Issue 4, Volume 123

ISSUE 4

XAVERIAN THE WEEKLY xaverian

NEWS

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Task Force Calls for Change

Thursday Mar 29 2012

Volume 120 Issue 20

EDITORIAL STAFF

Thursday Thursday, March October 21, 16, 2012 2014 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Volume 123 Issue154 Volume Issue Sean McEvoy121

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Important things for students to note in the Presidential Task Force report

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JULIA O’HANLEY | News Editor

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On Monday, October 6th, students and faculty at StFX received an email from university Academic Vice President Dr. Leslie MacLaren.

The email, entitled “Presidential Task Force Report” contained a link to the report in question, containing information that could lead to vast changes within the campus and university community. The email followed multiple previous emails regarding the Task Force and their anticipated report. The emails, beginning at the time of member selection for the Task Force varied in length and content leading up to the email sent on September 30th which invited students, faculty and staff to a presentation the morning of the announcement on October 6th.

The final report is 144 pages in length, providing detailed recommendations for 121 academic support and administrative programs (such as the Writing Centre) and 147 academic programs (such as Aquatic Resources). Below is a summary of some of the most talked about sections within the assessment.

The report, officially titled “Sustaining the Academic Priorities of St. Francis Xavier University 2013-2018” was presented to StFX President Dr. Kent MacDonald on October 1st, 2014. The report comes after over one year of research and consultation by an elected “Presidential Task Force” made up of faculty, staff, administration, and students (note: the members have been elected in their

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respected fields [Senate, Student’s Union, Faculties] and not specifically for this Task Force). The StFX Board of Governors approved the establishment of the task force in June of 2013, and from there its 27 members went on to investigate and examine all facets of the university.

The Task Force conducted this investigative process with the goal of presenting a recommendation of the areas of the university that time, energy, and resources should be allocated to ensure future success of the establishment. In a release by the StFX Student’s Union entitled “Presidential Task Force FAQs”, The U described the purpose of the report as “being responsible with current resources, ensuring allocations are properly aligned to best support StFX’s academic mission.”

The evaluation process came in four stages. Stage one confirmed intent, values, and processes of each area within the university. Stage two created definitions of each program outlined. Stage three established the criteria by which the Task Force would examine each program. The fourth and final stage collected centralized data. Following these stages was the release of the report to the president, and shortly after to students, faculty, and staff at the university. The present phase of the process allows for and encourages student, faculty, and support staff feedback toward the report.

The criteria used by the Task

Force to examine each program allowed a universal grading system across the entire report. Following all investigations into a specific program or service, a grade of unsustainable, revise, sustain, enhance, or priority to enhance was allocated as a recommendation of how the university should pursue that area in the future. This grade was following a rubric, which evaluated all programs and services in the format provided in the graphic below.

In observing the general conversation on campus surrounding the report, few recommendations have received more commentary than the Task Force’s suggestion to look into phasing out football team if certain conditions continue to persist.

Men’s football and the X-Men Football Camp are the only programs within athletics deemed unsustainable by the Force, with others such as women’s hockey up for revision, and women’s rugby in the “enhance” category.

In the academic portion of the report, programs and courses including Canadian Studies, Catholic Studies, Mi’kmaq Studies, and Information Systems have been deemed unsustainable by the Task Force. All advanced major programs in the Faculty of Arts have been deemed unsustainable as well, although few Honors programs have suggested changes. Humanities Colloquium, Aquatic Resources, Biology, and Psychology are among the category

to enhance. Masters and doctorate programs in Education are recommended to be sustained, as well as Engineering and most programs within the Faculty of Science. English, History, and Nursing are among areas slated for revision.

As a whole, more changes are suggested within the Faculty of Arts than other academic faculties both due to its larger size and a noted declining enrollment in Arts.

As for the section of the report investigating academic support and administrative programs, most departments and offices within were deemed sustainable, although some did fall within other ends of the spectrum. Finance and administration was deemed for enhancement or sustainment throughout sub categories. Human resources found itself in the enhance category, while the Human Rights and Equity Office was deemed unsustainable. Library research services were recommended to be enhanced, and the registrar’s office was seen largely as a priority to enhance as well.

It is important to note that no recommendations outlined in the report are concrete; they are simply suggestions. Dr. MacDonald emphasized this point in an email to students, faculty, and staff, saying: “The Task Force is complete, but by no means is our work complete. As the next step, I invite the StFX community to receive the report and provide feedback to the findings.”

StFXAUT responds to task force SEAN MCEVOY | Editor-in-Chief

Although StFX Association of University Teachers (StFXAUT) President Brad Long was initially impressed with the Presidential Task Force report recently released to the StFX community, he and association members are concerned moving forward about the future of academics at the university.

"I was impressed with the scope of the report, it certainly looked at all corners of the campus", said Long in an interview with The Xaverian.

"Some recommendations are probably things that are predictable, some in there were perhaps not. At this stage it's just a report, there's not a lot to go on. There's a variety of recommendations, but the real issues start now in terms of what recommendations do we need to explore further, which ones are non-starters.

It's kind of just a starting point for an even larger process."

Long noted that while the StFXAUT as a body was not consulted as part of the lead up to the release of

the report, all members were implicated in the report in some respect, while others were part of the Task Force itself. The consultation process for each academic department varied from one to the other.

The greatest concern moving forward with the report for Long and the AUT, would be surrounding the continuing quality of academic programs offered to students at StFX. "It's about both breadth and the quality of the programs", says Long.

"I don't think you can have a top tier quality institution without both. We can't be narrow in terms of our offering nor can be just be scratching the surface in regards to depth of programming. So the big concern would be that we possibly cut programs that are vital to what we think a liberal arts undergraduate university should be."

Long emphasized that students should be concerned with the potential loss of academic program-

ming at the university, calling it "inevitable", and that his members are also worried about their futures at the university.

"Members are concerned about stability of employment and moving towards more of a casualized work force and part time members......we can't be antagonistic to change, change is going to be inevitable and some change will be positive. We've been clamouring for change for a while under the old President (Dr. Sean Riley). So hopefully, (President)Kent (MacDonald) can be a catalyst for change, but it has to be change that's good for the institution, good for students, and allows our members to teach well, and teach what they love.

StFXAUT members, which include professors, lab instructors, academic advisors, writing centre workers, and library staff have been largely hesitant to publicly voice their concerns to the public and media since the release of the report.

The Xaverian made multiple attempts to contact university faculty for comment on the report since its release, with most declining to comment, noting that they would not wish to speak until department meetings had been held to discuss the report further. Long noted that that the AUT has events planned for later this week and next week for all members to discuss the report and get feedback from each other.

Professor Chris Frazer, one of the few faculty who did comment to The Xaverian, described the consultation process as flawed and narrowed, in reference to how the StFX LGBTQ community had been consulted for the report as a faculty advisor for X-Pride. Human Rights office coordinator Marie Brunelle told The Xaverian that she plans to "demonstrate the this program [Human Rights Office] should be sustained and enhanced", despite being labelled unsustainable by the Task Force. -Full article on xaverian.ca

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 4

NEWS

3

Interview with Dr. Leslie MacLaren

Chair of the Presidential Task Force and StFX Academic VP talks to us about the report JULIA O’HANLEY | News Editor

The Xaverian: Why was the report conducted in the first place? Is this something that is commonly done at similair institutions?

Dr Leslie MacLaren: This kind of process has been done in different universities. There was a book written and published in 2010 by Robert Dickinson about academic planning and prioritization, and the sort of general thought of reviewing everything at once at a university. Because everything is so interrelated, it is difficult to assess programs one at a time. That idea of looking at everything at once and thinking about where you are putting your effort, and making sure you have your effort where it really matters to the university, where it matters to the students, where it matters to learning, or where it matters to the research and creativity parts of the university because that’s our mission. So I think the idea has certainly been out there, and there have been a number of universities in the US and Canada [who have] used this process. It hasn’t been as widespread in Atlantic Canada. I believe Mount Saint Vincent did one about three or four years ago, but other than that I don’t think any of the other universities have done this in Atlantic Canada. The impetus to do this actually came from faculty board members. There are four faculty members on the Board of Governors, and they had an interest in how resources were being allocated across campus, and realized that we haven’t really taken a step and shared across campus what we’re doing.I think that is some of the value of the process of the Board, that everybody is sharing information, understanding better what they do and what other people are doing and how we fit together so that we can identify places where we can work better together on campus to improve services and improve our programs Xav: Does it have any relationship to the strike?

LM: I don’t think the strike has any direct relationship with the report.

Xav: Are you concerned about the reaction from students and alumni about the possible phasing out of the football team? Both with the current understanding by students of the slated possibility and what might happen if the phase out does occur?

LM: Of course I’m concerned. I’m concerned because I want people to understand what the report is saying.

