Issue 0 Volume 51

Volume 51 | Issue 0 | August 22 | 2016

Photog r aphy : S amant ha Moss

J I L L STAVE L E Y: PL AN TI N G THE S E E DS OF A MUSI CAL COM M UN I TY

Editors Yumna Leghari & Zara Syed editors@trentarthur.ca @TrentArthur

Photographer Samantha Moss @MossWorks

Copy Editor Zafer Izer

Board of Directors Chair: Anthony Moniz Secretary: Josh Skinner Member at Large: Ugyen Wangmo • Jordan Porter • Jeffery Moore •Shannon LeBlanc • Zach Muto

Contributors • Corey LeBlanc • Joshua Skinner • Matt Douglas • Brendan Campbell• TACSU • TGSA •Trent Vegetable Gardens• Ugyen Wangmo • James Kerr • Active Minds •Seasoned Spoon •Tegan Moss • ASTC • Lindsay Thackeray• TCSA • Simon Turner • Lisa Clarke • Keila MacPherson • Jack Smye •Tyler Majer Submissions due Thursdays at 12:00 pm Issue 1: September 8th Issue 2: September 15th Issue 3: September 22nd Issue 4: September 29th Articles should be subitted via email as *.rtf, *.odt, *.odt or *.txt attachment | word limit: 800 words.

Letters to the editor | word limit: 100 words Listings, annoucements | word limit: 100 words Images should be submitted via email, Google Drive, Dropbox or other firesharing site. Images should be sent as attachments in *.jpeg and *.tiff formats with a dpi of no less than 300 pixels Arthur reserves the right to edit for length and clarity

Advertise with Arthur!

We offer great deals for local businesses!

Contact us for more info at: advertising@trentarthur.ca

2

www.trentarthur.ca

CONTENTS Volume 51 Issue 0

August 22 2016

Feature

Opinion • Letter to the Editor • Editorials - Y & Z

3

• American Elections

Campus • Student Centre Construction

4 • Disorientation Week!

• TACSU

5 • Trent Vegetable Gardens • Trent Radio • Active Minds

6 • The Seasoned Spoon • Queer Coll(l/u)sions :a call for papers

7 • B!ke @ Trent • Trent Gradute Students Association

8 • Trent Jiu- Jitsu • Trent Fashion Show

9

TCSA Centre Spread 10/11

92.7 FM Trent Radio

Celebrating Jill Staveley & Rock Camp for Girls

12/13

Community • How to make your own theatre • Take Back the Night!

14 • Black Lives Matter Protest

15 • Amuse Coffee Company

16 • Community Butcher Shop • Dreams of Beans

17 • Clairvoyant review

18

Listings 19

’s r u h t r A on the a irwa ves!

Keep your ear out for Radio- Free

Arthur, on the air soon!

OPINION

Editorial: the paper is relevant Editorial: a nurturing community Yumna Leghari Thanks to social media, we are making strides in race relations, gender equality, the fight against patriarchy, and a general humanitarian tact that is quickly encompassing the greater universal sensibility. Social media has exposed stories and images at a high speed previously unavailable. Take for example the tragic photo of five-year-old Syrian boy Omran Daqnee which recently went viral. It symbolizes an unbroken continuum of suffering for the last six years of conflict. What we are seeing is a greater reality of the human condition, and the absurdity of these conflicts are becoming far too much to wrap our minds around.

Someone captured a photo of what’s been going on forever; we will cry about it, and return to our daily routines. Remember the drowning boy? In a similar vein, the image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi shocked the world, then quickly dissipated as we all proceeded to live our lives. These facets of imagery spamming the internet temporarily provoke a moral sensibility within us and then eventually dissolve.

This doesn’t mean we are terrible people.

In the last few months we have seen an attempted coup against the Turkish government, multiple shootings such as the Orlando and Nice tragedies, the circus of the American electoral race (email scandals, Wikileaks and all), Obama’s last year in office, Harambe, a rise in right-wing sentiment in Europe, the T-Swift and Kanye feud, a severe lack of rain, the Olympics, and all the global drama surrounding it.

We are only human and we can only handle so much. This is why print publication is important. You pick up a paper once a week and let the information absorb into your parietal lobe. This is information relevant to yourself and your community. Stories within an arm’s reach, issues you can become a part of and dialogues you can en-

gage in. The degrees of separation between most of the news we receive via internet create a sense of detachment, however unintentional.

Through Arthur, you’re still being exposed to your peers’ outlooks and analyses of the greater national and global issues; intelligible, calculated and grounded. The Peterborough and Trent community paper is a balanced and responsible way to receive your news while remaining critical.

In his show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver states, “The media is a food chain that would fall apart without newspapers.”

Social media is used to reach a large audience, as is television news, but people often overlook the importance of the physical paper and how it serves the community. Most television networks source their news from print publications and a lack of print news would create a vacuum. Where would we get our information?

Sure, it’s great to be up, buzzed on way too many espressos, clicking on endless article upon endless article, but eventually, the overabundance of news pages you’ve liked on Facebook will become white noise, the comments section a black hole you get sucked into, and the risk of clickbait always a looming threat. We encourage you to utilize your local community news sources, and not just us! Trent Radio and monthly publication Electric City Magazine are fantastic ways to be entertained and stay connected via relevant platforms.

This year, Arthur enters Volume 51, entering the latter half of its hopefully centurial existence. This paper has served the community for decades as a reliable platform for student and community dialogue. Granted, we are wacky, spontaneous, and take risks, but you can always come knocking at our door, demanding, “What the hell are you thinking?”, and I will yell back, “PRINT MEDIA IS IMPORTANT, WELCOME TO YOUR STUDENT RAG.”

