The Strand | Vol. 66, Issue 3

Woman in the shadows OPINIONS | PAGE 05

Who is getting sick anymore?

FEATURES | PAGE 08

Horror has an ableism problem ARTS AND CULTURE | PAGE 12

the

STRAND VICTORIA UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER VOLUME 66, ISSUE 3 | 11 OCTOBER 2023

02 NEWS

EDITOR | ZINDZISWA MALANCA NEWS@THESTRAND.CA

The launch of a social justice coalition Ushering in a new era of equity on campus

ZINDZISWA MALANCA NEWS EDITOR

In a bid to fulfil their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, the Victoria College Student Administrative Council (VUSAC) is embarking on an exciting new journey with the launch of the Social Justice Coalition (SJC).

This groundbreaking initiative, spearheaded by the Vice President External, Cameron MirandaRadbord, attempts to usher in a shining new age for equitable initiatives on campus.

everything from improving mental health crisis response to expanding access to gender affirming gear."

The Social Justice Coalition, which officially takes flight this fall, aims to provide a vital forum for students and social justice organisations at Vic to engage in discussions surrounding equityrelated initiatives and share valuable resources.

With a focus on inclusivity and diversity, this initiative is set to formally collectivise a platform within the structure of VUSAC for historically underrepresented and marginalised groups.

In an email statement to The Strand MirandaThus far, organisations such as VOICES, Radbord said, "There is strong student demand to VicPride!, and Vic Black have joined the Coalition make VUSAC function more like a union - uniting in an effort to steer this initiative towards social justice organisations around common goals is community-wide support. a key step to making our advocacy more effective.”

He continued, "We're making real progress on Victoria College has repeatedly proclaimed its

commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). As the curtains rise on the Fall Semester, the institution's leaders are not only facing the music but also delivering on their promises for a more inclusive future.

The launch of the SJC came just days before September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As the college grapples with its colonial history, it invites the community to join hands in forging a new path forward, one that reflects its core values of inclusivity and mutual respect.

Victoria College, together with its Social Justice Coalition, stands ready to make a profound impact on campus life, reaffirming its commitment to equity and signalling the dawn of a new era for the institution.

Vic’s new force for change An interview with Lesa Williams-George, Victoria University’s first Director of Equity, Inclusion & Transformative Practices MICHAEL ELSAESSER FEATURES EDITOR

The Strand: You are the first person to hold this new position of Director of Equity, Inclusion & Transformative Practices at Vic. What does that title mean to you?

Lesa Williams-George: First, can I talk about what those words mean? So the words to me mean: they’re equity, equity is inclusive of all the human rights pieces, all the accessibility pieces, all the belonging pieces, [...] inclusion is a part of the belonging that the university should be a place where everyone feels they belong. And they have space here. And that this is our space, the students' spaces are very student-focused and studentcentred. And then the transformative practices is about how do we do things in a way that honours equity and inclusion. And for the whole community, what do we need to learn? [...] What do we need to change?

And how do we get there? And what behaviours do I individually and that's everybody, I as an individual need to be aware of mindful of and present and right.

How do I create space and hold space so that equity, inclusion and accommodations happen? It's up to the individual. And organisationally, what structures and policies and procedures do we need to support? […]

The President is clear. We don't want performative. We want action. We want things to be different. And that's how I started, and I'm trying to figure out what are all the pieces are that need to be looked at and understood.

Many concerns have been raised about the content of Vic courses, especially when discussing professors like David Gilmour, leading to the development of an EDIA student working group last year with the Principal’s Office. How do you plan to ensure the principles of equity extend to Victoria University’s curriculums?

I've been asked to co-chair the group and to provide advice. We will be looking at exactly those pieces, looking at curriculum, creating some working statements and frameworks for what that's going to look like. So, in fact, it's at the early stages. We're thinking about how to build in that community and have student representation [...] What we struggle against is a Eurocentric model of ways of knowing and being. And who has empiricism of knowledge? I love epistemology, right, the origins of things and where they come from. So a lot of my studies beyond the

classroom have been going to Indigenous communities and learning from them. Because, I also teach, and so, I don't have the right to appropriate Indigenous voices or the right to appropriate anybody's voices. But Indigenous voices are very particular. And this is what Truth and Reconciliation and sovereignty is about. We have a history. We have beliefs. We have institutions that colonialism has supplanted. And the West has said, “This is what knowledge looks like. This is how we should be”. But in the traditional African diaspora, which is in my roots, and in Canadian Indigenous diasporas, there's ways of knowing and being that doesn't always fit with the European model [...] And so when this rugged individualism of “this is how our human being behaves, looks, thinks and talks”, that's imposing your way of being and knowing onto vastly different groups of people, which negates their natural Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Until you know yourself and your identity, you don't know if you're inadvertently, unconsciously imposing or upholding the status quo [...] It's an assimilative process. I want to say that assimilation has been successful for me, because I wasn't even aware of who I was. And I had to deconstruct the social knowledge of myself, and to own being in this Black body, being female, being intelligent, and being of a certain class. So I have a certain privilege, and what that means to me as my identity and how I show up. That's the struggle. And so to just throw this out, it's going to cause dissonance.

It's going to cause some emotional, psychological, and psychosocial dissonance because it's so different from what you think you believe [...] I want to weigh into that carefully. Because you get pushback, resistance, anger, that's why those conversations are hard. That's why they're difficult. That's why we need to have an agreement about how we engage in this dialogue, because it impacts people. Because it's up here, all this stuff is constructed up here in our head, but we behave and treat each other based on those things that we don't even know we learn. So that's the deep, deep science of deconstructing and transformation. But it has to come from a place of love, empathy, care. And, and, and it has to be dealt with very considerably and intentionally to end it's my approach is a kind of approach to doing that. I think it's big work [...] So those are all questions that we ask ourselves and when we're talking about inclusive, inclusive of different ways of knowing and being, and how do we make space for that in institutions of learning? How do we do that?

I'm not an iconoclast; I'm a knowledge builder. [...] I love what Emmanuel is doing with the various cultures

and various ways of knowing and being through the faith perspectives. I love what's going on there, and it needs to filter out into all areas of knowledge in the university.

Vic has many student groups which focus on representing and uplifting the perspectives of marginalised and underrepresented students, such as the Equity Commission, Vic Black, Vic Pride, and VOICES. How do you plan on engaging with these groups in your work?

I think students are important to the work and my approach is to hear people in their own voices because my perspective might be different. If I talk to the heads of the school, they have one perspective, but the students are essentially the end users. Now it has to be inclusive and safe for staff, students, librarians, grounds people, and anybody who's here needs to feel like they belong and are protected. But students are centred and student voices are important. And there's a little phrase I like to use, “not about us without us”.

And I love data. And that would be straight data going to the people that are the most impacted, and hearing their perspective [...] Because when people are part of the solution or part of the project, they get ownership, they feel engaged, and they feel valued. So that will be my approach. And I'm starting to meet the groups.

Now I'm starting to talk to them, starting to see what interests them, what projects they want to do. So I'm very much in a look, listen, learn stance. It's been three or four weeks and I think I'm on track.

What legacy do you hope to leave behind at this institution?

I'm not a big dreamer. But if I had to leave a legacy [...] I want to make sure I'm leaving a space better than how I found it, and do no harm. That I will leave something better, something that's longlasting, something that's sustainable, something that is inculcated, and that every member of the community picks up and sees as their own and takes it on as a personal goal. And as part of their legacy to leave this university a little better than what we found it. So do good to improve it to make sure that equity and inclusion are felt, it's seen, it's heard. It's a part of the fabric, it's a part of the culture. And it's a part of the way of being, and that every student, no matter what creed, what religion, what background, they come from, feel that they belong here, and this is their space.

NEWS 03

@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 11 OCTOBER 2023

The vanishing Jack family What Canada’s spookiest disappearance reveals about Canada’s treatment of Indigenous People MAYA HUTZUL STAFF WRITER

Throughout its history, Halloween has always been a holiday interested in folk tales and the supernatural. The celebration of what is known today as Halloween is connected to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was weaker. Halloween today has little in common with those roots, but through horror movies, true crime podcasts, ghost stories, and costume parties, we’ve kept our fascination with the mysterious and macabre alive.

Though so many people are fascinated with Halloween, not many know the story of Canada’s most tragic—and spooky—modern disappearance.

Thirty-four years ago, the Indigenous Jack family of British Columbia vanished without a trace. In the summer of 1989, Ronald and Doreen Jack (both 26 years old) and their two sons Russell and Ryan (nine and four respectively), left their home in Prince George, BC. They intended to move to a logging camp nearby that offered them jobs: Ronald as a woodcutter and Doreen as a cook’s helper.

The family had been living on welfare due to a back injury that Ronald had suffered—the job offer seemed almost too good to be true. The man who called them about the job even promised daycare for their young sons. Because the Jacks didn’t have a car, the man offered to drive them that night to the job site, thought to be about 40 kilometres from Prince George. The family of four was last heard from on August 2, 1989, when

Ronald called his mother in the early hours of the In her testimony, she revealed that the lack morning. of substantial coverage of the unique Jack family case was deliberate. According to Jack, authorities They were last spotted leaving for what was informed her that if she spoke to the media about supposed to be a two-week trip, entering the man’s her sister’s case, police would stop giving her dark-coloured pickup truck. The family was never updates on it. Jack, a survivor of abuse at residential seen again. schools, is still profoundly affected by her sister’s disappearance.