What the report is saying is that with the current structure and administration and activities of the football team there are issues that need to be addressed, and one way to address the issue is to phase out the team. There are presumably several other ways to address those issues, and so this is sort of step one in a process. Step one is saying ‘there are these issues and we expect that we will need to address them if we are going to continue to support football.’ There are other programs in that category so I’m a little reluctant to pick on the specific reasons for football, but football certainly offers a lot to the campus. I’ve spoken to the director of athletics and he

looks upon this as an opportunity to really have a good look at what we’re doing and think about what football has to offer and as we continue, what that might look like.

Xav: What has been the reaction from professors and the StFXAUT regarding suggested cuts to certain programs and realigning of others?

Any backlash? Positive feedback?

LM: It really is a little bit early.

I’ve heard comments back that it is fair, I’ve heard comments back like ‘gee you know, we’re worried’, and then comments like ‘oh I’m glad you’ve recognized this’. I think that constructive piece around the assessment, the whole paragraph that accompanies the recommendation is really important on the academic side. I think it’s also really important and really telling that everybody recognize that we’re not planning to cut a program mid-stream, that anybody that’s in a program will be able to finish, regardless of what happens, and also that [the recommendation] doesn’t devalue the programs. If you are in a program that might eventually be phased out, or that might simply be restructured or realigned (I shouldn’t say simply), but if [the recommendation is] deemed

by Senate that it is the right course of action to take, then the degree that you’re getting now, or the degree that you graduated from ten years ago is still valuable. This report is about where students are coming from now, what their interests are, and as the education world changes, what kind of degrees do we need to be focusing on and concentrating our resources in. We know that enrollments have shifted, we know that there is still a strong interest in a liberal education, but how [liberal education is] formulated and the description of degrees and those kinds of things have changed.

Xav: Was the consultation process a smooth one for this report, especially for students? Any issues along the way?

LM: I believe we did appropriate consultation with the students. We took steps as we went along starting with the three members that started on the task force and asked ‘is this the appropriate way to consult with students?’. For example, when we were planning information sessions last winter, we were planning information sessions for December, and they said ‘you know for students it would be better if you had one in January, and if you did it in this time, and in this way’, and so we accommodated that, and certainly we made sure [students] received the email notifications and had access to the website. I think there was a sense that it’s hard for a student who is enrolled full time in a program to really be interested in the process piece as you’re going through it, and I think that’s perfectly understandable.

I think it’s appropriate that [students] are interested in the report because this is a great time for them to provide feedback now that they have something to react to.

Xav: As the report was ordered un-

der Dr Riley’s tenure, do you think that there will be a different response under the new president?

LM: I think [the response will be] the same. The report was mandated by the Board of Governors, and the intent was that even though Dr Riley, in a perfect world, would have received it at the end of June, it still would not have been acted upon because it does take time for the feedback, for planning of implementation and so on.

There’s a large number of recommendations and it will take some time before the final decisions and implementation is done. It always was intended that [the report] would provide a foundation of information to assist the new president in his transition and as we start planning with a new senior team.

Xav: Do you think that the potential changes to academic programs will have any impact on admissions at all, especially with a lower enrollment being noted in the Faculty of Arts prior to the report?

LM: We hope so; that is the intent.

We have fabulous professors in the Arts and fabulous programs and what we want to do is make sure that they are continually updated. We want to make sure programs that students have an interest in, and right now have limited access to because of the way we allocate our resources, we want to make sure that we can expand the access so that the programs that they are interested in they can get into. Because we only have so much resources and our historical allocation there are students that don’t necessarily get into the courses that they want, the programs they want, or at the time they want. We accommodate them to the extent possible under the current system, but the idea is to be able to move our resources around so that we are better able to meet student needs.

Xav: How much of the report do you expect to get approved, and how long do you expect the process will take?

LM: Well that’s a hard question.

There are so many programs, so that’s a lot of work. Some of the recommen-

dations and the information that’s presented as part of the recommendations and rationale for recommendations in this report, some of those are small actions that a small group of students or a small group of faculty can act on fairly quickly, or an administrative service or a student service could see small changes made fairly quickly. There are others that are quite large that require significantly more consultation and more consideration, like seeing how we proceed with programs in the unsustainable category, so I think those will take longer. I think there will be a range of times of implementation. In terms of the percentage overall, we will track it. We haven’t figured out exactly how to do that. We would like to kind of mooze through this feedback phase and get a sense of what the community feels before we finalize that, but we certainly will be following through with the major recommendations, and trying to implement the parts that we can into our ordinary planning and organizational processes. [...] as for the proportion of recommendations that will be implemented, that would be really a guess at this point in time. I hope it is very useful to campus, but I can’t even imagine guessing.

Xav: Will there be any faculty positions cut if portions of this report were to be implemented?

LM: Again, very difficult to predict.

We will honor all of our agreements.

When we have collective agreements we have policies and procedures around hiring and so on, but very difficult to predict because we have said some programs are unsustainable: that means that we need to think about how we offer them. We haven’t decided yet what will actually become of those programs. It is conceivable that nobody would be laid off, it is conceivable that people would be retired and not replaced, there’s all kinds of possibilities.

For the full transcription of this interview, visit www.xaverian.ca.

4 NEWS

Thursday October 16, 2014-The Xaverian

Student experiences in Task Force Reaction to the Presidential Task Force report from student representatives RACHEL REVOY | Senior Reporter

With only four of the twenty seven members of the Presidential Task Force members of the student body, some students on campus are questioning the impact of student opinion in the decision making process. The Task Force released the report with a goal of improve the overall quality of StFX programs and facilities, with the help of administration, faculty, staff, and student members.

The four student members featured in the Task Force were Laura Sandre, Paige Chisholm, Taylor Mason, and Alicia Silliker. The students, chosen to represent the insight of the student body in the report’s recommendation process were students involved with the Students’ Union and/or University Senate. Although initially the Task Force had only three students on board, Students’ Union Vice President Academic for 20142015 was added to replace her

successor Taylor Mason after Mason’s graduation from StFX in spring 2014.

“We thought when we started this process that we would move much faster, but really once we got into it we realized how long it takes to do that kind of consultation. We weren’t finished the evaluation by the time the students graduated, and so we wanted to bring on more”, explained the university’s Vice President Academic Dr. Leslie MacLaren on the addition of Silliker to the Task Force, adding “We’ve done the best we could, and certainly we made sure there was a student available to assist the evaluators, and move among the evaluation team during the scoring process.”

“From my experience being on the committee [I feel that] my opinion was always valued and always heard. After [Presidential Task Force] meetings I would come back and talk to

my friends in the Science department and people on the Students’ Union and see what they were feeling about some of the things we were discussing,” commented Laura Sandre, Science Senator for 2013-2014 and member of the Presidential Task Force.

Although with some academic, athletic, and administrative programs and services being deemed “unsustainable”, students on the Task Force assure the student body that the results might not be as daunting as they seem. The report is simply a proposed course of action with potential allowed for revision.

“And this point, all there is are findings, there are no recommendations, just the research, the report, and the results. So far there has been no recommendations, so we don’t really know what’s going to happen. I think for me, hearing Kent [MacDonald] talk with the

students as the core focus and having the student’s success in mind, that is where the recommendations are going to come from,” noted Sandre.

When asked of the pressures facing student members of the Task Force responsible for representing all student opinions, questions, and concerns, Alicia Silliker and Paige Chisolm responded, saying “I think that it can be a challenge at times for any student sitting on university committees and to be able to articulate the voice of students, but we intend on doing our due diligence to bring student concern back to the committee during this stage of the process. As elected representatives, we want students to remember that they have a Senator for their specific academic program that sits on Senate, so if they have specific concerns for us to bring forward, please contact your Senator to give them a better understanding of the

specific issues you would like to see discussed.”

The Students’ Union is said to be looking forward to the rest of the process surrounding the report. “Overall we are pleased that the university is taking the initiative to take proactive steps to evaluate StFX in its core programs. We believe that this period of reflection will bring positive outcomes for our university and provide students with a more positive student experience,” commented Silliker and Chisolm.

What is the next step for students in order to have input on the rest of the process? Sandre reminded students to respond online so their input can included in the future of the report’s recommendations, saying “Student’s should definitely take the opportunity to respond to the link online. They can respond on there and I think if we’re being given that chance we need to step up and take it.”

Councilors and the Task Force report Students’ Union councilors react to Presidential Task Force report ANGELA MACKENZIE | Senior Reporter

The Presidential Task Force’s report released on October 6th is an all-encompassing report which discusses various programs in all aspects of the educational experience here at StFX. This report allows recommendations toward various outcomes of specific academic, athletic, and administrative programs for the university to consider going forward. In the academic portion of the report, the Task Force examined all four faculties, and looked into the general courses, Major, Advanced Major, and Honours portions of each program within.

Following the report, we asked Students’ Union Councilors within each faculty about the report in general, and how they believed proposed changes could affect students in the future.