Zara Syed What happens to life after Trent? What we hope to explore in our feature is the community of this university and how its relation to Peterborough is like a Mobius strip of sorts.

Without the Peterborough community, Trent would not exist, and without Trent, as seen when students leave for the summer or choose not to stay in town, the Peterborough community is impacted.

We hope to uncover and celebrate the initiatives by this community, whether it be on campus or right downtown.

We were lucky enough to uncover a story this summer about a community figure who has worked tirelessly to create an inclusive musical space. This story deserves national press, everything about it is inspirational and grassroots; humble and important.

Jill Staveley is the Production Manager at Trent Radio, another part of the Trent community that has a risk of being overlooked because of the downtown-campus disconnect. See, back in the day, Trent had campuses downtown. Well, I shouldn’t say “had”, with Traill College becoming an Undergraduate College once again in light of the Traill Review, which we will be covering in Issue 2.

However, there was a huge campus life downtown before the controversial selling of the downtown colleges. Peter Robinson College, located at George and Parkhill, and Traill College, located up the hill on London St. between Reid and Stewart, were the two main campuses downtown. Now, PR is just housing, but right next to it is Trent Radio, one of the greatest things you can get involved with as a student. You can have your own radio show on just about anything!

Ever seen the movie School of Rock?

Well, such a thing exists right here in Peterborough. As we were looking for our cover

story, we found it to be right in front of us, in a place we are proud to call the home of our office. Sadleir House, another downtown relic of Trent’s past, is the most beautiful historic building you can come across.

Great for hiding away and reading a book, getting some work done, or booking the space for an event or band practice, it is another resource for students and community members alike.

This building became ever so quiet once the downtown campuses closed, and during the year it provides even more solace than the library. In the summer, Camp Rock for Girls takes over Sadleir House, and it becomes a little less quiet. An inclusive camp for young girls, non-binary and trans youth, CRforG is a vision carried out by women in the community who wanted to carry the Rock Camp Alliance movement right here in Peterborough.

Here exists a story of a full-time working mother, breaking the boundaries of what it is to be a rock and roll musician with children, and inspiring a community of young people to rock. I’m amazed at Jill for all the tireless work she’s put into the camp, which just celebrated its ten-year anniversary.

There are so many stories here in our community of women who inspire movements and do significant work that shapes us. Working with Jill on this story reminded me of other inspirational women I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing for Arthur.

Maryam Monsef came to mind, as well as Jess Grover, Kemi Akapo, Sarah McNeilly, Kate Story, and countless others I’ve been motivated by in my own personal journey to be a part of this community.

We are the Trent University and Peterborough Independent Press, and even though you may never hear about Jill Staveley or Rock Camp at main campus, the story of how a Trent alumna helped create a movement that teaches girls how to rock couldn’t get any more Trent than that.

I support a mandatory half-credit in Indigenous Studies Corey Robert LeBlanc I wholeheartedly support the Trent University Native Association’s (TUNA) initiative to introduce a mandatory halfcredit in Indigenous Studies at Trent University. I want to be honest as to why.

As a “White” Canadian, I have always been conscious of the fact that I grew up on lands that aren’t “mine.” As a FrenchCanadian, I am conscious that my “homeland” is an ocean away in Northern France, still inhabited largely by ethnic French people – a luxury not enjoyed by the Indigenous peoples of Canada. As an advocate for the Zionist community in Canada, I have always been conscious of the hypocrisy of fighting for the homeland of the Jewish people – while living on the colonized homeland of the Indigenous peoples of ‘Turtle Island’. As a conservative political activist, I am conscious of the double-standard I exercise when arguing in favour of immigration reform - in a nation that can never really be called totally my own.

Additionally, I have a deep respect for our Indigenous peoples and culture instilled in me from a young age. Perhaps it was my frequent childhood trips to Roseneath (Alderville) with my late grandfather for Fish and Chips (real fish – trout, pickerel, etc.) prepared fresh out of the lake and provided by Indigenous fishermen from the area. Perhaps it was my annual trips to the Alderville Pow-Wow as a child with my late grandmother, and our cherished meals of corn soup and bannock afterwards. Or

perhaps it is the fact that much of the older members of the LeBlanc side of my family are status-Metis from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (I, however, am not, just to be clear). Or it could be the simple fact that I think that an Indigenous perspective is an asset for any student in post-secondary. I had the pleasure of taking an Indigenous economics class in my second year at Trent (I am an Economics student), and I could not have had a better experience.

In fact, that class, and my final project in it, could be one of the best memories I have from my time at Trent University. I had the honour of working with several Indigenous students on our project, and gained a respect for their love of our Indigenous program that I will never forget.

I believe all students should have the same opportunity I had to gain a fresh perspective as they move forward with their studies.

I believe that this opportunity should be mandatory, as they may miss out on it otherwise. I am certainly glad I didn’t (I almost did – my choice to take that course, if my memory serves me well, was “last minute”).

I also believe that this opportunity should be mandatory so that the Indigenous Studies program may be afforded the resources necessary from both the government and the university to provide these experiences to ever more students.

As the President of the Trent Conservatives, it is my hope that this process will move forward, and that many future generations of Trent students may have the privilege of enjoying these same experiences.

Volume 51| Issue 0 |August 22, 2016

3

OPINION

Election 2016: American tribalism on display Josh Skinner Only 77 high octane days of campaigning left till the election and only about 77 days until the drone strikes aside, the best president is leaving to be replaced with whoever emerges from the ashes left by the Clinton and Trump campaigns.

