November 28, 2019

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NOVEMBER 28, 2019

The Sheaf Publishing Society

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

Artists of colour come together at CFCR to find solutions Racialized artists in Saskatoon struggle to maintain their heritage and find a space for their work.

NATHALIE BAQUERIZO

Although artists of colour in the city come from different backgrounds, they face the same issues in practicing their craft.

On Nov. 24, the segment “Banglar Gaan O Kotha” at the CFCR 90.5FM Community Radio hosted a conversation between artists of colour on the topic of how they have been underrepresented and tokenized in Canada. The focus of the talk show was how to move forward towards a positive solution.

Jebunnessa Chapola, host of “Banglar Gaan O Kotha” and a Bangladeshi singer herself, organized the talk to shine a light

Russian dancer Olga Koughia speaks into the microphone during the CFCR “Banglar Gaan O Kotha” broadcast on Nov. 24, 2019. | Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor

on what she considers to be an under-explored issue in Saska­ toon.

“As an insider of the South Asian community, I have observed that these artists are facing tremendous daily challenges to keep continuing their artistic growth here in our loving city, Saskatoon,” Chapola said. “Ethnic artists do not have a positive climate to cultivate more artists in their families and community

for multiple reasons.”

Some of these reasons are financial. Chapola shares her concerns that artists of colour get a smaller audience and have to work other jobs in order to support themselves and their families.

“In India, classical music and dance or singing takes hours and hours of practice. It’s a very tough form of art and many artists are busy with their survival jobs,”

Chapola said. “Some are doing two or three jobs, so at the end of the day they do not get the motivation or energy to go back to their musical life.”

Nayar Javed, a local social justice activist, says that even when they do get opportunities to practice their art, there are still problems to face, including a lack of understanding of other cultures by the general public.

“Multiculturalism has opened

Late marks, old news: A world without penalty

How many times have you received a mark-reduction penalty for handing in an assignment late?

Sure, we all have our excuses.

It goes without saying that most of our time management skills are probably lacklustre at best, and the constant barrage of unexpected complications thrown at us in life can make things extremely unpredictable. Not to mention the burnout you feel in the latter half of the semester.

Given all these kinds of circumstances, what if you could not receive a late mark? No matter how late you handed in your assignment in the semester, a

penalty could not be given. Is that not the dream? At the Prairie Spirit School Division, this is very much a reality.

As much as this no late-mark policy sounds akin to birds singing on a warm, spring morning, there are still many complications attached to it.

First, students — especially those in high school — need discipline. Without the prospect of deducted marks, there is no strong incentive to hand in your work on time. It becomes significantly easier to push things off until the final week of classes.

According to the Prairie Spirit School Division Learning Superintendent Dave Carter, the rules surrounding this policy are quite lax.

“In terms of consequences, schools deal with [late assignments] in a variety of ways. If [students] haven’t handed the work in by the deadline, maybe they have to work on it during break times,” Carter said.

In theory, this may sound like the perfect solution, but considering that most of the schools operated by the Prairie Spirit School Division are located in small towns, most students would not have anything to do during break times regardless.

A harsher punishment than losing a lunch break would have to be put into place.

The manner in which students are held accountable in high school needs to translate well into the way they will be in

Continued on to pg. 4

At a glance: NEWS

How does having no penalty for late assignments affect high school students?

CAMERON HEO

some spaces for us… At the same time those spaces are totally marginalized,” Javed said. “Instead of us passing on some intercultural understanding and enriching Canadian society and Canadian culture, we are usually treated as entertainers, which is a typical view of colonized subjects; to provide entertainment but they do not learn anything from us.”

the future. This policy does not prepare students in the way that it should.

To illustrate, deadlines are much more strict and the workload more intense in university.

If work is handed in late, instructors will often penalize the student by docking marks or not accepting the assignment at all. Even for people who decided not to pursue post­-secondary education, most jobs will still have deadlines in some capacity.

If students are not taught the habit of meeting certain target dates at a young age, it is not a skill they will have when they are older. This can seriously hurt them in the long run.

Continued on to pg. 12

International students still ineligible for student union executive 2

SPORTS & HEALTH

Shelby Newkirk prepares for 2020 Tokyo 6 Paralympics

FEATURE

Quantum computing explained with emojis 8-9

CULTURE

Frozen II reminds viewers that the world is 10 changing

OPINIONS

Call for Angel Cradle resonates with community

12

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 Emily Klatt

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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 // NOVE M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 9

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“It comes down to discrimination”: International students still ineligible for student union executive USSU says “it’s systemically racist” and commits to finding a way forward.

ANA CRISTINA CAMACHO

NEWS EDITOR

A student’s fight for change in the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union bylaws has reached an impasse.

The bulk of the USSU Annual General Meeting on Nov. 21 was spent debating a proposed amendment to the union’s bylaws submitted by María Celeste Nuñez, an Ecuadorian student in environmental earth sciences. The other 14 items in the agenda were voted through without much deliberation; this was not the case for Nuñez’s submission.

Nuñez’s proposed amendment concerned the union’s rule that executive members cannot take more than six credits per term, which leaves all international students unable to run for the positions while on a work permit since they require a minimum of nine credits per term.

The amendment was to make this rule “not apply to executive members who are international students.” Nuñez says that if the USSU wants to honour their commitment to inclusivity, this is a change that needs to happen.

“It comes down to discrimination,” Nuñez said. “I don’t think that we need to enter a debate … this is about making the constitution inclusive.”

Autumn La-Rose Smith, USSU vice-president of student affairs, brought up the union’s concerns with the amendment.

“We are not in support of this change,” La-Rose Smith said. “We recognize that it does create barriers for certain demographics of people being able to run but there’s different ways we can facilitate that leadership.”

The USSU’s concerns were mostly based on the Saskatchewan Non-profit Corporations Act. It states that at least one of the directors of a student union must be a Canadian resident, and that a majority of the directors present at meetings must be Canadian residents, otherwise the inter-

USSU president Regan Ratt-Misponas speaks during the USSU AGM at U of S Neatby Timlin Theare in Saskatoon, SK, on Nov. 21, 2019. | Heywood Yu

national directors cannot conduct business.

This creates a possible scenario where if all members of an elected executive are international students, the union would cease to function for months until a by-election.

However, Nuñez points to the U of S Graduate Students’ Association, that also functions under the Act, as an example to the contrary.

The GSA executive, who helped Nuñez draft her amendment, are all international students. Nuñez says they deal with the provincial regulations by appointing Canadians as silent directors that sit on meetings with the executive, allowing them to make decisions under the law.

Nuñez also points to the fact that the USSU has had international student executives in the past. The union had two international executives in the past 10 years, before reported changes to immigration law.

“The only reason I brought this up is because it changed and it’s been years since international students could run,” Nuñez said. “But they say ‘what if we have a problem?’

Well, you already had it before.”

“If those are the concerns, then there are solutions and we can see it happening all

over Canada and here with our partners in the GSA. There’s no conflict.”

Despite this, the undergraduate students at the AGM voted to defeat the motion. In a conversation with the Sheaf on Nov. 22, Nuñez says that a debate was not the best way to educate the student voters about the issue, but she is hopeful for the future.

“We didn’t have enough time or power — I was nervous. In a debate environment, we did what we could,” Nuñez said. “I think, in a close-meeting with the executive, it’s going to be easier to tackle their concerns.

I’ve done my research.”

Back in September, Nuñez and the USSU General Manager Caroline Cottrell met to discuss the ammendment but they did not reach a consensus. Despite the motion being defeated, Nuñez is content to now have a commitment from the USSU to continue the conversation.