Arts Councilor Angelina MacLellan is a 4th year student completing her honors in Psychology. MacLellan had a positive reaction to the report, saying “Overall, I am pretty happy with the report. The amount of time and effort put in by everyone who worked on this task force is clearly evident. It is also a great tool for the StFX community to read and as a result have a better understanding to where we are currently as a university and what the future directions might look like.”

She is also content with the way the opinions of the task force will affect her and other students who are in the Arts program. MacLellan is happy to see general recommendation suggesting that the Department of Psychology will continue to thrive in the upcoming years, as the Task Force proposed an enhancement in general Psychology courses, as well as the Major in Psychology (both in Arts and Science).

MacLellan believes that the suggestions made by the Task Force for the Faculty of Arts will have a positive outcome in the long term. “I think the possible recommendations for the Arts faculty will be positive for the Arts students. Many of the suggestions indicate enhancement or sustainability, which I think will ultimately lead to positive outcomes for the students.”

Emily Piggot, student Science Councilor sees the report as a positive enforcement by the university, saying “It is good to see that the university has been putting a lot of time and effort into bettering the school, with a strong focus on the future.”

Piggot is optimistic about the programs that will be revised with positive changes. She believes revised programs within Science will “increase the quality of education that the students

receive.”

However, as a Chemistry Major, she is concerned with the Task Force’s diagnosis of the Masters in Chemistry program as unsustainable, especially with lack of student enrolment cited as one of the reasons for this recommendation. Piggot views small class sizes as an asset to the program, saying “I can add though, from personal experience working with a Masters student in the chemistry lab this summer that the size of the Masters program is beneficial to those students as it allows for direct and plentiful 1 on 1 time with professors.”

After reviewing the suggestions made by the Task Force, Piggot hopes that students will make an effort to read through the report and bring any suggestions they may have forward.

“Let your voice be heard”, she emphasizes, as any suggestions put forward in regards to the report may be taken into account during the final editing process.

Finally, the two Business Councilors Kate Sullivan and Kimberly Campbell were also pleased with the concept of the report itself. Sullivan and Campbell believed that the entire report was thorough, believing that it was conducted because the university wants to “provide the students with a more positive

experience.”

The Business Councilors see the potential for final outcomes of the report having a positive influence on the Schwartz School of Business, adding “we believe any decision made will have the best interest of students as the top priority.” They see the recommendations toward the Faculty of Business as fair overall, and are pleased with the amount of positive changes that have been suggested. There were no other changes that they wanted to see made to the Business portion of the report.

Overall the student councilors in Arts, Science, and Business were happy with the gener-

al outcome of the Presidential Task Force report. They also wish to make it clear that this is just a general report and has not yet been set in stone, and that if there are any changes students recommend, they have the right to approach a member of the team and make their request heard. “This is our education and it’s so important to take an active role,” emphasized Sullivan and Campbell, adding “the Student’s Union is here for the students so we will continue to be an active part in voicing student concerns. Feel free to contact your Councilor for any specific issues you would like discussed.”

OPINIONS 5

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 4

OPINIONS The black-and-blue hand The inside scoop on the left-hander’s everyday life LINDSAY JOHNSTONE | Staff Writer

Holy shit! I am so tired of doing everything to accommodate right-handed people. I am left-handed. And damn! Things are really different for us lefties. I always find it amazing when people come up to me and say, “Whoa…you’re left-handed?” As if it is some strange phenomena. Lefties actually make up 10% of the world’s population. You right-handed folks may be the majority, but 10% is still a substantial number.

Did you know that males are twice as likely to be left-handed than females, and that there is only a 2% chance that right-handed parents will have left-handed children? Well, I guess that makes me kind of unique since I am female and I was born to two right-handed parents.

I really want to bring to your attention the everyday things left-handers have to do to accommodate righthanded designs, because right-handed designs are everywhere. Of course, there are the obvious things, like having to adapt to right-handed designed scissors, and the ever-present ink on your left hand from constantly smearing your writing. But

there are actually plenty of more adjustments we have to make.

For example, did you know that can openers are designed for righthanded use? Every time I try and open a can, it’s like I have to wrestle with a T-Rex. The can opener just doesn’t work for the other hand. Or perhaps you didn’t realize that vehicles have the gear shift on the righthand side, not to mention the cup holder is on the right side too, so it’s extremely awkward to try and get your water bottle from that holder.

Okay, so I really wanna take a picture with my camera. Oh wait, let me just press the shutter button with my right hand. Have you ever noticed that the button to take a picture is on the right side? Or how about we measure the length of that picture frame?

Just let me reverse the tape measure so the numbers aren’t upside down.

Or whenever I bake something, I have to try and read the measuring cup and then have to flip it around so I can read it properly.

The left-hander’s worst enemies: right handed desks, right-handed pens, spiral notebooks, and the

dreadful binder.

Did you know, that when you have that really big class in Nicholson or JBB, there is only one row of lefthanded seats? Now you do! So do all the lefties a favour and leave those seats for us. It is such a pain to write in a right-handed desk. I do it all the time, and I believe it takes longer to write lecture notes if you have to stretch your left hand over to the right side of your body. Next time, try and avoid sitting in the left-handed seats because someone could really use that that seat. I mean there are always plenty of right-handed seats available.

Now, here is an interesting thing about left hander’s: most people already know that left-handed people are more likely to be artistic, but we are also more likely to be geniuses!

No complaints here!

Now we lefties might wear our wrist watches on our right wrist instead of our left, and our left hands might looked badly bruised after every lecture, but we are still part of the population and that means that the right-handed majority should realize

what left-handed individuals do to accommodate the right-handed world. In fact, August 13th is International Left Handed Day; you should definitely celebrate it next summer by trying to live your day doing everything with your left hand. It might give you right-handers a sense of how it feels to have the world designed backwards and to try and function in our society.

Instruments are another issue for lefties. When I first started to play fiddle. I was told that I should learn to play right-handed because left-handed instruments generally are not commonly made, quite rare, and usually don’t have the beautiful sound that right-handed instruments can produce. And after being a musician for 13 years, I’d say it is well worth learning how to play a right-handed instrument because it gives the musician more options.

But don’t fret fellow lefties. Take heart because you can find comfort in left-handed creations. There are such things as left handed pens, spiral notebooks, and tape measures that are designed for the left-handed folk.

work surfaces would be covered in jam. I attest that when it comes to food, moderation is key. As a selfproclaimed library junkie, I’ve probably spent more accumulated hours in the library than any other building on campus. This means that I’ve consumed a considerable percentage of my meals while working on a paper or assignment between the bookshelves. Picking the ideal library snacks is an art that is not easily mastered – I learned this the hard way in second year when I got a shout out on ‘Spotted at StFX’ for noshing on my green apple a little too loudly in the Hall of Clans. Like my apple incident, many students learn the hard way that opening a bag of chips without making a scene is a difficult process in itself, let alone actually having to eat them at a respectable decibel level.

Last but not least are the unspoken rules: don’t be the person that leaves their belongings at a highly coveted table in sought-out corners of the library for hours on end. This is an especially crucial etiquette point during midterms and exams.

This phenomenon that can only be appropriately described as the Xaverian hunger games: students line up to fight for tables and study spaces at the building’s opening every day during this time period. Clean up your messes, because facilities’ management already works hard enough without us causing extra problems.

Finally, remember that electrical socket are a rarity in the library, so if you’re not going to be charging your laptop, please leave those coveted seats open for other students.

I hope you can take these simple rules and cultivate your library skills to a level that surpasses even the most dedicated young scholars. With a little bit of effort, some minimal snack and equipment planning, and a lot of dedication, the library is not only a place to get work done but also a fun place to bond with classmates over stressful exams, spy on your girl or boy crush, or simply procrastinate. I can’t promise you won’t be called out on Spotted, but I can promise that regular dates with Angus L. MacDonald could earn you a shiny gold ring in a few years’ time.

Library etiquette What you’re doing wrong (and right) ERIKA KINACH | Contributor

The StFX library is a kind of community, comprised of students from all ages and programs coming together in the name of academia to put in the perspiration to get that coveted X-ring and degree. Everyone from the homeless-looking off-campus students to the bright eyed and bushy tailed Frosh come to the library with a purpose, whether that be to get away from their exuberant roommates or catch a glimpse of their meal hall crush in the Welch Room. While Angus L. MacDonald is a great place to unwind, print assignments, and complete your work efficiently, there are a few things to remember to keep the library a peaceful and efficient haven.

The most important thing you can do is to be mindful of your environment; your fellow library dweller’s work is just as important as the 12page paper you’re currently procrastinating. This means that all phone calls and conversations that require more than a harsh whisper should be taken outside of the library, or at least to the designated “talking area” on the first floor. I’m sure everyone

around you is super excited that you’re telling your mom that you got a great mark on your midterm, but humor us and pipe down or get out so we can emulate your success through our own academic efforts.