This race has been divisive and a highly stressful affair for minorities both of the ethnic and religious variety.

It’s also been an anxious affair for disenfranchised white people who feel that their government in the past few decades has turned its back on them. America is more divided and different in every way, despite both campaigns being run in startlingly similar ways.

Granted, the candidates are not the same in how they present themselves, but both come from wealthy families.

Hillary’s father owned a successful company in the textile supply industry whose clients included offices, hotels and airlines. Donald’s daddy passed on the family business of real estate to his son and was worth close to a quarter of a billion dollars.

America is choosing between two people with comparable upbringings.

The candidates are distinct, and people should vote according to what they believe in. But the reason why both candidates are where they are is the same reason why we care about where Kate Middleton and Prince George are vacationing this month.

Source: ABC News

Royal families can thrive off of their celebrity status in democracies just as well as they did when monarchs reigned.

Both of these campaigns are being run in the United States of America, and despite the deep division between their supporters, they are all Americans first and Democrats or Republicans second. Americans have certain pushable buttons, the most obvious being parents of dead children to justify political stances.

For Trump it is Mary Commanday, the mother of the American ambassador who was killed in the Benghazi attacks on the American Embassy in 2012.

For Hillary it is Khizr Khan, the father of an American soldier who was killed during the War on Terror in Iraq 12 years ago.

Whether you agree with either party’s

stance (Trump is a racist/Clinton is a criminal), from an objective view, both campaigns are using dead American patriots as pawns to prove a point.

This is because regardless of political affiliation, married Americans with children are more likely to vote, with married couples making up 58% of the total voting population and 65% of the votes cast in 2000. So don’t worry America, you’re not as divided as you think.

A second parallel between both campaigns is one that does not need stats, and that’s the fact that there are some Americans (a huge country—meaning that there’s a lot of them) that are cuckoo for cocopuffs. Take the father of the terrorist behind the Orlando shooting. This man is a big fan of the Taliban; a terrorist organi-

zation that was put into power as a result of American intervention, then removed as a result of American intervention. Regardless of how they came into power, the Taliban, known for its atrocities, is not the team you want to be rooting for.

David Duke, a former grand wizard at the Ku-Klux Klan and elected state official, is also not a savoury endorsement. He shares the anti-Semitism of the Taliban, as well as intolerant views of the LGBT community, not to mention the disgusting history of racism against African Americans.

Both of these endorsements are coming from bad people, but these two men, aside from their similar disposition, share something in common.

They are both American citizens who have the right to endorse a candidate.

Americans should take this as positive, regardless of party affiliation, their candidate comes from money, uses dead children to curry favor, and has really bad homophobic endorsements from the fringes of society.

Americans are going through a real catastrophe of an election. On one side the rafters are filled with racists, while the opposing team is filled with terrorist and terrorist sympathizers from the perspectives of the opposing political tribe.

At least the similarities between each election campaign show that each wing of the overarching tribe of America still reacts to the same triggers.

CAMPUS

Student Centre construction brings changes to Trent’s parking Matt Douglas

The construction of the new Student Centre has meant the end of Trent’s chronically packed Bata Library parking lot. However, administration is confident that Trent’s remaining parking spaces will be able absorb the increased demand.

Louise Fish, Director of Risk Management and partially responsible for overseeing Trent’s parking service and budget, says, “If you look at the re-surfaced green lot (parking rates are categorized by color codes, red being the most expensive, green being the least and blue being between), and all the other parking lots on the West Bank, there is more than enough space for all increased demand from H (Bata) lot.”

One concern will be the increased traffic on the road behind Champlain; both cars and pedestrians walking to and from their vehicle. TCSA President Alaine Spiwak believes that there should be sidewalks.

“Lighting is a bare necessity there, but I’m also concerned there is no walking path there. People say the bike lane is for walkers, but it isn’t really – its part of the road. I wish there was a side walk, something putting people above the road.”

The green lot which is expected to see an increase in traffic has been re-surfaced and lights have been added to make the lot friendlier for users, says Fish.

The updates cost the school just over $300,000, which will be covered by a price increase for permits in that specific area.

However, parking prices throughout the different zones of Trent, (red, blue, green) are still among the lowest prices in the province. Trent’s parking information website indicates this and it is corroborated by rates listed on other institutions’ websites.

Pay-and-display parking prices have gone from 6$ to 9$ for the day. Meanwhile parking rates have also increased for peo-

4

www.trentarthur.ca

ple purchasing long-term permits, their prices (with the exception of green rates which have been spiked to pay for the resurfacing) have increased 3%, one point higher than the annual average increase to account for inflation.

This slightly higher increase may have to do with some of the changes stated in this article. It may also be needed to balance the parking budget, which received a $60,000 expense for snow removal. This expense was formerly a part of the TCSA budget but was shifted to its proper place in the parking budget last year.

“We take a holistic approach to our parking budget, which means we aren’t just focused on funding parking, but also transportation.” This means that the parking budget is siphoned to make the campus more accessible for people arriving in ways other than cars, whether that be by foot, bicycle or the bus as many students do.

One such project which has been started is clearing a safe and visible path from the Water St. apartments to campus. To be clear, this initiative was not only funded by parking, but also with the help of the TCSA, Housing, and London Property Corp.

Although brush has already been cleared making the trail more open, there are plans to expand on this by laying asphalt down and adding lights. While clearing space for the trail there was a supposed archaeological site discovered, which has been encircled by a fence and will be preserved from the development.

As of the submission of this article (August 19th), no work has been done to add lights or asphalt. The project is supposed to be completed by the time students arrive.

