Volume 18, Issue 8 – January 16, 2019
The Sputnik, We Orbit Around You. News, pg. 3&4
COVERAGE ON ELECTIONS HERE
Features, pg. 7
Arts pg. 9
Sports, pg. 11
OUR INTEREST IN GET READY TO ANNUAL ALUMNI ADULT CARTOONS BEND AND SNAP HOCKEY GAME
What you need to know on ‘The Simpsons’ are out so who’s runniog for president what’s next for the genre?
LB theatre club puts on first musical production
Brantford’s extramural team versus the alumni
Opinion, pg. 12
HOW TO JUGGLE UNI AND LOVE
In pursuit of higher education, how do we also balance love?
SIDHANT KAPAHI/DESIGN MANAGER
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THE SPUTNIK
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SPUTNIK_NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019
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THE SPUTNIK STAFF EDITORINCHIEF Dellesia Noah eic@thesputnik.ca
GRAPHICS EDITOR Anuj Kapahi graphics@thesputnik.ca
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SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Stephan Reilly Message him on our facebook page!
What is your New Year’s resolution?
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Terrence Mroz
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“To go to the gym four times a week” - Chiara Carinci, Crim, 1st year
“To be on top of my health” Chantanese Hall, Crim, 3rd year
“To take more classes” - Tajwar Choudhury, BTM, 1st year
“Don’t spend money on campus food when there’s food at home” - Clarissa Lopez, Crim, 4th year
“Stay on track with my readings” - Jesse Correin, Crim, 4th year
“To be healthy and get more sleep” - Stephanie Larmet, Law & Society, 1st year
SECRETARY Maiya Mistry
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES All advertising inquiries can be directed to Care Lucas at advertising@wlusp.com or 519-884-0710 ext. 3560.
THE SPUTNIK IS PUBLISHED BY WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY STUDENT PUBLICATIONS 205 Regina ST. N., Waterloo WLUSP Brantford 206-171 Colborne St. Brantford, ON N3T 2C9 (519) 756-8228 ext. 5948 COLOPHON The Sputnik is a bi-weekly campus newspaper intended to engage and inform the community. Started in 1999, the Sputnik is an editorially independent newspaper published by Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. WLUSP is governed by its board of directors. Opinions expressed within the Sputnik are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, The Sputnik, WLUSP, WLU or Centra Web Printing. All content appearing in the Sputnik bears the copyrightexpressly to their creator(s) and may not be used without written consent. The Sputnik’s primary font is Fira. We also use Utopia, Crimson and Aileron. The Sputnik is a member of the National NewsMedia Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Sputnik circulates bi-weekly. Normal circulation is 1,000. The Sputnik has an obligation to foster freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This obligation is best fulfilled when debate and dissent are encouraged, both in the internal workings of the paper, and through the Sputnik’s contact with the community. The Sputnik will always attempt to do what is right, with fear of neither reprecussion, nor retalliation. The purpose of community press is to act as an agent of social awareness, and so shall conduct the affairs of our newspaper.
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018
Presidential candidates go head-to-head in debate
The RCW lobby was filled with students who came out to learn more about what candidates had to offer DELLESIA NOAH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Friday, Jan 11, Laurier’s four presidential candidates went up against each other for the presidential debate held in the lobby of RCW. This election season, the four candidates who are running to
be your Students’ Union president are: Ibrahim Musa, Klaudia Wojtanowski, Talha Naeem and Zemar Hakim. The debate was separated into four rounds and moderated by Adam Kovacs, chair of the board and chief governance officer at Students’ Union, in round one,
candidates were asked questions derived from their platform which were then expanded upon in round two. Round three was designated for community questions -- a list of pre-determined questions that were developed by the Students’ Union and approved by Kovacs -- and round four featured
Ibrahim Musa Platform highlights: Musa’s platform highlights seven pillars that he wants to carry out if he is elected Students’ Union president. They are: transparency; summarized audits; accountability in finances, extended hours in buildings with study spaces; decreased parking permit costs; maintaining and enhancing the welcoming environment at Laurier, as well as improving the wifi network. Debate Highlights Q: Ibrahim, you want to decrease parking permit costs, can you please explain what it currently costs? How much you would decrease it by? And how you would do it? “If i’m not mistaken, it costs 300 to 400 dollars per couple of semesters. For these parking permit costs, where does the money go?” “Yes, it possibly goes to parking assistance and maintenance. If you can find a cheaper contract or a cheaper route to be able to pay off these maintenance services and these fees then obviously you could decrease these current parking prices and in doing so you need amazing negotiation abilities, I have always been using [services] like Kijiji and Letgo. It sounds funny right now, but when you can get something from 300, 400 dollars down to 50 bucks, that takes some serious skills.” Q: “How can we trust candidates
from Waterloo to ensure that they are for students and have an equal amount of say for upcoming plans, when candidates have not shown up to campaign here, to get to know student opinions, unless required to come to Brantford for election-related events? ““I say what I mean and I mean what I say. Unfortunately for me, this is only the second time that I’ve been here at the Brantford campus. Having that said, as listed in one of the previous questions, I have a lot of other commitments I have made prior to this year, prior to running in this election. Because I say what I mean and I mean what I say, when I make a commitment you’ll see me there at that day. If elected not only will I have to drop all those commitments, I will drop all my classes to serve you better, I will purchase a car just to be able to drive back and forth and you will see me at least two or three times per week here at Brantford. On top of that, I will have open hours which I will be listing if elected, for you to come talk to me any time, anywhere, at your convenience.” Q: What qualifies you to be the president of the organization when you have only been here for two years?” “In regards to how am I qualified, sure I have only been here for two years and it is the second time I’ve been her at the Brantford campus,
the last time which was at the open forum which I obviously enjoyed. I have gotten the chance to talk to students, but I want to be here more and I want to talk to more students. “ Musa lists some of his previous collaborative experiences like volunteering at the KitchenerWaterloo YMCA, along with other activities. Wojtanowski to Musa: “In your platform, you talk about enhancing the welcoming environment at Laurier. Can you tell us how you plan [to go] about doing so, and why are you uniquely positioned to create that experience over the other candidates running?” “What’s really unique about my platform is that you’ll find that a lot of points are vague and I will say that they are vague. There’s a reason for that, okay? When I say ‘hey, what can make Laurier better’, one individual will tell me one thing, another will tell me another thing. If elected, I want to create an elaborate, huge platform, put it up online and be able to check all the things that we’ve done. Having that said, how are we going to make Laurier a better place? Well, I talk to students. I talk to the students to see what they want to see–both campuses, Brantford and Waterloo–and having that in our ultimate platform.”