With that being said, speech is not the only deadly sin of uninvited library distractions. I could not tell you how many times I’ve found myself in the zone only to be interrupted mid-thought by “Super Bass” or similar pop songs blasting from the ear buds of a person at the table beside me. Not only is everyone irritated by your distraction, they’re judging your music taste harshly. Music in the library can be a good thing, though. If you leave your iTunes library settings on “shared,” the entire library population will know your music tastes by the end of the semester from creeping your iTunes library.

In addition to the infamous “no talking” rule that is a universal library law, is the “no eating” rule.

This rule is held loosely and on the honor system at good old Angus. The rule is sensible; if it weren’t in place,

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Thursday October 16, 2014-The Xaverian

Students and food security It’s not when meal hall ladies catch you leaving with extra fruit ASHLEY DUGUAY | Contributor

Food security among university students is a big issue.

Unless you live on campus and have a meal plan that allows you into Morrison Hall an infinite number of times, then you know how expensive eating healthy can get (even meal plans at X is one of the highest in the Maritimes). Just one walk down the “natural products” aisle in SuperStore and your wallet starts to have an emotional breakdown. Don’t even bother looking at the organic fruits and vegetables.

You know the ones I’m talking about, the ones in the bags with the pretty purple tags with “Organic” splayed across the top. Yeah, the ones that are twice the price of the similar looking bag of apples directly beside it.

So, food security means that there is access by all people at all times to enough food through normal channels to ensure an active, healthy life. It also it needs to be readily available, nutritionally adequate, and safe.

Then there’s food insecurity, which is when one does not have the ability to obtain sufficient, nutritious, personally acceptable food, or there is un-

certainty that one will be able to do so.

This brings me back to second year; the year I escaped meal hall.

I was in denial that first year of living off-campus. I figured that I would be able to afford the same kind of food my mum had prepared for me at home.

I’d make all my favourite meals, be eating healthily, and would enjoy truly living on my own for the first time. After three or four trips to the grocery store, each costing me $150, I got rid of those fresh fruits and veggies super fast. I converted to an all pasta diet because I just could not afford to buy the same foods my mother had.

Even I will admit that there’s not much better than a bowl of Kraft Dinner on a hungover Saturday, but the repercussions of not being able to afford eating a well-balanced diet takes its toll not only on our physical health, but on our mental health as well. It can actually make you perform worse in academics and sports. Just because you’re eating calorie dense foods doesn’t mean you’re eating nutrient dense foods. Big difference. It’s a basic concept that we learn in

Psych 100; if the brain and the body are not properly nourished, they’re not going to work at maximum capacity.

But fret not, dear Xaverians, there’s a particular group of people on campus, most of who just happen to have been blessed with green thumbs, who have started a fantastic project that links the community of Antigonish to StFX’s campus. A group of students lead by Shannon Lynch began an initiative on campus and within the community by planting garden boxes behind Lane Hall residence. Why, you ask?

Because a shocking number of students needed the help.

“Last year over 230 students visited the Student Food Resource Centre at StFX, located in the basement of MacKinnon Hall, where the old security office was located. Over 100 students were involved in volunteering with the Student Food Resource Centre, which helps to get the word out about the service offered by the Students’ Union,” say Shannon Lynch, the student who spearheaded the initiative for the gardens.

“The idea for the community garden started at a food summit that a few X students

and I attended in the summer of 2013. Amy Brierley (Campus Food Strategy Group Coordinator) and I were both attending and started the conversation about beginning the garden. Many other campuses have gardens, or larger-scale farms and we felt our campus was lagging behind as far as sustainable food went,” said Shannon.

“We got approval for the project in August 2013, and began planting. The Campus Food Strategy Group has been an excellent stakeholder in the project, and Maggie Edwards acted as the representative this summer with the group. A small group of students has been working hard to keep the garden productive.”

And what exactly did their summer bounty consist of, you ask? “We had an excellent crop of lettuce, kale, pole beans, carrots, beets, and tomatoes to name a few!”

This academic year, Shannon has been putting on an event known as “Fresh Food Fridays” at the Student Food Resource Centre, and the best part is that students have access to the harvest for free!

That’s right folks. Free fruits

and vegetables right here on campus.

There’s plenty of opportunity to become involved in the project. “The sustainability office, Campus Food Strategy Group, and SFRC are hosting a Campus Garden Vegetable Sale on Wednesday October 22nd from 11am-1pm!

All students and staff are encouraged to make a small donation. The money raised will go to the three groups, thereby helping raise funds for operational costs of the garden. All students and staff are encouraged to stop by the SUB during this time!” exclaims Shannon.

She goes on to say, “We just recently got approval for a hoop house (a type of greenhouse) to surround the garden.

We are hoping to begin building in the coming weeks!”

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in becoming a part of, or you’re interested in helping build the hoop house on campus, send and email to Shannon Lynch at su_ foos@stfx.ca. Students are also encouraged to volunteer at the Student Food Resource Centre at any point throughout the school year.

Want to write for The Xaverian?

It’s easy!

Check out our next contributor meeting- Monday, October 20th 6pm in our newsroom- 1st floor SUB New Writers always welcome!

Follow us on Twitter: @xaverianweekly

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The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 4

Midterm crisis Tips on surviving and succeeding CASSIA TREMBLAY | Staff Writer

Movies often portray a midlife crisis during a character’s development, but clearly the writers don’t understand midterm crisis’, because that would make for much more a traumatic screening. We know the feeling all too well, you’re just minding your own business, happily making your way through the semester when BAM, midterms hit. All of a sudden you have two midterms in a week, and two papers the week after that, and two midterms again the week after that…

Midterms are stressful for everyone, whether you’re a frosh who just doesn’t know what to expect or an upper-year who needs to keep their average up. So what can you do to calm down when midterms have you all tied up? As it turns out, a lot!

1) Blow off some steam - Go out! If you’re going to spend all your study time

daydreaming about the party you missed, or the soccer game you skipped, just go. It won’t help to have beer cans or soccer balls dancing around in your head while you’re trying to memorize the political climate of Canada in the mid 1930’s (or whatever it is that your professor deems testable and important). So get out there and have some fun, it will help you focus when you do get to studying. Please note: this is a time sensitive tip, so if your midterm is tomorrow please skip this step.

2) Mix up your study spaces - We all love good ol’ Angus, but the library isn’t the only place to study. Try checking out places with a variety of atmospheres. This can break up a long day of studying and at least make you feel like you are a part of the functioning world. If you can manage it, climb out of the darkness of Angus L. MacDonald and check out the public library,

coffee shop study spaces, the SUB, the PSC, or Schwartz.

3) Get outside! Enjoy the outdoors while you still can. Go for a run to the Landing, walk to the Farmer’s Market; just get fresh air any way that suits your fancy.

4) Pig out - Stressed spelt backwards is desserts, and I do not believe that is a coincidence. Eat your favorite foods, whether it’s ice cream to remind you of a carefree summer day or extra cheesy mac-andcheese to remind you of home.

5) Plan unwinding time after you study - you need your brain to be at its best and your brain needs a break. Watch your favourite TV show after you close the textbook and before you get some sleep, or do whatever will help you to relax!

6) Plan, organize, plan, organize - a study schedule is a sure way to make sure that you don’t miss a chapter and that you

have enough time to review all the important topics. Having your plan written down makes it tangible and easy to reference.

Follow these steps to make a practical study schedule: First make a reference sheet with separate lists for each subject. This reference sheet is used to orient your daily studying.

Then list the material you need to study for each subject. Be specific and make sure you put down everything you need to go over. Lastly, on a calendar, use your reference sheet to assign certain material to go through each day, highlight the exam dates and deadlines and put down any other relevant information.

7) Stick to your guns - whatever it is that you plan to do, do it. You’re already stressed about the exam itself, you don’t need to worry about bailing on friends or falling behind on your study plan too.

On the Twin Impulses A brief note on the two internal impulses which divide us COLTON THOMPSON | Columnist

Free expression—reservation. Be yourself—fear of judgement. Unbridled being— embarrassment. The will to act and make mistakes—meanwhile conscience whispers conservative messages of perpetual restraint and the virtue of temperance. Which internal sentiment should one to be partial to? A binary antagonism, fundamental as I see it, divides each of us.

There are few true dichotomies—most are false, illusory, or exaggerated—yet these internally divisive impulses seem constant.

The individual’s drive toward creativity, the will to effect one’s surroundings, make

a social impact is a widespread human need. Nietzche’s notion of the “will to power” is not far off. What then of those forces that urge the spirit to hang back, that constantly say “be patient” for a revelation that will never come.

Preliminary conclusion: we make our own revelations.

There are two aspects to the message of restraint and they are often but not always related: restraint for the sake of “virtue” and restraint for fear of risks of living. Regarding the former, we make the mistake of thinking that sincere, in-the-moment ex-

pression can be filtered of its ugly parts.

