CAMACHO

NEWS EDITOR

The elections are over and while Canada will have another Liberal government, the prairies have gone conservative.

Oct. 21 marked the 43rd Canadian general election, which saw a Liberal minority government brought into power with only 13 seats shy of a majority.

It was a tight race between the Liberals and Conservatives that ended with the Conservative party winning the popular vote.

The results were somewhat dissatisfying for all the parties.

The Conservatives won every seat in the province but lost the election nationally; the Liberals formed government but won no seats in Saskatchewan. The New Democratic Party did not win any of the province’s seats either.

At the Conservative election gathering at the Hilton Garden Inn, spirits ran high as they celebrated a completely Conservative Saskatoon. Kelly Block, the Conservative incumbent for Carlton Trail–Eagle Creek, was welcomed with cheers as she thanked the party’s supporters for months of door-knocking leading up to the election.

“While this was not the outcome we were hoping for nationally, I know we have been very successful here in Saskatchewan,” Block said.

But the celebratory crowd still had worries as they saw the Liberal party form a minority government. Kevin Waugh, the Conservative incumbent for Saskatoon–Grasswood, inter-

KIENAN ASHTON

prets the support for the Conservatives across the prairies as discontent with the policies of the Liberal government, particularly the carbon tax.

“The carbon tax is going to be big. We’ve seen Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta absolutely against the carbon tax,” Waugh said. “This is something that will go forward in the House of Commons; I know the provinces will have a lot to say about the Liberal government.”

Kaitlyn Sauser, a first-year agribusiness student at the Conservative gathering, is concerned for Saskatchewan under another Liberal government but hopeful that things will change in future years.

“It’s exciting but at the same time it’s terrifying because we know that the [minority] government has gone to the Liberals. But it’s good news for Saskatoon because we are all blue now,” Sauser said.

“We just need to keep living… For Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, it’s going to be terrible but we’ll have to live through it.”

Though the Liberal party celebrated at the federal level, their Saskatoon election gathering at Persephone Theatre was dampened by the local losses.

At the Liberal gathering was Jackson Andrews, a fourth-year political studies student and president of the University of Saskatchewan Young Liberals.

He says that to increase support for the party locally in the com-

Conservative party candidate Brad Redekopp speaks during the Conservative party election night gathering at the Hilton Garden Inn in Saskatoon, SK on Oct. 21, 2019. | Heywood Yu

ing years, he hopes that people will reduce misconceptions regarding the party’s support for the prairies.

“I think a big thing [to] highlight is that the Liberals are not just focused on places like the East and Quebec, and that they really do have a lot to offer to places like Saskatoon,” Andrews said.

However, Andrews is still content with the Liberals’ success in forming government.

“You want it to go well with the local candidates, but you’re proud of what happens at the national level either way,” Andrews said.

Susan Hayton, Liberal party MP candidate for Saskatoon– University, echoes this sentiment. Before the results for the

Saskatoon riding were known, Hayton celebrated the Liberal government despite predictions that the city would go all blue.

“I’m very pleased that the Liberal government is continuing on because, of course, I believe in what they’re doing and I have faith that it is great for our country,” Hayton said. “I’m happy and I’m just waiting to see what happens in our city.”

But Saskatoon did not go to the Liberals.

In Hayton’s riding of Saskatoon– University, Corey Tochor was elected MP with 52 per cent of the vote, which is 10 per cent more than what former Conservative MP Brad Trost received in 2015. The increased support for the Conservatives came at the expense of the Liberal candidate.

Claire Card, a University of Saskatchewan faculty member and the New Democratic Party candidate for Saskatoon– University, finished second in the riding again with one per cent fewer votes than her previous run in 2015. At the NDP

gathering at the Masonic Lodge, the party’s supporters were disappointed federally and locally.

“We’re disappointed; we thought we’d do better,” Card said.

Logan Huard, a recent U of S alumnus who worked on Card’s campaign, says the party’s results in the election are “not an ideal situation” for the group. Huard is optimistic about seeing more support for the NDP in the future as the party offers people an alternative to austerity policies.

“We live in the University of Saskatchewan riding, and we feel the effects of [austerity] policies every year with the rise in tuition,” Huard said. “I think that our message really resonates with a lot of people, and we just have to keep going and fighting for these things.”

When asked about her plans for future elections, Card says she is not making decisions about running again just yet.

“I’ve got no plans to make any decisions right now,” Card said.

“I’m planning to take tomorrow off.”

Liberal party candidate Susan Hayton speaks to a reporter during the Liberal Incumbent MP for Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek Kelly Block waves to the crowd at the Conservative party election gathering at the Hilton Garden Inn in Saskatoon, Sk on Oct. 21, 2019. | Nykole King/ Editor-in-Chief

Party election night gathering at Persephone Theater in Saskatoon, SK on Oct. 21, 2019. | Heywood Yu

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NEWS

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Post office in Arts closing, students and faculty ask university to reconsider Claiming a lack of consultation, faculty and students protest the closing of the campus post office.

FIZA BALOCH

With miniature bottles of maple syrup, artsy water bottles lined up in the display case and friendly staff to help you with your mail, the Tuck Shop and post office has been a core resource for many on campus.

The shop, located in the Arts Building, is set to close down on Nov. 1. In a statement to the Sheaf, the University of Saskatchewan director of consumer services George Foufas says that “the cost of operating the Canada Post location is no longer fiscally feasible for the university.”

Foufas also states that “the decision to close this location was made carefully and with consideration to students, faculty and staff.” Despite this reported consideration, students and faculty have started a petition against the university’s decision.

The letter of petition to keep the services, which has gained the support from more than 300 individuals so far, describes the post office as an “indispensable service for faculty, staff and students.”

Joanne Leow, a faculty member of the Department of English, launched the petition to show the

university that the closure will affect the campus community.

“I started the petition because I felt strongly that the closure of the only on-campus post office would disproportionately disadvantage our international students, staff, faculty and any other person on campus who relies on this location to receive and send mail,” Leow said in an email to the Sheaf.

The post office’s closure will be mitigated with access to some postal services elsewhere on campus; personal mail can be posted in the mailbox located outside of Place Riel while stamps, envelopes and other mailing materials will be available for purchase at the campus bookstore.

However, the petition indicates that “replacing the existing arrangement with a limited service … is not an adequate substitute for a full post office with its range of services and knowledgeable employees.”

While there are other post office locations in the city, Leow says the change will impact students with mobility issues. According to Leow, international students will be hit the hardest.

“The closest post offices are quite far away by bus. This also impacts those who have mobility

A student sends a package via the Canada Post in the Tuck Shop located in the U of S Arts Building on Oct. 24, 2019. | Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor

issues. We have over 3,000 international students in our university from over 130 countries," Leow said. "Many international faculty and staff who regard the post office as a way to stay connected with professional colleagues and also a connection to their friends and family.”

Leow stresses the importance of keeping the Tuck Shop and post office to show the university’s commitment to internationalization.

“If one of the university’s priorities is to internationalize, then shutting down the only on-

campus post office seems like a backwards step,” Leow said.