While the Jacks were officially reported missing on August 25, 1989, the only significant The lack of coverage surrounding missing and tip about their disappearance would come nearly murdered Indigenous people is only beginning to a decade later. On January 28, 1996, an unknown be recognised by the general Canadian population. man called the Vanderhoof police with a short but In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission startling message: “The Jack family are buried in of Canada advocated for a national public the south end of … ranch.” inquiry into the disproportionate victimisation of Indigenous women and girls, which Marlene Jack The voice of the man, which was later testified in 2017. Their final report was completed analysed by the University of British Columbia, and released to the public in 2019. has never officially been identified. The call itself was only a small facet of the investigation. The The results pointed to a widespread lack of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) engaged institutional care for missing Indigenous people. in hundreds of interviews and reviewed thousands While the RCMP claimed in a 2014 report that of documents of evidence. Public interest in the there have been over 1,200 missing and murdered case re-ignited in 2019 when a search for the Indigenous women between 1980 and 2012, Jack family, including ground-penetrating radar Indigenous women’s groups assert that there have equipment was used. Still, to this day, no trace of been over 4,000. the family has been found.

The mysterious disappearance of the Jack For the relatives of the Jack family, this family might be Canada’s spookiest story. But case is more than a spooky part of Canadian they are one of the few Indigenous families whose history. It’s a testament to the lack of care in tragedy was actually documented. What’s more Canadian institutions for Indigenous peoples. haunting is the countless more stories like theirs In 2017, Marlene Jack testified about her sister’s that have been lost to history. disappearance at a hearing that was part of the Canadian inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

VCAA moved from Goldring space by the Dean's Office This reduction in student group space comes alongside other recent student centre changes MICHAEL ELSAESSER FEATURES EDITOR

At the start of this fall term, the Victoria College Athletics Association (VCAA) was moved from their office space in the Goldring Student Centre by the Office of the Dean of Students. They will now share office space with the Vic Records recording studio and the VUSAC boardroom. The student levy will also be allowed to share storage space in a to-be-built shed on the Marg Ad field along with other storage areas in the student centre. In place of the student group, Trinity College Professor John Duncan and Dean’s Office employee Elena Ferranti will use the room in their capacities as Ideas for the World organisers. They previously occupied another office in the same wing of Goldring, but have moved to make space for the Vic on-site counsellors—one general, and one specifically for BIPOC-identifying students. They are moving into the former Ideas for the World room to make space for the new Wellness Interns who will be housed in the main Dean’s Office area. The Goldring Student Centre is a hub of student life and full-time students currently pay $200 a year for the centre’s mortgage.

In reference to the functionality of their new space arrangement, VCAA Co-Presidents Katerina Carrozzi and Onbee Kim shared in a statement with The Strand that their “old office was definitely more convenient for hosting impromptu meetings, however, we are optimistic about how we can utilise our new spaces moving forward!” VCAA also noted that they are “excited about the addition of our new Wellness Interns and since we are also a wellnessbased Levy we can only hope to see both parties flourish here at Victoria College!”

VCAA is not the first group to be moved in the Student Centre recently. Vic Records President Celia Siriopoulos and Studio Manager Riley Moorman shared in an email statement to The Strand that “the Vic Records studio space has not had a place to call home for many years now. Originally, the studio was on the main floor of the Goldring Student Centre, but when that space became occupied and then turned into a storage facility during the pandemic, Vic Records was left without a place for aspiring artists to create music. During the 2022 to 2023 academic year, we were moved into the basement of Goldring.” They continued to outline how they felt when VCAA was moved into their studio “without any consultation or notice” by stating they felt it was “incredibly concerning and unprofessional that the Dean’s Office would make such dramatic changes to a ratified club’s ability to accomplish one of its primary functions.” They continued to note that “the studio is only able to physically hold a handful of people (say a band and a recording technician), any amount of background noise absolutely ruins a recording session. This is combined with the fact that moving more things into the space also has an effect on the acoustics [...] Our studio space is filled with expensive recording equipment, which is a large financial liability for a club with limited funding. In normal operation, a specifically trained member of Vic Records is always present to make sure that equipment is handled with care and not damaged.” Vic Records shared that their studio “provides a free, essential service to this school’s many aspiring musicians, that is unaffordable otherwise.”

The club finished their statement by saying they’d “like to work with the Dean’s Office to resolve this unfortunate pattern of inconsistency, disrespect,

and a lack of transparency and communication; and continue to provide the best services we can to the music community that is so integral to student life at Vic, and UofT as a whole.”

In an email to The Strand, Dean of Students Kelley Castle stated, “Our approach to allocating space in the Goldring Student Centre reflects our commitment to ensuring students have access to as many resources and opportunities as possible. The Office of the Dean of Students has consistently heard that more resources to support student mental health and well-being were required. We are pleased to share that two more roles have been added to the office with a focus on student mental health and well-being. The need to have space for these roles increased the already very tight office capacity for student support roles.

The space previously used by VCAA was originally allocated for staff supporting students and so we are now using it for that purpose while continuing to ensure VCAA has access to both storage and meeting space for which they were previously using the office.

Students have also shared a desire for increased focus on physical health and so we hope that once it’s built, students will take advantage of the sports and leisure equipment in the brand-new shed in Margaret Addison Field. We are grateful to the VCAA for their collaborative approach to finding a good solution to the space crunch. Plans are currently underway to have a more expansive approach to student resources in the Goldring Student Centre, including moving the Office of the Registrar into the building. The Board of Regents, which has student representation, is currently reviewing the plans.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

04 EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | SHELLEY YAO EDITOR@THESTRAND.CA

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strand V O L U M E

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editors-in-chief

shelley yao

managing editor

lila carr

editors@thestrand.ca

Spooky vibes to start your night

managing@thestrand.ca business manager

victoria allder

business@thestrand.ca web

SHELLEY YAO & ANYA SHEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & POETRY EDITOR

vy le

web@thestrand.ca news

zindziswa malanca

news@thestrand.ca opinions

steph gyimah

opinions@thestrand.ca features

michael elsaesser

features@thestrand.ca science

kieran guimond

science@thestrand.ca arts and culture

dana lee

artsandculture@thestrand.ca stranded

celena ho

stranded@thestrand.ca poetry

anya shen

poetry@thestrand.ca copyediting

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copy@thestrand.ca design

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podcast

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What lurks in the shadows

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opinions romina emtyazi

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roensa salija , lila carr , and shelley yao design team chloe loung, wendy wan cover illustration raquel lewin

The Strand has been the newspaper of record for Victoria University since 1953. It is published 12 times a year with a circulation of 800 and is distributed in Victoria University buildings and across the University of Toronto’s St. George campus.

The Strand flagrantly enjoys its editorial autonomy and is committed to acting as an agent of constructive social change. As such, we will not publish material deemed to exhibit racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or other oppressive language.

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OPINIONS 05

EDITOR | STEPH GYIMAH OPINIONS@THESTRAND.CA

Woman in the shadows The repressive mystification of femininity SOPHIE ESTHER RAMSEY CONTRIBUTER

From nymphs and sirens to the ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl,’ femininity has long been sifted through ideals and tropes that overshadow its complexity. Superficial characterisations of the feminine as elusive, alluring, and even supernatural dismiss femininity as something worth understanding. Instead, it is reduced to a mere concept that neither men nor women are expected to understand.

The overshadowing of female complexity is frequently shown in the stereotyping of women as overly emotional. This stereotype excuses men’s lack of understanding of femininity under the notion that women are simply irrational. A severe example of this is the popular diagnosis of ‘female hysteria’ in women who exhibited behaviours that were deemed inappropriate in the nineteenth century. Seeking autonomy, committing infidelity, or having a disagreeable personality could have been symptoms of this hysteria. Instead of considering women as complex, their unconventionalism was deemed crazy—a malfunction of their sex simply beyond understanding.

LAMIA (1905) | JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE

The mystification of femininity existed in other intellectual fields like psychology.

Although Sigmund Freud’s ideas are widely considered unreputable, they remain influential to modern ways of thinking. His emphasis on the importance of symbolism, for instance, is a major tool in analysis today.

In his book The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud claims that when men first encounter a vagina, they experience castration anxiety.

Though Freud may not be correct in his generalisation, the idea of the female sex, as something both desired and feared,

underlies symbolic representations femininity today, like tropes.

of While Raskolnikov is a complicated representation of the tormented modern man, Sonya is a righteous, selfless, feminine In many of these tropes, it is the ideal praised for the sacrifices she makes for unknowableness of femininity that makes others. Her goodness and suffering inspire it seductive and terrifying. For example, Raskolnikov’s redemption. mythological sirens and their beautiful, haunting melodies that lead sailors astray, or Whether or not Dostoevsky asks that the ‘Femme Fatale’ who uses her dangerous women should aspire to be like Sonya, I do allure to destroy the male hero. not know. What I do know is that characters like Sonya perpetuate the idea of an ideal The portrayal of femininity as a dark but femininity that functions as an instrument beckoning corridor that men must learn to for male maturation. Not only does this conquer villainises the nature of femininity archetype stigmatise female experiences with by determining it cruel. Moreover, it despair, nihilism, and moral tension, but it perpetuates the notion of female sexuality can also instil in men unfair expectations as perverse by portraying it as a weapon for women to be perfect. against men—just like Freud’s idea of the vagina as a threat to emasculation.