LaRose-Smith regrets the lack of trust the international students felt in the USSU going into the AGM and hopes to mend this relationship.

“It saddens me to hear that … they felt like their hands were tied,” LaRose-Smith said.

“I think that means there’s a lot of work [to be done] in relationship-building with stu-

dents.”

This is the case for some of the students involved.

“I’m not sure if I can trust them anymore,” International Student Association President Akingbehin Akinwande said.

“I’m not [feeling positive] after what I heard yesterday.”

Despite this, Nuñez remains optimistic. The fight has just started for the group and they intend to “hold the USSU accountable” to helping them until they succeed.

“If their problem with it was the wording [of the amendment] — and we have them on record — then I’m going to hold them accountable,” Nuñez said. “I believe that working with people works better than just me trying to impose my rights, but if they really don’t want to give them to me, then they are responsible for the consequences.”

The USSU executive is set to meet with the students behind the amendment this week and has committed to putting forward another motion before the next USSU elections.

“The executive, we recognize that this is a barrier and that is discrimination and it’s systemically racist,” LaRoseSmith said. “But by changing this, it does not address the law that we are required to follow.”

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2 / NEWS

NOVE M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 9

NEWS

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

U of S commits to collaboration with Métis Nation–Saskatchewan on Louis Riel Day Students and community members meet on campus to celebrate a step towards Indigenization.

SOPHIA LAGIMODIERE OUTREACH DIRECTOR

On Nov. 18, festivities took place at the University of Saskatchewan Place Riel Student Centre to celebrate initiatives towards a greater collaboration between the university and Métis Nation– Saskatchewan.

At the event, MN-S President Glen McCallum, MN-S Education Minister Earl Cook and U of S President Peter Stoicheff signed a Memorandum of Understanding, followed by the first on­-campus Métis flag raising in front of the Thorvaldson Building.

Additionally, the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program student council organized a display next to the Louis Riel plaque in Place Riel, showcasing posters to learn about his impact on Canadian history and offering free tea and bannock.

The MOU commits the university to improving educational opportunities for Métis people and increasing their presence on all levels at campus, as Stoicheff explains at the event.

“These are not just words that are spoken at meetings behind closed doors,” Stoicheff said. “When we sign an MOU, it is because we are making a public declaration of commitment. To listen, to learn from and to work with Indigenous peoples.”

In the last year, there has been a seven per cent increase of self-declared Indigenous students at the university. Of the 3,400 Indigenous students enrolled at the U of S, 38 per cent of them self­ -identify as Métis.

Stoicheff says that part of the university’s commitment is to improve Indigenous students’ completion rates.

“I do quote the number because our intention — and

Three SUNTEP students pose for a photo, working an information table at the MOU signing event in U of S Place Riel on Nov. 19, 2019. | Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor

A crowd sits and listens to the main speaker at the MOU signing in U of S Place Riel on Nov. 19, 2019. | Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor

that’s part of what’s embedded in this MOU that we’re about to sign — is that those students are supported for success and that the retention rate and graduation rates for Indigenous students are exactly the same as they are for non-Indigenous students,” Stoicheff said.

Autumn LaRose-Smith, vice-president student affairs of the U of S Students’ Union and fourth-year SUNTEP student, was the one to reach out to SUNTEP and suggest that they hold the event in Place Riel in celebration of Louis Riel Day. “I think it’s really important because Louis Riel specifically had such a huge impact within Canadian history, and within Métis history and culture. And

it’s not often taught about,” LaRose-Smith said.

The SUNTEP student council members’ display was a successful educational campaign for people to learn more about Louis Riel and the Métis Nation, according to LaRoseSmith, who highlights the importance of providing opportunities for Métis people to learn about their culture and history.

“Growing up, I always knew that I was Métis. It wasn’t something that was hidden in my household. But at the same time, I didn’t really know what that meant,” LaRose-Smith said. “I had grown up volunteering and working for the Métis local and I had attended cultural events. But I was never really given those cultural

teachings that I deeply craved.”

LaRose-Smith says that the U of S’s public commitment will ensure that their promise of Indigenizing the university is upheld. As the MOU was signed by the university in partnership with MN-S, she is pleased with the spirit of collaboration surrounding the event.

“The MOU was just recognizing that the strong partnership that they plan to have between the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the university to make sure that they are upholding their promise with Indigenizing the university,” LaRose-Smith said.

“Why have 10 people doing the same thing when we could just work together and create something wonderful?”

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NEWS / 3

NEWS

T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // NOVE M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 9

Looking for Term 2 classes?

Consider the following International Studies and Political Studies options! A complete list of course offerings is available online.

IS 110 (01) Global Issues with David York

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IS 212 (02) International Studies and Conflict

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POLS 112 (01) Justice and Injustice in Politics and Law with Dr. Martin Gaal

POLS 112 (62) Justice and Injustice in Politics and Law with David York

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Coexistence with Dr. Martin Gaal

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Campus Briefs Strike on violent protests

A symbolic demonstration was hosted by Colombian students in the Arts Tunnel on Nov. 21. The students were expressing their disapproval of the violence in recent protests across Latin America on the day that Colombians went on a national strike against their government.

University Council dissolves committee

The International Activities Committee of University Council was dissolved by vote at the Nov. 21 council meeting. Instead, internationalization was added as a goal to other committees of council.

University committee looks at tuition affordability

A motion for tuition affordability was recently discussed by the Planning and Priorities Committee of University Council. Council member Marcel D’Eon and the presidents of the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union and Graduate Students’ Association attended the PPC meeting on Nov. 20 to seek support for the motion. The committee’s decision on whether to send the motion for an approval vote at council is still to be made.

Mailing materials not available at the university Bookstore Before the closure of the post office and Tuck Shop in the Arts Building on Nov. 1, the university said in a statement that stamps, envelopes and other mailing materials would be available through the campus Bookstore.

As of Nov. 26, these materials are not yet being sold at the Bookstore, which has prompted post-doctoral fellow Lucy Hinnie to send an email to George Foufas, director of consumer services, saying that “three weeks after a significant closure of a resource for staff and students, that is not acceptable.”

Artists of colour come together at CFCR to find solutions Racialized artists in Saskatoon struggle to maintain their heritage and find a space for their work.

NATHALIE BAQUERIZO

Continued from the cover

The Department of Political Studies offers the following programs and certificates DEGREES: · Political Studies Degree (contact Dr. Joseph Garcea joe.garcea@usask.ca) · International Studies Degree (contact Dr. Colleen Bell colleen.bell@usask.ca) CERTIFICATES: · Global Studies Certificate (contact Dr. Martin Gaal martin.gaal@usask.ca) · Indigenous Governance Certificate (contact Kathy Walker kathy.walker@usask.ca) · Politics and Law Certificate (contact Dr. Kirsten Fisher kirsten.fisher@usask.ca) Students can complete any of these certificates during any stage in their undergraduate studies: · At the same time as they are pursuing any degree or certificate in any College · Prior to commencing a degree or certificate in any College · After completing a degree or certificate in any College UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

College of Arts and Science DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL STUDIES ARTSANDSCIENCE.USASK.CA

4 / NEWS

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Manuela Valle-Castro, a University of Saskatchewan sessional lecturer and a musician and activist from Chile, says that even though Canada is known as a multicultural country, it is not as accepting of diversity as it seems.

“People don’t understand that Canada’s immigration policies are very oriented towards assimilation and are economically motivated,” Valle-Castro said. “It’s a policy where we are expected to assimilate as nice, conformist, grateful immigrants. And we are supposed to leave everything that made us who we are behind and become good workers.”