“While we appreciate the fiscal issues, the university is not solely a business but also providing a public good to the community and its students.”

For now, the next step for Leow and the other organizers of the petition is “to see how many more people sign the petition and keep the decision makers updated on what the sentiment from faculty, staff and students is about the impending closure.”

Leow highlights that the sup-

porters of the petition are a varied group who all feel strongly about the closure of the shops, which will hopefully impact the university’s decision.

“There was little or no consultation of students or faculty before this decision was taken,” Leow said. “There is a broad cross section of people here who felt strongly enough about this impending closure to take the time to sign the petition. I hope that those who are involved in the decision making process really take time to listen to what people have to say.”

Newman Centre’s fall festival ushers in an STM student lounge rebranding The lounge is no longer serving as a study space; you can go to the library for that.

WARDAH ANWAR

Newman Centre hosted a daylong fall festival at St. Thomas More College to showcase the college’s student groups and liven up the STM student lounge that has inadvertently become a quiet zone.

The festival on Oct. 25 marked a decisive rebranding of the student lounge. Students should expect more conversation in the lounge as Newman Centre and other STM student groups now are actively trying to bring it to life.

“To get more life in there would be ideal,” said Alyssa McCullough, a third-year physiology and pharmacology student and leader of the Just Youth Group.

Newman Centre hopes that hosting events in the lounge and an eventual name change will help it become a hangout place for students. The group started a

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petition currently going around the college to name the lounge after the recently canonized Saint John Henry Newman.

Veronica Lucas, a third-year sociology student and Newman Centre executive member, says that rebranding the lounge is important because the college already has a study space for students.

“We thought, students don’t really have a place where they can just hang out and have a conversation or play a game,” Lucas said.

“So we thought if we host more events and give it a name change then it won’t be as industrial; it will feel more comfortable to people and a safe space.”

Though Newman Centre invited all of the college’s student groups to participate in the festival, only Just Youth showed up. The absence of the rest at the festival was explained by a lack of communication and co­ ordination with Newman Centre.

“We don’t have a person in a

position to do communications so it’s basically whoever has the time… It may seem backwards, but we honestly don’t have someone dedicated to that; that is something we might consider in the future,” Lucas said.

Lucas hoped to have more STM student groups displayed; to invite people in and debunk the myth that STM student groups are only for students in the college. Lucas says the groups do not get much attention from the rest of the university in part due to a lack of resources for promoting themselves.

“We welcome students from all colleges,” Lucas said. “It’s mostly just word of mouth. We don’t have a lot of budget for a lot of communication.”

McCullough herself is not affiliated with the college and joined Just Youth because it aligned with her interests. She is now a leader of the group.

“The only reason I joined in my first year was because I walked in

Students pose for a photo as they carve pumpkins during the STM Fall Event in the U of S STM student lounge on Oct. 25, 2019. | Wardah Anwar

here and there was a sign that said Just Youth and I said ‘Oh, that’s cool!’” McCullough said.

McCullough promotes Just Youth and encourages students from all over to join the STM group as a way to help the community.

“It’s a good group of people who are all like-minded and want to make a change in the world but also want to have fun,” McCullough said.

The event featured free floats, apple cider, apple bobbing, a pumpkin carving competition and Halloween decorations for the student lounge.

All in all, Lucas says the festival achieved its goal to bring life to the lounge. “[The goal was to] help with students connecting,” Lucas said.

“You know, there’s a lot of energy out there right now that is usually not in the student lounge.”

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SPORTS&HEALTH

Machart runs wild as Huskie football earns home playoff game A record-setting day from running back Adam Machart highlights the regular-season finale victory.

Supplied by GetMyPhoto.ca/ Huskie Athletics

TANNER MICHALENKO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies will host a Canada West semifinal after finishing second place in the conference thanks to a 22-9 season-finale victory against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

“We wanted a home playoff game and we got it,” Huskies defensive lineman Evan Machibroda said.

Head coach Scott Flory stressed the importance of playing at home in the postseason. Among other favourable factors involved with avoiding travel, Flory prefers the home jersey over the away, saying “I like wearing green, not white.”

It will be the first Huskies home playoff game since 2014, the first year Flory was part of the Huskies’ coaching staff.

Flory praised running back Adam Machart for doing what he has done all season long: leading by example. Machart rushed for a career-high of 227 yards in the season finale.

“That’s just what he’s done with us all year,” Flory said, noting that Machart has given his team a consistent wow factor.

Machart has cemented his name as the greatest Huskie running back of all-time,

finishing the season with a program­-record of 1,334 rushing yards.

“I’m just so happy and proud of Adam. He’s just such an awesome young man, you just want success for guys like that,” Flory said. “He works so hard, does all the right things — just so happy for him. He absolutely deserves it.”

Machart broke Doug Rozon’s previous record of 1,267 rushing yards in a season, which was set in 1999.

“For him to do what he did this year is remarkable,” Flory said.

Machart’s case for the Hec Crighton Trophy is now a tough argument to deny. The trophy is awarded to the most outstanding Canadian football player across U Sports.

“It’s huge. I don’t even know what to say, it’s a huge honour,” Machart said. “I’m just happy that I can help my team win and that’s what we are going to continue to do in the playoffs.”

Machart has been mentored by former Huskie running back David Stevens since meeting him at Ignite Athletics, formerly Ignite Athletic Conditioning, in Saskatoon.

Stevens rushed for 1,229 yards in 2005 and Machart says he has been overly supportive since they met some years ago.

“It’s incredible. You look at Doug Rozon’s numbers and they’re incredible. And then a guy like David Stevens,” Machart said. “Dave is a mentor of mine and has been real-

ly great to me coming up. I’ve known him for a really long time. To pass him is a huge honour.”

Machart appeared to be truly grateful to break a record

that stood for two decades.

He humbly credited his teammates in the trenches doing a lot of the dirty work.

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SPORTS&HEALTH

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Hyrich-Krueger sends feel-good Huskies to final four TANNER MICHALENKO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

JOHANN JACOB

The University of Saskatchewan men’s soccer team has earned a spot in the Canada West final four after defeating the University of Victoria Vikes 2-0 in the Canada West quarter-finals.

The win advances the Huskies past the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014 when they captured the program’s first and only Canada West championship.

Tobias Hyrich-Krueger scored both Huskie goals on the frozen turf at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon to seal the win. It was only Hyrich-Krueger’s second game back from an injury that caused him to miss 11 games — nearly two entire months away from the action.

The Huskies continue their improbable run after Hyrich-Krueger finds redemption amidst injury-riddled season.

Head coach Bryce Chapman was pleased to see HyrichKrueger become a playoff hero after having to deal with frustrating injuries that had kept him off the field.

“We can actually take it back to last year, [he] lost about four or five games last year as well,” said Chapman. “And then he got injured this year. Again, just bad luck. He took a bad one in the head earlier on in the season.”

“He’s a fourth-year, he's got a lot of experience. He's got some qualities that really can put some fear in the opposition. Another good story for that kid,” said Chapman.