Ultimately, such idealisation produces the expectation for women to be perfect Sometimes, however, the sexy but scary by embodying the ideal and becoming the female does not lead her man into ruin. concept of femininity. What femininity Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) is a is in the grand scheme of its complexity term coined by film critic Nathan Rabin becomes irrelevant. The relevant question to describe the female trope characterised is what femininity could or should be. As by her eccentricity and zest for life. a result, the reality of femininity becomes The role of the MPDG is to inspire the stigmatised. “broodingly soulful” male lead. Though the MPDG is desired, her This is seen in the unrealistic otherworldliness poses a expectations for women’s bodies to be threat to the man’s security. perfect. This standard leads women to Still, he is galvanised into unnatural methods of satisfying the ideal, betterment, if not for her such as food restriction, plastic surgery, and than for himself. even hair removal. Instead of demystifying femininity and acknowledging women’s A popular example bodies as human bodies, women are of this trope is Ramona expected to accommodate standards of Flowers from the movie perfection set by men.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Ramona is an enchanting As a literature student, I have read many free spirit with a mysterious books that follow the internal turmoil of past. When Scott, the the Modern Man. I have sympathised with awkward male lead, learns and loved these male characters, but am about all her crazy exes growing ever-restless for more conversation he must fight to be with about the Modern Woman: the complicated her, he is pushed out of woman. his comfort zone into selfWomen are born and raised in a world actualisation. He emerges structured by men and while navigating and from this experience more understanding such a patriarchal world, we confident than before. are also navigating the matriarchal world that exists within and among us. I believe Beyond her romantic this earns women a unique perspective history and ever-changing and profound understanding of humanity. hair colour, Ramona has Wisdom awaits us if we take the time and little else going on and the opportunity to understand femininity— exists only as a feminine through literature, art, conversation, and role in service to Scott’s character growth. even just consideration.

With such tropes, female complexity is safely shrouded in mystery, and with only There is an aversion, from men and its ethereal allure in view, we are once again women alike, towards demystifying the exempt from having to understand women. feminine and accepting that the ideal does not exist. We are afraid that the woman Even the nineteenth-century Russian stepping out of the shadows will disenchant author Fyodor Dostoevsky, a master at us. But there is not only one woman in the exploring the multifacetedness of human shadows, and the more I seek to understand nature, makes this escape. His book, Crime these women, the more I am enchanted by and Punishment, follows Raskolnikov, femininity, the farther the world opens up, a “broodingly soulful young man” the more meaningful it becomes. amidst a moral crisis who is brought to enlightenment by his love interest Sonya.

06 OPINIONS

EDITOR | STEPH GYIMAH OPINIONS@THESTRAND.CA

Why everyone should be talking about Argentina Javier Milei and the looming shadow of the far-right in political rhetoric MANUELA MORA CASTILLO CONTRIBUTOR

One of the most emblematic buildings in downtown Buenos Aires is the Casa Rosada— the Pink House. Self-explanatorily named after the colour of its façade, this French-style structure represents the site of executive power in Argentina, harbouring the President’s office and the Ministers’ Cabinet. On October 22, as citizens head to the polls in the country’s General Election, the possible successors for the Casa’s keys will be contested among a myriad of characters and political sectors. So far, the results are looking grim.

With mounting inflation and years of battling social discontent, Argentinians have been clamouring for a necessary change. As expected, the presidential candidates have delivered a stream of promises and electoral discussions that tackle some of the issues the electorate is more interested in, such as insecurity, economic recovery, and social policy. The extent to which any of these figures will be able to achieve their promises is up for discussion, but the contents of Javier Milei’s campaign should be examined closely, as they are especially worrisome.

Leader of the political collective Liberty Advances, Milei was the surprise of the latest electoral contest. Held on August 13, the PASO elections (open primaries where political coalitions officialise their candidates) were an outstanding win for Milei, as he unexpectedly outpaced right-wing Patricia Bullrich and Peronist Sergio Massa. Portraying himself as a political outsider, Milei is a former TV personality who studied economics and served in the Argentinian congress in 2021, but his current campaign is inflamed with farright proposals. For instance, echoing Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Milei proposes lowering gun control, replacing the peso with the US dollar, and privatising public firms. Similarly, he has criticised the school system for attempting to destroy the “traditional family,” is a known anti-abortionist, and a climate change denier.

were announced, and his openly exclusionary Therefore, this is also a call for public and neoliberal policies threaten relations with recognition of the problem. It is easy to assume the leftist wave in the region. that this type of violent and discriminatory rhetoric will fade away into the greater political Therefore, Milei’s campaign is more spectrum and that their chances of acquiring dangerous than promising. We must pay seats are close to minimal. Evidently, this is not attention to the fast radicalisation of voters. the case. Milei’s possible victory is an example Fueled by dissatisfaction, the far-right’s discourse of what can happen when people are desperate is becoming more appealing than it should be, enough for change, transforming collective and reactionary movements are emerging as a dissatisfaction into a radicalised opposition response to a failing system. Currently, this is that extends the boundaries of what should Argentina’s burden to carry, but their situation be socially and politically acceptable. That should be viewed as a cautionary tale by the is, they turn their issues with the system international community since it demonstrates into a legitimiser of their prejudices, and by the danger of downplaying populist voices in undermining the impact of their discourse, political discussions. While their claims sound we do the possible victims of their speech a outrageous, this does not mean they do not disservice. have ideological strength. What is worse, it seems that part of their popularity stems from It is necessary to emphasise that the keys to their inflammatory language. People are angry the Casa Rosada have not been won yet, but with the established structure and will do what the shadow of the far-right can be seen creeping they deem necessary to express their beliefs, from the seams. It is expanding its hold slowly regardless of how bigoted or exclusionary they but surely through Argentinian society. The can be. upcoming presidential race promises to be the physical manifestation of it; those who vote for This is an invitation to view Milei as Milei will become supporters—be it by will or a symptom of a larger problem. Both by omission—of such an ideological spread. internationally and domestically, citizens This transmission is not only domestic, as reject a system that has left thousands of political discourses transcend national borders. people increasingly dissatisfied. Part of this Thus, the Argentinian case cannot be dismissed dissatisfaction comes from the perceived simply because it is far away. What Milei is power concentration of political and economic promoting has already taken root in Canada, elites. A minority of the population benefits with different voices and tackling contrasting from the exploitation of the majority and the issues but with the same general sentiments. traditionally disenfranchised remain on the outskirts of political society. The other part of At this moment, all we can truly do is this dissatisfaction comes from increasing social hope Argentinians make the best choice turmoil, where the far-right keeps pushing despite the options they have been given. for the restoration of traditional values in the Regardless of who wins the presidential race, hopes that it will return society to a golden era they will get the opportunity to rebuild their since they feel threatened by modernisation country and transform it into the political and and wish to revert to social advances. What economic power it once was. But, as we watch they fail to realise is that these progressions the news on October 22, let’s not forget the have benefitted civil society and are not the silent monster creeping its way into political monster they are meant to fight. Rather, they society, nor the symptoms of its spread. After should concentrate their efforts on the unjust all, domestic trends travel, and they might be structures that have consecutively reduced already knocking on our door. their possibilities of self-advancement.

So, here lies the problem: Milei is a far-right populist who seeks to expand his personal agenda by employing the discontent of the Argentinian public and feeding on general disillusionment. For the past few years, Argentina has experienced an alarmingly growing inflation rate, reaching 124.4 percent last week (the highest it has been since 1991), and 40 percent of the population now lives in poverty. Milei has blamed the traditional “political caste” for the country’s current state, and while he is right to criticise the political establishment and hold its main figures accountable, absolute rejection of Argentinian institutions—along with dangerous populist and misinformed claims—cannot possibly uplift the nation’s circumstances. As a matter of fact, upon his victory at PASO, the value of the peso plummeted 18 percent after the results ILLUSTRATION | CHELSEY WANG

OPINIONS 07

@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 18 OCTOBER 2023

Defending the ‘pick-me’ girl My issue with the ‘pick-me’ girl trend IANNA MARTINEZ BARRIENTOS CONTRIBUTOR

When you get right down to it, she is not like other girls.

She casually sits on a couch talking about the latest football game with ‘the boys,’ when unexpectedly, their conversation dies down. The room goes silent, and she realises she is running out of ‘guy things’ to say. The silence is getting louder, about to shift from comfortable to awkward. In the spur of the moment, she digs into the part of her brain labelled ‘internalised misogyny,’ grabs the first thought, and loudly says, “I’m so glad I don't hang out with other girls. All they do is cause drama!” Some might call it ‘intentional’ and maybe call her ‘calculated,’ but most would call her a ‘pick-me girl.’

A ‘pick-me girl’ is an individual, usually a heterosexual, cisgender woman, who presents herself as being against stereotypical ‘feminine’

My main issue with the act of calling out pick-me girls is that it is advertised as a form of feminism. Gen Z claims that these mocking TikToks are meant to educate them on her microaggressive behaviour. This is not to say that their behaviour should be excused, but rather we should begin to question why certain women feel the need to seek male attention in the first place. The answer to this might lie in the 1993 novel The Robber Bride, where author Margaret Atwood writes, “Even pretending you aren’t catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy [...] You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”

In the time of ‘pick-me girls,’ this quote seems more important than ever. It is easy to forget that like all women, the pick-me girl also lives under the patriarchy where she is subjected to male fantasies, the male gaze, and male entitlement. Under such a world, there is no escaping the effects of patriarchal structures.