The University of Saskatchewan also lacks in resources for artists, says Paromita Sengupta, a fourth-year Bangladeshi student in computer science and one of the many racialized students who find themselves struggling to

maintain their culture and art alive while having a full workload.

For what can be done at the university to help the artists of colour, Sengupta asks for more opportunities to practice, a space to rehearse and understanding from others when they invite artists to perform at their events.

“We are not here to entertain people. We are here to bring out our own roots and heritage and showcase this.

But they don’t understand that — that’s the challenge we have to face,” Sengupta said. “The university values good students but it doesn’t value good artists. I feel like we should be given a chance to practice our cultural artforms.”

Valle-Castro ended the broadcast with a call for listeners to join the Saskatoon Anti-Racism Network to support each other and use their influence to put pressure and begin a lobby on the issue.

While the artists got together on “Banglar Gaan O Kotha” to find a solution, the conversation has just begun.

SPORTS&HEALTH

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

NOVE M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 9

Huskies Athletics update Catch up on all the latest results as the Huskies head into the final weekend of action in 2019.

TANNER MICHALENKO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

It was a provincial rivalry weekend at home for the Huskies over Nov. 22 and 23 with the University of Regina Cougars paying a weekend visit to campus.

While the Physical Activity Complex and Merlis Belsher Place hosted the hockey and basketball teams, volleyball travelled on the road to the Trinity Western University to battle the prestigious Spartans.

Lastly, a handful of Huskie football players earned national recognition for their stand out efforts in 2019.

Time to get caught up before final exam season takes over.

Basketball

Men’s basketball was undefeated through their first five games of the season before Regina won game two of their recent weekend series, 103-74.

It was the first matchup of the season between Saskatchewan and Regina, having most recently played each other in the quarterfinal round of the Canada West playoffs last season. The Huskies were the victors in that series.

Saskatchewan is one of the three teams in the 17-team conference that has surrendered just one game this season. The University of Manitoba Bisons and University of Alberta Golden Bears are the other one-loss teams.

Fifth-year guard JT Robinson is leading the team in scoring with 18.3 points-­per-game. Second-year forward Kessler Bishop is grabbing 11.3 rebounds-pergame, fourth in the conference with 67.9 per cent shooting

from the floor.

Head coach Lisa Thomaidis’ women’s basketball team is a perfect 6-0 after their weekend sweep of the Cougars. It was a rematch of the Canada West championship game last season that saw the Huskies beat Regina 53-49 for their third conference title in four years.

The number one ranked team in the country has been wiping the floor with the competition.

Their lowest margin of victory is a substantial 14 points.

Fifth-year guard Sabine Dukate’s 16 points-per-game leads the team while third-year guard Katriana Philipenko is shooting 53.8 per cent from the floor, including 50 per cent from three-point range.

Next up for both basketball teams is a matchup on the road at the Thompson Rivers University to take on the Wolfpack.

Following the holiday break, both teams will travel to Trinity Western University to take on the Spartans.

Hockey

Men’s hockey swept the Cougars in their home-and-home series this past weekend, winning 3-1 in Regina for game one and 2-0 in Saskatoon for game two.

First-year forward Jared Dmytriw scored both goals for the Huskies in game two during the third period. Dmytriw has an active streak of 12 points in the past six games played, all of which have resulted in wins for Saskatchewan. The rookie has the second-most points in the conference amongst all firstyear players.

Second-year Huskies goalie Travis Child started his fourth game of the season in game two, recording his second shut-

Kyla Shand. | Supplied by GetMyPhoto.ca/Huskie Athletics

Jared Dmytriw. | Supplied by GetMyPhoto.ca/Huskie Athletics

out of the year.

After starting the season with 20 penalties committed over the first two games, Saskatchewan has straightened out their infraction issues since then. They sit second in penalty minutes with 165.

Saskatchewan is tied for third with a 9-3 record, excelling on the defensive end of the ice allowing the second-fewest goals against.

For head coach Steve Kook and women’s hockey, they continue to struggle to string together consecutive wins to bring them above .500. The Huskies split their second straight weekend series after a loss at home, followed by a win on the road against Regina.

Fittingly, Saskatchewan is the only team in the Canada West that holds an even goal differential. Even given that, the Huskies sit tied for fourth place with just four points separating them and the first-place University of Calgary Dinos.

Fourth-year forward Bailee Bourassa leads the team

with 10 points, six of which were earned on the powerplay.

Bourassa has also been the most active shooter in the conference with 61 shots on net.

Women’s hockey will host the Mount Royal University Cougars at home for the final weekend of 2019 action, while the men will travel to Mount Royal for their weekend series.

The first weekend of action in 2020 will see men’s hockey battle perennial rival Alberta Golden Bears at home, while the women’s team will travel to Alberta to take on the Pandas.

the second game, three sets to one. The game one victory was just the second win against the Spartans in Dodds’ tenure.

Second-year middle Mandi Fraser is the most efficient hitter in the conference, converting 38.3 per cent of her attacks.

Fourth-year outside hitter Emily Koshinsky is sixth in Canada West for kills per set with 3.24.

When these teams return to action in January, they will host MacEwan University Griffins to kick off the second half of the Canada West season.

Volleyball

Five Huskie football players earned first team All-Canadian status for their stand out performances in 2019, the most out of any team in the country.

The Huskies group includes running back Adam Machart, defensive tackle Evan Machibroda, offensive linemen Connor Berglof and Mattland Riley, along with defensive back Nelson Lokombo.

Lokombo also took home the top defensive honour in the country, the Presidents’ Trophy as the U Sports defensive player of the year. The last Huskies player to win this award was the team’s current defensive co-ordinator Warren Muzika in 1998-99.

Surprisingly, Machart did not take home the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding football player in U Sports, despite running for 1330 yards to etch his name in the history books with the 12th most rushing yards in a single-season.

Western University Mustangs quarterback Chris Merchant won the award after recording 2,738 passing yards along with 438 rushing yards, with 20 total touchdowns.

Men’s volleyball dropped both of their games on the road against the Trinity Western Spartans, falling to 5-5 on the season.

Despite their middle of the road collective performance thus far, third-year outside hitter Dylan Mortensen continues to play well with the third-most kills in the conference. Fifthyear middle Daulton Sinoski is fifth in the conference for blocks per set with 1.12.

Things are not totally grim for this team as first-year head coach Sean McKay still has plenty of time to improve his team’s current sixth-place position in the standings. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.

It is a brighter story for women’s volleyball, as head coach Mark Dodds has the Huskies playing arguably their best volleyball since he arrived at the helm in the 2015-16 season.

Saskatchewan split their weekend series on the road at the number one ranked team in the country, the Trinity Western Spartans.

The Huskies won that game three sets to one but dropped

Football Awards

SPORTS & HEALTH / 5

SPORTS&HEALTH

T H E S H E A F P U B L I S HI NG S OC I E T Y // NOVE M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 9

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From Saskatoon to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics Shelby Newkirk speaks on balancing her life as a student and an athlete.

TASNIM JAISEE

Shelby Newkirk is not your average fourth-year College of Education student.

She has been nominated to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics as a swimmer, aiming for a podium finish in the 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle and possibly in a relay as well.

“I have always been super competitive, so to be able to be competitive in a sport that I love so much, swimming just gives me the freedom that I feel like I don’t have anywhere else,” Newkirk said.

Newkirk says she enjoys the thrill of racing others while having an equal playing field.

“I use mobility aids full time so when I am in the water, it is pretty much the only time where I get to leave my chair on deck and just swim away,” Newkirk said. “Even though I still have my impairment in

the water, it is just me and the water, and I can just focus on what I am doing.”