This is nearly impossible: self-censorship requires that one pick constantly through “good,” and “bad” thoughts and expressions, being mindful of the image one is presenting to others at all times. It means that blunt honesty and candour are repressed for the sake of nicety and presentation. Self-monitoring is the death of spontaneity, and a lead in to a cloistered life.

Self-censorship at the expense of spontaneous living...what does this sound like?

Nothing other than religion, and the disturbed demands it places on the human spirit. The relig ious impulse epitomizes the miserable balancing act of self control versus free expression.

So consumed is relig ion with seeing hum a n i t y ’s foibles purged that cost/ benefit has no meaning to it: religion forb i d s utterly “sinful” beh av i o u r s and worthy behaviours that have tiny

faults with equal force.

For you philosophy students, that’s the prison of strict deontological ethics. Excessive moralism, religious or no, preaches the moral stagnancy of abstinence. Abstinence from anything in life, when motivated by fear of making a mistake, is for the morally uncreative. Far better to make nuanced choices.

When one truly commits to in-the-moment expression one cannot self-censor effectively; one does not reflect, worried that foibles might show. Every action, certainly every social interaction, has some element of the ugly. Is it not more progressive to recognize this truth than to perpetuate fearful self-censorship?

On the other side of freedom is a regime of strict self-control and repression, which at extreme levels manifest as psychological disorders—several in which religious individuals are overrepresented, an unsurprising confluence.

Pure expression comes with a multitude of unavoidable mistakes. If you see imperfection, sin, mistakes, as always unjustifiable, what expression, what freedom will one be given to? Precious little I think.

But what is it worth? Good boys and girls, they say, don’t have fun. There will always be some truth to this. At the same time, I don’t suggest looseness in life. Consider the question this way: “would you rather make mistakes, do some wrong along with your good and live, or would you sooner be an obsessive paragon and lead a life more narrow?” This is exaggeration to be sure. Still, very generally, this is the dilemma.

It would be foolish to equate living with abandon with ignorance of morality or the elimination of self-consciousness (though one may be forgiven for inferring this, given the forwardness of my premises). As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in the balance.

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10 ARTS & CULTURE

Thursday October 16, 2014-The Xaverian

ARTS & CULTURE Please, Let Me Learn Depression, Redemption & The Audacity of Hope

DEXTER NYUURNIBE| Contributer

Can you here me?

Is anyone listening? Please, I want to know. Don’t leave me out here with no hope and no future but…

It doesn’t matter.

You don’t care.

You shouldn’t care.

You won’t care.

But will you?

Maybe.

You’re still reading, thank you.. I want you to not stop reading. I want you to become a part of this story. I want you to see what I’ve seen, to feel what I’ve felt, yet not suffer what I’ve overcome. No one deserves this. No one deserves to live their lives in silence, trapped by fear and with no sign of hope.

You and I are more alike than you’d care to imagine. I mean, I WAS you. That anticipation, it hit you didn’t it? I know you felt it. Setting foot on campus for the first time, it hits you at a pace so unimaginable, you have to fight to hold onto your composure, or risk being swept away by it. That rush.

That quickened heart with each step you take as a new chapter is created in the beautiful tapestry that is your future.

Future. A word that describes what is to be anticipated and yet not, where we will be rather than where we are. It’s a word of progress, of independence. It’s freedom.

Education promises a future in a world where many are robbed of their ability to achieve their greatest potential.

That’s why I came here. That’s why you came here. To be given the opportunity to hone our minds and eventually reach our full potential.

Some came with their parents.

Some came with their friends. I came here with nothing and no

one. All I had were the clothes on my back, two bags filled with all the possessions I owned in this world and a dream.

One. Dream. I mean, where would we all be without one? As kids, we were told that we could be whatever we wanted to be, and we believed them because, why wouldn’t we? The world was ours.

We were innocent and full of life.

We still are.

So it was with my childhood dream of becoming a better man that I stepped foot on this campus five years ago. I came with my heart wide open and my love in abundance. For all the lost faces through the years, the never forgotten friends and my dream, this place of all places made a mark, as I’m sure it has for you.

Never knowing what or where home is deprives you of something so undeniably essential, something I have to say I’ve never really had: family. I can’t describe the feeling to you. Though it’s been hard, I’m proud to say that this lost boy finally found a home, after years of searching, and being lost without a compass or meaning.

I’ll be honest with you in saying that I’ve never truly been able to call a place home because I never really fit in. Have you ever felt like you have no identity, that you don’t belong, like the stray dog wandering the streets of some inner city? I have. I still do. When you’re poor, black or in some instances, not black enough, it feels like you have no place to go and nobody wants you. Every door is shut, and all of a sudden no one knows your name.

There is no one and no home.

I want you to imagine it all. You come from a broken family. Mother didn’t want you. She left you and your father before you can even

remember. After years of being told that and feeling that you must have done something wrong, something that would make a mother of all people walk away from you, you’re left feeling as though you weren’t worthy of her love, and you hate yourself for it every day.

Imagine hating yourself, truly hating every being of you every day, at least once a day for 20 years.

Imagine being lied to about that your entire life, and then, at the age of 20, finding out that it was because she had been abused by the same man that made you who you are today.

Imagine an uncle or family member that you trusted violating your every being, and not telling anyone because of the shame and the fear that you held inside at such a young age. Oh. Shit. I promised I wouldn’t tell. .What’s more, your household lives paycheck to paycheck, where each dollar means the difference between food or no future. You scrapped and saved what modest earnings you had, only for the stock market to wipe you clean.

Yet, your future is paramount.

Education is the key. And so your father insists that he’ll forgo what he must, not vitally informing you that he’s not buying the medications he needs for himself because he must pay for your fees.

All the while, you continuously receive threatening emails from an estranged step mother who accuses you of destroying her marriage because of the financial sacrifice that he’s making for you.

All you can do is blame yourself.

His hurt. Her hurt. Your hurt. It’s all. Your. Fault. It would be better for them all if you weren’t here, maybe then your little sisters might have a chance at succeeding when they grow up. It’s better if you leave them, if you end your life now when they still have the chance of rebounding and getting back on a level playing field.

Those demons of that inner city kitchen come crawling out of the shadows. The only way to shut them up and to shut them out is to drown them in liquor. Their voices are only muffled then, and you can’t hear them tell you how useless you are, how much better the world would be without you, until you’re alone with them at night, and where your only companion is your tears whilst your roommate sleeps across the room from you.

And so, each day becomes a struggle, more than the day before and the day before that. You try and drag yourself out of bed, but each time you do, that window on 5th floor MacIssac seems more and more inviting.

You cry in the basement showers so that no one can hear you.

The crashing water might drown out the voices in your head shouting for you to give up, pleading on behalf of your sisters, telling you that it’s because you breathe each breathe that they’re in such turmoil.

Those voices can’t stop. They won’t. Somehow, you stumble into the next year of university with the hope that things will get better.

They don’t. You’re bullied again by people that don’t understand you.

The demons grow louder. You drink more if only for the brief respite that it gives you.

Then it happens. The email.

Your father can’t walk. He just got into a car accident and he has to learn how to do it all again from square one. You’re reassured that those fees you so desperately need paid off will be taken care of. Keep going they say. Right now though, you have a couple of dollars to your name, your demons are louder than ever and you have no place to live.

You sleep all day and stay up all night in the student radio station.

You sleep on the floor of the storage room to avoid detection by cleaning staff, which would lead to no shelter with no place to go. Nowhere to go. Home is nowhere.

And you’re nothing.

You somehow make it through another year. Until that fateful evening. The voices almost won. You try taking your own life. You leave nothing but a note for the world to know that you existed, that you had not been a mere number, a passing face in a crowd, save for that note. It wasn’t the first occasion, but it became the one told and retold to many, because, you don’t think the other attempts counted.

They always counted. This was me. If this was you, if this was your life, what would you do?

Where do you start? Where do you pick up the pieces?

Everything is so. Broken.

I started with speaking up. I refused to have a label defin my existence. I refused to have my life and my future robbed of me without a fight. What made me speak up?

The silence in knowing that others like me, that you, were most likely suffering from it all too. I speak up for that one soul, in hope that they realize that they aren’t alone in it all. I speak up because, if I don’t, who will?

Hope they say, isn’t something that is brought into existence by merely speaking of it, but rather, by becoming it. If you seek betterment in the lives of others by actively putting yourself on the line, you no longer believe in hope, you choose to live it.

Dear reader, this is not a mere letter to you of my despair, of dreams lost and never to be imagined. No. This letter is a letter of hope. This is a call to action. I am asking, rather, I am begging you to stand by the Xaverian pledge that we both swore.

We swore to lead in a world lacking of determination. We swore to choose hope in times where there seems to be none. We swore to act and believe in whatsoever things are true, honest, good, noble and indeed just.