Specifically, how women view themselves in relation to men, how they tie their self-value to male attention, and how they interact with ILLUSTRATION | MARIA VIDAL VALDESPINO

behaviours. In doing so, these women often make microaggressive comments directed at other women. The trope was popularised by TikTok around 2021, and as of 2023, TikTok posts under the hashtag ‘pick me’ have more than 8.9 billion views combined. Given our excessive use of social media, it should be no surprise that the term ‘pick-me’ has slipped into the vernacular to such an extent that it has now become customary to use it as an insult in daily conversation. Additionally, there appears to be some sort of pleasure in teasing the pickme girl online. For instance, some content creators have multiple videos on the subject, speak in an exaggerated high-pitched voice and interact with comments that are also poking fun at the pick-me girl.

other women as a result of their deformed relationship with men. For most women, the patriarchy teaches them that certain ‘feminine’ attributes are needed for them to be accepted or desired by men. This is not true, but due to culture, religion, relationships, family, and other social institutions, not all women have the privilege of differentiating between what behaviours they want to embody and what behaviours have been instilled in them by external forces, like the patriarchy.

These so-called ‘feminine’ attributes are reinforced in the fictional stories we consume today. Yet, when we encounter women who adopt them, we choose to roll our eyes and scoff. In particular, the 2013 film, The Wolf of

Wall Street, does an excellent job of depicting these male-desired ‘feminine’ attributes, while simultaneously strengthening the idea that a woman who stands out among others will ultimately be chosen by a man. For example, the main character, Jordan Belfort, cheats on his wife with Naomi, a character who is written merely for the male gaze. Naomi is depicted as passive, nurturing, easygoing and most importantly, different enough. Jordan’s wife, Teresa, is the opposite. She is simply assertive.

The film deliberately chooses to ignore the female character’s perspective and how they have been personally affected by the patriarchy, almost in the same manner that Gen Z does with the pick-me girl.

In her book Reviewing the Female Gothic Heroine: Agency, Identification and Feminist Film Criticism, Helen Hanson brings forth the idea that women in gothic literature seek individuality at the expense of other women.

She explains that “the female gothic text is interesting precisely because it explores the negotiations of ‘female selfhood.’ It does so textually through the female gothic heroine’s identification of another woman’s story and the determination of her own fate as different.

‘Not being like that’ is the formation of the heroine’s self-image.” I argue that this idea can also be applied to the binary of the pick-me girl and the ‘girl’s girl,’ as they both rely on one another to find their own individuality. The girl’s girl is meant to oppose the pick-me girl.

She supports and uplifts other women rather than degrades them. However, in my opinion, the concept of a girl’s girl is contradictory.

The pick-me girl is ridiculed because, through language and behaviour, she is trying to set herself apart from other women. Yet, women who call other women “pick-me girls” while implying that they are girls’ girls are doing the same thing; they too are setting themselves apart from a collective group. Thus, it points to the question of whether women can ever achieve true individuality without being dependent on other people.

Here is where I propose a possible solution to end this quarrel between the pick-me girl and the girl’s girl. First, we must stop categorising women into binaries and pitting them against each other. This only reinforces the misogyny that has been ingrained into all women.

Secondly, we need to acknowledge that every woman at some point, with or without purpose has acted in a way that catered towards the male gaze. Once we acknowledge this, we will then be able to have honest and constructive conversations about how women adhere to and perpetuate misogynist rhetoric. When we can have meaningful discussions to identify internalised misogyny; we can challenge these patriarchal ideas.

08 FEATURES

HOLAS TAM

EDITOR | MICHAEL ELSAESSER FEATURES@THESTRAND.CA

WHO IS GETTING SICK ANYMORE? DAISY SMITH CONTRIBUTOR

Disclaimer—Daisy Smith is an executive of the Arts and Science Student Union (ASSU). Their views, while influenced by the student concerns they are privy to in their position, are their own and do not reflect the views of the ASSU.

The erosion of academic accessibility measures from the pandemic ILLUSTRATION | ANELLA SCHABLER

FEATURES 09

@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 18 OCTOBER 2023

In March 2020, the University of Toronto, along with higher learning institutions across the globe, was fundamentally changed by the growing presence of the COVID-19 virus, which eventually took the form of a global pandemic. Initially facing a two-week shutdown, the university was later forced to fundamentally reimagine how it could function under new federal and provincial guidelines and in keeping with scientific and public health advice.

students necessitated making changes to academic requirements, ones which meant students didn’t have to choose between the health of themselves or their families and their dedication to their courses. It also had broader positive impacts, giving students more options and flexibility in their preferred learning environment or when they needed short-term leaves for any number of reasons, broadly reducing stress on students who are already in difficult situations.

There has been much discussion about the negative effects the pandemic and the university’s responses had on campus life, class engagement, and other aspects of the student experience. However, there has been a lack of discussion of how the pandemic forced the university to update archaic, out-of-date, and harmful policies into practices which better served the student body. Without this discussion, most students were unaware as UofT’s administration rolled back these positive changes without meaningful input from students and sometimes without properly informing students at all.

This is not to say that these policies were not without issue or that they were a complete or wholly effective means of accommodating struggling students. The drawbacks of online classes on student mental health have been discussed at length by other UofT groups, with faculty also facing particular difficulties over hybrid and online models requiring additional resources and a greater workload. Online learning options have also been widely criticised for accessibility issues, both in online resources not having accessibility features and increased negative impacts on students with mental illnesses or learning disabilities. On the other hand, much of this can be ascribed to the way resources were implemented, the lack of choice in completely remote learning, and the overall lack of socialisation during the pandemic. In fact, when online courses are well-implemented, they can remove barriers for students with disabilities, such as physical accessibility of commutes and classrooms, or allowing students to be more in control of their learning environment. Equally importantly, students and student unions have expressed a clear interest in online and hybrid options, showing the desire for these alternatives and for choice in how students are taught is strong.

Perhaps the most memorable of these changes was the widespread implementation of hybrid/online schooling options. As many readers will remember, the University of Toronto remained almost completely online until the Fall 2021 semester, when it began reintroducing in-person classes and in-person exams.

This change was not without its hiccups, which included controversies over vaccination policies and the Omicron variant leading to a last-minute shutdown. This time came with increased pressure to return to in-person learning due to the negative effects online classes were having on students. However, online learning was also a key factor in limiting the spread of the virus in Canada. Some aspects of online learning were also specifically helpful to students, such as the “flexibilities and convenience” of the experience praised in some circumstances, especially by instructors who found themselves able to adapt well to the new teaching methods.

The university saw a broader return to some forms of in-person learning on Monday, February 7, 2022, but UofT and many individual professors retained a number of accommodations. These included online synchronous or asynchronous courses, courses offered in-person and online simultaneously, and lecture recordings posted after classes. Offering students more options was important for both highrisk students who could not return to campus and for students who caught the coronavirus or other illnesses to still be able to access and engage with course material.

Another notable change was the introduction of the Absence Declaration tool on Acorn for students.

Prior to the pandemic, students who were ill or otherwise indisposed had to go to a health practitioner to fill out a Verification of Illness (VOI) form, a huge practical (and financial, for students without full health coverage) burden to students who were already sick. Absence Declaration was originally introduced as a temporary measure during the pandemic to allow students to get academic accommodations or considerations for classes or assignments missed due to “a health condition or injury," "a personal or family emergency," or "bereavement.” While the policy has changed since then, it could originally be applied for periods of up to two weeks (including declaring previous absences), could be used multiple times during a semester, and applied from the beginning of classes to the end of the exam period.

I myself had to use the tool twice, including once during the 2022 Winter exam period, when I tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss an in-person final exam. I can personally attest, then, to how important this change was to the broader health of the student population and the well-being of individual students. People who are symptomatic or have tested positive are recommended to isolate at home, and going out to get an additional test places an unnecessary burden and places others at risk. Making absence declarations simple also reduces the chances of students going to campus sick, as there are fewer hurdles to manage than with a VOI. This policy was also profoundly impactful for students dealing with mental health crises or family emergencies, where students who need proof face administrative barriers and emotional tolls.

Overall, these and other changes (including broader credit/no credit allowances and more mental health resources) reflected the University actually committing to its stated goal of “providing a safe and healthy environment.” These policy changes reflected that prioritising the public and personal health of its

In other cases, I would argue the changes the University made did not go far enough. In Fall 2021, classes which were delivered online or in a hybrid fashion had in-person exam requirements.

This posed a significant danger for high-risk students or those with vulnerable households, especially as the Omicron variant rapidly spread across campus.

This eventually required the university to shut down in-person exams in the middle of the exam period, though still almost a week later than Queen’s and Western. The Absence Declaration form, while a great tool, also didn’t fully remove barriers for students who had to miss exams for health or personal reasons. Deferred exams cost up to $140 per term depending on how many exams a student misses, which adds a significant financial burden for students and adds to the existing complication of rescheduling and preparing for exams months later than intended.