Newkirk goes into swim practices five days per week, even if it means jumping into the cold pool at six in the morning. Her love for the sport keeps her motivated.

Newkirk has been an active athlete for most of her life, playing volleyball, basketball and other sports, too, not just swimming.

After her diagnosis of dystonia during her early teenage years, she was unable to compete in some sports she had previously.

Newkirk recalls her first day in the water as she still had the ability to swim, realizing that it is what she loved to do and there was no point in looking back.

She is now the current world record holder for the 50m backstroke and looks forward to regaining the records for the 100m backstroke and

200m backstroke, two world records she previously held. “[Swimming] is a full-time job and if I did not love it, I would not be able to put in the time commitment at all,” Newkirk said. “But I absolutely love everything about it.”

Newkirk has been recognized as the Sask Sport Female Athlete of the Year and Swimming Canada’s Female Para-swimmer for two years in a row. She also recently became a Canadian Athletes Now, also known as CANFund, grant recipient that exists to support female athletes like Newkirk in their journey to the Paralympics.

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m juggling a little too much, but I love everything I am doing, and so I try to make time for it all because if it is something that you love doing, then it does not really feel like a job it just like something you want to do anyway,” Newkirk said.

“I wanted to have something

Shelby Newkirk poses with her Silver Medal at World Championships. | Supplied by Shelby Newkirk

to focus on other than just the Paralympics because if you’re just kind of sitting around thinking all year like ‘I’m going to Tokyo’ … It can kind of get a little bit over-consuming and so I decided to take two classes this year,” Newkirk said.

As an eager student, Newkirk continues her studies in hopes of someday doing consultation services for getting more accessibility in schools, especially with parasports.

“A lot of people that have disabilities don’t get to do gym class and don’t get to do a bunch of these different activ-

ities, so I would love to bring what knowledge I have from para sports into schools and just make schools a bit more accessible and easy for kids to go through,” Newkirk said.

Looking ahead, Newkirk hopes to compete in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris after the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

“To still be able to come out of it and have a nomination knowing that I could have done better is so exciting,” Newkirk said. “So I know this year what I am going to work towards. There is not much pressure leading up to it to make the team which is nice.”

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Greystone Theatre’s production of Playhouse Creatures is a fierce feminist commentary The play sheds a witty glimmer of light onto how little women’s rights have changed.

GAVIN ROBERTSON

Plays set in Restoration-era England generally don’t attract much of a crowd nowadays. It takes a masterful playwright to deliver a riveting story past the often condescending note to their niche flavour.

April De Angelis’ Playhouse Creatures breaks down the pompous guise that we uncultured viewers interpret as characteristic of plays in a Shakespearean setting. De Angelis’ fluid and light-hearted language is easy for viewers of every college to appreciate and enjoy while keeping alive the Victorian feel.

Chock full of profanity, poetry, allusions and necessary social commentary, Greystone Theatre’s all-female cast delivers a delightfully punchy performance.

Self-aware, Inception­-style theatre is hard to come by, teetering on the edge of a confusing and unconvincing plot, but these actors execute the play-within-aplay format beautifully.

The set pieces, props and lighting do a near-perfect job of distinguishing for the audience

when the characters are themselves and when they are performing.

This play’s two-hour runtime juggles its diverse themes flawlessly. The feminist commentary, heavy subject matter and snarky comedy are handled delicately, allowing a colourful but balanced palette of stark contrast to flourish.

Possibly the most notable part of Playhouse Creatures is the historical aspect. Each of the characters we see on stage either existed in real life or were inspired heavily by other female actors of the past. Paige Francoeur, who plays Mrs. Farley, described this as her favourite part of the play to the Sheaf.

“We get to channel spirits of people who were real,” Francoeur says. “The show becomes a tribute to all that they did to allow me to continue doing what I get to do.”

It’s no secret that harassment and abuse are ingrained in the treatment of women in the entertainment industry. And even that is putting it extremely lightly.

The audience gets to witness

a recounting of tales of abuse, of trauma, of the ruining of lives, all by the hand of unseen men.

These women struggle to survive and to thrive while pursuing an underpaying career in an industry that views them primarily as sex objects.

While the exact details of the scenes we are privy to in this performance may not be exactly reflected today, the mistreatment of women within the industry is all too present.

Women are given expectations of how to act or how to look and are abused incessantly if they deviate. This disgusting reality can be seen all over, with society taking direct offence to women who refuse to adhere to their objectification, covering them with slander and verbal abuse.

At multiple points during the play, unseen male characters impose toxic influence over the women. Be it sexually abusive comments from male patrons beyond the dressing room door, flippant discarding of one woman when she is no longer as convenient as another, or simply underpayment, the men of

Cast of Playhouse Creatures stands for a photo during the media call at the Greystone Theatre in Saskatoon, SK, on Nov. 19, 2019. | Heywood Yu

this play assert their toxic dominance and ideals at every turn.

While this is thankfully not the constant reality of Greystone’s actors, it certainly is for women in other corners of the world.

“Because of where I am, I may not experience it,” Francoeur explained. “But to ignore it and shy away from it is doing a disservice to the women who lived through that.”

The feminist message De Angelis rooted into her story is, at times, hard to digest — intentionally so. Commentary such as this arises from a need for change, and the contemporary status of this play, written in the 90s, proves that these issues are

far from eradicated.

Francoeur describes that “if we surround ourselves with things that are only filled with privileges we’ve become accustomed to, we are neglecting so much of what the reality of life is.”

It is our duty as scholars to learn about the state of the world, about historical issues, about people, about ourselves.

To truly be immersed in creating change, we need to seek opportunities to be educated. Go learn and enjoy incredible theatre while at it.

Playhouse Creatures is on at 8 p.m. every night until Nov. 30 in the John Mitchell Building on campus.

Consumerism at a crossroad: Brands finding new ways to get customers

What lengths will companies go to in their quest to be more relatable to consumers?

Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor

WYATT HENLEY

Twitter in the 2010s saw everything from corporate account showdowns to the rising popularity of unboxing videos, and ironically, an increased concern for sustainability. As we barrel towards the end of the decade, where does consumerism go from here?

It is more complicated than ever for responsible consumers to get an accurate perception of brands when large corporations use social media to humanize themselves. We hear the voice of massive companies on a level playing field with us consumers, especially on social media platforms.

In 2016, fast-food chain Wendy’s became notorious for their

streak of tweets insulting Burger King and McDonald’s for their frozen meat even going as far as roasting users for going to the competing chain.

When Wendy’s tweets at users to stop wearing their hat backwards because they “aren’t Bart Simpson, and it isn’t 1997,” consumers can quickly forget that they are a multi-billion dollar corporation with an international supply chain and not just a cheeky friend on Twitter.

Corporations frequently diversify their online voice and use multiple niche accounts to achieve widespread engagement.

For example, if a consumer dislikes the social media personality of Netflix’s official Twitter or Instagram accounts, they can follow the Facebook page, Netflix Is A Joke, or even the Twitter of

BoJack Horseman, a character from a Netflix original of the same name — both of which are run by Netflix.

With more diverse voices from corporations, there is a higher likelihood of consumers finding one that aligns with their interests. Consumers can lose a sense of scale by filtering out the aspects they don’t like and in consuming what they want.

Despite its ubiquity, social media marketing has seen its fair share of controversy over the last 10 years. In 2018, e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL was forced to shut down its Facebook and Instagram after widespread allegations that its accounts were encouraging teens to vape.

The story is ongoing, but the case demonstrates that consumers had drawn a line for what is acceptable in the digital world and they perceived that JUUL crossed it. With this said, the social media reach of corporations themselves is an afterthought compared to the volume of

user-produced content.