I must ask you, what is the price of a dream? Mine is $21,202.16. This number represents everything that has happened to me despite my continued perseverance. This number is NOT my future.

Through it, my potential and tireless pursuit of hope for those suffering in silence with a mental illness cannot be realized.

The price of my freedom is a number that I’m asking you to help erase.

I’m pleading for you to help me break free from this financial slavery. I’m begging you to help me become something, someone. Hope, personified.

I’ve been the underdog my entire life. All I’m asking for is a fighting chance to fulfill a dream. This community gave a lost boy a place to finally call home. This family is all I have ever had. I’m asking you for what little you can spare. Each cent you give will be matched with my undying passion to become the person you and I both know I can and should be.

Why should you care? Because.

I’m you.

My name is Dexter John Nyuurnibe. I too am a Xaverian.

Dexter John Nyuurnibe is a former StFX student. Dexter was informed by the Finance Office at St Francis Xavier University that he would not be allowed to enroll unless he paid his debt in full. After his battle with depression, anxiety and homelessness, he’s been a vocal youth mental health advocate. Over two years, Dexter has spoken at a national youth mental health innovation conference, shared his battle and story with the nation on CTV and was a part of the Clara Hughes documentary during Clara’s Big Ride for mental health. This past summer he spoke at TEDx Cape Breton about perseverance and mental health, and he was selected to join 100 young Canadians that recently met in Charlottetown to map out Canada’s national policy for the next 50 years on the 150th occasion of the Charlottetown Conference.

If you’d like to Let Dexter Learn, visit his GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/letdexterlearnstfx

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 4

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Featured Artist: Hilary MacDonald Bringing StFX artists into the foreground DEVON GREENE | Culture Editor

This week’s featured artist is 4th year student Hilary MacDonald.

MacDonald is a psychology major with a minor in studio art. The small town, homey feel of StFX drew the Prince Edward Islander to Antigonish where she was impressed with the artistic community, on and off campus.

Being involved in art from an early age inspired MacDonald to pursue the field, even if just in her minor studies for now. “I’ve been involved in art and I’ve loved art pretty much my whole life. In high school I was in art and I decided I want to do something with it,” says MacDonald.

Any artist will tell you that a lot of hard work and time goes into their creations but for MacDonald, the best things often don’t feel like work. “There are a couple of really nice soft pastels that I did. Sometimes I look back and I’m like ‘wow that just happened, like I did that in the last five minutes.’ I really surprise myself sometimes with the biggest thing I do. But when I’m doing it for myself, my thing is portraits, people’s faces, so that’s what I do. I actually get commissioned to do those sometimes when people ask me to do them for them. But at X it’s more still life and stuff and I really like those because you get to experiment with whatever you’re doing… When I’m doing it just for fun, that’s what I’m doing it for: fun. Sometimes I get urges to draw something and I just go at it and it’s just for fun and I don’t really care what it is.”

Although she has enjoyed the challenge that her education has presented during her time at StFX, MacDonald seems like one of those people who are just naturally artistic. “I usually have a sense. I look at a picture and if I don’t know that I can draw it then I usually can’t but sometimes I look at something and just know that I can draw it.

I feel like I really do get challenged in class and I like the challenge. It really helps you learn and test your abilities.”

A combination of natural ability and hard work and skill comes across in

“Selfie” Soft pastel 18”x18X

MacDonald’s artwork. The graphite piece, “Window Study” depicts a scene from MacDonald’s room in her third year of study at StFX. While it contains many of the details found in a real life image, it has something slightly other worldly about it. MacDonald feels that this piece is good representation of her journey through her artistic journey at StFX. “When creating art first became a passion for me, I used graphite/pencil as my main medium. I grew very familiar with drawing this way and fine tuned my different techniques with it.

Graphite is still one of my favorite mediums to use because you are able to do so much with it. At the same time it’s mostly only used on a grey scale. Displayed is a drawing of mine done in graphite for a class assignment in third year (2013-2014). It’s one of the more recent graphite works I’ve done, but it shows improvement and how far I’ve come since I started out. It also shows how I like to be detailed when using graphite. The drawing is of my room window in my third year, so I guess you can say it’s a personal drawing that has some meaning to me.” The image portrays exactly that: something personal.

The viewer sees the room from the perspective of someone standing at the door almost creating a feeling that they are not supposed to be their. The images are clear but not sharp as if in a dream. The message that you are entering someone’s personal space clearly comes across in the piece.

Like many artists, MacDonald uses art as an outlet for self-expression to convey thoughts or feelings. The creative process is not just brow furrowing technical work, but a stream of thought that flows through the mind as well as onto the page. “Usually I put on music that I can sing to and I sit there for four or five hours. Usually I don’t even notice how long I’ve sat there and I go at it. Usually I just sit there and as I’m drawing and I think of everything, things that are going through my head.

Sometimes it does help me think. It’s emotion. Sometimes when I’m angry

““Window Study” Graphite 20”x28”

you can see in my drawings that it’s more scribble, and when I’m happy you can see the difference in that.” MacDonald feels that this therapeutic use of art can be shared with others. “If something in art doesn’t work out, art therapy would be really cool. You have the art concept and also the psychology, so I think that would be really interesting. In case nothing worked out in the art field, but it would still be connected to both.” It may seem a little unconventional to focus on the backup plan first, but a major in psychology is giving MacDonald the comfort of a safety net to fall back on. “I’m using psychology as my back up, kind of like my plan B, so I’m working on that. Later, after I graduate from here I want to go to more of an art college. I have art as a background right now so I decided to minor in it.” Although playing it safe with something to fall back on, MacDonald is determined to pursue art even further as a career. “I’m graduating this year and after that I’m just taking a year off and working and just doing art and working on my portfolio.

Then I’m going to research different art universities or colleges. I’m thinking somewhere in Halifax but who knows?”

A career as an artist takes passion and determination, but MacDonald feels that her instructors and profes-

sors at StFX inspire her to do her best work and look forward to the road ahead. The small department makes for close-knit classes and strong bonds between instructors and students. Not only are all the professors great instructors, they are also talented artists themselves with a strong artistic presence in the community. Many of the instructors were featured in the art festival “Antigonight” and a recent art show and the StFX art gallery showcased the work of the faculty members of the art department. MacDonald feels that she speaks for many of her fellow classmates when she says that the faculty members are role models for their students, inspiring them to showcase their art in the community of Antigonish as well as on campus.

After speaking with different students from the art department at StFX, a theme is starting to become clear. The students are well supported by the art community of Antigonish, StFX and especially the faculty members and fellow students of the art department.

The nurturing and educational environment that is created here for young artists certainly comes across in the work of these students. It is safe to assume that we can look forward to great things continuing to emerge from the StFX art department.

12 ARTS & CULTURE

Thursday October 16, 2014-The Xaverian

CD RevArkells- High Noon A review of acclaimed Canadian rock band’s latest album RORY MACLEOD | Contributer

Hamiltonian band, Arkells, have returned with High Noon, their follow up album to their successful sophomore album, Michigan Left. This self-proclaimed “collection of blue-eyed soul” and “sing along anthems” garnered much critical acclaim, and was accompanied by a JUNO Award in 2012 for Group of the Year, proudly presented on their website, and rightly so.

Since 2011 the band has been making waves in Canada with their vibrant and accessible sound. Their latest release sports a combination of the catchy sing along hooks that brought them their popular success, but boasts a more refined and rounded sound. However, does this succeed at making a cleaner more compelling album, or does it just dilute an already digestible album?

On Michigan Left the band managed to refine their sound while presenting their insightful lyrics in a fun, poppy package with compelling vocal hooks and engaging riffs. The keyboards became prominent and the bass held its own as well. I managed to see them play live for New Years in Ottawa a few years ago as the toured the album and I was impressed with their collaborative, participatory and coop-

erative performance. While some of the band members took the forefront in some songs while others rose to the occasion at other times, all of the band members shone through in their own right. More importantly they looked like they were having fun playing together, despite the frigid temperatures. Their sound on Michigan left was by no means intimidating, but it managed to balance the inherent sweetness on their hooks with effective use of dynamics and a very energetic presentation. High Noon, however, comes up short in this respect.

This album comes across as polished and, to be honest, a bit stale. The energy that they exuded as a team on the previous album has given away to vocal driven, and vocal dominant, pop songs that sound flat despite their attempts to do the opposite. The album was produced in Hamilton by Tony Hoffer of M83 fame, and this may be the albums downfall. The fun keys and the bouncing bass riffs have faded into the background, making this album come across as overproduced. Synths are more predominant, and cute little guitar lines pop n for a visit sometimes but they don’t

tend to stick around. By adding to the instrumentalism in layers and complexity, the production has diluted some of the most engaging parts of Arkells. At some points it seems like the rest of the band is just a back up for their frontman Max. I can’t imagine that the band is having as much playing these new songs compared to their old ones.