Another change to Trent’s parking service is that the Mackenzie House parking lot has changed from blue to red status, which means a steep price increase

for people who wish to park there. Fish explains that the decision was borne out of feedback: “We decided to change the Mackenzie House from blue to red because we were getting complaints from student and faculty as well, actually, that employees who work at Mackenzie House were getting to park right beside their workplace and only paying blue rates.”

Parking Services will be monitoring parking demand closely this year to determine whether further changes have to be made to compensate for the closing of the Bata parking lot. “I hope we don’t have to put more parking lots in Trent, as nice as

the new green parking lot is – it’s nice for a parking lot.” says Fish, “I would prefer we had a field there. I would like to use as little space as possible for parking, I would like to keep as much of the campus green as possible.”

Ultimately, these changes are going to mean more walking for people driving into Trent, but Fish doesn’t think it is a bad thing. “I make a point of parking in the green lot every day and walking to my office (in Blackburn Hall). I think the 20 minute walk every day is good for me. Getting some walking in before being sentry is good for us.”

Construction, 1966 Source: Trent Digital Archives

CLUBS & GROUPS

Disorientation Week 2016 begins September 12th

prided itself on being “Canada’s great small university”. However, in 1999, the university’s administration revealed plans to close Excited about the upcoming school year? and sell the downtown colleges, centralize Ready for more after your week of mak- the campus, and change the face of Trent as ing friends and finding your place within we knew it. It was then that students spoke Trent student culture? Are you ready to up and fought for the school they loved. engage with issues that matter to you--as From this, Dis­O Week was formed.

So that is all ancient history. Why be disstudents, as community members, and as individuals? Then get ready for DisOrien- oriented in 2016?

Well, DisO Week is meant to re­ tation Week 2016 (DisO Week)!

Dis­O Week is another great part of the centre the narratives on fringe voicand empower marginalized Trent student culture. It is organized almost es entirely by students, with some community communities--those student and commusupport, but entirely independent of the nity perspectives that may not fit within university administration. It includes work- Orientation Week, the interests of the unishops, discussions, tours and events that versity administration, or the corporate engage students in positioning themselves interests in and around Nogojiwanong as anti­ -oppressive and environmentally­ (Peterboroough). The week will unpack, sustainable members of the Trent and educate and empower students and comNogojiwanong (Peterborough) communi- munity members, while doing so in a way ties. It takes place on Michi Saagig Anishi- that is informative and fun!

What are some very current and hot topnaabeg Aki, which is the Indigenous territory which Trent University occupies and ics I can look forward to?

There are certainly many, but ancient on which we all live and study.

Dis­O Week has precedent and historical history becomes current news with the recontext in the Trent student culture. Trent, turn of Traill College as a college to house a school founded on the idea of a com- undergraduate students. Traill is a valuable munity-integrated college system, once part of Trent and this is the first time it is

Brendan Campbell

having undergraduate students living at the downtown college residences since the closure of both Traill and Peter Robinson. Organized by the Housing Co-op and Traill College.

Another event you won’t want to miss is Gzaagigoo Anishinaabe Mnoomin, which means “We love you rice/grain of the Anishinaabe.” The Mnoomin is rice indigenous to Michi Saagig Anishinaabe Aki and has experienced destruction of habitat almost every summer. As a living being of its own, it has inherent rights. But its continued destruction is illegal within Anishinaabe and Canadian systems of law, and is an affront to Treaty 20, which forms the political context between the Anishinaabe, and visitors and settlers of this land. This event will also include Mnoomin teachings, and show participants how Mnoomin can be harvested and cooked.

Organized by the Trent University Native Association.

A politically relevant and timely event is Feelings of Safety and Security in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough), a panel featuring several members of the community speaking to their experiences of feeling safe or unsafe as racialized, queer, trans and/or poor community members. Our community has many organizations and spaces to support and encourage diversity in identity and cultural.

However, some these organizations and spaces have been created in response to examples of racism and other forms of systemic prejudice within Nogojiwanong.

The hope of the event is to open up conversations that recognize our identities’ im-

pact to feelings of safety. Organized by the Community Race Relations Committee.

Whether it’s speaking with alumni on issues such as the centralization of the university or talking with student leaders about where your tuition goes; whether it’s extracting strawberry DNA and receiving Anishinaabe strawberry teachings or identifying plants on campus; whether it’s learning about fatphobia and finding ways to love yourself, or enjoying OPIRG’s Vegan BBQ and making new friends, there’s something for everyone in the week’s lineup of events.

This year, DisO is organized by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group of Peterborough (OPIRG), the Community Race Relations Committee (CRRC), the Centre for Gender and Social Justice (CGSJ), Sustainable Trent (ST), Trent University Native Association (TUNA), Peter Robinson College Students Association (PRCSA - Sadleir House), and the Peterborough Student Housing Co-operative.

For more information, log onto Facebook and find: Trent DisOrientation (www.facebook. com/trentdiso) DisOrientation Week at Trent (www. facebook.com/trentdisorientation) For pictures of events as they unfold, follow trentdiso on Instagram. For a chance to win prizes, make sure to use #trentdiso16 in your Instas when participating in DisO events!

Keep a lookout for the schedule in the next issue of the Arthur, available on September 12th!

Trent African Caribbean Student Union says hello TACSU Hello! The Trent African Caribbean Student Union is one of the six regional groups here at Trent and we bring comfort to some students while introducing others to the cultures of the African and Caribbean communities. One does not even have to be an international student to become a member—just come with an open mind and a genuine interest in learning about both cultures.