Hyrich-Krueger struggled to put his emotions into words following his breakthrough performance.

“What we’ve been through as a team, having a tougher start

this season then finding our feet and going on a run,” said HyrichKrueger. “Coming into this game — possibly the last game for three of our fifth years — I honestly can’t describe it. It's just like a dream.”

Until Sept. 22, the Huskies had only earned one victory in the first eight matches of the year.

They conceded four ties and three losses during that span.

Since then, the team has won seven games in a row.

“This is a resilient team. They have learned how to grind out wins,” said Chapman. “It’s not always pretty, but you can still find that w.”

The Huskies’ two leading scorers each have a modest three goals this season, which is well out of the top 10 scorers in the conference. Chapman credits the collective team play as the cata-

lyst for their success in recent weeks.

“I think we’ve had 14 different goal scorers out of 21 goals scored [this year],” said Chapman. “And that says a lot of just who we are as a group. When you rely on one person, it becomes difficult.”

The Huskies will now travel to the University of British Columbia to take on the Thunderbirds on Nov. 1.

UBC finished the year as the top-scoring team in the conference while surrendering the second-fewest goals. They will be an unfamiliar opponent for Saskatchewan as these teams did not play each other during the regular season.

The Huskies will play for the bronze or gold medal, pending the result of the Nov. 1 game against the Thunderbirds.

Supplied by GetMyPhoto.ca/ Huskie Athletics

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Huskies Football Continued from pg. 5 “Our [offensive line], you gotta thank those guys. They are warriors and they make it happen,” Machart said.

“They’re humble guys and they like to give me credit, but you know, you look at the holes I’m running through, I’m breaking tackles from linebackers and [defensive backs] and not 250-pound [defensive lineman].”

Flory credited Machart’s ability to produce while opposing teams are fully aware that he is the focal point of the Huskies’ offense.

“It’s not like people don’t know who he is, it’s not like they are trying not to scheme to stop him and that’s just impressive,” Flory said.

The big day for the Huskies did not come without an unfortunate casualty. Their leading receiver, Colton Klassen, left the game with what was expected to be a significant lower leg injury.

“My heart breaks for that young man. We don’t know the extent of it right now but it doesn’t look good,” Flory said.

“It’s just not fair — I know he wants it more for this team than anybody else and he’s a huge part of it. When he went down, it eliminated a huge chunk of the game plan, there’s no doubt about it.”

If Klassen is unable to play in the semifinal, which is expected, the Huskies will have to adjust their offensive game plan accordingly.

“At this point, you’re not going to reinvent the wheel, schematically — offensively, defensively and special teams. It’s about execution and it’s about timing,” Flory said before hinting that “there’s going to be a wrinkle here and there” in the game plan.

The Huskies will once again face Alberta in the semifinal on Nov. 2. It will be the third matchup between these two teams after a split in the regular-season series.

“That’s a good football team, they’re physical and they play hard,” Flory said.

Cold weather is likely to be expected for the 3 p.m. kickoff.

The snow, wind and rock-solid turf are all factors that Flory has taken into consideration when constructing his team.

“We’re in Saskatchewan. If you plan on playing in October and November, you better be prepared to deal with this stuff,” Flory said. “That’s what we plan ahead for, that’s why we run the offense the way we run the offense and that’s why we recruit the guys we recruit.”

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SPORTS&HEALTH

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Women’s soccer falls short, volleyball season off to a good start Women’s soccer sees their successful season cut short while both volleyball teams start off hot.

TANNER MICHALENKO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

The Huskie women’s soccer season came to an abrupt end in the quarterfinal round of the Canada West playoffs. Despite home-field advantage, the dogs lost 4-0 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Despite this being their best regular-season record since 2016, the Huskies were surprisingly quite outmatched against a comparable Thunderbirds team.

The Huskies entered the contest with more goals scored during the regular season, but the Thunderbirds held a significant goals-against advantage.

UBC allowed just nine goals in 14 games.

During the match, UBC’s superior defensive play was evident. They surrounded just six shots on goal throughout the full 90 minutes of action while recording 12 shots on the Huskies goal.

Head coach Jerson Barandica-Hamilton’s team improved significantly from last season, which is a positive sign for a young team with 15 firstand second-year players on the roster.

“I think when we get over the disappointment of today, we will be content with the growth we achieved this season” Barandica-Hamilton said. “I

GetmyPhoto.ca/ Huskie Athletics

think today just wasn’t our day, [and] we didn’t really have the ability to connect and stay calm, credit to UBC.” Switching gears to the volleyball court, both Huskie teams have started their respective seasons off on the right foot.

Dylan Mortensen, the 2018 Canada West Volleyball Rookie of the Year, is leading the conference with 69 kills. Mortensen’s play stands out for the men’s volleyball team that is off to a

3-1 record after the opening two weekends of the season.

Rookie head coach Sean McKay has this team off to their best start since the 2016-17 season when they also started with 3-1.

These Huskies will be back home at the Physical Activity Complex for their next weekend series on Nov. 1 and Nov.

2, squaring off against the University of Brandon Bobcats.

Students get in free with a valid student card.

For the women’s volleyball team, they too have started their season with a 3-1 record, which is their best start to a season since 2013-14.

Emily Koshinsky’s 52 kills is tied for fourth in the confer-

ence. Last year, Koshinsky finished fifth in the conference.

Head coach Mark Dodds will aim to end a long playoff drought that has seen the Huskies miss the playoffs each season since 2001-02.

This team will also be back at home this weekend to face the Brandon Bobcats on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.

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FEATURE

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The time for tales:

How Halloween gets people talking about history Telling spooky stories is a great way to learn about landmarks because the truth is often in the details.

NOAH CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER

Halloween is a holiday with wide appeal to all kinds of people. For some, it means engaging in the festivities by dressing up in costumes and partying. While others might prefer the thrill of being terrified by a haunted house run by locals.

But there is a third activity that people participate in which makes Halloween truly unique.

Because the holiday functions as the perfect time for everyone to share their spookiest stories about the city.

Whether or not one believes in such urban legends and ghost stories, these tales still draw listeners in because of their excitement and mystery. If you live in Saskatoon, you have probably heard at least one spooky story about some old looking building being occupied with spirits still lingering in the world of the living.

Whether told by a friend who swears that their relative saw a ghost while on the job or some blog post listing local hauntings, stories like this are enthralling because of how they are interwoven into the city’s landscape and rich history.

From ghosts haunting the halls of the iconic Bessborough Hotel to figures appearing in the windows of the Hose & Hydrant bar — even if the stories we share might be slightly fictionalized, they are always set in real places and often based off the lives of real people.

While we can never be too certain about the exact origin of most spooky stories, they are always contextualized by our understanding of the past to explain why ghosts haunt us in the present.

The Diefenbaker Canada Centre’s annual Ghost Tour is one way to have a fun night out, hear about supposed ghosts and learn more about local history during Halloween. Touring the University of Saskatchewan’s campus at night also provides an opportunity to see the school from a new perspective.