Klaudia Wojtanowski Platform highlights: Wojtanowski’s platform runs on three main initiatives: providing mental health training to O-Week volunteers, a promise that reimbursements will take one to two weeks, and provide students more explanation for their ancillary fees. Debate Highlights: Q: Klaudia, explain your timeline for your mental health phases and when you expect to have it completed and your lack of information regarding it? “First, I don’t think that’s a lack of information, I think what it does is open the opportunities for different avenues in which we can explore the actual implementations as well as the opportunity for students to ask questions, which they have been able to do on my instagram feed multiple times. Now the actual phase process of the implemental health is first to provide mental health training to all icebreakers as they interact a lot,one on one with students and making sure that that is a priority for them. The second part is to actually implement mental health training for students in general; icebreaker training would usually happen in August and right before O-Week; the second part of that would be allowing other students to open up, so allowing sessions throughout that first semester and during that time we would also be working with different student organizations like TA’s and IA’s on our campuses to have them trained in mental health first aid as well so they are able to better serve our students.” Q: “How can we trust candidates from Waterloo to ensure that they are for students and have an
equal amount of say for upcoming plans, when candidates have not shown up to campaign here, to get to know student opinions, unless required to come to Brantford for election related events? “I have classes on the Waterloo campus until 11:30 and I have done my best to be here when I don’t have commitments on the Waterloo campus. Next week, I am very happy to say that I will be here for three days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday–so you’ll definitely see me–and the times I have been here, I’ve taken the time to engage with students with my campaign team by actually walking around. We went to the student centre, SC Johnson, Digital Commons, Carnegie Building, the Market Darling Centre–just about everywhere. We’ve been to as many places and talked to as many students as we possibly could at that time.” Q: “Klaudia, you lost twice the chair to Tarique Plummer and Talha Naeem, these are the people who voted are representatives of the students, why do you think these representatives wouldn’t vote for you but the students would?” “I believe in the democratic process and I believe that each individual will make a choice that they feel will be in the best interest of undergraduate students. Are boards perfect? No and we see that in non-profit organizations such as the Students’ Union, but we also see these in professional organisations–in corporate settings. I ran for chair twice, absolutely, because I’m absolutely, 100 per cent committed to being the voice for the students. Am I happy that wasn’t my position and they had it
for a different way? Yes, because it allowed me to have a very strong voice at the table at some real, critical points of discussion with the board and bring a different opinion of the student voice to that table.” Hakim to Wojtanowski: “Several advocacy initiatives of your platform have been denied by experienced decision makers, how do you feel about about not being able to deliver promises you have made to students?” “The reason that’s under the advocacy piece is because advocacy is continuously working in order to change something. If every single time we gave up because something failed or didn’t go our way, does that mean we would be here today? Absolutely not. With different initiatives that we have like the line from Brantford to Cambridge, as Brantford continues to grow there’s different possibilities. Here in Brantford, the Students Union– especially the university affairs department–they’re part of the business improvement area committee. What that does is they help work with under representation from the students union and it allows for them to have a voice in the Brantford community to push that agenda, to see that actually happen and come to fruition. I think that it’s important that with the initiatives I’ve put forward that we continue to fight for what we believe in. Brantford students should not just be forgotten because they’ve been told no once before.”
questions directed to and by the presidential candidates. Naeem is the only candidate running from the Brantford campus, while Wojtanowski is the only woman in the race to be Students' Union president. Naeem, Wojtanowski, and Hakim all have previous governance experience
having held positions on the Students’ Union board, while Musa is only completing his second year at Laurier. These are a few of the candidates’ highlights from the presidential debate.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018
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NEWS
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Talha Naeem Platform highlights: Some of Naeem’s platform initiatives include providing holistic approaches to health and wellness, serving physical and mental health needs by digitizing the access to services and empowering students by providing financial and organizational support for their extra-curricular initiatives. Debate Highlights Q:Talha, you have a lot of initiatives, how do plan on finishing them all before the end of your term and what initiatives will you delegate to other students in the Students’ Union department? “In terms of completing the platform ideas in one year, not all of the platform ideas can be completed in one year. For example, the tuition fee advocacy, that will take years to come into its true actualization, but the sad thing is, is that it has not been started already and we are late on that. I don’t know why that is a phenomenon on our campus but it should really be addressed. Now in terms of partnerships, those are very important because the president has only the power of advocacy in many of the external issues that students are having to delve into with other university departments. I can promise the portion of advocacy that my voice would count to represent students whenever there is a senior executive staff is getting together to make those decisions which are supposed to be serving
students.” Q: “How can we trust candidates from Waterloo to ensure that they are for students and have an equal amount of say for upcoming plans, when candidates have not shown up to campaign here, to get to know student opinions, unless required to come to Brantford for election-related events? (The inverse was applied to Naeem) “When it comes to me, that’s not accurate because I’ve been spending time on both campuses. I’ve been counting hours–two hours in Waterloo, two in Brantford. That’s how I play my game. I have a strong team on both campuses. You would be surprised. My booths are pretty much twice or three times all of the candidates. If you combine all other booths you will see mine are outnumbering them. You know why that is? I might not be the most popular candidate, but my team is the strongest and represents both campuses equally. You can hold me accountable by the virtue of a stopwatch.” Q: “How can students trust you to follow policies as president, when you couldn’t even be held accountable to follow the policies while you we elections chair last year?” “This is really interesting because running elections is not an easy job; it takes courage, it takes a lot of preparation, it takes day and night of your effort to actually do that. Looking back at being Chair
of Elections, I remember not only starting earlier on in the year, I started right in the middle. I pulled off everything that was required, for me as a chair, to accomplish and make that election successful throughout the end. Trust does not come from following the policy, but by building a relationship and being of service.” Musa to Naeem: “How do you plan to make free or cheaper textbooks a reality?” “Getting the writers, researchers, and publishers paid–we can work that out. That is workable, there are so many different places where we can access that pool of funding. We can access a pool of funding from the province, we can access a pool of funding from our auxiliary fee, but that’s a longer term conversation that we will get into. The main point is, are you happy paying the prices for textbooks that you’re paying right now? Let’s fix that, let’s make it a part of the platform so we can have a front foot advocacy so students voices can be heard. I don’t want you to pay $1000 for textbooks in a matter of a year and I think that’s too much for many of our students. So let’s start talking about that and let’s start advocating about technology enabled learning where the cost of education is just the cost of you taking an initiative.”