When it comes to events throughout the year, TACSU has plenty! We have an annual event called Afrobana. It is a performance show held at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre which allows for our members to show Trent and the greater Peterborough community the various artistic talent representative of their countries.

Each year, there is a theme that we select and portray throughout the show.

Last year’s theme was entitled the Heritage Vortex, inspired by the movie ‘Back to the Future’, where the audience members were taken on a time-travel adventure looking at the change that has occurred within the African and Caribbean culture from past to present.

This is a show that you would definitely not want to miss! Come experience a new culture through dance, live drumming, spoken word poetry, acting and much more! We are going to give you a little hint for this year’s theme, so as to ensure you will be looking forward to it and attending on November 12 2016. The theme will focus on portraying what it is like being an African or Caribbean individual and living

miles away from the place we call home sweet home.

Our second major event that we hold annually is actually a series that takes place throughout February for Black History Month (BHM). We host some workshops that are discussion-based and some for artistic expression. We also invite people who are making waves and speaking out against injustices that people of colour face in Canada.

In the past, we have had Liberty Silver come and share her experiences of being a person of colour in the Canadian music scene, as well as giving an incredible performance. Apart from weekly workshops during BHM, we also hold movie nights, photographic campaigns and editorial spreads in Arthur. Towards the end of the school year, we have our annual formal; a night of classy dressing, dinner and entertainment.

As a student union here on campus, we welcome every student at Trent and encourage them to talk about their experiences and share new things with one another.

This is partly done through our regular meetings called TACSU Talks; a safe space for students to come and talk about issues they face not just here in Canada but back home as well.

Each session holds a different topic of conversation. It is an amazing learning experience and not only do you get to hear other people’s thoughts, we get to hear yours! This discussion is not limited to our members—it is expanded to Trent University as a whole. You are more than welcome to invite your roommates, study buddies,

program associates and the like.

TACSU also has a recreational dance team that meets regularly for practice.

Here, we perform a variety of dances related to genres such as soca, dancehall, and afrobeats. These dances are often performed at our annual Afrobana show and the Cultural Outreach show held by TISA (Trent’s International Student Association).

The great thing about these events is you don’t have to be an experienced dancer to join. Just come with a willingness to learn the amazing choreography and be prepared for a fun-filled and memorable night.

If we must say so ourselves, we throw some live parties throughout the year to help students release the stress we occasionally receive from school, friends, work and family. For these parties one does not have to be a member to attend. We are a

very welcoming group and our parties are definitely open to the public, so be sure to invite your friends from Brock, Windsor, Western, UFT, Australia... etc.!

To stay informed with all that we do throughout the year, be sure to attend Clubs and Groups Day and stop by our table. We will be displaying a variety of African clothing and Caribana costumes so it is nearly impossible for you to miss it! Upon meeting with you, we will also register you on the spot and immediately get you engaged in all what we have to offer.

In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website to keep up with updates on what is happening next.

We hope to see you in the 2016-2017 school year and we welcome you in advance to our amazing student union!

Arthur is hiring! If you're interested in writing for us, we recommend volunteering with us! Job applications will be up soon.

Keep an eye out.

Email us at : editors@trentarthur.ca Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

5

CLUBS & GROUPS

Trent Vegetable Gardens: growing something good

Trent Vegetable Gardens Something good is growing at Trent. Something succulent and delicious. Hidden amongst the crowds of students, orientation week activities, labs and lecture halls are luscious organic gardens bursting with mouth-watering produce just waiting to be discovered.

Alright, truthfully there are only two of these gardens, and they are not actually hidden. However, if you don’t know about them already, you might not happen to stumble upon them either. You may or may not know that Trent has a history of involvement in campus-based sustainable agriculture projects as well as student-led

food sovereignty initiatives. Trent’s rooftop garden is a landmark project in this regard and has been a pioneer among campus, rooftop and urban agriculture movements across the country.

The scenic rooftop garden sitting on top of the environmental science complex is a site you don’t want to miss at Trent. Up the stairs to the third floor and through door B305.1, you will find yourself not in another seminar room, but in a picturesque garden bursting with fresh fall veggies of all colours, shapes and sizes.

The rooftop is just one of two garden sites run by the Trent Vegetable Gardens (TVG), a volunteer-driven levy group at Trent University. The other garden site is a half-acre field located behind the DNA and Life Sciences buildings.

There are lots of good things growing in the Trent Vegetable Gardens, including fresh, delectable crops such as squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, onions, garlic broccoli, beets, carrots, and fall greens of all kinds.

The gardens take inspiration from organic, intensive, permaculture, and Indigenous agricultural methods, and strive to practice low-impact ecological agriculture. Part of the TVG mission is to offer

Trent Radio wants first years James Kerr

So, you’re an imposter. Someone is bound to, at any time, jump out of the shadows and say: “Ha, ha! Caught you! You have no idea (in the grander scheme of things) what you’re doing in university! Or, for that matter, what you’re doing with your life, ha ha!”

Okay, that’s probably not going to happen, but that’s what it feels like.

Of course, you could be one of those few, rare, smarty-pants people with the entire course of your life planned. More likely you’ve just kind of found yourself here at Trent, somehow, and maybe you’ve got a fairly good idea of what you want to do, but there may still be that prevailing paranoia that someone (ambiguous and imaginary) is going to accuse you of faking it.

You need to ignore that imaginary person.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in university is to not feel enough entitlement. I know that sounds strange, given the resentments of Baby Boomers towards young people, but it’s true. All the changes someone has to go through coming to university can make a daring person timid.