The answer to these problems was not, however, to remove or restrict these measures with little to no warning or open discussion with the student body.

It is important, at this point, to note that even as the WHO has declared the “global emergency” of the pandemic is over, the coronavirus is ever-present in the daily lives of Canadian citizens. As COVID-19 infections surge across the province, removing the changes meant to accommodate the virus shows a disinterest in adhering to advice from the medical community and a lack of empathy for students. While individuals can do their part in reducing the number of cases, the university also holds a responsibility to implement practices which make it easier for students to stay off campus when they are sick.

The slow rollback of online classes will come as no surprise to students who have attended UofT for the past few years. During the pandemic, university faculty members expressed their desire to “have a choice between in-person and online delivery.” For the past year, it seems professors have largely chosen in-person delivery, with even lecture recordings or posted lecture slides/notes dwindling in comparison to earlier terms. I am not one to argue that teachers should have no say in how they deliver their courses or that hybrid and online learning alternatives don’t add to their workload. However, faculties and the university itself could make a commitment to providing the resources and additional support to make it easier for teachers to provide these hybrid alternatives rather than letting these options almost entirely disappear.

The changes to the Absence Declaration Tool are also a serious step backwards in the university’s health and wellness policies. While faculties were told of this change over the summer, students were not told this change had occurred until a week into classes when the university emailed the student body describing the new limits of absence declarations. The broader student body and student groups were not consulted or informed of this decision but instead left to scramble to consider how this would impact their term.

Students can now only make one absence declaration per term, to a maximum of six days.

This declaration cannot be made during the exam period or on make-up days for holidays, nor can it be extended even if the person’s illness or personal situation requiring leave persists. If you get sick twice per term—something the university seems to believe is an exceptional circumstance even with frat parties, dorm flu, and COVID 19 cases on the rise—then you will be forced to take additional measures.

Specifically, the university has returned to the requirement to fill out a VOI. The removal of requirements for a Verification of Illness Form (VOI) brought the University in line with existing medical advice. The Canadian Medical Association, in response to Ontario’s Bill 47, came out against the requirement of a doctor’s note for most illnesses, explaining the practice “could cause public health issues” by sending people either into doctor’s offices or if they can’t obtain a verification for some reason, back into a crowded environment of work or school.

It can also be difficult to get an appointment in the short term or find a walk-in clinic on short notice, which is only made more difficult when you are suffering from an illness. Further, out-of-province or international students may have to consider coverage issues, which only make it less accessible.

This is not even to mention students who need the Absence Declaration Tool for circumstances other than a physical illness. Faculty of Arts and Science students are given two vague options with little explanation: a College Registrar's letter or a Letter of Academic Accommodation from Accessibility Services. The latter is more self-explanatory but applies only to students with a disability who are already registered under Accessibility Services.

Other students, whether undiagnosed, facing a new mental health barrier, or facing a personal or family emergency, are left with the vague notion to contact their college registrar or if in a different faculty, their divisional registrar’s office.

The University Registrar’s Office webpage on Absence Declaration offers little information on what is and is not considered a valid reason for absence, nor what a letter from your registrar will do, exactly.

Instead, students—in enough distress to need time off courses—are asked to navigate this system on their own and hope that an administrator agrees their personal crisis warrants missing a quiz.

Allow me to digress into my own personal experience for a moment. When I had COVID-19 during my final exam period, it absolutely crossed my mind to simply attend my exam while sick. The $70 cost, the stress of rescheduling the exam, losing my ability to go home during the Winter reading week, and the addition of studying for a sixth exam during the midterm season were all compelling reasons against deferring. The decision was easy: I would not risk the health of all the other students, even if I might have been willing to risk a grade by writing an exam while feverish. However, every hurdle makes it harder for students to choose in favour of public health. This equally applies to the use of absence declaration only once per term and the lack of online alternatives; students who are sick throughout the term, especially with something less easily diagnosable than the coronavirus, are more and more likely to choose to go into class over the stress of losing their one absence declaration, getting a VOI, or risking a grade. This is not a choice any student should be forced to make, and UofT is ensuring hundreds of students will have to do so this term.

These policies will not only have a tangible negative impact on individual students and on the overall health of the university and its surrounding community but also paint a negative picture of what UofT actually values. These changes point to a lack of concern for public health and a willingness to go against clear policy advice from medical organisations.

They also point to a willingness to dismiss student wants and needs without actually consulting with those who could give them input and advice and bring into question the university’s “commitment to mental health [and] wellbeing.”

It is impossible to separate the policies discussed in this article from the negative impacts the pandemic had on UofT’s student community. But, for all the harm the global pandemic brought, why are we letting the few positive changes that came out of the COVID-19 years erode away? Why is the university choosing to take a step backwards to policies that value attendance over health, academic success over personal well-being, and going back to the past instead of pushing for a better future?

10 SCIENCE

EDITOR | KIERAN GUIMOND SCIENCE@THESTRAND.CA

Scientists @ Vic: Maximus Caron KIERAN GUIMOND SCIENCE EDITOR

The Strand: What year are you and what are your majors?

Maximus Caron: I'm in fourth year and my majors are forest conservation and human geography, and then I have a minor in political science.

What is your research?

I was working with the City of Mississauga as an invasive species forester and summer student. A lot of what we were doing was invasive species control and removal, but a really cool project that I got to do was looking at where major roadways, railroads, and public infrastructure works were, and identifying invasive species along these corridors so that we can then do joint work with organisations [such as Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific, Metrolinx] to control and monitor patches that we found. I got to reach out to [them], and I asked, ‘Oh, would you mind controlling this’ or ‘Hey, you'd notice these populations on your property, they're extremely hazardous, let us come in and control it for you.’ By doing so, I was able to create an entire database of any invasive species that we have previously mapped or identified along all of these networks and corridors, which allows us to have

more cross lateral communication and cooperation with other entities that aren't necessarily government or commercial but rather like the railroads or national entities.

Why is this an important thing to research and how can this information be used in the future?

One of the biggest spreads of invasive species is through rail corridors, road corridors, hydro utility areas, and any super disturbed areas that have a lot of traffic and movement because they often spread through wind.

When you have a massive freight train come through, it can take the seeds and it can blow them way down the line or it can get stuck on the cars themselves and then fall off later on. Ontario and North America are at risk for invasive species because of the Columbian Exchange and just decades and centuries of colonisation and people from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania bringing their native and domestic products from their home countries. They can understand how to cultivate these crops, but in North America, we don't have those species. So, when they were brought over, there was a huge lack of natural predators and barriers to prevent the species from just spreading out of control in the wild. The first step to controlling invasive species is you have to be able to identify and understand where they exist because they are one of the biggest threats to our agroforestry and our environmental economy.

How did you get this position?

I applied through the City of Mississauga website, and they called back, and then I interviewed. I think I applied to four jobs, and this was the only one that even sent me a response. I think what helps was that I had prior experience with invasive species through my work study. My work study was looking at beach heart disease, which is an invasive plant species. It's a fungus pathogen complex from Europe and was brought over accidentally in the late 1800s.

What advice do you have for students looking to do research?

Apply everywhere. Don't think that just because you're nearing the end of the semester that [you're] like, ‘Oh, I'm done, I'm out of options.’ I applied to this job like right in April and I started in May. And you just got to be persistent. You're gonna face a lot of barriers and a lot of walls, but you just have to keep applying, because eventually one of those walls will have a door and one of those doors will eventually open.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Creepy things in nature Don’t end up on a crow’s bad side EMILIE NERO CONTRIBUTOR

As a biology student, I’ve always been fond of learning about obscure phenomena that occur in nature. Every now and again, I’ll encounter a piece of information about nature, which makes me feel ever so uneasy like I’m not fully comfortable with believing the fact that it exists on the same planet as I do. I’ve highlighted four spooky things that exist in nature that creep me out, and have investigated why they are the way that they are.

Coast-horned lizards can shoot blood from their eyes I was given this specific reptile as a topic for one of my first-year ecology class projects, and I still think about this lizard to this day. Coast-horned lizards are from the genus Phrynosoma and live in western and central North America.

Lizards in this genus have one of the most unique (and most creepy) defences ever. Along with their near-perfect camouflage and their reluctance to move, these lizards will shoot blood out of slits below their eyes when threatened from the front. This act of defence is rarely observed in the presence of humans; researchers have theorised that this only occurs in the presence of canines—such as foxes and coyotes—which would be natural predators within their environments.

Taylor Glacier in Antarctica is also known as ‘Blood Falls’ Keeping on the blood theme, there is a waterfall in Antarctica that turns blood-red when the water comes in contact with air. Nicknamed ‘Blood Falls,’ scientists have been trying to explain this creepy phenomenon for nearly a century since its discovery in 1911. Early Antarctic explorers hypothesised that red algae or iron oxides may be the cause of the colour change, but the latest study suggests that ironrich nanospheres oxidise to turn the water the distinctive blood red. Other elements such as chlorine, magnesium, and sodium can also contribute colours to this bloody-looking masterpiece.

Crows can remember what your face looks like Crows are objectively spooky. Every horror movie seems to have them circling a graveyard. They are commonly used as a symbol of death and they also make a distinct unsettling noise.