Zemar Hakim Platform highlights: Hakim’s platform looks to serve the community on both an external (“through the university”) and internal (“through Students’ Union departments”) lens. Hakim’s internal initiatives include: enhanced food bank services; volunteer discounts; essential students’ rights services and organized club distribution. His external initiatives include: 24-hour student building access; smoothie bars in athletics facilities; extra-curricular recruitment committee and campus to campus event transportation. Debate Highlights Q: Zemar, please explain your extra-curricular recruitment committee and how it is different from student ambassador committee? “The extra-curricular recruitment committee is a committee for all non-academic involvement on campus to be put into spot. How it differs from student ambassadors’, is that Students’ Union ambassadors only market to Students; Union committees within Students’ Union committee format; so it’s a circle going into another circle. What my website wishes to do is to take all departments across campus, whether it be athletics,
residence, career centre, any on campus job even the dining hall in waterloo and bring them to one place. SU only takes Students’ Union committees and put them into one committee … I want to grab the market from every opportunity on campus and put them into a single management software. Q: “How can we trust candidates from Waterloo to ensure that they are for students and have an equal amount of say for upcoming plans, when candidates have not shown up to campaign here, to get to know student opinions, unless required to come to Brantford for election-related events? “Firstly, my entire platform is multi-campus. Secondly, I [set up booths] from 10 to 4 on both the days that I’ve been here in Brantford and the events have only lasted two hours for this one and four for the open forum.” Q: “Zemar, according to the majority of meeting minutes, you have not provided comments or stances on major discussions on the board during your time. How are you going to represent the student body when it’s claimed that you are known to avoid conflict and, as CEO of the student body, it will be your job
to confront conflict? “Just to clarify, the role of the president is not to confront conflict. During my time on the board, the board of directors engaged in, yes, contentious arguments with each other. The board is supposed to present itself as a united front and that is why I won’t pick sides on the board.” Naeem to Zemar: “You mentioned you want a bus from Waterloo to Brantford so students can attend the big and famous concerts on the Waterloo campus, why don’t bring those concerts to Brantford campus and make this city and campus shine? “Obviously on the Waterloo campus Wilfrid Laurier University owns larger venues to accomodate for larger scale artists. I would like to give Brantford students the opportunity to attend those concerts but, in the platform, it also states I would like the same opportunity to be given to Waterloo students that enjoy the artists that Brantford presents.” From Jan. 22-24 polls open to vote for your next Students’ Union president. Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length
THE SPUTNIK
WENDSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018
05 NEWS EDITOR NOW HIRING news@thesputnik.ca
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR NOW HIRING assistantnews@thesputnik.ca
OP-ED
SU decides to self-moderate elections
Questions of fairness, accountability and transparency are up for discussion in president’s open letter
CONTRIBUTED BY WILFRID LAURIER STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
President and publisher, Terrence J Mroz addresses concerns about Students’ Union decision to moderate themselves this election season in his open letter to the Laurier student body. TERRENCE J MROZ PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER
For more than a decade, Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications, the parent organization that houses The Cord and The Sputnik among many other publications, has overseen the moderation of the open forums and presidential debates for all incoming Students’ Union election candidates.
As with any form of government, the Students’ Union needs the watchful eye of the press. The fourth estate of the press is essential in a fair and open debate. -Terrence J Mroz, President and Publisher
WLUSP provides this service in collaboration with the Students’ Union in an effort to keep the overall election process fair, accountable and transparent to WLU students. This combined service is essential for a fair and transparent election process, for students to make informed decisions on the student leadership for the following school year. To have a third-party moderate is to ensure that candidates are questioned fairly and accurately
with no bias or favour towards certain candidates. We, as an impartial third-party, ensure important and ethical questions are compiled from our own staff and the student body and are asked to every candidate in an effort to preserve WLU students’ rights and the democratic values of an open debate. As with any form of government, the Students’ Union needs the watchful eye of the press. The fourth estate of the press is essential in a fair and open debate. This year, the Students’ Union chair of the board Adam Kovacs and his election management team decided against a third-party moderation and instead chose to moderate the open forums and presidential debates themselves. Less than 24-hours before the first open forum in Brantford, WLU Student Publications received the open forum schedule and noticed the change in moderator. Despite requests to address concerns with the first open forum schedule in a meeting set for later that same day, the schedule was distributed anyways. Although we had been in communication with chair Kovacs and chief returning officer Troy Frieburger for weeks prior to this, we were not consulted or approached in any way regarding this change it was provided without reason and at the last minute by chair Kovacs. During the same meeting with chair Kovacs, WLU Student Publications was offered the opportunity to follow the already distributed schedule and moderate only
incoming senate and governor candidates. This was apparently due to chair Kovacs’ schedule that prevented him from arriving to the debate on time. We declined the offer due to our journalistic and ethical obligations. As a media organization, we simply cannot ethically justify only moderating only a selection of all candidates, and step aside as proper vetting is eliminated for other candidates. When officials are elected into power, whether nationally, provincially, locally or on campus, it is understood and trusted by those voting that the vetting process is conducted with honesty, integrity and without internal conflict of interest.
As a media organization, we simply cannot ethically justify only moderating only a selection of all candidates, and step aside as proper vetting is elimated for other candidates. - Terrence J Mroz, President and Publisher
The public should trust the election process to ensure candidates are not given positions of authority and financial compensation based on personal agendas.
However, president and CEO of the Students’ Union Tarique Plummer made the decision to join Kovacs and sit on the moderation panel Wednesday in Brantford during the first of two open forums for the election season. Here, Plummer and chair Kovacs led the question period for all board of directors and presidential candidates, many of whom currently work for them. If every debate of an election is moderated by individuals with a possible direct stake in the outcome - how can we be sure of the fairness of these debates or elections. It cannot be known where questions originate, the motivation behind them, possible conflicts of interest or even if more meaningful or hard-hitting questions were avoided. At the time of print, WLU Student Publications has not received any response from chair Kovacs or chief returning officer Troy Frieburger after expressing our concerns about the lack of accountability in this year’s election and our proposed collaborative solutions to ensure the final open forum and the presidential debate actually foster open debate. We have also not received any schedule for the next open forum or the presidential debate further hindering our ability to provide accurate coverage to WLU students this year. Through conversations with chair Kovacs and chief returning officer Troy Frieburger we are under the impression that chair
Kovacs will be moderating the Students’ Union candidates for both the Waterloo open forum and the Waterloo presidential debate. We are unsure if President Plummer will be joining him in moderation. As a member of the student media, and a WLU Student who pays annual fees, I am deeply troubled by the actions thus far in the election by current Students’ Union officials, and fear for the loss of trust in next year’s elected candidates by the student body and campus as a result.
It cannot be known where questions originate, the motivation behind them, possible conflicts of interest or even if meaningful or hard-hitting questions were avoided. -Terrence J Mroz, President and Publisher
Students, however, are not left without autonomy in this situation - I encourage any student who feels strongly about this, to express it in person tonight at the Waterloo open forum at 5:00 P.M. in the Concourse and at the presidential debate on January 17 at 8:00 P.M. in the Concourse.