With an impressive 15.8 million subscribers, the YouTube channel Unbox Therapy promotes the philosophy that opening up a flashy new product will make the user feel better. Established in 2010, Unbox Therapy dwarfs the 414,000 subscribers of the official Amazon YouTube account, showing that the culture of buying is spread between consumers as well as corporations.

Thousands of YouTube videos feature normal shoppers excitedly showing their latest purchases.

Videos featuring massive shopping hauls of designer clothes, tech and even food are prime examples of user-generated content promoting extreme overconsumption. Flexing purchases is not new by any means, but haul style videos are an efficient way to encourage consumption to an audience of millions.

Despite messages of unsustainable consumption, the prevalence of environmental issues in the 2019 federal election demon-

strated that sustainability is at the forefront of public consciousness.

The public is not only expressing interest in sustainable products but supporting it with their wallets, too.

A study by New York University indicated that sales of sustainably marketed products in the United States increased 29 per cent from 2013 to 2018, and is expected to continue growing.

When looking to the future of consumerism, there is one thing we’re pretty sure won't go anywhere soon: the mighty power of word of mouth. Even with advertising algorithms and social media bombardment, consumers still look to people they trust when making decisions.

Trust may be cultivated by online influencers or reviewers, but often it is those in our social circles whose opinions we care most about. If we can all strive to think critically about our purchases and consume sustainably, those around us will notice and just maybe follow suit.

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Quantum computing e Quantum computing is all the rage of the tech world, but what is it and what is it for?

Quantum computing positions itself to be a revolutionary way we process and use data with devastating implications for privacy and security. Being coated in unfamiliar lingo, quantum computing has slipped by as a seemingly fictional and far-fetched concept to the average person. Meanwhile, the race to build a fully-functioning quantum computer has picked up the pace significantly all over the world, especially among big players like Google and IBM. Quantum computing sounds terrifying — yes, most of us don’t even know how our normal, or “classical,” computers work. But rest assured, you don’t need to be an engineer or mathematician to understand it.

We are demystifying quantum computing with emojis.

Quantum, or quantum mechanics, describes how the natural world works, much like Newton’s laws. The only difference is that quantum mechanics is so precise, it only matters in the microscopic world at the smallest scales while Newton’s laws only apply at macroscopic levels.

Computers process and store information in bits. You’ve probably heard of bytes (as in your 16-gigabyte smartphone, for example). Each byte contains 8 bits; the bit itself can only be one of two values — 0 or 1. For the purpose of explanation, we will present the bits with smiling and crying emojis, respectively.

MINH AU DUONG WEB EDITOR

In an actual computer, you will also get 0 or 1 output. The computer will translate the string of 0s and 1s to data that makes sense to you. For the sake of simplicity, our emoji computer will output the data directly.

When we design our emoji computer, we don’t know which piece of information we want out of it. So we need to have at least four bits so that we can take all the possible paths to get to the result.

Scan the QR to see the classical emoji computer in action

When we want to get an elephant, the computer can just take this path:

At the most simplified level, classical computation can be understood as performing logical checks — for example, “and” and “or” — on the bits. Here is a quick example with just two bits and two logic types:

Everything is great, but each bit representing only one value is limiting. So here comes the qubit, or quantum bit, used in quantum computing. Qubits also store information, but each of them is both one and zero at the same time.

The special thing about qubit is when you measure it, it will take on one value — 0 or 1, but until then, it exists in a state of superposition between 0 and 1. Our emoji computer needs only two qubits to achieve the same number of possible outputs.

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FEATURE

explained with emojis Scan the QR to see the quantam emoji in action

The challenge for scientists and researchers everywhere is to reliably manipulate the qubits and keep them in the quantum state, where each qubit encodes two values, 0 and 1, simultaneously.

Decoherence happens when the qubit is disturbed and caused to become a normal bit.

To manipulate them, researchers rely on a process called quantum entanglement, where two qubits are so intrinsically tied together that when you measure one qubit, you can deduce the state of the other qubit as well no matter how far apart they are.

Imagine the researchers entangle two qubits — let’s name them Bob and Bobby — to be always of opposite values. After entanglement, Bob is brought to North Pole and Bobby to the South Pole.

If someone measures Bob in the North Pole, Bobby automatically takes on a value opposite to Bob, and vice versa. This process is so instantaneous and physically unusual that Albert Einstein famously dismissed it as “spooky action at a distance.”

That is the very basic, simplified version of quantum computing. If we scale this up, a classical computer needs 2n bits to have the same computational power as a quantum computer with n qubits, where n represents a number. In fact, you only need about 70 qubits to store all the information available in all of the computers in the world right now, data centers included.

Google recently announced they have achieved quantum supremacy — a milestone where quantum computers are proven to be superior to classical computers — with its 53-qubit Sycamore system.

Their quantum computer system has performed an operation that would normally require classical computers 10,000 years in 100 seconds.

IBM later responded by publishing a paper expressing doubts in Google’s claims. IBM’s estimates stake the computational operation performed by Sycamore as 2.5-day worth by classical computers.

Still, quantum computing time of 100 seconds is impressive against 2.5 days.

Regardless, we are now in what many call the second quantum revolution. Google predicts quantum computing technologies will expand at a “double exponential rate,” much faster than the progress in classical computing power.

So what do we do with quantum computers?

Quantum computers are especially good at factoring — or to jog your memory, finding all the prime numbers that multiply to a number. This matters because modern security and cryptography rely on the mathematical trap door: it is easy to multiply two prime numbers but difficult to factor the result.

Your credit card information, for example, is protected by a large number that is a product of two randomly large prime numbers. Factoring this number takes classical computers 100,000 years on average, making it practically impossible to accomplish and ensuring your information is protected.

This will change when quantum computers become reliable and big enough because it will only

take them under eight hours to crack our today’s state-of-the-art security protocols.

That said, this is not an immediate threat — back in May, IBM estimated that the commercialization of quantum computers takes three to five years.

Even then, it’s unlikely that the commercial quantum computers will be powerful enough to crack today’s security protocol. Along with quantum computers, researchers are also designing quantum security, making your information truly and fully secure.

All worries aside, quantum computers hold the promise of revolution for every field out there. We can use its power to simulate quantum process in physics, chemistry and beyond. With our ability to understand atoms at the subatomic levels, we can design new medicines and better materials, thus exponentially improving our quality of life.

With their transformative potential, quantum technologies enjoy investments from governments and private sectors alike. Specifically, Canada aims to establish itself as the global leader in this emerging field, with over one billion being invested in quantum research and development over the last decade.

Most notably, Waterloo is supported by the federal and Ontario government to position itself as the world’s quantum valley. Claimed to be 15 years ahead of the quantum race, University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing facilitates a cross-disciplinary and innovative research environment for more than 200 researchers, post-doctoral fellows and students.

Closer to home, the Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications, also known as quanTA, was established in the University of Saskatchewan in March with funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and New Frontiers in Research Fund. With the expressed goal to bolster Western Canada as a competitive player in quantum science and technology, the centre focuses on the development of new quantum materials.

Quantum computing is made increasingly accessible to researchers, developers, students and hobbyists alike via cloud-based systems. For example, IBM Q Experience provides access to up to 20-qubit processors and 32-qubit simulator. For those interested in getting started on quantum computing, IBM also provides excellent educational resources and tools.

Humans tend to be scared of the unknown. Technology does not need to be inherently bad — it’s our use of it that gives it value. Quantum computing has a long way to go but it is set out to achieve remarkable things.