You’re never going to get enough information about what’s going on around you to make completely wise choices. If you’re sitting and waiting to take it all in, you’re never going to catch up with the pace reality sets. The only answer is to go boldly forth, madly, and in all directions. Through the course of it you find your place here.

One mad course I will shamelessly shill is: “Trent Radio”, your own student &

6

www.trentarthur.ca

community radioland, at 92.7 FM or on the internet at trentradio.ca. You might imagine: “The radio is not for you!” as said by the ambiguous and imaginary person jumping from the shadows: “that’s for people who have more important things to say!

You’ll make a fool of yourself!”

You need to ignore that imaginary person.

Think of it more like a podcast. Except you have to show up on time. And we have all the equipment and know-how so basically you just get a little training then you’re away to the races.

Maybe you have no idea (in the grander sense of broadcasting) what you want to do on the radio. That’s okay--we can help you with that. In fact, Trent Radio is holding workshops on the first week of class throughout campus and downtown to help you develop your ideas.

The take-away here should be that it’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do at university. That’s normal. It’s even okay if you don’t know what you want to do on the radio. If you’re interested, and just a little daring, Trent offers many vague but wonderful opportunities, and so does Trent Radio.

Ignore the paranoia of imaginary people.

The deadline to hand in a programme proposal for your own show is Friday September 16th at noon at Trent Radio House.

Proposals are available online or at Trent Radio House, 715 George St. North. For more information or with questions you can always email me, the Programme Director James Kerr at jkerr@trentradio.ca.

Have the entitlement to seize this opportunity; it’ll get you farther than a plan ever could.

experiential learning opportunities and hands on gardening skills to students and community members so that everyone can participate in growing these good things too.

However, crops are not the only thing being grown in the Trent Vegetable Gardens. The gardens endeavour to cultivate a connection within the community to the source of their food and an understanding of food systems issues.

Ever wanted to find out why that heirloom tomato from the garden or farmers market tastes so much better than the one from the grocery store? Or how agro-ecological practices help protect ecosystems, preserve the soil and enhance human health? What is the whole locovore movement anyhow, and why does local food have a reduced environmental footprint, support local economies and help build communities? The TVG encourages you to engage with these questions and more.

Getting involved in the Trent Vegetable Gardens is also a great way to grow connections and a sense of community involvement during your time at Trent. There are so many ways to get growing and take part in the gardens including coming out

to a workshop or community work day, taking part in a student research or service learning project, becoming a volunteer or simply stopping by to take a tour or lend a hand with the harvest. The TVG also manages a campus community garden with twenty individual plots available to students and community members wishing to experiment with growing their own food in a supportive environment.

You may in fact already be participating in the gardens without even knowing it.

Have you ever eaten at or do you plan to eat at the Seasoned Spoon Café? Most of the food grown in the Trent Vegetable Gardens is destined for the Seasoned Spoon Kitchen and ultimately your plate. This partnership between the Spoon and the TVG completes a sustainable field-to-table food system providing students with access to campus-grown foods at affordable prices.

Drop by the Seasoned Spoon anytime to taste the difference! The TVG eagerly welcomes anyone who is interesting in getting involved with this field-totable food journey, so please, email us (trentvegetablegardens@gmail.com), follow us on social media, visit our website (http://trentgardens.org/ ) or drop by the gardens for a visit.

Active Minds at Trent

Active Minds One out of every four people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Many of us will feel alone and like we are unable to seek help because of the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

Active Minds at Trent is dedicated to connecting students with the necessary resources and tools to encourage open dialogue about mental health and self-care.

We hope that by providing students with safer spaces to have these conversations, we can reduce stigma, offer support and resources, and foster an environment of empathy, love, and respect for others, as well as for ourselves.

Our focus is on encouraging healthy lifestyle choices in regards to self-care, creativity, nutrition, fitness, sexual health, spirituality, and social life. This year, Active Minds at Trent will be providing many opportunities to engage in positive and diverse events that are free and open to all.

We want to encourage students to share their stories in a safe environment, participate in fun and inspiring activities, and get more involved in the Trent and Peterborough community.

This year, some of our events include:

• O-Week Events such as a free Wellness Picnic

• Mental Health Awareness Week (October 4th-10th)

• Overflow Art Gala & Concert • No Stress Days during both exam

periods. We will have free ice cream, workshops, and tons of great activities to help de-stress!

• Let’s Talk Annual Symposium • Movie nights, coffee houses, and more!

We are hosting regular events throughout the school year both on and off campus. These include open mic nights, art therapy, meditation and yoga, talking circles, movie nights, pot lucks, tabling, and regular meetings.

As always, we are happy to hear about any event and collaboration ideas. We are always looking for volunteers to act as mental health advocates.

Anyone who wishes to help raise awareness about mental illnesses and reduce stigma in our communities is encouraged to contact us for more info at activeminds@trentu.ca For more information, please visit our website at www.trentactiveminds.org or our Facebook page Active Minds at Trent.

The Seasoned Spoon: a seasonal flavour Seasoned Spoon Staff The Seasoned Spoon is perhaps one of the most unique and vibrant flavours around campus. This independent not-for-profit vegetarian cooperative is situated in a visually striking location just north of the Great Hall in Champlain College. The stunning space boasts a scenic view of the Otonabee River and a relaxing atmosphere where one can wind down from the everyday stresses of student life. Food is at the core of everything the Spoon does and our food sourcing practices are rooted in our vision of a sustainable and just food system. The Spoon is committed to serving locally, and whenever possible, organically sourced food at affordable prices. We prioritize cultivating meaningful relationships with local farmers, paying those farmers fairly and supporting a sustainable local food system.