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THE SPUTNIK
FEATURES EDITOR/NOW HIRING
1989 - Present
“The Simpsons”
2010 - Recently cancelled
“Adventure Time”
2013 - Present
“Rick & Morty”
2017 - Present
“Big Mouth”
FEATURES
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28,2018
TV
The rise of adult toons
What is it about cartoons that have both young and old hooked? OLIVIA MCLACHLAN FEATURES EDITOR
If you’re like me, you have spent an enjoyable evening or two watching a marathon of “Family Guy”, “South Park” or “The Simpsons”. Be it on television or a streaming site, it’s the perfect way to de-stress, clear your mind and just pause all the seriousness in life. The creators of those and other raunchy cartoons certainly knew that when the shows were in their respective heydays. If anyone doubted the societal effect of cartoons with varying vulgarity, it was proven when each series was threatened to be cancelled. Die-hard fans of “The Simpsons” were outraged when word spread of the possible cancellation of the show. But if you think animated comedies aimed toward adults are long gone, think again. It seems there has been new life breathed into the genre in recent years. Fellow Laurier students remember “Adventure Time” being almost everyone’s obsession from 2010 to 2014. While its graphics and dialogue were extra mild compared to those of “Family Guy” --it portrayed things that are regularly found in mature shows, such as same-sex relationships, minor violence and creepy monsters. After “Adventure Time”’s success, there was a palpable shift in the industry-almost a cry for similar content to be made. In the age of easy internet access, #MeToo, social justice warriors and far more left-wing leaders, cartoon series are starting to reflect a shift in general perspective. They portray queer characters, leading ladies and serious issues that were discussed and solved, all without coming off as preachy or condescending. Netflix hit “Big Mouth” is primarily about young adults and their journey through puberty. It gives us all a chance to look back at our earlier years and cringe, but it is also educational and can be comforting to viewers roughly 18 years old and younger. “If you’re going to have a cartoon young people love, at least make it educational,” Laurier Brantford student Marilena Herzing says. “If they [the Ford Provincial government] were to repeal the sex ed system in schools, kids aren’t going to learn anything.” Katie Gunn, fellow Laurier student, says the current and next generation of young people would enjoy new cartoons as much as we enjoy the classics if creators “tailor them to the times.” “You have to play to what’s happening in the world,” says Gunn. When it comes to conservatism and avoiding topics that are considered by some as taboo, “Big Mouth”, “Adventure Time”, and other recent series do what “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons” did to certain politicians and world issues: poke fun at them. Perhaps the writers of vulgar cartoons ask themselves why issues exist if not to be joked about. “Cartoons can very much be a product of their time,” Paris Lad, Game Design and Development student says. Audiences were hit with nostalgia after getting another taste of mature comedy in cartoons. With this, writers, animators and producers kept coming up with more
to keep the legacy going. Following “Adventure Time”, there was “Bob’s Burgers”, “Archer”, “Rick and Morty” and “Steven Universe”, among others, all targeted towards teens as well as adults. While these shows, especially “Bob’s Burgers”, commented more so on the lives of young adults in a weird stage of life, anyone can relate and feel strangely comforted in knowing they are not the only ones with an awkward childhood. The original concern the creators of vulgar cartoons faced was who would watch the shows. The content was too mature for young kids--arguably the typical demographic for cartoons, and adults would probably assume a show wasn’t mature enough for them simply because it was animated. As luck would have it, the genre struck a chord with those sitting between kids and mature adults: university students.
I don’t see the big divide between children and adults. It’s more what you want to enjoy and what you want to get out of it. -Paris Lad, Game Design and Development Student
Yes, university students. They are the people who are relatively informed but also delightfully young at heart, the perfect combination to consume a racy cartoon which may address politics and current events, religion and many other controversial topics. There is a debate between whether or not cartoons are meant for a specific age demographic, some see it simply as a way to get a message across, a medium with no underlying meaning. Game design and development student Kaelan Dunbar says “I don’t think cartoons are inherently something for children.” Paris Lad agrees, “People think that cartoons are very much a children’s media but cartoons are just a medium, they’re not necessarily a genre.” Internet access is no small thing to consider when trying to market content for today’s society, since anything that aired on cable can be found online easily. Kaelan Dunbar goes on to say, “Children have access to that kind of programming, it’s always been that way. I used to watch shows like “The Simpsons”...because I just had access to those channels.” Robert Durant, however looks at the idea differently. “I wouldn’t say that it’s no longer a children’s medium. It’s just a more broad medium now, where you can have children’s cartoons and cartoons that are not suitable for children.” Lad echoes this thought, saying, “I don’t see it as a big divide between children and adults. It’s more what you want to enjoy and what you want to get out of it.” “Adventure Time” was a show that was made visually appealing for those that wouldn’t understand it, and otherwise interesting for people who wanted to get further into that “I think parents need to monitor that stuff but I don’t think it’s inherently being marketed as kid
material,” Dunbar says. One could see vulgar cartoons as having experienced three waves: the first was the groundbreaking wave, which birthed “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”; the second, experimental wave, which taught an old dog new jokes, from the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s; and a third which started around 2009 and is going strong, which is highly reflective of its time, not unlike the first two eras. This third era places significance on coming-of-age, education and social consciousness. With that being said, shows like “King of The Hill”, “Futurama” and “American Dad” were airing when “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” were supposedly coming to an end. However, they received less attention than their iconic predecessors. Circling back to content in cartoons, the aforementioned Netflix hit “Big Mouth” follows teens, both boys and girls, as they navigate changes in their lives, bodies and minds. There is even an antagonist-meets-sidekick creature who personifies puberty and changing hormones. Do you think society is progressing when we see depictions of “controversial” things in an easyto-swallow medium like funny cartoons? “I would say so,” Lad concedes. But there was controversy over this itself. Durant says, “I wouldn’t say cartoons are easier to swallow than a live action show.” “The content could be the same and really all that’s different is the visuals,” Durant continues. “I don’t think that’s going to change how easy it is to consume the content.” But maybe a cartoon has a way of making somewhat taboo topics more enjoyable. Along with some facts about puberty, for example, it also offers bright colours and funny dialogue to perhaps pad the bluntness of the topic. “The shows that are coming out now are trying to push not an agenda, but a point and they’re trying to do that the best the can,” Lad says. “With ‘Big Mouth’, they’re trying to portray the hormones as entertainingly as possibly without being completely wrong,” referring to the facts about puberty and hormone changes intermingled in the show’s dialogue. Cartoons, being bright, cute and easy to watch, are also helping to normalise what was seen as too controversial to portray on television at all. For instance, same-sex relationships are no stranger to “Adventure Time” and “Steven Universe”, which both depict two female characters in healthy, happy relationships. “Steven Universe” even has a same-sex couple getting married in one of its most beloved episodes. Essentially, the sky's the limit in an animated show. A same-sex relationship is the least strange thing about most of the plots one might follow. Art imitates life? As far as adult cartoon comedy goes, that’s the only way to make us laugh.