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The sounds of Frozen II reminds viewers that the world is changing This Disney sequel goes more in-depth to the characters’ inner turmoil.

J.C. BALICANTA NARAG

COPY EDITOR

na aw ng La

the meaning of life and choices.

Crisis of freedom and responsibility is one thing, but Kristoff goes through a different change.

Kristoff’s hopeless romanticism took the audience back to the 80s with his power ballad “Lost in the Woods.” It was complete with face zooms and background reindeer singers — it was like REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore.” Seriously — search it up.

The point being made with Kristoff’s love for Ana is a feeling we are all familiar with: emotional turmoil.

He begins to question his relationship with Ana — the only

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Part of maturity is embracing changes in our lives, yet some of us fear it because we don’t know the exact outcome. This fear of change is an important lesson of Frozen II, making it a movie not just for kids.

Fear of change was a constant theme throughout the Frozen sequel. In the song “Some Things Never Change,” each character’s deepest desires were shown — or rather, sang about.

Ana wants everything to stay the same, Elsa questions who she is, Kristoff is hopelessly in love,

and of course, Olaf is having an existential crisis. These elements, paired with the stories of the Sami people of Northern Europe, packed the movie with emotions beyond expectations.

Aspects of Olaf’s narrative point to his existential crisis. He questions “the notion that nothing is permanent,” relating it to age and maturity. As we mature, we grow to have a sense of freedom that we use gratuitously. Of course, with this freedom comes the responsibility of accepting the consequences it brings. This can be overwhelming for people, developing into existential anxiety, which is where one questions

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character development he had in the movie. He says that he is “Lost in the Woods,” because he feels distant from his girlfriend.

Research has shown that falling in love is similar to drug addiction — people may feel flushed and intoxicated and get sweaty palms when they see their significant other. Studies have also shown that love can literally break your heart.

According to the American Heart Association, the medical term for a broken heart is stress-induced cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome. It has similar symptoms to a heart attack — irregular beat and shortness of breath.

Experiencing these effects the first time is overwhelming because there are so many changes a person feels all at once, and this is exactly what Kristoff was feeling.

Elsa sets the story in motion by following the sound she hears to the north of Arendelle. She questions who she is and why she has ice powers. When she sings, “Into the Unknown,” it wakes the spirits of the past who begin to haunt the kingdom of Arendelle.

To stop them, Elsa, Ana, Kristoff and Olaf must travel north towards the calls that Elsa hears.

When we begin to fear change, we start looking at who we are as a person. Knowing your own cultural background can help in developing your self-identity.

The stories and history of one’s past can bridge your own understanding of yourself and your unique sense of belonging. This situation is what was happening to Elsa because she begins to wonder who she is and why she keeps hearing a distant call.

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Elsa and Ana go through changes after finding out who they really are, changes that make both of them more resilient people. When we are in a turmoil of existential dread, it is through knowing our own history that we find ourselves again.

After all, humans are social beings, therefore we crave connection, belonging and attachment.

And last but not least, the encompassing theme of changes after the death of a loved one was also prevalent in the movie. Kristen Bell, voice actor of Ana, did a stellar job of singing “The Next Right Thing.” After experiencing great loss, Ana couldn’t muster the energy to keep going.

The animation alone captured the moment perfectly, and the emotions it brought forward was not typical of Disney. With lyrics like “Hello Darkness, I’m ready to succumb,” you know that this moment wasn’t just for younger viewers.

The loss of a loved one is a change that is hard to describe.

Death can make you sad and angry, questioning the good of people or of the world. It begins with asking why life is so unfair, and you are left in the darkness by yourself. But death works in mysterious ways. It may take you weeks or years to notice, but within the darkness are specks of light, and soon enough the sun will rise and you will find solace.

Frozen II, with its theme of fear of change weaved into the animation, is full of emotions that older viewers can relate to.

Whether that’s existential crisis, falling in love, questioning your self-identity or losing a loved one, changes are inevitable and we must embrace them.

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So you didn’t tick off your new year’s resolutions What to do after a year of unfulfilled goals.

With December drawing nearer and the prospect of a whole new decade looming over us, it’s time we begin reminiscing our 2019.

The hills and valleys, the successes and failures — these are what makes our year. If you reach deep enough into the trenches of your mind, you might even see the now crumpled piece of paper you had originally written some optimistic goals on at the start of the year.

If you’re like the majority of people who weren’t able to complete your resolutions this year, here are some tips if you plan on trying again.

1. You can begin working towards your goals at any time.

The biggest misconception surrounding resolutions is that you have to wait until a defined moment to begin them. It feels satisfying to have what feels like a clean slate to kick off some new goals, but realistically, how much is stopping you from up and changing your life right now?

We give ourselves a bunch of reasons as to why we can’t begin our goals at the moment, but if we reframe these ‘setbacks’ as different starting points towards a specific goal, we can be more productive.

Let’s say you choose to start going to the gym as a resolution but your setback is that you can’t afford a membership. Look at getting a membership or finding different ways to work out as your starting point instead of seeing them as barriers to your goal. Everyone has different starting points. Your goal might be more attainable than you think, you just need to start a little further back.

2. Keep yourself accountable.

Sometimes when we set our goals, we might give ourselves a little too much credit. Setting a goal to write in a diary every single day might be a little ambitious for someone who has perpetual writer’s block or has difficulty finding the quiet time to do so.

Try something more realistic, such as writing when the feeling comes or setting aside a weekly time to write and building from there. Understanding your own strengths and weaknesses is essential — figure out what you can handle and work upwards.

3. Add attainable goals that you know you can reach.

Give yourself some freebies. Let’s say you know you’re going to reach a milestone in your area of interest. You’re on track to reach level four in piano and you know for sure you’re going to hit that goal this year. Put goals like this on your list. Sometimes, just a reminder that you’ve reached other achievements can give you the extra motivation you need.

4. Remind yourself of why you chose those resolutions in the first place.

What made you decide to try and achieve this goal? What situation were you in when you decided that this was something you had to change? These are some questions you should ask yourself when you’re writing down your goals. Remembering what spurred you on to change is great in times when things seem difficult.

5. Remember that not achieving a goal isn’t the end of the world.

Setting goals are important. They give us something to look forward to and help us avoid stagnation. However, things don’t always turn out how we want them to be. Take unmet goals in stride, learn what works and what doesn’t and incorporate them into future goal setting. You have time to try again, and this time, you can do so with a little extra insight.

TOMILOLA OJO CULTURE EDITOR

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The call for an Angel Cradle resonates with Saskatoon community Recent events highlight the need for the service.

ERIN MATTHEWS OPINIONS EDITOR

On the morning of Nov. 8, an alleyway off of Fifth Avenue North was buzzing with police activity after an unexpected discovery in a recycling bin.

The recovery of the body of a recently deceased infant has renewed calls for an Angel Cradle, a designated place where a baby can be left safely.

The first Angel Cradle was installed in a Vancouver hospital in 2010 with two other cradles opening up in Edmonton’s Grey Nuns and Misericordia Community Hospital. Despite the interest to have an Angel Cradle located in Saskatoon, there have been many roadblocks to actualizing the program.

Calls for the cradle started back in 2010, after a Saskatoon woman admitted to leaving her newborn in the garbage bin.

The woman was only 17 at the time and gave birth, alone and unassisted, in her home.

The incident led to a week long search of the city’s garbage dump, with the aid of cadaver dogs from Calgary. The body of the infant was never recovered.

The woman pled guilty to “not obtaining assistance in childbirth” and was given two years probation for the offence.