Although it will be Mark Everett’s first time running the Ghost Tour as the youth programmer for the Diefenbaker Centre, he

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is excited to lead the event with three other employees. He says whether attendees believe in ghosts or not, the stories provide an “access point to history.”

“At the Peter MacKinnon Building, for example, we talk about the grotesques or gargoyles on it,” Everett said. “There’s a little bit of a horror story that goes with them and it’s also a good point to talk about the architecture, stonework and history that goes into that.”

Everett says his favorite spot of the tour is the Thorvaldson Building because of its beautiful gothic architecture reminiscent of a picturesque haunted mansion and the many stories told about it. These stories include the mysterious airplane room being linked to actual lives of fighter pilots during the Second World War to the ghost of a former janitor who supposedly died with his family in a faulty elevator crash.

But the most infamous of these tales is that Thorbergur Thorvaldson, the chemist who the building is named after, is encased within the concrete block at the building’s entrance. Everett says that figuring out where spooky stories exactly come from is difficult since they are probably a mixture of local folklore and history.

“Some of them are straight up urban legends that don’t really have a defined [starting] point and some of them are pretty historically based,“ Everett said.

Even though Thorvaldson was a real person, Everett says he is “definitely not” in that cube. For stories like the elevator crash, they cannot find any historical basis of such an accident.

However, he does know for certain that some of the ghost stories featured on the tour are written by students who submit their most imaginative works to the Diefenbaker Centre.

But the Ghost Tour on the U of S campus is not the only event of this kind that has happened in Saskatoon. In previous years, the Ghost Busser haunted sites tour would take participants through the historic Nutana neighbourhood.

Local historian Dianne Wilson had led the now-defunct tours that provided an opportunity for people to learn about supernatu-

Photo supplied by University Archives & Special Collections, Photograph Collection. A-261 | Graphic illustrations by Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

ral occurrences and their historic counterparts right off Broadway Avenue.

One of the first stops of this tour used to be to a Saskatoon historical site, the Marr Residence. Built in 1884, it is the oldest house in Saskatoon still on its original foundation.

Being 135 years old — and kind of freaky looking — it is no wonder that people believe it became haunted at some point in its long existence. In fact, the Marr Residence is rumoured to have not just one, but multiple spirits held within the small interior.

These spirits include a quiet and reclusive man who wears white gloves while working at an antique desk displayed on sight.

Another spirit is an aggressive man who dwells in the basement and is known for terrorizing female employees that go down-

stairs. Since the building served as a field hospital during the Northwest Resistance in 1885, it is thought that this ghost was

“

with the Marr Residence. The same place where the tales were first spun as a way to attract people to the house.

You have probably heard at least one spooky story about some old looking building being occupied with spirits still lingering in the world of the living. a man still restless from combat.

Finally, there have been reports from people who work there that spirits of children visit the house as floating orbs. Many citizens simply walking past the heritage site have also reported seeing the faces of young kids — sometimes with red eyes — peering out of windows before disappearing.

While these stories may be related to some distant historical truth, the only thing real about them is that they are involved

”

Della Marshall has volunteered at the Marr Residence for over 20 years and for a period, sat on the board for the Saskatoon Heritage Society. She remembers the motive for inventing these tales as a way to get people interested in coming to the heritage site in the early 2000s.

“At one time it was considered by the board as a program to get people in the house and all of a sudden people began believing that it was haunted,” Marshall said. “They developed a haunted

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Photo supplied by Saskatoon Public Library Local History | Graphic illustrations by Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

tour of the neighbourhood and it ended up here.”

She says that these spooky stories started as what could be considered a “PR stunt.” But after these stories of ghosts in the Marr Residence were popularized by the tours, the house was then featured on the television show Creepy Canada in 2004.

Marshall says that it was around this time, however, that the Saskatoon Heritage Society began “discouraging” ghost stories about the house after too many people began believing in the fictionalized accounts of encounters.

Apparently because of some “true believers,” the Marr Residence has been repeatedly damaged by individuals attempting to break into the house to contact the beings from the other side.

“People have tried to kick doors in, slammed windows and trampled the garden around the residence,” Marshall said. “So you realize that some of these

people are pretty serious about the occult.”

Sue Barrett, another volunteer who has a similar experience with the house, highlighted that she has never heard of anyone having a supernatural encounter in the Marr Residence. But she recalls that the heritage society quickly lost control of the ghost stories even after they quit promoting the tales and participating in the Nutana ghost tours.

“They are on the internet and they just keep surfacing,” Barrett said. “We said we’re not going to do it anymore but because there are websites still up, you get people, especially around Halloween, in the yard causing damage.”

Barrett says because the stories began getting so out of hand, the City of Saskatoon has paid to have a security guard at the house every Halloween for the past eight years to deter people from harming the property.

The heritage society now encourages interested people to

go see the “real ghosts” at the Diefenbaker Ghost Tour or by visiting the Western Development Museum because these places are now promoting their own supernatural occurrences.

The WDM was actually considered such a hotbed for paranormal activity that the museum conducted a series of investigations over three years. Unexplained stories of the WDM in Saskatoon include floating orbs, people speaking when no one is around and the well-known “Lady in the Red Dress” making appearances in the Boomtown Café.

Like the Marr Residence, ghostly encounters at the WDM are usually based on the testimonies of employees working alone at night in the museums or curatorial warehouse.

One might believe these accounts for obvious reasons that ghosts always reveal themselves when no one else is around. But could the origin of these spooky

Photo supplied by Saskatoon Public Library Local History| Graphic illustrations by Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

Photo supplied by Saskatoon Public Library Local History | Graphic illustrations by Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

stories be similar to the PR stunt conducted by the Saskatoon Heritage Society two decades ago?

For example, the 17 investigations included bringing paranormal investigators from the Saskatchewan Ghost Hunters Society and included two episodes on the Canadian ghost hunting show The Other Side. These investigations held at WDM locations across the province were then published as a book in 2012 titled You Are Not Alone.

The publication of the findings brought much publicity to the WDM and they could now argue the validity of their own ghost stories because the investigations relied on “scientific approach” instead of “psychics or mediums.”

Even though the museum did not make definitive statements on the existence of life after death, it is understandable how sharing their ghost stories could be used to bring attention to the number of artifacts held there.

In one newspaper interview, WDM director of marketing Janet Olsen was quoted saying, “It’s one way we thought we could attract a younger audience.”

The self-promotional concept becomes apparent within the rationale supporting the paranormal theories in You Are Not Alone. The book suggests that “personal items may still harbour a connection to their original owners,” and since the Saskatoon WDM houses over 78,000 artifacts on display or in storage, it is a prime spot for paranormal activity.

While one could criticize the WDM for promoting nonsense and riding popular trends, within the bigger picture this tech-

nique may be a great way to inform unaware people of the museum’s existence and impressive collection.

And in the case of the U of S Ghost Tour and the Marr Residence, evoking paranormal interest through spooky stories might be a viable method to teach people about Saskatoon’s history — as long as the people who do believe in spirits don’t go overboard and cause property damage.