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THE SPUTNIK
08
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019 ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR HYRRA CHUGHTAI arts@thesputnik.ca
Turning passion into "bank", and what it takes
Kellie Burdon talks about managing her academics and Zumba HYRRA CHUGHTAI ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
As students, many of us have a part-time job to support ourselves (and our many expenses). This usually results in getting a job that we aren’t too happy to work at. The typical student jobs include working at restaurants, grocery stores and shopping malls. But some students decide to stray away from the ordinary jobs and use their hobbies to leverage them into an enjoyable experience. Kellie Burdon is a fourth-year criminology and psychology student here at Laurier and for her, Zumba was that hobby that turned into a great opportunity. She has been working at the newly opened YMCA since September of 2018. Burdon came across the opening for a Zumba instructor and decided to take a chance. This isn’t the first time that Burdon has taught Zumba: since receiving her certification through Zumba’s network in November 2017, she has taught a class for her little sisters’ school. Burdon isn’t new to dancing itself either, having figure skated since she was young. She now participates in Laurier Brantford’s figure skating club. “I have been doing Zumba since
I was around probably 12 years old. I started it through my skating club actually. We did Zumba as office training and I did some of my own classes and then when I came to Laurier I did some of the Zumba classes at Wilkes gym. [I then] started thinking that it would be something that I wanted to get into teaching myself,” said Burdon.
... some of the moves are tricky but as long as you're doing something like what I am doing and you are enjoying youself... -Kellie Burdon, Zumba Instructor
The YMCA is open to everyone in the community, and that includes Burdon’s classes as well. There is no required experience or skill level to be able to come to the classes. Teaching various age groups, Burdon can adapt to any Zumba dancer and be able to share a fun experience.
“It's been a really great experience. I really love my job and the age range that I teach. I got some local high school students all the way to some people in their 60's come to my class. Any age range I can teach and make sure they are having fun and getting a good workout out of it,” said Burdon. Zumba isn’t Burdon’s only job; she is also working at Laurier’s Golden Grounds in the RCW lobby. Balancing schoolwork, two jobs as well as extra-curriculars can be a hassle and a huge time commitment, but Burdon doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she looks at Zumba as an activity that fills two needs with one deed. “I like it because it's a workout too and I'm having fun as well. Instead of working out and having to go to work that day, it's all in one, so that's awesome. My supervisors are really accommodating when it comes to my class schedule. I haven't had too much trouble so far for my schedule or anything,” said Burdon. For some, Zumba may look like a fun way to work out, but for others, dancing may not be their strongest trait; it may even be hard to match movements to the music’s rhythm. Burdon says that doesn’t matter. Before every class, she likes to put
MADELIN MOSES /PHOTO EDITOR
Kellie Burdon poses for a picture in front of Golden Grounds coffee shop.
out a “no shame” policy so no one feels uncomfortable. “I always say at the beginning of my classes that it's a judgementfree zone and you're going to end up shaking some parts that you don't normally shake and no one's
judging each other… some of the moves are tricky but as long as you're doing something like what I am doing and you are enjoying yourself, that's what really matters at the end of the day,” said Burdon.
"Canadian Caputo" speaks with spirits
Kathryn Louise speaks with the spirit world at the Best Western Hotel, giving people readings and advice sion... when Theresa Caputo was in Hamilton, I was able to meet with her and I asked her: ‘are you bangon all the time?’ and she said no, none of us are..,” said Louise. Louise has also now branched out to becoming a metaphysical minister, using spiritual laws to help others. She helps with weddings, commitments and handfasting ceremonies. Louise wants to continue her line of work as a medium, and that includes her signature blue hair.
HYRRA CHUGHTAI ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
As a student at Laurier Brantford, I can say that Brantford holds pretty great events for its community. Whether it caters to people that are involved in the arts, sports or even finding a job, you can always find an event that is being held for people to enjoy. But one thing that always catches my eye are the multiple posters about psychic fairs being held here. You may be thinking: what does that mean? And it means exactly what it states. Psychic fairs are events where psychics in and around the area gather to share their talents. They put up booths, where fair attendees can stop by and check out what they do. The event doesn’t only have psychics, though, but also people who operate in the same realm as psychics such as mediums. Kathyrn Louise, also known as The Blue Hair Medium Mentor, is one of the mediums that decided to share her talent on January 13 at the Best Western Hotel in Brantford. Louise, originally from Chesley, Ontario, had known about her talent since she was two years old. She saw her first spirit when she was with her great-grandmother, who recognized her abilities to speak to spirits at a young age. “I had gone down and began talking to people and I didn't know that they weren't real. She realized that and recognized I was speaking to spirits. So, while she was still here, she protected me as much
I felt very alone for a lof of years because I didn't know of anyone else that was like me... ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS
as she could and then after that she went back to [Hungary], and I was basically left on my own,” said Louise. Louise started off her professional career as a psychic after losing a corporate job. The transition between jobs was not smooth. The terror of thinking about what other people may think of her had gotten too overwhelming. But a friend of hers thought that her talent was needed to help other people. “I became a hypnotist to do what I was naturally able to do. Then my friend Nancy said, 'enough is enough', and it was time for me to tell the world who [I was] and that [my] gifts are needed, and
she gave me 24 hours to come out on Facebook,” said Louise. The extreme challenge of telling people was something that Louise dreaded. Most mediums believe that average people don’t tend to be too accepting of claims of talking to people who have passed on. “I felt very alone for a lot of years because I didn't know of anyone else that was like me, and as I started getting older I started meeting people and I actually went to a angel card reading workshop for something I can't remember six or seven years ago, and there I met people that were like-minded and that I wasn't alone,” said Louise. My first introduction to the con-
cept of mediums was through the TV show “Long Island Medium,” which aired on TLC. It portrayed a family in which the mother, Theresa Caputo, was a medium and demonstrated her readings to showcase the effect that mediumship had on people. Louise says the show’s portrayal of mediums is spot-on. “It's pretty accurate, the only thing, and I've had other people ask me about that and ask me if I'm like Theresa Caputo and I'm like no and she's not like me. The problem with the TV shows is that they don't show the entire reading session. They just take anywhere between ten to twelve minutes of the highlights of that whole ses-
-Kathryn Louise, Medium
An incident in Nova Scotia made her realize that her hair must be here to stay. “I had blue hair and I stripped it out and went back to my blonde hair. That year, I was down [in Nova Scotia] and there were these sisters that I always read; they couldn't find me, because no one could remember Kathryn Louise… [W]ill I keep it? Well yeah, it's hard to say. It's easy [for] people [to] recognize me so for now I will but you never know,” said Louise.