Under the Canadian Criminal Code, women who fail to secure reasonable assistance before or shortly after birth — with the intent to conceal the birth of the child — can serve two to five years in prison. In the case of the young woman

from 2010, she concealed her pregnancy and the birth of her child out of fear of being ostracized by her family and the threat of being thrown out of her home.

These stories are tragically too frequent in Canada. Only several months before the 2010 landfill search, the same events played out in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, after a woman admitted to leaving her baby in a garbage bag.

Despite all the calls to help find the mother of the infant left in a Saskatoon alley earlier this month, she has yet to be located. And while the search for her is focused on the concern for her health and wellbeing, it’s not surprising that she has not reached out for help.

These stories show that there is a large gap in healthcare and support systems for women in need. It’s clear that women who leave their babies in bins are doing so out of desperation.

They feel like they have no other choice.

This is why programs like the Angel Cradle are so important. They help to give women who feel like they have no other choices the opportunity to leave their babies safely and anonymously.

And the non-profit Sanctum Care Group hopes that their prenatal care home can be the location of Saskatchewan’s first Angel Cradle. Sanctum 1.5 opened last October and has helped to support and house 21 mothers and their babies in the past year. The home works to support high risk women and

Sanctum Care Group in Saskatoon, SK, photographed on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. | Riley Deacon

HIV positive women who are pregnant.

The goal is to help these women receive pre and postnatal healthcare and community support which will allow women to be able to transition from the house with the tools needed to raise their children.

Katelyn Roberts, executive director of Sanctum Care Group, spoke to the Sheaf about the group’s initiatives and goals.

“We provide wrap around and integrative care and support to them while they are pregnant to improve the health and social outcomes of both mom and baby and prevent children from entering the foster care system,” Roberts said.

And the program is succeeding with 17 out of 21 babies living with their mothers in the

community or at the Sanctum home.

Plans for an Angel Cradle at Sanctum were established when the home opened, however, the Ministry of Social Services has yet to green light the plan.

“Sanctum had identified the need to provide a full continuum of services for women living in complex and highly vulnerable situations, including the need to safely and anonymously relinquish care of their infant,” Roberts said.

However, Sanctum was asked to place the program on hold until the Ministry of Social Services has reviewed the need for the service. When calls for an Angel Cradle were renewed in light of recent events, the Ministry of Social

Services once again stated that this is something that needs more discussion before it is implemented.

Sanctum plans to go ahead without the support of the Ministry.

“After the recent tragedy that took place in Saskatoon we feel that it’s our responsibility, as an organization that provides services to vulnerable women, to ensure that we move forward with having that option available,” Roberts said.

The circumstances around the recent incident are unknown and it is hard to say whether an Angel Cradle would have changed the outcome in that case. Still, Roberts stresses that it really highlights the urgency and need for the service within the community.

Late marks, old news: A world without penalty How does having no penalty for late assignments affect high school students?

CAMERON HEO

Continued from cover According to Chris Hodges, a Ministry of Education spokesperson, “the methods by which students are evaluated and the reporting procedures used by classroom teachers are left to the discretion of school divisions.”

So marking processes are not universal across all schools in the province.

Hypothetically, this means

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that your schooling and marks may significantly vary depending on whether you go to a school next to you or one that is in a different division 10 minutes away. The issue with this is that when applying to colleges and universities, your high school marks are a large indicator to what gets you accepted or rejected.

If a student took advantage of this policy within the Prairie Spirit School Division, they could have immense amounts of time to fine-tune projects or

have extra days to study for tests.

This could lead to them getting better marks compared to somebody who was in a different school division but had the same amount of knowledge.

As a result, the student from Prairie Spirit School Division might be more likely to get accepted into a college before someone from a different district. If this policy was at the very least province-wide, it would be considerably fairer.

The main goal of this late mark policy is to separate the

Walter Murray Collegiate in Saskatoon, SK, photographed on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. | Riley Deacon

understanding of content from behaviour. It is important to note that the Prairie Spirit School Division does have a separate mark on report cards for behaviour; however, it does not yet influ-

ence admissions into universities or colleges.

Next time you have a due date, think about what it would be like if you did not and the implications it could have.

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Don Cherry on top no more It’s time for the long-time host to hang up his suits.

WARDAH ANWAR

AMMARA SYEDA

Don Cherry, the iconic hockey commentator and host of Coach’s Corner, recently made xenophobic remarks in his show a few days before Remembrance Day. On Nov. 9, Cherry said, “You people that come here... You love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that.

These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price,” on his long-running hockey segment.

Soon enough, a multitude of complaints filed in, saying that his statement is problematic because of his privilege and disregard of immigrant veterans. In his statement, Cherry wrongly assumes that all immigrants live an easy life when they move to Canada and that they are reaping the benefits of the country while, in turn, being ungrateful.

His comments come from a

place of privilege because this nation was built on the backs of many people of colour — something he fails to acknowledge. He also did not take into consideration the many people of colour who fought in the world wars. Sports writer and public speaker, Shireen Ahmed, was interviewed regarding Cherry’s comments. She said that his remarks are an insult to the people of colour that fought in the wars.

One million Indian soldiers fought for Great Britain in World War I and nearly two million African soldiers fought for the colonies both on African soil and overseas in Europe.

The Great War also included 4,000 Indigenous soldiers, with at least 50 fighters receiving medals for bravery.

When Cherry talks of “our way of life,” he appears to be considering Canada as a white nation where there exists only one way of life. His comment also shows ignorance to Indigenous peoples’ right to this land.

Cherry ignores the many reasons why people might choose not to wear a poppy. By not wearing a poppy, one should

not assume that the other person does not recognize the efforts of our veterans. Wearing a poppy is a personal choice, according to the Royal British Legion Ron MacLean, Cherry’s cohost, sat silently while Cherry made these comments. At one point, he even gave a thumbs up and can be seen nodding along during Cherry’s speech.

MacLean later said that he should have intervened and stopped Cherry, but MacLean’s silence speaks volumes about his stance on this controversy.

His apology is a feeble attempt at saving face after public backlash.

In any reasonable situation, if someone is making hateful or discriminatory remarks, it is important for us to take the right stance. Otherwise, our silence means that we are taking the side of those who make such derogatory comments.

Our inaction does not make us a neutral party.

Later, in an interview with the Toronto Sun, Cherry said, “I know what I said and I meant it.” This comment shows his unwillingness to apologize and

Samantha Langer

acknowledge that he made discriminatory comments. Even after his dismissal, he stands by what he said, which shows that he does not understand the harm his words can carry. Or, even worse, he just doesn’t care.

In another video interview with City News, however, he said that he was referring to everybody by the term “you people.” Even if he had meant everybody, his later comments are incongruent to his earlier remarks on “milk and honey.”

This was a half-assed explanation and yet another attempt at avoiding an apology.

Considering his history of controversial and discriminatory remarks against people of colour and Indigenous peoples, his dismissal was long overdue.

This also gives an insight into

how problematic the culture of the hockey industry is, as Ahmed points out the lack of diversity in the sport during her interview.

At the end of the day, this serves as a reminder for all of us to think carefully before we speak and to check our privilege. Sportsnet itself had to stop taking in complaints because of the overwhelming response people had towards the comments.

Although what Cherry said was hurtful, his dismissal is a step forward. The public is beginning to hold people accountable for what they say, no matter what platform and regardless of status that person has. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of consequences.

Tips and tricks to get you ahead this finals season These useful techniques will help you conquer those stressful and intimidating exams.

FIZA BALOCH

Finals are fast-approaching, and that pool of dread in your stomach won’t help you achieve your goals. Luckily, there are things you can do to prepare for your finals that won’t leave you drained but rather increase your productivity.