Nicole Stillger, a journalist for Global News, reported on the supernatural at the WDM and the legacy of Nutana’s ghost tours last year. Although she has no preconceived notions over the existence of ghosts, she believes that there is a “high degree of human interest” in hearing supernatural stories during Halloween.

“People at the end of the day will draw their own conclusions about the paranormal,” Stillger said. “These particular stories, I mean, at the end of the day they’re kind of lighthearted and fun, right?”

She also feels that using our engrossment with the supernatural to contextualize history is a great way to engage with the Saskatoon community.

“For a lot of people, there’s a building you’ve walked by and heard stories about, and I think that just naturally sparks your interest,” Stillger said.

“And it’s a way to start the conversation, whether it might be something you don’t believe in or something you do believe in, it gets the conversation flowing about the place, the person and the setting.”

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Not so wicked witchcraft The Sheaf talks magic with a modern-day witch.

AQSA HUSSAIN

LAYOUT MANAGER

The coffee brews in a french press as we watch the cats playing on the carpet. Plants line the window sill and a dead wasp lies still in a vial on the kitchen table beside a basil plant. A seemingly normal home with a whisper of wonder.

Twenty-three-year-old witch Jo* lights a scented candle and sprinkles rosemary around the flame for protection. It was not too long ago when Jo came to self-identify as a witch, and as a new explorer of the occult, she understands the myths and misconceptions of witchcraft.

The enchanting world of magic seems to exist only in movies and books — a fantasy to help us escape from reality. However, I’ve come to learn that the world of magic is much closer than it appears. There’s a whole community of witches in Saskatoon.

“I’ve actually gotten involved with the community — which I think a lot of people don’t even realize exists… There’s a lot of us,” said Jo said.

Since the mundane world gains its knowledge about the craft from entertainment, it is important to look outside those preconceived judgements and conclusions we’ve formed.

The craft is not at all like we

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see in the movies, but rather it is more so an in-depth spiritual belief similar to religions.

Jo explained to me that her spirituality is about “learning to trust yourself and your inner teacher because we all have intuition.” She went on to say that “because we’re all human, we can tap into this universal energy, which is what I think magic is.”

Witch is a gender-neutral term that Jo uses to identify herself, along with many other practitioners whether they be female, male or gender nonconforming.

Jo believes that magic is more about a connection to nature and “the oneness of everything.”

It’s about being more aware and paying more attention to the world. Jo and many witches agree on this, but there’s a lot of diversity in practice and beliefs, too.

“There’s such a wide array,” Jo remarked. “Even among [the Saskatoon witch community], what we consider ourselves — we’re all under the umbrella of pagan — we do have different ways of viewing things, and sometimes we agree and sometimes we don’t.”

Pagan beliefs can be polytheistic, meaning they have many gods, or pantheistic nature devotion, meaning that they believe that god is the all-encompassing universe. While some people follow specific traditions under pagan teachings, others simply follow their gut.

Wicca is a relatively new religion that falls under the paganism belief. Its followers are called Wiccans and are also referred to as witches. However, not all witches are Wiccans.

“Not every witch considers themselves Wiccan,” Jo clarified.

“Some people, and especially people who have turned away from other organized religions, don’t like to label themselves.”

Religion and witchcraft are not mutually exclusive — anybody can practice the craft.

While that may seem blasphemous for some, witchcraft is a lot more commonplace than one would think.

Witchcraft is not conducted in dark chambers over a cauldron of green potions, but rather a day-to-day practice of spirituality which can range anywhere from putting crystals on one’s window sill to be charged by the moonlight to cooking with intention and energy.

Unfortunately, most people don’t know this and think witchcraft consists of far more extreme practices like hexes, taking away

A spellbound mobile sits in the home of Victoria Becker near the U of S on Oct.27, 2019. | Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor

people’s free will, black magic, and of course, Satan.

When Jo spoke about the misconceptions regarding magic and witchcraft, she gave the example of Harry Potter and explained that although it is a fantasy, it’s how people see magic. Jo says, “It’s very black and white — it’s like you’re a good witch or a bad witch,” whereas in the real world, there’s a grey area.

Jo does not believe in people hexing others. To this modern-day witch, it’s inappropriate to cast a spell for someone without their consent.

“I would never do spells for anyone that wasn’t willing,” Jo said. “I might have intentions in the morning if I’m thinking about my family or my friends, sending them good vibes.”

She noted that many witches and the Wiccan religion is against the idea of taking someone’s free will. Wiccans have a creed that essentially states that as long as you’re not doing harm to another, do as you will.

Even in movies like Hocus Pocus, there is the false association of witchcraft with Satanism. In the movie, as the three witches are out on Halloween and see a man dressed as Satan, they immediately fall to their knees in front of their so-called "master."

This was hilarious, but the idea

that Satanism equals witchcraft is untrue.

If you’re one of those people who find themselves resonating with witchcraft — whether it’s studying the stars or cooking up a spell, Saskatoon has a few stores with resources. Jo recommended Atlantis 2000 and Nocturnis Art & Metaphysical. There are also countless resources online and so many books that you can find in libraries.

Obviously there are skeptics because much of magic is based off intuition and your belief in yourself. While Jo is just coming out of the broom closet and is still new to the life long journey of being a witch, she is strong in her faith regardless of what others think.

In a personal example, Jo shares that in the passing of her grandfather, she saw a moth that she strongly felt was him.

In a teaching, she learned that seeing a moth on a significant day was a symbol of a family member coming to visit.

“I just knew. Nobody gets to tell me that that’s not true, you can go ahead, but it’s not going to affect me and what I’ve lived through.” *To respect the privacy of the individual interviewed, their name has been changed.

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Stars of the silver scream: Five of the most iconic Halloween movie characters Here are some of the best Halloween icons to ever haunt your nightmares.

VICI HERBISON

Ah, it’s that time of the year again — Halloween. The season of ghosts and ghouls, monsters and maniacs. Halloween films have produced a storm of memorable characters that embody the holiday’s haunting sentiments.

Here — in no particular order — are five of the most spooktacular Halloween movie icons.

The Bride of Frankenstein Who can forget the shockingly good hair of Universal Pictures’ Bride of Frankenstein, played by Elsa Lanchester. First appearing in the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein, the Bride is an amalgamation of the dead reanimated to — you guessed it — be the bride of Frankenstein’s monster.

Not only is the titular character iconic, but the film itself is hailed as a masterpiece of horror cinema, often regarded as superior to its 1931 predecessor Frankenstein.

At a time when movie monsters were almost exclusively male, this frightening female gained notoriety in popular culture. The character and the film went on to be referenced in many forms of media such as The Simpsons and, most famously, in Mel Brooks’ masterpiece Young Frankenstein.

Count Dracula Universal Studios’ impact on horror cinema was so influential that it was hard to settle on only one of their iconic monsters, so I didn’t.

Bela Lugosi’s performance as Count Dracula, the murderous vampire from Transylvania, in the 1931 film Dracula is a classic in Halloween cinema.