THE SPUTNIK
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019
ARTS & CULTURE
09
Theatre club takes on "Legally Blonde"
Laurier Brantford's first musical production overcame many challenges to secure the rights to the play
ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS
HYRRA CHUGHTAI ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
Laurier Brantford’s first ever musical theatre production will take place on January 25 at the Brantford Collegiate Institute with the theatre club's take on “Legally Blonde, The Musical”. After last year’s cancellation, the theatre club is looking to make a comeback and show Laurier that they are serious about musical theatre. The show’s director – who also plays the part of Paulette – Mila Menna, a third-year English student, she started the production, trying to fill the need for more theatrical opportunities like the ones she had growing up. “As a kid I did a lot of theatre camps and stuff and throughout high school, so I’ve always really loved theatre and I was sad to see that there wasn’t anything at the campus in terms of musical theatre, combination of dance and acting and singing,” said Menna. Looking for a closer connection to the group of people she was working with, Menna wanted a club where she could express herself and have everyone involved feel similarly to her. “I joined other clubs and stuff but I wanted to feel like the innate connection that people had with a musical because throughout my experience I feel as though everybody connects on such a deep level In way that I didn’t have with other clubs, so I wanted to recreate that…It’s important that feel like a tight knit group of friends and family,” said Menna.
The production has around 30 people involved who have worked together to create the set, props and backdrops. But the starting point to the musical and choosing which one to do came from a Facebook poll, where students were asked to vote for what they wanted to see. As students at a liberal arts school, they came to an agreement on “Legally Blonde”.
I joined other clubs and stuff but I wanted to fell that innate connection that people had with a musical... -Mila Menna, Third-year Student
Elle Woods, the story’s lead character, was played by Reese Witherspoon in the film and will be played by Haedan Reid here at Laurier. The premise of the story is Woods trying to impress her ex by getting into Harvard law school and winning him over. The theatre group will be putting on the official musical adaption of “Legally Blonde”, including the songs and script. The script itself actually isn’t very easy to get. The club must go through Musical Theatre International, where most schools would
get their scripts, and has to pay a fee. This caused complications last year, which resulted in the cancellation of the group’s musical. Last year’s show would have been “High School Musical”. “This year has been different mainly because of management and people taking on new roles. There are people within the student’s union that are very flexible and understanding with stuff and on it in terms of communication. It’s been really great to have their support with funding… Last year it was just timing because we didn’t have access to the scripts for a few months and we need to buy the rights first… So this year I was like, we are just [going to] read the scripts from online and then when they get the rights we will do it,” said Menna. The cast has worked year-round, working and rehearsing for two hours each afternoon, two to four times a week. The bigger the role, the more hours the actors put in. To some, it may be too much of a time commitment, but to Haedan Reid, it was all worth it to have a group of people that were likeminded and determined to put on a good show. “From a Laurier Brantford standpoint we are a fairly creative and social campus considering our two main faculties are human and social sciences and liberal arts, so I was honestly shocked when I found out Mila was the one who originated it… it’s just another outlet for students to express any creative needs that you may not get in the hard-hitting classes of psy-
chology of crime and stuff like that but is still needed,” said Reid. The cast and crew have put in many hours to create the production they are proud of. They want this to continue for future students, so they don’t have to worry about budget and letting something small ruin their creativity. Luckily, this year they were able to get a grant from the dean to help them generate funds for future years.
From a Laurier Brantford standpoint we are a fairly creative and social campus considering our two main faculties are human and social sciences and liberal arts. -Haeden Reid, Student
This would include the costs of the scripts, props, backdrops and any other material that would help the group create a better performance. “I’ve only been here for two years but the comparison between my first year and second year experience is defiantly very drastic. … I think that Laurier Brantford’s representation of art extracurriculars and things like that is most defiantly on the incline and improving drastically which is nice because it gives you a variety of interest for a
first-year or a fourth-year or even a fifth-year [student] to pursue along with your education,” said Reid. Menna also sees the benefit of having a smaller campus. Being able to find a group of people that can make you feel like you have a home away from home is very important to her, and having an extracurricular that doesn’t involve schoolwork seemed like the right way for Laurier to go about letting art students express themselves. “Coming here, it was a nice transition because I was looking for a smaller group of people but I did notice in comparison to my high school there are a lot less clubs and involvement and I think that’s also because so many students are commuters right…I always notice, there are creative things, in terms of residence and student’s union, I wish that there were more of course but hopefully in the future as we get more students and expand people will be more encouraged to do so,” said Menna. Through their production, Reid and Menna hope to inspire other people to create creatively expressive clubs of their own on campus. Reid believes that allowing the musical theatre club to be a part of Laurier’s culture speaks wonders already for students creating their own art. “Promoting what we have now sparks the interest in other students to start their own clubs and to promote what they find interesting, which I think is a huge part as to why it’s on the incline..,” said Reid.
THE SPUTNIK
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019 SPORTS EDITOR JESSA BRAUN sports@thesputnik.ca
VARSITY
Laurier’s first multi-campus athlete
Soccer player Nick Careri is the first-ever to experience being a varsity athlete at both Laurier campuses JESSA BRAUN SPORTS EDITOR
Sports have always been a large part of Nick Careri’s life and he wasn’t going to let his athletic career slow down when he came to university. No other Laurier athlete has ever competed on a varsity team on each campus. The second-year criminology student started his athletic journey at Laurier with a spot on the soccer roster in Waterloo. This year, he plays for the Laurier Brantford men’s indoor varsity soccer team. It was the long, daily commute to Waterloo that steered Careri’s decision to play for his own campus, but Brantford’s not complaining.
You can put him pretty much anywhere because he’s so skilled and that’s what Coach is looking for...
-Martin Mejia, soccer captain
“You can put him pretty much anywhere because he’s so skilled and that’s what Coach is looking for because [Coach] always says there’s no positions in indoor,” Laurier Brantford’s captain, Martin Mejia, said of Careri. “You’ve got
to be ready to play anywhere and that’s the kind of player Nick is. You can put him anywhere and he’ll contribute really well.” Before university, Careri played soccer for Richmond Hill and Woodbridge. He’s been committed to Woodbridge for the past six years and continues to play for them now in the U-21 age division. The defender played for his high school team and captained the squad all four years. He was named MVP in Grade 11 and 12, and won Athlete of the Year in Grade 12. Careri was a multisport athlete, also competing in track and field. He specialized in long-distance events, including the 400m, 800m, 1500m and the 4x400m relay. Careri almost carried his long-distance running career into university. He tried out for Laurier Brantford’s varsity cross-country team in his first year, but was ineligible to compete due to his involvement with the varsity soccer team in Waterloo. However, his stamina definitely does not go unused while at Laurier. It’s been a major key to making him the valuable soccer player he is. “He’s really fit,” said Mejia. “That’s one of the things I like about him. He’s got a lot of endurance and he can play for a long time.” Careri began his year at Laurier Waterloo at the August training camp, where practices were held twice a day, each practice an hour and a half long. When the season started, practices happened once a day and a weekly game was played. “It was a great year,” Careri said.