This album does have its moments. Arkells pop sensibilities shine through on their singles like “11:11,” “Come to Light” but they lack the je-ne-sais-quoi that made the Arkells for me. “Leather Jacket” and “Crawling Through the Window” harken back to their all-inclusive sound, but they lack the vivacity of similar songs on Michigan Left. At certain points the lyrics even become preachy rather than nuanced or insightful, like on “Cynical Bastards,” where Max berates the unhappy or downtrodden citizens of his economically depressed town of Hamilton. From a band like this, preachy lyrics do not do their songs any favours; even if they would rather think of them as political, sometimes they do not come across that way. There are good songs peppered throughout the album, especially as it ramps up the rock factor towards

the end, but that being said, there is also a lot of filler in between.

Overall High Noon is not a terrible album, but it is not a great album. It is certainly poppy and accessible but it seems to lack heart. Where they have clearly increased their production budget, it seems that they may have lost sight of what attracted fans to them in the first place. When I listen to Arkells I look forward to fun, energetic and likeable hooks that are easy to listen to, and if I

listen a bit harder, I can pick up on what they are really trying to say hidden in their more subtle lyrics. When I listen to this album I feel like they have tried to replicate the same effect, but in doing so they have lost sight of what made them so likeable. If you really want to give them a chance I would recommend checking out their previous releases. Arkells have a lot to offer but they just fell short on this album RATING 6/10

DISTRACTIONS 13

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 4

DISTRACTIONS KURT BROTHERS | Procrastination Expert

Antigonish X-Rated: Post Turkey Stress

Games Corner: Sudoku!

Thanksgiving’s over but the mountain of homework most certainly is not. I think I speak for everyone when I say “I’m screwed”.

The promise of being productive died quickly when I arrived home, and now I am drowning in a sea of mid-terms and assignments.

For those who stayed in the Nish for Turkey Day, you are no better off. Though you may have told yourself you’d get a lot done with no distractions, I’m willing to bet the only all-nighters you pulled were for Netflix marathons. So let the coffee be hot and the library lights be bright, because if I have any hopes of going anywhere in life, I’m going to need to survive this upcoming week. I look forward to seeing you all studying hard, with plates of leftovers in hand.

Overheard @ X “Yeah I was so drunk I puked everywhere then made out with some random girl, it’s also the same night I accidentally hit on a dude.”

“You can totally get drunk in 20 minutes…it’ll just hit you like a ton of bricks!”

“I think I freaked him out when I asked him to crack my big toe.”

“Forget flowers, Kenny’s is the way to my heart.”

The Six People you See During Mid-Term Season 1) The Early Bird: This person arrives at the library at the crack of dawn to secure a prime location for studying, and proceeds to leave and never return until close.

2) The Stress Case: Blood shot eyes, pale skin, and a moat of coffee cups surrounds this student. They look like they’ve seen hell and back and it’s only October.

3) The Talker: The annoyance of all study groups. Pretends to do work for a microsecond and then launches into a full blown conversation, mainly with themselves.

4) The Resident: This person moves into the library and never leaves. Typical signs are a phone charger, collection of snack food, multiple articles of clothing, space heater and air mattress. Also inhabit the PSC pods.

5) The Everything-But-“Studyer”: Checks facebook, instagrams, watches some cool youtube videos, basically this person will do anything and everything except study.

6) The Normal, Well-Balanced Student: Yet to be sighted.

Phases of University Weight Gain

SPORTS & HEALTH

SPORTS & HEALTH Presidential Task Force critical of X football Report labels the StFX football team as “unsustainable” AARON THORNELL | Sports & Health Editor

A StFX without its varsity football team. The concept is difficult for most to imagine, be they Xaverians or not. Yet, following the recently released results of the Presidential Task Force’s report concerning the way StFX spends its money. One of, if not the most, surprising recommendation put forward by the 22 members of the Task Force was the “Unsustainable” label given to the men’s varsity football team. An institution of St.FX for decades, the football team has produced a number of professional players, and remains one of the most renowned teams the school has.

Leo MacPherson, the Director of Athletics and Recreation at StFX as well as a member of the Presidential Task Force, was quick to point out that this report was by no means a concrete plan for the future of StFX. “It’s important to note that the report is just that, and no decisions will be made without the opportunity for program owners to respond,” said MacPherson in an email. “I am actually viewing this as a great opportunity, and to have it serve as a catalyst for taking a deeper look at how we resource our varsity programs more appropriately based on need, value and opportunity.”

The report, officially entitled “Sustaining the Academic Priorities of St. Francis Xavier 2013-2018”, is critical of the school’s football program on a number of fronts. They commend the team and its management on its attempts to resuscitate the school’s ailing squad. This is an allusion to the recent hiring of Offensive Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator Steve Snyder, as well as the hiring of Bob Howes and Bob Mullen prior to the 2013-14 season.

Financially, the team’s budget is on par with most other schools in the AUS. What’s more, it has a one of the strongest alumni support systems at StFX, and draws media attention as well as large crowds to the school.

Unfortunately, that is where the

back-patting stops. The report states outright that the team’s onfield performance is not up to snuff, declaring that “in measures of quality, evidence demonstrates that team performs below average compared to other varsity teams”. Despite the dressed-up language, this is about as cutting as a remark can get, especially when levelled against the proud blue and white football team. To be fair, the team has struggled of late, as they have qualified for the playoffs only twice in the past five years, and in that same time span, have only had season with more wins than losses. In a four team league, those numbers aren’t too flattering.

The report doesn’t stop there, however. It points out the dwindling number of AUS All-Stars the team has produced in recent years. StFX had four All-Stars in 27 positions last season, and only three the year before. Once again the report stipulates that, proportionally, the team should be producing more. This criticism seems slightly out of line.

While it is all well and good to produce conference All-Stars, it is hardly a measure of a program’s success.

Paired with the team’s record, it may seem appropriate, but one should keep in mind that at the beginning of the 2014-15, six former X-Men could be found on the rosters of CFL teams, not to mention Henoc Muamba, who has dressed five times for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The team has produced a number of fantastic players, and it is clear that professional clubs are not shying away from StFX alumni.

I wish I could say it gets better from there, but the report continues its negative trajectory. The team’s off-field performance is the next to be taken into account, and here, it is difficult to come to the team’s aid.

The men’s football team was ranked, academically speaking, as the weakest varsity team at StFX. The football X-Men had the lowest ratio of Academic All-Canadians of any

Via Flickr Creative Commons

team at X, and this is despite the team exceeding its budget in Academic Financial Assistance (AFAs).

MacPherson, despite his place on the Presidential Task Force, had some things to say about this aspect of the evaluation of varsity teams.

“With regards to academic performance of teams, I feel it is unfair and somewhat misleading to compare Academic performance simply on the basis of Academic All-Canadians.”

Here, MacPherson makes a point worth noting. While the football team produced only five Academic All-Canadians in 2012-13 (last years winners have yet to be announced), anyone who has participated in a varsity or club sport, whether it be at StFX or elsewhere, is aware of the number of hours one needs to put into training if they do not want to let down their teammates, school, and supporters. An average of 80% is required to be named an Academic All-Canadian, which may seem fairly attainable to some, but quickly becomes a strain when most student athletes spend at least 20 hours on sport-related activities, compounded by the everpresent distractions present in a university setting. Ron Omara, a fourth year linebacker from Aylmer, Québec, was, like MacPherson, disappointed in the findings of the Task Force, and provided a perspective from within the locker room on why he felt the football team’s evaluation was lacking.

“At the end of the day, I think the report doesn’t understand the grunt and grind that this football program gladly endures in order to represent St. Francis Xavier University. We are practicing everyday, attending additional film sessions, and at the same time balancing our school work to be successful in what we do and I have the utmost respect for all athletes or anyone that can juggle academics and other activities together effectively.

“What really made me cringe

An empty Oland Stadium could be on the way if the football programs is not revised Via Flickr Creative Commons

was the critique on the academic performance of our team. I think it’s clear to note that if you attend St. Francis Xavier University, it is an accomplishment to graduate. I know for a fact that if it weren’t for this football program, some of us may have not gotten the chance to attend university. Our program prides itself in having accomplished academics and being able to graduate, so I found that extremely offensive to everyone who has worked hard to get to where they are today.”

Omara brings some strong, but fair language to the table. Most student-athletes, or anyone who knows one, would agree that being part of a sports team is one of the largest commitments a student can take on here at StFX. Weekends are often occupied by games or, at the very least, practices, and early mornings cut into night-time study sessions.

What comes next in the report is where a great deal of importance lies – dollars and cents. Alongside with the evaluation criteria of “Size, Scope, and Productivity”, this is where the team took a large hit. The Task Force’s findings show that the football program at StFX is bleeding money. The team is paying out more money in Athletic Financial Awards (AFAs) than its budget allows. It has racked up the largest debt in recent years than any other varsity team, despite the fact that it receives the largest budget. Once again, Task Force member MarPherson had something to say on that note.