Yet, you might not know that crows have the ability to remember both bird and human faces. Behavioural studies have shown that crows can recognise facial characteristics of people for at least five years and are likely to attack and act aggressively toward those who cause them stress. Note to self: whatever you do, be nice to crows because they WILL remember if you weren't.

Zombie Fungus Zombies are real. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, uses one of the most malevolent and creepy methods of reproduction. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a tropical parasite that manipulates and kills ants after taking over their minds and bodies. Ants pick up fungal spores from the ground, which allows the parasite to hijack the ant's mind. The parasite causes the ant to climb up the stem of a plant and attach to a leaf, death-latching by the ant's jaw. The fungal bodies grow and rupture from the ant’s head, killing the ant as the fungus reproduces. What a malicious—yet awesome—way to reproduce.

ILLUSTRATION | CAMERON ASHLEY

ARTS AND CULTURE 11

@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 18 OCTOBER 2023

The internet is redefining the term ‘girlhood’ Ballet flats are stepping back out of the shadows ILLUSTRATION | CHRISTINA DINH

DANA LEE ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR

Within this past year, you may or may not have heard the terms “girl dinner,” “girl math,” or “girlhood” being used online by young women to describe the chaotic and mundane aspects of their lives, from crappy meals to celebrations of female friendships. The use of the term girl has created an online discourse of girl-identifying individuals who relate to one another and create comedic rhetorics around mental health and the everyday ups and downs and pragmatic truths of being a woman. They romantisise their lives in a way that recognises the prosaic and generic parts of it as something fantastical. “I’m just a girl!” and “In a Sofia Coppola kind of way” are phrases used to justify, beautify, and romanticise the imperfect and human behaviour of women. Deny the second-wave feminist assumption that to be an empowered woman means to align oneself with traditionally masculine traits or ambitions or the socially instilled expectation of compliance.

The beautification and aestheticisation of girlhood online come in many pretty pink packages. Trends like “coquette” and “ballet-core” have been sensationalised on the internet and used over 700 million times on apps like TikTok in promotion of particular fashion aesthetics and inspiring many, from Midwest girls to New York City fashion influencers.

Coquette, though a term coined in the 1600s, is nowadays considered a lifestyle and fashion aesthetic that has dominated the online fashion scene since 2021. The term “coquette” derives from the French word coq, but is culturally understood as a woman who flirts with or desires the sexualising attention of men. The “coquette” aesthetic derives from the soft pastel grunge, nymphet, and Lolita aesthetics that trended within the early 2010s, the genesis of micro-group aesthetics that transpired on

Tumblr (thank you, Lana Del Rey). The style also pulls inspiration from the kinder-whore aesthetic of the 1990s grunge scene and opposingly from the royal styles of ballerinas and Marie Antoinette—in the eyes of Sofia Coppola, that is. This blend of styles from multiple eras creates a modern-day look encompassed by 50s American vintage, Mary Janes, bows, lace, gingham, and, of course, anything in the shape of a heart.

As for the twin flame of the coquette aesthetic, balletcore is another micro-trend with traditionally girly motifs that has garnered the attention of members of the girlhood over the past year. Ballet-core, or ballet-inspired fashion, has a much deeper history that extends over a century past the 2014 Tumblr renaissance and has played a valuable role in the evolution of couture in fashion. However, it is also rooted in the sexual exploitation of women in ballet since the 19th century. Entering the ballet as children, girls of 19th century Paris were subject to the perversion of upper-class men, oppressive leadership within their studios, and competitive malnourishment—all packaged pretty in a tutu. Nowadays, the use of ballet motifs such as pink, black, and white colour palettes, bows and tutus, leg warmers and ballerina flats are glamourised on apps like TikTok. These create a niche aesthetic that celebrates the elegance and off-the-clock styles of a ballerina despite the controversial history and continued toxic culture that exists in the world of ballet.

Returning to the sensationalisation of girlhood, one may ask if these fashion trends use bows and mini skirts to salaciously infantilise one’s appearance and lifestyle. The discourse around the Lolita and nymphet aesthetics criticises the styles for being insensitive, infantilising, and perverted, given their connections to erotically inappropriate stories that romanticise the image of underage girls. Is it possible to explore hyperfemininity without being inherently sexual? While a valid concern to question the age-appropriateness of certain

styles, what differentiates these “girlhood” aesthetics from controversial aesthetics like that of Lolita is its reinterpretation of the hyper-feminine image. From an image that has received a negative connotation of being hyper-sexual or inappropriate, to one that recognises feminine or girly symbols as non-comparative to those of a child’s, exploring a woman’s choice to dress how she wants without the apprehension for creeps. Many adherents to the coquette style find solace in their active clarification of and revisionist take on the matter, rejecting the assumed objectification and infantilisation of their ribbons and celebrating their choice to adorn themselves in girliness, despite half of the world telling them it makes them a bad feminist and the other half oppressing them for it.

The current subscription to girlhood does not exclude the grown woman, the successful woman, the mentally ill woman, or the stay-at-home mom. It relies upon itself to make everything look pretty and turns a mundane day or a failed attempt at productivity into an Ottessa Moshfegh novel. In September 2023, writer, speaker, and sex educator Rukiat Ashawe expressed to Refinery29, “Femininity and girliness are synonymous with our oppression. A part of our emancipation has been to reject them.” Girlhood, lately, is a representation of being a girl because it’s fun and rejects the patriarchal framework that denies girlhood of innate competency or value or stripping away one’s title as a feminist simply because they adhere to traditionally girly styles. Perhaps she does not care to girlboss her way up to a CEO position to prove that she is just as powerful as the man. Screw the man. Girlhood rejects the secondwave feminist ideology that a girl’s value transpires in her ability to sit in at the boy’s club. The girl’s club is a much prettier place to be. It is an expression of girliness that does not care to follow the footsteps of the man in order to be seen as its equal. Girlhood has nothing to prove to you, as it already sees itself as an equal, using historically patronised symbols of what it means to be girly and repackaging them as an act of modern feminism.

12 ARTS AND CULTURE

EDITOR | DANA LEE ARTSANDCULTURE@THESTRAND.CA

Horror has an ableism problem Portrayal of disability in horror ILLUSTRATION | SOPHIE STANKOVIC

stigmatises dissociative identity disorder. Despite people with dissociative identity disorder and other similar disorders consistently portrayed as violent characters in TV and films, research has shown that people with these disorders are far more likely to hurt themselves than other people. Upon Split’s release, over 20,000 people signed a petition saying they would boycott the film. Despite this, the film grossed $278.5 million USD. A more recent example is The Crowded Room (2023), a TV series that came out this year starring Tom Holland.

This series is about a man arrested for murder, and it is later revealed that the character has dissociative identity disorder. This show is based on a true story about a man who pleaded “insanity” after committing various crimes and was eventually deemed innocent. Psychiatrists diagnosed him with dissociative identity disorder and said his alters committed the crimes, not him. This show is clearly perpetuating the idea that people with dissociative identity disorder are violent criminals who have no control over anything they do. (As a side note, if you look up ‘crowded room controversy,’ the majority of the results will be about a sex scene between Holland’s character and another man and not about the decision to have this show exist in the first place.)

KIERAN GUIMOND SCIENCE EDITOR

How many horror movies have you seen where the main villain is described as ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’? How often is it that you have villains covered in scars or with facial deformities? When you think of mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or dissociative identity disorder, do you think of serial killers?

The inclusion of people with disabilities in horror media is not necessarily a new phenomenon, but it is one that people are starting to recognise. Audiences are quick to point out the importance of \/ ‘representation’ in a film or TV show, but we also need to consider how these identities are being depicted. The majority of the time, when there are characters with disabilities in media, they are rarely portrayed as heroes. Instead, they are much more likely to be the villains whom audiences are rooting against.

This issue goes all the way back to the 1930s. One prominent example is Quasimodo in the 1923 film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Most people are aware of the Disney adaptation of this story, and the plot is mostly the same. Quasimodo is an example of a sympathetic ‘monster.' Although he isn’t the story's villain, the film clearly shows how people with disabilities were viewed at that time. One of the reviews of the film said that Quasimodo “is a creature of horror, a weird monstrosity of ape-like ugliness,” which is… not a fantastic thing to say about a person. Another example from the same time period is The Invisible Man (1933). The main character—a doctor—performs an experiment on himself that turns him invisible. However, the experiment turns him ‘insane’ and leads him to murder, thereby linking mental disorders to violent crimes and tying into the trope of the ‘mad scientist.’

Another aspect of this is the portrayal of psychiatric hospitals in various horror movies and video games. This has been a common trope leading back to the 1800s and has been featured in multiple books, including Dracula, where one of the characters owns an “insane asylum.”

Psychiatric hospitals, especially in the past, weren’t exactly places of comfort for the patients. The majority of the horror that is present in films that use this as a setting tends to be from the patients themselves. We are meant to be scared of the people in these hospitals and view them as monsters. This has led to real-life effects, with people avoiding seeking treatment in psychiatric hospitals due to the stigma that surrounds them.

One example of this is the movie Halloween (1978), directed by John Carpenter. The main antagonist, Michael Myers, escapes from a psychiatric hospital at the beginning of the film and has an undisclosed mental illness. Yet, people on the internet are obsessed with diagnosing him, including some people saying he has autism—because I guess being autistic means you’re a serial killer. This character was, in fact, based on a young boy Carpenter saw when he visited a psychiatric hospital for a class trip. In a documentary about the film, he described the look of the child: “It’s a schizophrenic stare, is what it is. It’s a real evil stare. And it was unsettling to me. It was like the creepiest thing I’d ever seen, just because it’s a stranger … he was completely insane.” This quote shows the complete lack of empathy Carpenter appears to have for this child and people with disabilities in general. Despite this, Halloween is considered one of the all-time best horror movies.