JESSA BRAUN/SPORTS EDITOR
Nick Careri, second-year Criminology major, is the first Laurier athlete to play on a varsity team at each campus.
“It was well-run, the coach was good, everything was good.” Brantford’s indoor team holds three practices a week with weekend tournaments a couple times a month. Careri notes the commit-
ment is easier to handle since he’s on the same campus as the rest of the team this time. “So far it’s been great,” said Careri. “So far my experience is good. The coaches are good. I like the atmosphere there and I think we’re going to have a pretty good season.” Being a varsity athlete in Waterloo and a varsity athlete in Brantford are two very different experiences. Due to the larger student-athlete population, Waterloo has more resources available, such as a physiotherapy room on campus, massage therapy, cold tanks and tutors for athletes who are struggling with their school work. Despite Waterloo having more resources, being on the Brantford team has been easier. Careri noted that as a Brantford student it’s difficult to have the same level of commitment for Waterloo campus teams that the other Waterloo teammates have. With commitment comes playing time. It’s the players who come to practices regularly that get the most playing time, which is why student-athletes from the Brantford campus are at a disadvantage. “The biggest thing was commuting from here to there,” said Careri. “Although my experience was amazing there, that’s why I’m not doing it this year. The commute was too much to handle. When I’m at a different campus and you have 30 to 35 other guys that can make it every practice, obviously I’m not going to get selected for the games.” Laurier Brantford’s varsity programming has only been around for three years, but the men’s soccer team isn’t far off from notable success. If they keep gaining talent like Careri, a provincial medal could be in sight. “Last year I heard they were a
goal off making it to provincials, so hopefully this year, if they were just missing that goal, this year I can be enough of an addition to maybe get that one goal and move on to provincials.” Used to the 11 vs. 11 format during the outdoor season, Careri says the five-on-five indoor setup will be an adjustment, but it’s nothing his hard work can’t handle. “He’s got really good energy,” said Mejia. “He takes it really seriously. You can tell he comes
He’s got really good energy. He takes it really seriously. You can tell he comes from the [Waterloo] campus team, which is obviously a very different dynamic compared to the OCAA. You can tell he wants to win and that’s what we need. -Martin Mejia, soccer captain
from the [Waterloo] campus team, which is obviously a very different dynamic compared to OCAA. You can tell he wants to win and that’s the thing we need – especially for our program that’s still growing.” Careri and the rest of the Laurier Brantford men’s soccer team begin their season on Jan. 19 at Centennial College.
THE SPUTNIK
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019
SPORTS
11
CLUBS
New swim club comes to Laurier Brantford First year student initiates an opportunity for swimmers at LB HANNAH KASTEIN SPORTS WRITER
ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS
Wilfrid Laurier University is introducing a new swim club at the Brantford campus. This club will be open for all swimmers, not just ones with a competitive swimming background. The purpose of the club is to bring people together and to reach individual goals while getting motivated by the other members. Before this year, Laurier Brantford had no access to a pool, so this is very exciting for Laurier students with a love for swimming. Nadia Walker, a first year student at Laurier Brantford, had the idea to start up the new club and will be the coach for the club. “Nadia reached out to me about starting up a swim club in November. Her drive and initiative has made this process very easy and we are really excited to make the swim club a success”, said Nick McCready, the Sports Leagues, Clubs and Rental Coordinator for the Laurier Brantford YMCA. There are a lot of benefits to joining the swim club. Nick mentioned three reasons why Laurier students should consider joining. One is that it is a great way
to meet new people and make new friends who have the same interests as you. This can be hard at times, especially in your first couple years at the university. The second reason is exercise. Swimming is one the best ways to stay physically active and motivated. Staying active at school is important for students as is it
Her drive and initiative has made this process very easy and we are excited to make the swim club a success.
-Nick McCready, Sports Leagues, Clubs and Rentals Coordinator
known to reduce stress, improve your sleep, increase energy and improve your mental health. The third reason students should join this club is if they have a passion for swimming. It is made to bring swimmers of all levels
together. Practices will be held on Tuesday nights from 8:00-9:00 p.m. in the main pool at the Laurier Brantford YMCA. The swim club will run from Jan. 29th to March 26th. There may also be dry land training as well, but times will be determined by the members depending on their schedule. This year students will not be competing in swimming competitions. However, if there is interest shown by the members in the 2019 winter semester, then that is something Nick said he would love to look into. During swim practice, students will work on personal goals they have set with the coach. The goals will vary from person to person and can be anywhere from improving a certain stroke to swimming 200 meters in a specific time. While the goals are personal, the team is there for support and motivation. If students are interested in joining they must go to the Laurier Brantford YMCA membership desk and speak with a membership associate. The swim club fee is $25 and students must register before Jan. 18th if they want to join.
EXTRAMURAL
McDowell seals the win in alumni game
The extramural men’s hockey team played a team of alumni in the Annual Alumni Game at Gretzky JESSA BRAUN SPORTS EDITOR
the club. “There were some nerves for sure,” said Burdon. “It comes with performing.” There was a total of approximately 175 people attending the alumni game, excluding the teams and figure skaters. “There was a huge turnout,” said fifth-year student Franny Liang. “So it’s another thing bringing a sense of community to Brantford, which is really important because the school is embedded within the community, so to bring the community with the school population is great.”
Spencer McDowell led Laurier Brantford’s extramural hockey team to an exciting overtime victory in the third annual alumni hockey game at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre on Saturday. Spencer Hartman’s two goals and one assist helped the extramural team hold a solid lead throughout the game, but the alumni team tied the game 3-3 with a goal in the last 15 seconds of the third period. The game then went to a three-minute nail-biter overtime. McDowell was able to find the back of the net without much time to spare. “It was really great,” said Connor Gettler, a first-year who came to watch the game. “With 26 seconds left they really stepped it up and just put it in the back of the net. It was good.”
It was really great. With 26 seconds left they really stepped it up and just put it in the back of the net. It was good. -Connor Gettler, first year student
The alumni roster held 16 players – all of them men who had played on the extramural hockey team during their time at Laurier Brantford.