“The university provides each varsity team with some funds to be used for athletic financial awards (scholarships), but this is not a budget that the teams are expected to stay within. In fact, to attract the best and brightest, our teams must fundraise an additional $350,000 towards athletic financial awards.”

That is a bit more capital than most see coming out of a bake sale or bottle drive, which begs the question, where is all that dough it coming from? Alumni can pitch in from time to time, and fortunately for the football team, there are a number of

them to canvass. In the end, however, players are forced to contribute a sum to the team, usually coming out to a few hundred dollars. A fine balance soon becomes apparent, in which resources and results are constantly pulling on one another. A smaller budget might mean a drop in recruiting, fewer practices and exhibition games, or older, out-ofdate equipment. But exceeding the funds available means they might start to dwindle if team results don’t begin to improve.

After levelling this thunderous blow, the report finally goes in for the kill, so to speak. It describes the football program as “not currently financially sustainable” and recommends either drastic evaluations and changes, or else the termination of the team. On the whole, Omara, was, like MacPherson, believes that the report is lacking a comprehensive look at what the football program means at StFX..

“If I were to be completely honest, the first time I glanced at the report, I was quite upset and very disappointed. On behalf of the X-men football team, I think it’s important to note a few things about our program. The football tradition here has been vibrant for as long as I can remember and continues to also have strong alumni support. Homecoming this year was an absolute success, with an attendance of over 5,000 spectators. If that is “unsustainable”, I beg to challenge that statement.”

This past homecoming was something many people I spoke to about the report brought up – and the numbers do make a strong case.

The homecoming football game is a sell-out every year, and are a staple of the schools celebratory weekend.

Yet, attendance does struggle from time to time during the rest of the regular season, and with the team missing the playoffs, the opportunity to make up attendance revenue is often missed.

This surely came to a shock to most who read the report. The football ...Continued on Page 15

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 4

SPORTS & HEALTH

15

StFX teams vital to sport & activity promotion Dr. Angia Kolen, human kinetics professor, offers thoughts on the Task Force report AARON THORNELL | Sports & Health Editor

Dr. Angie Kolen is undoubtedly one of the most respected professors here at StFX, and has collected a number of distinguishing honours since arriving on campus in 2001. When the Presidential Task Force released their report last week, as someone passionate about sports and health at our school, I knew the her voice was one I wanted to hear on the results.

The first point to address was the beating that many of the varsity sports teams received in the report – men’s football and basketball, as well as both soccer teams did not fare terribly well. This is something that concerned Dr. Kolen, as one of her focuses lies in the promotion of physical activity, a domain where organized sports play a leading role.

“To be honest, I am surprised that some of the Athletic teams did not fare well in the report – particularly given the University’s concern about enrolment. Most – if not all – student-athletes would not be at StFX if it was not for their varsity sport. I also think there must be a misperception or undervaluing of the attention Athletics brings to StFX – which is also important for recruitment. For example, earlier this fall, Henoc Muamba, former Varsity football studentathlete was on the front page of the Chronical Herald as well as the front page of the sports section. The positive review he gave of StFX in his interview was free advertising for us. Similar stories appeared in his home province of Ontario too. Further, I cannot imagine a Homecoming without our Athletic teams. There were about 5000 students, alumni, staff, faculty and local people at the football game on Saturday – that sort of publicity and revenue generation is needed by the university.”

The points raised here are valid. StFX’s enrolment numbers have been floundering somewhat, yet varsity teams have no issues filling their rosters. The Athletics program here at StFX is very strong for a smaller

school, and plays a large role in attracting young people from across Canada and the rest of the world. Dr. Kolen went on to stress the importance of StFX’s teams in the promotion of physical activity, especially among young children.

“In terms of physical activity promotion, our varsity student-athletes are excellent role models for children and youth – they lead by example demonstrating the discipline, work ethic, commitment, and teamwork necessary to combine their roles as student-athletes. Many become directly engaged with physical activity promotion in programs such as Fit 4 Life and Fit 4 Tots on top of coaching youth in their sport and the many other things they do for young people in the community. Further, many of our student-athletes are vocal leaders who ‘step up’ and take action when needed. I think of the ‘pay it forward’ response to the silly drinking game that was on-line last year. It was our student-athletes who came up with the pay it forward on our campus.”

Dr. Kolen emphasized that all teams at StFX are an absolutely vital part of the university, and pointed out their successes despite a smaller budget in comparison with some other schools in the Maritime region.

A final point that Dr. Kolen made which requires mentioning was concerning the evaluation process undertaken by the Presidential Task Force as a whole.

“I think there have been considerable attempts at transparency and lots of communication – and I am thankful to all of my colleagues who were directly involved in the process; however I am not sure it was fair to have ALL programs use the same template for review. In some cases it’s like putting square pegs in a round hole; I am not sure a program like Athletics should have been reviewed in the same way as Academics.”

It is refreshing to hear this honesty from Dr. Kolen, particularly concerning the attempts of the Task Force to use the same evaluation criteria for all academic, academic support, and administrative programs at StFX. It strikes one as odd that cross-coun-

try running and art history and conference services could be judged by the same standards. Yet, the report has been released, and all at StFX await action with baited breath to see whether or not the results will be acted upon.

Football: a cutting criticism Continued from page 14 team is often thought of as such a critical part of StFX that it could never be removed. The reality remains that there will likely be a blue and white football taking the field for many years to come. It may be due to resistance from alumni, coaches, or even residents of Antigonish. It may be because the football team does draw a fair amount of attention to the school through its production of professional football players. But this isn’t why it should be.

One of the terms that kept sticking out upon the reading of the values of StFX, the values that would be a driving force in terms of what is important at the school, as well as what classification each program would receive, was “leadership”. This is something emphasized a great deal at St.FX. While it may seem cliché to point to sports programs as sources of this quality, there is a reason as to why you perceive it as cliché – it is often the case. Sports programs and the people who make them up act as leaders on and off the field, particularly in small schools such as StFX. This may seem like empty rhetoric, but I do draw upon a source.

The StFX Athletic Department recently re-

leased a document of their own, outlining their plans for the future in the “StFX Leads: Strategic Plan for StFX University’s Athletics Department 2014-2019.” In it, leadership tops the list of “Core Values”, above passion, excellence, teamwork, and others. This is backed up by the promotion of the St. FX Leadership Academy, a development program (deemed “Sustainable” by the Task Force) that “strives to challenge, develop, and support StFX student-athletes in their quest to become world-class leaders in athletics, academics, and life.” The football team, undoubtedly one of the most recognized teams at the school, is likely among the first the Athletics Department will look to in order to initiate their plan of action.

To phase out the StFX football team would mean a big shift at the school. It would be placing the emphasis on things such as academics and economics, over aspects like school spirit and leadership. Choosing between these two is no easy task, and following up on this report will undoubtedly prove interesting. One way or another, the foundations of StFX athletics have been shook, and now anticipate the next announcement from the Task Force.

Fasted Cardio The downside to workin’ it out on an empty stomach LORRAINE TEASDALE | Contributor

I got asked a couple times this summer my opinion on the current trend that is Fasted Cardio, and I would like to share some science behind why it may not be right for you. Fasted Cardio is the coined term for morning cardio without having eaten anything beforehand; your body is still in a fasted state.

The theory is that this will kick start fat metabolism and promote targeted fat loss.

First of all, there is no such thing as being able to target your fat loss to certain troublesome areas, unfortunately. Secondly, the goals of any fitness savvy person in preparation of their workout should be to avoid feelings of hunger and fatigue. Heading to the gym on an empty stomach seems counterproductive.

Our undeniable primary source of energy is glucose from carbohydrates, and when those stores are depleted from the overnight fast, our body will turn to the break down of proteins in the form of muscle to use those amino acids in a more complicated process to produce the necessary glucose. In short, your body will resort to obtaining energy from your oh-so-desired

lean mass instead of its go-to energy source that is your typical carbohydrate stores.

Though fat is energy dense and most often plentiful in the body, it is a slow process to access that energy, and usually is resorted to after carbohydrate and proteins are nearly exhausted. Even when fat metabolism is favoured, it can take up to 20 minutes for the process to reach maximal rate of energy production. Athletes know the importance of proper pre-game nutrition for optimal performance and the average gym enthusiast should look at this no differently.

I’m not saying that you need a full plate of meal hall brunch before your cardio burst, but even having a banana on your way to the wellness centre would be sufficient to get you started and keep you energized throughout your workout. Also, the feelings of satiety from a quick pre-gym snack may help you be less likely to overdo it on your post-gym breakfast. Overall, if you provide your body with the fuel that it requires and the activity it deserves, then the fat loss will follow.

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