The long, black, flowing cloak, slicked-back hair and heavy Eastern European accent was a far cry from cinema’s famous bloodsucker Nosferatu from a decade earlier. But Lugosi, who had previously played Dracula in a stage play, is widely regarded as the definitive Dracula.

Lugosi’s iconic image has become a staple in popular culture, most recently influ-

encing Adam Sandler’s portrayal of the Count in the billion-dollar Hotel Transylvania franchise.

Morticia Addams While Dracula’s gothic look may be memorable, it’s hard to compete with the Halloween goth queen that is Morticia Addams played oh-so elegantly by Anjelica Huston in 1991’s The Addams Family — with a solid supporting performance by her cheekbones.

Morticia is not only a Halloween style icon, deriving inspiration from gothic women like Elvira and Carolyn Jones’s own performance of Morticia in the 1964 television show, but she also embodies the spirit of Halloween.

Morticia enjoys the creepier things in life like torture and the macabre while still being loving and tender towards her family. Clearly, the public’s love for Morticia and the rest of the Addamses is still alive as just this year, a new animated Addams Family film has been released for us all to snap along with.

from Stephen King’s It. From Killer Klowns from Outer Space to Tim Curry’s original portrayal of King’s malevolent clown in the 1990 television miniseries of It, clowns have been scaring audiences straight for generations.

But Bill Skarsgård’s manic performance in the 2017 and 2019 It films put a new spin on the killer clown horror trope.

His captivating yet terrifying presence makes it impossible to look away, but it is recommended that you watch through your fingers.

Halloween is a time for tacky lawn decorations, teeth-rotting candy and scary movies. If you like a good Halloween movie and aren’t afraid to be sacred, check out one of these classic films. But if you are planning on going trick or treating — just stay away from storm drains.

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Dr. Frank-N-Furter When looking at gorgeous icons of Halloween, it’s hard to ignore the pearl wearing, pickaxe toting, sexually­ driven “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

In the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, cinematic treasure Tim Curry sings and murders his way into our hearts as the mad alien scientist hell-bent on creating the perfect man.

Curry’s scintillating performance is one of the many reasons The Rocky Horror Picture Show revolutionized art house films while popularizing audience participation with movies. PS: free fishnets for whoever can name the University of Saskatchewan faculty alumni who was in the film.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown Let’s look at a modern monster who has recently started haunting our nightmares. The sewer clown who feeds off fear: Pennywise

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Medieval to modern: The Garrys breathe new life into Häxan The screening reminded viewers that the times of witch hunts aren’t all that long ago.

Creative Commons | Fae

NYKOLE KING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Enduring persecution and misdiagnosis, women have gone through witch hunts and medical malpractice under the guise of Satanism or sexism for centuries.

The fear of what women do behind closed doors has permeated popular culture throughout the ages. Women in history have always been policed, the methods have just changed over time.

In medieval Europe, women were burned at the stake if they

were suspected of performing witchcraft. The Catholic Church would pull out the standardized handbook on hammering out witches — or in latin, Malleus Mallifacarum — to prove that a woman was in fact a witch.

Women were taken into custody and tortured until they admitted their witchcraft. But times have changed since the Roman Catholic Inquisition. In the early 20th century, women were no longer accused of Satanism — instead, they were found to be mentally unstable.

In Benjamin Christenson’s 1922 cult classic film, Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, the fictionalized documentary boasts about modern medical science now having the solutions to navigate the age-old problem of female irrationality: hysteria.

While the film’s message is out-

dated today, the Roxy Theatre’s screening of the silent movie to a sold-out theatre provides a juxtaposition of old and modern by having the film accompanied by all-female local rock band The Garrys.

Having a female band compose and perform the score to a movie about persecuting women was an interesting commentary on how far society has come since the film’s release.

The screening was a rare experience. The Roxy has been screening silent films for the past few years, but this was unique.

Past accompaniments have been the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra or solo pianists that have a polished sound. The Garrys’ score was gritty, and although it didn’t match the era of the film, it felt like a fitting match.

The modern touch gave new life

to the almost century-old film.

Instead of streaming it on your laptop at home, the atmosphere at the Roxy was electric. Hearing the audience laugh in unison or applaud for the band made the experience more lively. Some members of the audience dressed up in witch costumes, completing the spooky portrait of the cold Halloween night.

The vignettes of this fictionalized documentary is separated into seven parts. As your attention gets absorbed by the film, it is easy to forget that there is a group of musicians working off of the dimly-lit sheet music, which they composed specifically for the film.

The title card of the film illustrates the catch-22 women face: “it is dangerous to be old and ugly, but also to be young and pretty.”

A manifestation of our anxieties: Why horror and science fiction narratives hit close to home Scary stories have the power to blur the lines between fact and fiction.

ERIN MATTHEWS OPINIONS EDITOR

Horror and science fiction narratives have been creeping around for hundreds of years.

From Frankenstein to The Fly, we have been haunted by stories of monsters, technology gone wrong, death and violence.

What makes these narratives so compelling and terrifying is the way that many of them blur between reality and fantasy.

These stories become a manifestation of our collective anxieties — our fears about ourselves and the world around us. The descent into darkness fills us with unease because we know that this darkness is closer to us than we would like to admit.

Shirley Jackson wrote about haunted houses and the woman that occupied one — what better metaphor for a woman's psyche in 1960 than a house full of ghosts? Many novels and movies in the horror genre use supernatural elements as a metaphor for our anxieties.

This kind of storytelling is easily translated to any kind of medium.

Limetown was a podcast that aired all the way back in 2015.

It followed investigative journalist Lia Haddock as she tracked

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down the truth behind the disappearance of 300 people from a research facility nearly a decade earlier.

You must remember Limetown, one of the biggest news stories in the early 2000s. The 911 call from inside the isolated community that mobilized military and media action to the locked gates of the company town nestled in the hills of Tennessee.

There was a three-day standoff between authorities and the town’s security team that prevented the entry of any outside personnel. Eventually, the gates were opened and, to everyone’s horror, Limetown was empty.

You remember it, right?

Well, it's ok if you don't because this investigative podcast is a manufactured reality. But it does a good job at blurring the lines of real-life and make­-believe — taking narrative elements from some major catastrophic events like Roanoke, Chernobyl, Jonestown and Waco.

Unfortunately, the unique storytelling approach of the original podcast is tarnished by a strange incarnation being aired on the new Facebook Watch platform — a dystopian nightmare in itself.

This "life imitating art" approach is common to horror and

sci-fi. In fact, it’s what makes the best stories the most terrifying.

It was Oct. 30, 1938 — radios across America buzzed with breaking news reports of an alien invasion. In reality, it was Orson Welles' radio play of the H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds.

Even though Welles and the Mercury Theatre were introduced at the beginning of the play, the style of the broadcast apparently caused some panic and confusion.

The beginning of the play presents “news bulletins” describing strange events occurring around the country. It is not hard to see how people believed that this could really be happening if they tuned into the show while it was already in progress.

Following the broadcast, there were reports of outrage over the misleading nature of the performance. Despite the literal outof-this-world content, people were allegedly frightened and convinced of its authenticity.