And this is still very much an issue today. The 2016 film Split features a man with dissociative identity disorder who has 23 different alters. The man kidnaps three girls and ends up killing two of them. One of the alters is only known as “The Beast,” who is a cannibal with superhuman strength. I don’t think it needs to be stated how this is an incredibly ableist take and how the film

So why is this such a big problem? Why are more people not speaking out against this? Why did The Crowded Room still get released when there is a petition signed by 30,000 people asking Apple to cancel the show? The main issue with all of these films isn’t having people with disabilities in them, but instead how they’re shown. However, it’s not all bad news. People are becoming more aware of these ableist tropes and are working actively against them. We can only hope that eventually these terrible tropes are put to rest once and for all.

Angry Girl Music PHOTO | SARA QADOUMI

ARTS AND CULTURE 13

@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 18 OCTOBER 2023

Have we lost the horror of the supernatural?

How the modern horror genre is using science to reimagine their monsters KYLEEANNE WOOD SENIOR COPY EDITOR

Every Halloween season in my early childhood, I would make it a habit to watch the American classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein with my grandfather.

For those unfamiliar with this 1948 black-and-white film, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a horror comedy that satirises the Golden Era of Horror—a period between the early 20s to the late 30s marked

by Universal’s Classic Monster movies. Featuring iconic villains like Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolf Man, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, in many ways, had been my introduction to the concept of the quintessential movie monster: purely evil, deadly violent, and outside the realm of scientific law.

For many decades now, these gothic monsters of the mid-1900s have fallen out of favour in the horror genre. Yet, the core principles of these classic characters carried over to shape iconic horror villains of the 70s and 80s. Take, for instance, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, who typified the classic boogeyman archetype; these silent, mask-wearing serial killers—incapable of death and always driven to kill—personified supernatural forces of evil. Like their horror predecessors, these slasher icons embraced their out-of-world qualities in order to enact terror in their audiences. In essence, the horror of these monsters ILLUSTRATION | VINCENT QUACH

stemmed from their ability to transcend the laws of nature.

The supernatural horror subgenre refers to phenomena that lie outside the realm of scientific explanation. This form of horror underscores the human fear of the unknown and the unexplainable manifestations of evil in everyday life. As such, the popularity of supernatural movie monsters, ranging from Count Dracula to Pazuzu not only gave a face to the audience's deepest fears but also showcased how viewers gravitated towards depictions of evil that could not be rationalised or scientifically explained. In this way, the supernatural genre has represented a reaction against an increasingly scientific and intellectual worldview.

Today, supernatural horror continues to play its part in the modern horror genre, as evidenced by blockbuster hits like It (2017) and The Conjuring (2013). Yet, as a horror fan, I can’t help but notice the genre's departure from the supernatural, alongside its reconstruction of the classic movie monster.

I first noticed this trend earlier this year when I watched HBO’s The Last of Us (2023). Within the first five minutes of my viewing experience, I recognised how the show immediately marketed itself in opposition to the classic undead zombie story. In fact, they went so far as to claim that their monsters were grounded

in a type of reality by affirming the existence of the fungal infection, ‘Cordyceps,’ in nature. As a viewer, this worked effectively to strike terror in me and this only escalated further when I read scientific articles that corroborated the real-life science of these fungal infections.

The Last of Us isn’t the only fictional work to use science to reimagine horror villains. 2023’s M3gan harkened back to horror’s killer doll trope that was popularised by the Chucky franchise. Yet, unlike her horror counterpart, M3gan diverges from the demonic path and opts for a fun technological twist.

Even though experts have raised questions about the accuracy of M3gan’s representation of AI, I think the success of this film indicates the continued market for horror films centred around fears about technology.

Thus, with these vastly different horror shows as major talking points for this year’s horror entertainment, I find it important to question the future of the horror genre and the representation of classic monsters. In an era plagued by fears of the climate crisis and a world still recovering from the effects of a global pandemic, there is an abundance of material that may haunt us on our screens. However, I think we as audiences may be moving on from our fear of the boogeyman under the bed.

14 POETRY

EDITOR | MAX LEES & ANYA SHEN POETRY@THESTRAND.CA ILLUSTRATION | CHELSEY WANG

11 PM Elegy MAX FRIEDMAN-COLE CONTRIBUTOR

And the buildings are breathing like beasts And time is imprisoned in aspic And the streetlights stare down in shame And the ever-beating tide of the city is beginning to ebb.

And the car carapaces are funhouse mirrors And the stumbling students huddle like penguins on the pavement And the jacketed singletons stalk the sidewalk like phantoms And life is uncertain of itself on the slumbering streets.

And yet the moonlight renders saintly the passing faces And there is kindness in the hushed whispers which swirl about our heads And the rebar heart buried under the streets is beating faster And there is beauty in the inchoate darkness of this great heaving organism.

ILLUSTRATION | CAMERON ASHLEY

the other side of the horizon MICHAEL ELSAESSER FEATURES EDITOR

no daylight between tears shed like skin growth begetting new growth still marked with old scars piercing through blanket clouds once known to be new shapes

Fond of Our Shadow PATRICK IGNASIAK CONTRIBUTOR

Bite down on the umbilicus, resurrecting the road. Weathered asphalt reflects the death of birds, and their shadows elongate on: teeth extending beyond the furrows of your body, just beginning, extrasensory from rewoven molecules beneath a heap of mud. Still, you know nothing of sleep, lengths of carbon chains unspooled from your pupils in the manner of the worm in the beak of the bird in the emerging

stereoscopic integration of multiple hole substructures.

You straddle my lap, a thin impression of bone feathered thinner by looped and relooped protein folds. The mnemonics are moot, but, glacier-verb neologisms

implied a finger-on-thumb reverb of gliding

though the green of the grove beyond the road. But then, today, feeding endlessly the throat, this carpet of chewed charcoal with dossiers of all the dead, the same palate-rattling bolt of thought.

Certain animals, never specified, seized in pores unorganised, for example, a pack of wolves as non-decomposable variable distances, expressed as your freckle substructures…

Is it fair to say that you are freckled? Is it fair to say anything at all?

lines begetting new lines always creaking in through cracks in closed doors casting shadows on the path soon to be tread planting echoes of conversations had and un-had i’m not ready to let you sink beneath the surface but maybe i never will be so you’ll know me once and i’ll know you all my life a persistence like pestilence infecting each beat which i’ll trample in a two-step over my forgotten feet

my guiding hand cast out before me

my fingertips to the mist grazing

but never peaceful palm to the sea i know i’ll never truly call it mine i’ll approach and get close but fall back each time

it’s just on the other side of the horizon line you’re just on the other side of the horizon line

ILLUSTRATION | CHELSEY WANG

The Uncomplicated Darkness SOPHIE ESTHER RAMSEY CONTRIBUTOR

I stand knocking behind this door, nails wedged into one breathless demand: that the pitiless wood keep me inert no more and release me from time’s still hands.

The cold taught me all I know, paralysing my pleading limbs.

The uncomplicated darkness was once my home, ‘til one day I woke to light trickling in.

Since seeing a sky beyond darkness, with beauty so blazing it burns, my claws have been chasing catharsis against the walls from which I yearn.

Now I want to know about hell, heaven, and whatever’s in between.

But I’ve fostered a spiritual tension where ignorance keeps me keen.

ILLUSTRATION | SHARADA MUJUMDAR

I’ve pupils for eyes, but they’re shrinking, choosing illusion over sight.

So I scrub at the curse of knowing, wishing back the purity of night.

STRANDED 15

@STRANDPAPER THE STRAND | 18 OCTOBER 2023

16 questions with Peter Pan’s Shadow It’s always who is Peter Pan’s Shadow and never HOW is Peter Pan’s Shadow… sunlight, so this one’s necessary).

8. Who has more rizz, you or Peter Pan? I think I am more mysterious & honestly, I’m funnier than Peter. Plus, I can do lots of really cool tricks, like shapeshift, which I think makes me better at rizzing.

9. How would you define yourself in 3 words?

Adventurous, entrepreneur, thinker.

10. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Gravel-y roads. It’s like acne for shadows—it is a devastation to my complexion.

11. Top Spotify artist right now?

Olivia Rodrigo. bad idea right? is really fueling the baddie era I’m going through at the moment.

12. What’s your favourite game?

Hide-and-seek. I’m reaaaallllyyyy good at it. OH, and Jenga. I’m really smooth.

13. What’s the first thing you would do if you became disconnected from Peter?

Run away with Tinkerbell. I think we’re both quite under-appreciated by Peter, he can be so self-absorbed sometimes.

PHOTO | SARA QADOUMI ADRIANA GORAIEB CONTRIBUTOR

1. What’s your real name?

Peterificus Panificus Shadominium—but I shortened it to Peter Pan’s Shadow because Peter couldn’t stop saying it with a really fancy accent and it got really annoying.

2. What’s your favourite time of the day?

I think midday—I look the clearest at that time of day, as opposed to being washed out by my five o’clock shadow, literally.