Interested in trying out our seasonal food flavour yet? You can find the Spoon open with delectable edibles of all kinds from 8:00am-3:30pm on Mondays and Fridays and from 8:00am-7:00pm Tuesdays through Thursdays while classes are in session. The café menu is, of course, inspired by the changing seasons and always features a diverse selection of unique, creatively prepared dishes. It is our aim to ensure that we always have something delicious to meet all dietary needs and our daily menu includes a variety of vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options. Some fabulous fall flavours you won’t want to miss include creamy corn chowder, roasted red pepper soup, melt in your mouth

CLUBS & GROUPS

lasagna, chilli n’ chips or a fresh garden greens & hummus wrap.

While the flavour of the food is indeed important, the Seasoned Spoon offers more than just delicious, ethically-sourced eats. We are an open and welcoming collegial space where undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, community members, clubs and organizations can socialize, study, host meetings or events, build community networks and engage in discussion and debate. The Spoon endeavours to act as a space on campus where community members can increase their awareness of food issues and be inspired to action.

In fact, a central part of the Seasoned Spoon Café’s mandate is to offer educational opportunities to the campus and broader Peterborough community. There are lots of ways to get involved in Spoon programming and dig deeper into the food system. Join us for one of our weekly Wednesday workshops on DIY foodbased skills such as canning, fermenting or seasonal vegetarian cooking. Get involved in a Spoon student research project or service learning placement. Dine with us during our annual Harvest Feast or help organize a by-donation community meal. We always say one of the best ways of learning is through doing, so why not sign up as a volunteer in the Spoon kitchen?

Interested in the growing end of things?

One of our most important producers and partners is Trent Vegetable Gardens, a volunteer-driven levy group at Trent University which manages two ecological garden sites at Trent. Our partnership with the gardens completes a field to table campus food system at Trent University and provides not just campus-grown foods to students and community members, but also opportunities for learning and growth all the way from seed to fork. Get in touch with us to get involved. You may just find that food sustainability is the flavour of the season that interests you most.

Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

7

CLUBS & GROUPS Tegan Moss Executive Director, B!ke

B!KE @ TRENT: your campus cycling hub

B!KE is a student levy group that provides education, access, and advocacy for all things bicycle in Peterborough and at Trent. We operate a seasonal campus workshop and a year-round downtown workshop where you can learn to fix and maintain your own bicycle. We teach workshops on basic and advanced maintenance, train volunteers in bicycle repair, and work to provide as many opportunities as we can for all people to have access to bikes.

B!KE is run by a dynamic team of knowledgeable and supportive staff and volunteers. We all love to ride bikes, but we are also super passionate about the freedom and empowerment you get from fixing your bike and riding away on it. We work hard to make sure that our space feels safe and comfortable for users from all demographics.

This September at Trent we want to provide a few specific opportunities for you to connect. We hope to see you out at these totally free and awesome events!

SEPTEMBER EVENTS Saturday the 10th from 10-4 Open House & 10 Year Anniversary Celebration at our downtown workshop featuring a speakers corner, sale, and draw prizes Wednesday the 14th from 10-4 Free Bike

TGSA

Check-ups at Clubs and Groups Day on the Bata podium Thursday the 15th from 12-1 as ABC’s of Bike Maintenance for Women and Trans identified people only at the campus workshop Wednesday the 21st from 4-5 ABC’s of Bike Maintenance for Everybody at the campus workshop Thursday the 29th from 7-9 our first ever Campus Glow Ride. Leaving downtown at 7 to rendezvous with B!KE @ TRENT for 7:45. Bring LED’s and glow sticks to decorate your bike before we cruise the campus in style!

While B!KE works to provide lots of workshops and events, Open Shop is B!KE’s heart and soul. Getting greasy and teaching you to make your own bike better is what we are truly here for. Everything else is like the bell on the bike: great to have it there, not what makes it go.

ONGOING PROGRAMMING Campus Open Shop, Wednesdays from 11-4 until it’s too cold (closed Wednesday Sept 14th for Clubs and Groups Day) Downtown Open Shop, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 1-7 and Saturdays from 10-4 Volunteer Build Night, learn the skills it takes to refurbish bikes and teach other people about fixing bikes, downtown shop

administration, faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and organizations outside of the Trent community. We also seek to provide intellectual, cultural, social, and political activities for graduate students, provide financial support, and administer a health benefits plan that covers all graduate students at Trent University.

To promote a sense of community, we work on a number of projects and organize monthly events such as summer BBQs, karaoke nights, laser tag battles, bowling nights, and end-of-year banquets. In addition, we help organize events that foster intellectual growth, such as the Thomas HB Symons Seminar Series and 3MT: 3-Minute Thesis.

To ensure that every graduate student has the opportunity to make a difference and contribute to their experiences and that of their colleagues, we organize various committees that students can partake in, and we also hold elections and referenda to determine those who sit on our Board as executives, program representatives, unions representatives, or commissioners.

Students can run for year-long elected positions or serve on the Board in other capacities.

Speaking of the TGSA Board, the follow-

The Anne Shirley Theatre Company ASTC

Hi, all! We are Trent University’s theatre company, the Anne Shirley Theatre Company (ASTC). ASTC has been active at Trent since the 2002-2003 Academic Year when our founding show, Anne of Green Gables, was performed.

ASTC has staged a wide variety of musicals, from classics like Into the Woods and The Sound of Music, to more avantgarde pieces like Spring Awakening and Legally Blonde.