However, this tale of mass hysteria may even be a myth of its own making.

But what is it about these stories that get to us? Horror and science fiction explore the deepest reaches of our minds and pull out our greatest fears and anxiet-

ies — the masked man watching us from our backyard. A house full of secrets. A devastating pandemic. A town full of people vanishing without a trace.

Our fears manifest before us in film, print or audio and we can't help but look and listen to these

stories because they are a part of us.

This may be the reason why people either love the genre or hate the genre. It's a hard look at the darkest part of ourselves. It makes sense why many people would choose to look away.

Ana Cristina Camacho/ News Editor

OPINIONS

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Trick or Tweed: Should we be afraid of edibles this Halloween?

Edibles have been legal for two weeks, it’s time to cue the reports of tainted candy.

CAMERON DUFORT

With the countdown to Halloween ticking down to the last few seconds, it’s a great time to take a look at a relatively new fear parents have developed: what if somebody is going to give the kids THC-laced treats?

This fear of poison candy goes back decades with edibles only becoming a new incarnation of the same old urban legend.

First of all, the fear of not wanting our children exposed to any illicit substance at a young age is not unwarranted. Nobody wants their child to be coming home drunk or high anytime, let alone after the wholesome tradition of trick-or-treating.

It’s a scary thought, but why are we afraid that some stoner is going to be dropping cannabis-laced edibles in the bags of trick or treaters? Why isn’t there as widespread of a

fear that some drunk uncle is going to drop a cute little airplane-sized gin in those bags as well?

In part, I think it ties to the fact that alcohol has been legal since the very edge of our living memory, however, cannabis has only been permitted for just over a year. This fear is further substantiated by the fact that cannabis edibles were legalized in Canada just two weeks ago.

Although being afraid that kids could be easily confused is one thing — as edibles can come in friendly candy-like forms such as gummy bears — but no stoner is going to be dropping these gummy nuggets in their bags.

Nobody is going to accidentally mix up loose gummies and weed labelled bags with Halloween candy that they are going to give out. No edibles come in little red Kit Kat wrappers or in the shape of Smarties boxes. People who hand out loose gummy

bears are a different type of crazy and are the origin of the cyanide candies and hidden razor blade surprises. But do these guys even exist?

Most of us buy our Halloween candy the same way — at the grocery store. Every major company sells boxes of branded mini candies that we all take home, eat too many before Halloween and then go back to the store for another.

There is a massive difference between edible weed and the candy that goes to trick or treaters, so there won’t be any accidental mistakes. It’s hard to mix up a Hershey’s bar and loose drugs — it really is.

“Oh, but what if they’re super high on edibles and can’t tell the difference?”

Sure, buddy is going to be sitting on the couch half way to planet baked this All Hallows Eve, but if they are so baked that they can’t tell their own weed apart from the candies they are going to give to

Halloween candy sits on display at Sobeys on 8th street on Oct.27, 2019 | Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor

kids then they are almost certainly too stoned to answer the door. They are probably on their second run through of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon and can’t even hear the doorbell.

Beyond this, no stoner is going to be giving your kids edibles for shits and giggles. Edibles are expensive as hell. Most people don’t even consider spending the extra dollar or so it costs to get a full-sized chocolate bar,

let alone a $14 gummy. The worst thing to come from a stoner with edibles on Halloween is buying full-sized chocolate bars so people would love them.

Too long; didn’t read? Edibles are hard to confuse and aren’t some demon that is going to take over Halloween and lay waste to our impressionable children. Parents still need to be diligent, but no more than they are at any other time of year.

Danse Macabre: How our relationship with death has changed over centuries Death doesn’t have to be taboo.

Public Domain / The Dance of Death (1493)

ERIN MATTHEWS OPINIONS EDITOR

In the 21st century, our relationship with death has become convoluted and murky. We live in an era where medicine and science have extended our lifespan dramatically. We want to live forever and often ignore the prospect of dying.

So we move forward, seeking immortality through any means possible. We try to avoid thinking much about our end and — when that robed visitor comes to claim our loved ones — we are often tragically blindsided by it.

While our relationship with death has always been a com-

plicated one, we used to be much closer with the reality of life’s end. Depictions of dancing skeletons — either whimsically waltzing with each other or partnering with the living — have been around since the late Middle Ages. They were constructed to remind people that death is universal and it visits us all — peasants and kings alike.

These illustrations personifying death, referred to as Danse Macabre or the Dance of Death, were produced at a time when the plague spread across Europe, leaving millions of people dead in its wake. The people of the 15th century were bombarded with the reality of

death. It’s strange that one from this period would still need another reminder of their mortality.

Danse Macabre is just one example of a memento mori — a Latin phrase meaning “remember, that you must die.” It is a symbolic representation that has been practiced in earnest since at least early Christianity, and the history of memento mori may reach as far back 2nd century BC — with depictions of skeletons in mosaics found in Pompeii. However, the Victorian era really embraced memento mori in mourning jewelry, mantle pieces and even in photography.

Death photography became a common practice in the 18th century for it allowed people a permanent reminder of both the reality of death and the loved one who was lost. It was a way for people to mourn and to remember.

Today we rarely think of death, and when we do it is often accompanied by anxiety.

We are far removed from death in both body and in mind. But we die. We can’t avoid it. So why not embrace our mortality?

In recent years, death positive movements like the Order of the Good Death — a collective of funeral workers, academics, artists, writers and communicators — have tried to change our modern perceptions of this inevitable stage of life.

The death positive movement includes a variety of things with the mission of taking "a more holistic and healthy approach to death,” Karla Combres of Death Positive Saskatoon explained to the Sheaf.

Throughout our history, death was a normal part of day to day life and people knew what to do when someone died.

The movement is looking to reclaim that knowledge.

“It is an attempt to approach death as a natural human experience and take it out of the shadows so that it’s not such a scary taboo thing. And in doing so, looking at all the alter-

natives and options. Death has been sort of taken away from us,” Combres said.

Throughout the year, Combres hosts Death Cafés, a place where people can have an open conversation about death. She is also part of the Saskatoon Threshold Singers, a choir group that sings at the bedside of those who are dying.

The death positive movement helps people move past anxieties that surround death.

And now we may not need to place a skull on our bookshelf to remind us about our end because memento mori has gone digital. WeCroak is an app that sends you reminders of your death daily. Five times a day the app will invite you to contemplate your mortality with quotes about death.

While it may seem counterintuitive to many, being mindful of our death makes our lives become more meaningful because we recognize how we need to maximize the little time we have.

OPINIONS / 13

OPINIONS

T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // OC TOB E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

What are you wearing this Halloween?

VO L . 1 1 1 // I SS UE 1 1

The scary spectres that haunt us every day of the year Two things that are spookier than spooky season.

A friendly reminder to not dress up as a culture this year.

AMMARA SYEDA

Halloween is just around the corner and seeing that Canada has just elected its first “brown” prime minister — whose outrageous brownface costume from 2001 made national news in September — it makes sense to discuss if you can dress up as Justin Trudeau for this holiday.