3. What is the worst thing you’ve had to be a shadow for? *Sigh*…Sometimes, Peter hits the griddy on his way to see Wendy, and to avoid suspicion from regular people, I have to do it too—I need at least 24 hours of solitude afterwards to recover from the hit my ego takes.

4. Does Peter Pan shower?

He’s convinced that being in Neverland protects him from ageing AND from getting dirty, so no… sometimes at night, when he smells extra yucky, I’ll disconnect myself and get a diffuser started in the room.

He’s a work in progress.

5. Do you shower?

Next question, please.

6. Gym routine?

Glute bridges, walking lunges, lat pull-downs…Gotta keep up my figure while Peter fights Captain Hook— you never know who’s gonna show up to these fights!

7. What are the three things you can’t live without?

Hand cream (the wind dries me out when Peter flies), decompression socks (Peter moves around a lot, especially when he’s bamboozling Captain Hook, and it makes me faint sometimes) and vitamin D (I don’t get

14. Skincare routine?

Cleanser, hyaluronic acid, retinol cream, moisturiser, exfoliate, hydrating face mask, and SPF (even if there’s no sun!!!)

15. Any advice to people aspiring to be part of the Lost Boys?

Don’t do it. It’s just a group of boys with no ambition or hobbies, frolicking around all day with sticks they found on the floor and animals they befriended in the woods. I think a couple of them might be rabid, but take that information with a grain of salt.

16. Lastly, what is one thing you wish people knew about you?

It gets lonely sometimes, being a shadow. I’d love to be invited to a silly sleepover & brain rot for a little bit, with a sitcom in the background! I’m a teenager on the inside.

Living in my sister’s shadow It’s tough out here being the younger sister of a celebrity CELENA HO STRANDED EDITOR

*Sigh* It’s literally so embarrassing for me to admit this, but yes, I am the younger sister of local celebrity, Helen Ho. I know! I know, hold your applause. It’s great and all, being one degree away from fame, but can I just say how exhausting it is? Everyone wants to get to know me and what it’s like being her sister. They all know who I am before I even know their name. If I had a nickel for every time someone I didn’t know asked if I was her sister, I could probably pay for a milk alternative. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s enough. Being her sister has some perks though. My name being known by complete strangers, exclusive access to whatever she’s working

on, her big-girl money pays for dinner, and the nepotism!

How could I forget? I nagged a coveted writer’s position for the SMC Funnies way back in first year and now, I’m one of the head writers. Everyone say, “Thank you, nepotism!”

But sometimes, I want to step out of her limelight and into my own. Everything I do, it’s always, “Hey, didn’t your sister do this too?” Yes. Yes, she did. I have my own agency, you know. She went to the University of Toronto. I currently go to UofT. She wrote for the Funnies. I write for the Funnies. She wrote for the Strand. I currently write for the Strand. Goddamnit, I’m still in her shadow.

It’s tough out here. Don’t get me wrong, I love basking in her success, but everyone wonders what I can do. She’s a serious writer. And what am I doing? Writing silly articles for my silly section of the newspaper. Writing silly skits, for a silly sketch troupe, for a college that I’m not even a part of (I’m sorry Victoria College). Writing silly essays, about silly historical feuds and conspiracy stories. How do I break apart from this? Everyone thinks fame runs in the family, but what if it just decided to skip over me? Everywhere I go, the shadow engulfs me. There’s only one solution. I have to do something my sister most definitely has never done before. I have to rob a bank.

16 STRANDED

EDITOR | CELENA HO STRANDED@THESTRAND.CA

Night at Robarts: a cautionary tale This could be you!

AUDREY LAI CONTRIBUTOR

Below is a diary entry found at the entrance of Robarts Library, dated October 3, 2022. This classified document is part of a conservation project by the University of Toronto Archives. Its author is unknown.

University of Toronto. Robarts Library. 8:32 PM I’m disappointed to inform you that I have, yet again, stumbled my way into an unfortunate situation. I got caught up in September: the beautiful month of no assignments, no deadlines, and the illusion of freedom! Little did I know that deceptive September turns into cruel October: two papers

due tomorrow, multiple discussion posts for a book I haven’t read, and a draft for the Strand I have not yet started. Holding my T-Card, I tearfully entered Robarts, bracing for the fate I was forced to face by my own hand.

10:07 PM With 0% of my work finished and an empty Starbucks cup in hand, I have now relocated to the Robarts Commons.

The voices of others have begun to ricochet off the walls, echoing through my mind, which is seemingly hollow of intelligence or motivation. I started to see apparitions of Quercus notifications flickering on the walls, and my eyes focused on one:

-127/60. This is the worst essay I have ever read in the entirety of my academic career. I will be contacting the admissions office in order to remove you as a student. In fact, I will be contacting the campus police to remove you from the school premises, because you should not be permitted to touch the grounds of the University of Toronto. Furthermore, I will be contacting the authorities to have you jailed for the crime of subjecting others to read such abhorrent writing.

My fingers started to shake, inadvertently hitting the keyboard and typing nonsense onto my Google Doc that only had my name, UTORid, course code, and my professor’s name half written on it. I forced myself to focus on the (minimal) words on the screen.

12:43 AM If you are reading this, I may already have turned. I was diligently attempting to string some semblance of sense into my English paper, yet accidentally fell asleep. After I woke up, I looked up at my computer screen and saw a zombie staring back at me. I knew what I had to do. I quickly gathered my belongings and began to flee from the horridlooking creature. Its eyes were bloodshot and had large bags below them, and its fatigued expression revealed to me that it was part of the undead. I am currently hiding out in the stacks, though I suspect that those far less versed in the art of survival (not all are proficient in the skill of Minecraft) have already begun to become infected. I fear for the safety of my fellow students, yet I must make sure that my family and I (me and my KPop photocard) make it out of here alive.

2:01 AM

ILLUSTRATION | CHELSEY WANG

I have left the truly evil and despicable building known as Robarts Library. Exhilarated, I turned back to the building to see if any zombies had exited the premises. Why had I done so! I felt a chill down my spine and I knew something horrible was going to happen. I was Orpheus and Robarts was the Underworld. The evil brutalist peacock turned its eyes toward me. I am bracing for what happens next. I hope I surv—

Mojo Dojo Casa House of your nightmares Haunted houses are super fun to live in, right? on a wild ride and the final destination is Mojo Dojo Casa House of your nightmares!!

When watching a horror film, the first thing I do, apart from rating if the ghosts are hot or not, is to see if I will survive in one of those creepy houses. This is my Roman Empire. Not to brag, but living in a haunted house is a piece of cake if you hack the system. Besties you’re all in luck. Your saviour (me duh) is going to give you a quick lesson on how to live with the voices and moving shadows. After reading this, you can 100 percent move in with ghosts and monsters.

ILLUSTRATION | SARA QADOUMI ISHA RIZWAN SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Knock Knock? Who’s there? Casper, the friendly ghost.

Casper, the friendly ghost, who? Boo. That’s the joke, right?

Well, soon enough that will be your life.

I think we have all reached that stage in our lives where it's time to look for a new living arrangement. It's time to move out into the real world and find a “fun” space to live in. There’s only one house in the whole world that I would love to live in and it is the haunted house from the Conjuring franchise. Yes, the one with the creepy (in a cool way) basement. The house has perfect rentaL qualities (cute little demons playing around) with an oomph factor, so what are you thinking? Get in losers and buckle up. We are going

Do you remember the shadow monster that lived rent-free under your bed when you were young? Well, he’s all grown up now, but the catch is that he’s still jobless so he still can't afford rent. He’s still your problem. Shadow monsters are lonely (exactly like you), and you can use this weakness to your advantage by giving them company instead of being scared. Living in a house full of them has one solution. Treat them like your therapist. Talk about anything or everything (like your failed dating life) and no one will interrupt because contrary to popular belief, shadow monsters are good listeners (yes, this is tried and tested by yours truly). Your pointless rants might even scare them off, so everything will totally play out to your advantage. The biggest catch is that your therapy will be free of cost and the moving shadows won’t even judge you.

Now, another trick here is to be on the good side of the ghosts, and there’s only one way to do it. YES, you

guessed it, play spicy UNO with them. Legend has it that the best way to truly know a person is by playing a game of UNO with them. I mean ghosts were once humans, so this theory is bound to work for them too. We all know the spicy version of the game is superior, so you will instantly earn the respect of the demons. Listen, be the gamemaster and have them all fall to their knees by throwing too many UNO reverse cards.

The power will be in your hands, literally. Also, I have this theory (basically the truth) that ghosts can not see colour, so they are easier to beat in this game.

Tired of playing games? It’s time for ghost stories.

What better time to share ghost stories than the time when they are actually present to tell the tales? Having ghosts give their two cents about their life is actually very meta and will change the trajectory of your life. The significance of stories (ghost’s version) is INSANE. Imagine a ghost going, “Get ready with me while I tell you about the time I killed a man for breathing in my direction,” just got chills from excitement.

In order to live in that house you have to experience at least one story time daily.

Well, here you have it folks, a few tips on how to keep it cordial with the ghosts and running shadows that will lurk around you once you become their roommate. Don’t be scared of them; treat them like friends with a bad temper. You can also easily scare them away by blasting “Creep” on the speakers. That is always an option.