1. Clear your space, clear your mind Start studying immediately.

Diving in right away and being consistent — whether it’s taking five minutes to do practice question drills or reading your notes on the bus — will allow your brain to accumulate knowledge overtime. This means you don’t have to cram 48 hours before.

Decluttering physically allows you to declutter mentally. Cleaning your study space and keeping only essentials maximizes productivity. Try emulating the exam environment to get into the right mindset and be prepared. Keeping a clear mindset and study space helps you focus, and it is good practice for the exam.

2. Study smart, not hard Although tempting, memorizing facts and regurgitating them is useless. You come to university to get a degree that you will actually use, not store information into your head so you can dispose of it the moment you walk out of the exam room.

Don’t study like it’s a boring job that you can’t wait to escape from. The key is to study actively instead of passively.

For subjects relying on memorization, make connections — mind maps, flashcards, listening to notes — these are all ways to get your brain to learn information creatively and effectively.

Do every single question for subjects requiring more practice, if you have time. If not, master difficult topics first and move onto those requiring less revision. There are tons of examples from your course material to practice from. Asking for help, making formula sheets and doing timed practice papers are good ways to analyze and prioritize your weaknesses so you can conquer those first.

3. Take care of yourself Students usually scoff at the idea that they can do better academically if they take care of their health. But since university student life is hectic and stressful, it can lead to unhealthy habits that are hard to break. The key to solving this is balance.

You want to have an effective routine that allows you to stay sane while achieving your academic goals. The most common issue is sleep. Students should be getting at least six to eight hours of sleep every night. It’s not worth staying up all night to sit in your classes like a zombie. Taking breaks is also important. Try a new study technique — there are tons to choose from — and decide which works best for you.

Take a break when you’re finished a task and do things that boost your energy levels. Reading for fun, going on a walk, grabbing a healthy snack and having a quick chat with someone are all uplifting and relaxing activities.

Resetting your brain is important in performing optimally during your next chunk of study time.

At the end of the day, sacrificing your health for good grades just isn’t worth it. You don’t want to look back on these years thinking they stunted your growth, you want to develop skills and habits that help you in the future.

4. Distractions There is nothing worse than planning a productive study routine and ending up scrolling through Instagram like a zombie instead. Not only does this push back that carefully-crafted study plan, but if it becomes a habit, you will naturally associate study time with feeling useless.

There are tons of websites programmed to prevent distractions, such as Freedom or StayFocused. Heck, slap a sticky note onto anything that might be a distraction with a guilt-tripping message such as, “If Harry Potter could fight a gigantic anxiety-inducing snake at 12 years old, I’m pretty sure you can study for that math exam.”

5. During the exam Exam day is here. Now is the time to quickly go through the questions. Don’t take an hour to

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read through every single one.

Instead, skim the paper for any trick questions or ones you often struggle with and star them so you know to approach them differently.

Do easy questions first, star the difficult ones, move on and come back to the troubling ones later — you’ll probably have a better idea of how to answer them.

Lastly, don’t panic. Try your absolute best and think rationally. Oftentimes, students get so stressed out during an exam that all logic flies out of their head and the material they studied so hard for just doesn’t come to them.

Don’t be afraid of putting in some extra effort during exams season — instead, plan, prepare and get it done right.

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Need for trees: Why reforestation will continue in a changing lumber industry With mill closures and climate change, what will the future of forestry look like?

NOAH CALLAGHAN STAFF WRITER

With Justin Trudeau’s re-election promise to plant two billion trees with Trans Mountain pipeline revenues and a tree planting documentary in the works — for Canadians, the reforestation process will increasingly be in the public eye.

Articles like the one from Vice titled “There’s Never Been a Better Time to Get into Tree Planting” emphasize current challenges of recruiting individuals to perform the grueling labour. While tree planters might be in demand, there has also never been a better time to reflect on Canada’s rapidly changing forest industry and how climate change is affecting it.

The 2019 downturn in B.C.’s forest industry has caused nine lumber mills to close, over 4,000 layoffs and dozens of operational reductions. The crisis has been caused by a shrinking inventory of trees available to cut down.

This is in part due to recent waves

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of record-setting wildfires and the spread of the mountain pine beetle epidemic in a warming climate.

Low lumber prices, American tariffs on softwood lumber and fixed stumpage fees — that private companies pay to the provincial government — are all compounding this freefall. Even if less trees are being cut and mills continue to close, potentially causing thousands of more layoffs to industry workers, the tree planting industry might still continue to grow in the future.

With plans like Trudeau’s to create 3,500 new seasonal jobs by planting two billion trees over the next decade and climate activists like Greta Thunberg promoting tree planting as an initiative to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, reforestation could thrive.

Reforestation will need to change as the industry moves from tree planting for logging companies towards addressing deforestation caused by wildfires and the mountain pine beetle.

Forestry layoffs and mill clo-

sures can also impact First Nations communities who depend on the B.C. lumber industry for their livelihood. The landmark Forest Amendment Act passed by the B.C. legislative assembly this year will also change Canadian forestry. It will be supporting the increase of Indigenous-held tenure of the total wood supply and require more consultations with First Nations over future forest management decisions.

These changes are significant because Canada’s forestry history is part of its colonial history. Forests have long been considered as the government’s Crown lands and early management systems were established that excluded Indigenous people.

Since the post-war period, various Indigenous groups have asserted their right to control resources by developing management systems to economically participate in the forest industry and to gain greater control over forest landscapes.

Although Saskatchewan forestry is not in a crisis, it represents this changing aspect of the indus-

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try. Last January, 13 First Nations, whose ancestral lands cover over two-thirds of the province’s commercial forest zone, formed the First Nation Forestry Alliance.

The agreement brings together the members’ collective strength to better protect bands’ assets when dealing with forestry corporations and to improve stewardship over the land.

One of the 13 signatories of the alliance, the Meadow Lake Tribal Council who owns NorSask Forest Products, the “largest First Nations-owned sawmill in Canada” is also leading the province in creating sustainable communities. The recently announced MLTC Bioenergy Centre, a major clean energy project which will use sawmill biomass to create enough carbon-neutral energy to power an estimated 5,000 homes and create stable employment.

While south Saskatchewan residents might not consider forest degradation as an issue, a number of northern activists are concerned about the 20-year plan to clear-cut 3.3 million hectares of the boreal forest north of Prince Albert.

Although corporations argue their “modified clear cut” methods that leave nine per cent of the trees in a cleared area standing emulate natural disturbances like fires, northern residents insist that logging operations severely impact ecosystems and wildlife.

Even though the job of tree planting might prosper in a declining forest industry and move into the spotlight as a way to combat the effects of climate change, attention should still be paid to how the industry is rapidly evolving and moving away from its colonial legacy.

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“Hey! I’m so glad you reached out. I’m actually at capacity/ helping someone deal with some personal stuff right now, and I don’t think I can hold hold appropriate space for you. Could we connect [later date or time] instead/ Do you have someone else you could reach out to?”

The Sheaf Staff would like to give a special thank you to Heywood Yu for his contributions. <3

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UNDERGRADUATE

Join the Saskatoon Women’s Community Coalition in honouring the 30th Anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre

DECEMBER 6TH MEMORIAL

SYMPOSIUM JAN/30/2020

There will be a vigil followed by a

call for

7 - 9 PM | Neatby Timlin Theatre No Admission

From research posters to sculptures, study abroad presentations to musical numbers, community service learning experiences to dramatic monologues.

Any type of work may be submitted!

which portrays a dramatic reenacment of the massacre from the perspective of two students. Emotional support will be available to viewers during and after the event.

Viewer discretion advised.

submissions

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DEC/31/2019

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