Each year, complaints are made over controversial costumes, which are sold at stores for Halloween. Some of these getups include tribal chiefs, a sexy handmaid, terrorists and geishas.

When donning these costumes — while having no relation to the respective culture — many are accused of committing cultural appropriation. But before understanding how this can be harmful, you need to understand what cultural appropriation really is.

Cultural appropriation occurs when someone adopts cultural elements from another culture — including practices and symbols — without respecting the context. More often than not, minority cul-

tures are targeted. Although it is true that cultures intertwine due to many of them sharing traditions and attire, it takes a certain type of ignorance to mock something sacred.

Many believe the term is directed towards white people to make them think twice before they use something from another culture. However, cultural appropriation can be committed by anyone who chooses to be ignorant about what they’re borrowing from other cultures.

Realistically, the most important part of this whole debate is to assess the damages done by someone’s actions — are they actually harming a minority or is this just a false alarm?

For example, some people wonder if they can dress up as their favourite characters, such as Kelly Kapoor from The Office or Sergeant Terry Jeffords from Brooklyn Nine-Nine — and believe it or not, it is possible. I promise you that it isn’t necessary to wear blackface to show that you are Sgt. Terry or wrap the most outrageous sari to prove that you are,

indeed, Kelly Kapoor.

There are so many different ways to show that you’re dressed as a specific character that it just doesn’t make sense to overly exaggerate their features and traditions. After all, Halloween is all about being creative, so find a unique way to wear your costume!

It’s also important to remember that context is key.

Some people are completely unaware that they’re mocking someone’s sacred symbols or traditions and don a costume because that is what’s “trending” at the moment. This is where it falls on all of us to educate instead of shunning those that may have made that mistake.

Of course, that is no excuse to dress up as a “sexy niqabi” or a “Mexican bandit” — because there is no reason to be that dull in 2019. But if someone wears a fencing outfit and puts on a hijab to dress up as Ibtihaj Muhammad, I have no reason to be upset.

But trust me, if someone invites you to an Arabian Nights themed Halloween party, your Aladdin costume is enough — everyone will know who you are.

Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

14 / OPINIONS

Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

ERIN MATTHEWS OPINIONS EDITOR

October is the month designated to horror. While ghosts and goblins may be harbingers of Halloween, there’s a few frightful spectres that lurk in the shadows every day of the year.

Climate change Whether you think climate change is our new reality or just a hokey hoax, there is some undeniably terrifying things about this phenomena. One of the biggest debates around climate change is whether it is man-made or a cyclical occurrence in nature — even with 97 per cent of the scientific community pointing towards human activities being the brunt of the crisis.

The science tells us that year over year temperatures are rising, having an impact on two key areas — the oceans and the Arctic.

This increase of heat is causing a huge concentration of energy that feeds into the atmosphere, causing bigger and more devastating storms.

It’s creating more acidic oceans that are killing off coral. Remember that meteor struck the Earth six million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs? That impact caused widespread ocean acidification and one of the greatest mass extinction events of all time.

Hotter oceans are also pushing sea life further north towards zones that were once too cold to support their ecosystem.

But what about that snow storm that hit us this week? That disproves it right? Not so fast.

It’s a changing climate — which means that weather patterns start to shift. All those areas of heat pull water into the air that falls as precipitation, which can be rain or it can be snow. The heat and moisture just intensities storm-

fronts — whether that’s a hurricane or a blizzard.

But has this happened before? Climate changes all the time. True, climate has changed throughout the millennia, but it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t an impact on life. Whether it’s precipitated by us or not isn’t the argument to be had here. The end game is all the same.

Zombie deer disease What’s Halloween without some good ol’ walking dead?

Zombies have been all the rage for years but this disease isn’t a work of fiction. Known for several decades as chronic wasting disease, this infection takes hold on deer and elk population and has spread across Western Canada and Midwestern United States.

But deer infected with this illness don’t become some bloodthirsty undead entity. In fact, It’s much scarier than that. These deers are dying from a disease that attacks the brain. CWD is one of a myriad of illnesses known as prion diseases, which are insidious illnesses that shifted how we think about molecular biology. They are infectious proteins that misfold, causing tangles and neuronal death.

The most famous instance was the mad cow scare from the late 1980s and early 1990s, where sick cows infected the food chain, leading to hundreds of human cases.

Before prions were discovered, the only infectious agents we knew of were microbes like bacteria, virus or fungi. Prion proteins can be transmitted from deer to deer, human to human, and can sometimes jump the species barrier, spreading from animal to human. They can lay dormant for decades before causing an infection that is 100 per cent fatal.

OC TOB E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

Which witch are you?

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COMMENTING ON AN ARTICLE YOU HATE

AND BOOSTING THE PAGE VIEWS TO 5K+

DISTRACTIONS

1. What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?

A. Make coffee or tea.

B. Check your horoscope.

C. Water your plants.

D. You pull a tarot card.

E. None of the above.

2. If you could travel, where would you go?

A. Anywhere with good food.

B. India.

C. Into the woods.

D. Wherever the signs point to.

E. Nowhere, I don’t like travelling.

3. What does your house look like?

A. A fully packed fridge, an array of spices and an enchanting kitchen.

B. Crystals. Everywhere.

C. An actual jungle, plants in each corner of the room, hanging dried flowers from the ceiling and a collection of glass containers filled with various herbs.

D. Everything sits according to feng shui and there are candles everywhere.

E. ...like a normal house.

4. How would you like to spend your weekend?

A. Baking desserts and trying out new recipes.

B. Stargazing and night walks.

C. Buying more plants, tending to your ferns and propogating old buds to make new baby plants.

D. Meditating, reading and relaxing.

E. Just chillin’.

5. Pick an element.

A. Fire B. Water C. Earth D. Air E. No.

If you answered mostly As, you are a kitchen witch.

You love cooking up magical meals, and you do so by transferring your energy, intent and will into your ingredients. You enjoy trying unfamiliar recipes, hosting dinners and cooking for others.

If you answered mostly Bs, you are a cosmic witch.

You had a rock collection when you were a kid, and you’ve upgraded. You have himalayan salt lamp in your house, and you never pass up on an Instagram horoscope post. You watch tarot card readings on YouTube, and you study astrology and cosmology in your spare time.

If you answered mostly Cs, you are a green witch.

You have a strong connection to nature and love all things green. You believe in the elements and love the outdoors. You love flowers and animals and growing plants. You enjoy making home remedies and using fresh herbs from your garden for your cooking.

If you answered mostly Ds, you are a divination witch.

You feel energy and sensations where most people feel nothing. You find shapes in popcorn ceilings, bathroom tiles, water and just about everything. You get déjà vu, and you’re good at making predictions. You enjoy meditating, scented candles and incense.

If you answered mostly Es, You are not a witch.

If you’re a mix of everything

You are an eclectic witch. You’re doing a little bit of everything. You don’t find yourself identifying with any specific type of witch identity. You have a mix of crystals, candles, plants and more. You’re still learning about the world of witchcraft and have not found the best path of practice for you.

DISTRACTIONS / 15

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