. . . it’s always a good time getting together with old friends and playing hockey with each other. -Kevin Lamplugh, alumni player
ETHAN MILLS/THE CARNEGIE
The extramural and alumni teams pose together for a group picture after Laurier Brantford’s Third Annual Alumni Game
The 2-0 score at the beginning was the result of a slow start for the alumni team, but they learned to work better as a team after the first period. “We got a nice intermission to go back and have some water and came out flying in the second,” said Michael Bondy, who graduated in 2016. But the annual alumni game isn’t all about the competition. For most of the players and fans, it’s an opportunity to reconnect
with old friends, teammates and classmates. “Any time we get to come back here it’s a great time and we get to see everybody and it’s always a good time getting together with old friends and playing hockey with each other,” said Kevin Lamplugh, who graduated in 2016. “We don’t get many opportunities to do this.” Not only did the event feature a hard-fought game between the extramural men and the team’s past players, but it also had a figure
skating show, Chuck-a-Puck and raffle draws. The Laurier Brantford figure skating club showed off their talent to some ABBA tunes at the intermission between the first and second periods. “We had a lot of fun doing it,” said Kellie Burdon, president of the figure skating club. The club plans to compete at two competitions in the next couple months. This was the first performance of the school year for
Since Laurier Brantford doesn’t have varsity teams that compete in regular season games, events like this provide students with an opportunity to support the school’s teams. “It’s a great way to cheer on your school,” said Liang. “I think it’s great for the players to see their friends, their colleagues are all there -- cheering for them.”
THE SPUTNIK
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 OPINION EDITOR AVERY MCISAAC opinion@thesputnik.ca
LIFE
Balancing university and relationships
Juggling everything that comes along with school is hard, so is dating someone on top of that worth it? AVERY MCISAAC OPINION EDITOR
Managing to stay organized during university can be hard. Balancing classes, placements, extra-curriculars, eating healthy, working out and having a social life can seem completely impossible. Throwing a relationship into the mix complicates things even more. A lot of students, including myself, have found that throughout the year, something is suffering. It’s hard to choose what to prioritize when you want to do well in school, be involved and be social, but also want to maintain a stable relationship with someone. This becomes an even bigger challenge when your significant other doesn’t go to the same school or live in the same city as you. Even if you have access to transportation, driving to another city can be tiring. If you’re lucky enough to be close to your significant other, making time for each other with conflicting schedules can be rough. So, why does anyone even bother with relationships during school? I know a lot of people discourage having relationships during university. Tess Reidy and Sarah Raphael wrote an article for The Guardian about why you shouldn’t start a relationship in university. They spoke to students who gave
MADELIN MOSES/PHOTO EDITOR
opinions like: “I think if you have a boyfriend, you don’t get involved in the same way. If you’re committed to someone else, you’re not as likely to meet new people”. One student also spoke about her break-up during school, saying, “I could only see him every other weekend and our relationship got reduced to a series of phone calls. Then when I did see him it was awkward because we were living separate lives. I’d
always want to go out whenever he came to visit, which was probably a bad sign.” Negative comments can be frustrating and discouraging when you feel like you’ve met someone you really click with. Sure, that kind of advice can apply to some people in one way or another, but at the end of the day you know what’s best for yourself. Articles like these seem to overlook the fact that having a signifi-
cant other can also benefit people during school. University is hard for everyone. Knowing you have someone to talk to after a hard day that supports and encourages you really helps. Despite popular opinion, there is a way to find a balance. From my personal experience with a boyfriend who lives out of town and has a full-time job, holding myself accountable is key. As long as I’m upfront with my-
self about how much time and effort I’m putting into my work, and honestly make sure that classes are my priority, my grades don’t suffer. Sometimes that means not going out or being able to see him, especially during mid-term season. However, there’s a mutual understanding that my degree comes first, which any reasonable partner should understand. If someone truly cares about you, they’ll understand that and support you. Making time for other things and people in your life should be a priority as well. Sometimes you have to miss hanging out with your partner to spend time with your friends or go to a club meeting. There’s nothing wrong with this, and anyone who makes you feel bad about it doesn’t have your best interests in mind. Communication is also important. Being open about your feelings and being understanding of theirs is key. Sometimes you’re going to have a bad day and need some space to yourself. Other times your partner may feel the same. As long as you keep being honest with each other, the relationship should be okay. Only you really know what’s in your best interest. You know how much you can keep up with. You know if someone is helping or hindering your success. As long as you’re truly doing what’s best for you and your future, forget what anyone else says.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The experience of being a woman online The internet can be a weird place for anyone, but when you’re a woman it can often be a place of negativity AVERY MCISAAC OPINION EDITOR
Being a woman on social media can be a struggle. To be clear, I know everyone – regardless of gender – has had negative experiences online. As much as we all seem to love social media, sometimes it can be toxic. Whether it is from the neverending news cycle, people’s racist posts on Facebook or personal interactions with people, sometimes we all just need a break. However, being a woman on the internet can lead to more aggressive and uncomfortable situations than a man would typically experience. I also want to clarify that this isn’t some kind of story dedicated to hating men. I get it, not all men are gross. I’m a woman and I can only write from my own experiences and perspectives. This is about how some men feel comfortable being inappropriate or rude toward women when they’re behind a screen. I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone when I say women are more likely to be harassed specifically because of their gender, or that women have higher rates of encountering sexualized harassment online. Specifically, according to The Pew Research Center, young women experience online sexual harassment twice as much as young men, and 53 per cent of women have received explicit mes-
sages they didn’t ask for. There’s no debating that both genders have had these experiences, however, the rates of occurrences speak for themselves. As someone who uses social media daily and was on Tinder for a period of time, I’ve received multiple messages that have made me roll my eyes or feel uncomfortable. For example, throughout my four years of high school, I received messages from a boy in my friend group I wasn’t interested in that got increasingly rude as I made it clear I would rather be friends. However, he would never be rude to me in person. He would lie to our mutual friends about me and try to manipulate people as revenge for rejections. When I would bring it up to friends, I was blamed. It was apparently my fault because I led him on by trying to maintain a friendship, and was told I should just give him a chance so he wouldn’t be upset. Anytime I got a gross message from a guy on Tinder – my personal favourite being “want to watch ‘The Office’ and have more vanilla sex than Dwight and Angela?”— I was told it was my own fault for being on Tinder, and was asked what else I was expecting. Apparently hoping for a ‘hi’ was too high of an expectation. My experiences aren’t uncommon. There are multiple articles and accounts dedicated to displaying the unnecessary, gross, rude
ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS EDITOR
and sometimes threatening things some men feel the need to say to women whether they know each other or not. So why is it that if women get crude messages or are harassed, it’s on them to behave differently? In a time where society claims to be making great strides towards
equality with movements like #MeToo, why does the general population put the responsibility of not being harassed on women rather than asking men to improve their behaviour? I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to be able to use social media without being bothered and then
told it’s my own fault. If you can take anything away from what you just read, please just think about what you’re saying to people online, regardless of your gender. If you wouldn’t send the message or show the picture to them in person, maybe reconsider.