ASTC works to foster a culture of inclusivity and aims to use theatre as a medium of social challenge and awareness.

www.trentarthur.ca

ing your request to process it and we stop accepting refund requests after the end of our fiscal year on October 31st. Levy refunds will be available in cash from our campus location.

In closing, please note that like many places on campus our little workshop can be hard to find! B!KE @ TRENT is located at the northernmost part of Champlain College in the Alumni House Garage. Detailed directions can be found using the app ClassFind and we provide a link on our website if that will help you find us!

All the B!KE Staff and Volunteers look forward to seeing you in the shop.

For more info visit: www.communitybikeshop.org

Trent Graduate Students’ Association

As graduate students, your social and academic life may be quite different than that of undergraduates. You are likely to have different responsibilities, such as teaching assistant positions, and you are likely to face multiple academic and life stressors that you are not exposed to as an undergraduate. Whether you are a new graduate student or have been in the graduate world for a while, it is important to know that you have a strong, inclusive, and supportive graduate student-based organization that you can rely on.

The Trent Graduate Students’ Association (hereafter TGSA) acts on behalf of all graduate students enrolled at Trent University. It is the governing body for graduate students, and wholly accountable to graduate students in managing their student services. We strive for an ever-better experience for graduate students pursuing their degrees at Trent.

Whether you are a full-time or part-time graduate student, you are represented by our association. Our main goal is to represent your interests, promote equity and social justice, and to advocate for your needs.

We do this by maintaining communication with graduate students, Trent University

8

drop-in on Thursdays from 1-7 Adult Earn-A-Bike, refurbish your own bicycle and complete volunteer tasks to earn it! Applications available on our website or in person downtown Access to B!KE’s Open Shop program is membership based. Membership both lets you use our workshop space as much as you would like and expresses your support for our mission and work. Yearly memberships are $20 for Trent students and $35 for community members. Membership fees can be waived all or in part if they are a barrier to accessing our services.

B!KE as we mentioned, is a student levy group, this means that all full-time undergraduate students at Trent have paid a small levy to support our work. We are eternally grateful for the support of Trent Students and we want you to know that your $4.13 has helped to make your community more sustainable, more equitable, and has helped your community members make healthier and more ecological transportation choices. That small contribution makes an impact on the lives of thousands of people who we deliver programming to each year. Thank you!

If you would like your levy refunded, you can opt out by emailing Tegan at director@communitybikeshop.org with your full name and student number.

We typically need 3-4 weeks after receiv-

Annually there are a large variety of ways to get involved with ASTC, via performing in or assisting with our musical or play, joining our improv team, being elected as an executive, attending one of our many performance-based events, or being an amazing member of our audience.

For more information, please like our Facebook page (Anne Shirley Theatre Company), visit our website (anneshirleytheatrecompany.com) or email us at anneshirleytheatre@trentu.ca.

We look forward to sharing the stage with you!

ing is a brief breakdown of our association: (1) There are six executive officers whose collective goal is to ensure that the TGSA is always functioning as it should; (2) Graduate program reps who act as liaisons between the students in the graduate programs they represent and TGSA executive officers; (3) Seven commissioners who are elected by the graduate student body at different times during the academic year, and; (4) Your CUPE 3908 representative, who is a Trent University graduate student designate from CUPE Local 3908 Unit 2 and who has a seat on the TGSA Board.

Board meetings are open for any and all graduate students to attend. Simply notify the TGSA’s VP Communications that you wish to join us one business day before the meeting. We are always looking for volunteers to assist with events or represent the TGSA on various committees.

Every month, the TGSA distributes a newsletter highlighting graduate student events, or events that may be of interest to graduate students. The newsletter will also feature important communications from the TGSA, such as calls for available positions on committees or on the TGSA Board. The newsletter is distributed to your

Trent University email account via the Traill College list serve, but if you don’t see it there, you can also find it on the following TGSA multimedia platforms: (1) Website: trentgsa.ca (2) Facebook: facebook.com/groups/ trentgsa (3) Twitter: twitter.com/trentgsa (4) Instagram: instagram.com/trentgsa Join our multimedia platforms to keep yourselves up-to-date on graduate student activities in general! Also, our website features important documents such as the TGSA by-laws, board meeting minutes, details of your health and dental coverage, and bursary applications.

Our office is located at Traill College at 315 Dublin Street in Wallis Hall 223. Office hours are generally by-appointment only during the Spring term, and regular office hours are established during the Fall and Winter terms. Each member of the TGSA Board can be reached individually by email (see our About page on trentgsa. ca), though if you have general questions or concerns, please email us at gsa@trentu.ca.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The TGSA wishes all new and returning graduate students a wonderful and productive year of scholarship at Trent University.

CLUBS & GROUPS

Trent Jiu-Jitsu: locking, throwing, striking; try it out!

Lindsay Thackeray

It might sound a little cliché, but one of the best things about going to university is being able to try new things, explore new interests and learn new skills. In the grand scheme of things, your time at university is short, so I firmly believe that you should take full advantage of this atmosphere of exploration.

As you’ll find from perusing Issue 0 of Arthur, Trent has many diverse clubs and groups that can help you in doing that.

Take the Trent Jiu-Jitsu Club. First of all, don’t be intimidated if you have had no previous exposure to martial arts. If you’re like myself, you will have no idea how much you enjoy jiu-jitsu unless you take the leap and try it out. At its most bare-bones definition, jiu-jitsu consists of locking, throwing and striking techniques all rolled up into a system of self defence.

Among other things, it focuses on yielding, balance and joint manipulation in response to a conflicting force. Your first few sessions will introduce you to a number of fundamental jiu-jitsu skills, most notably

break-falling (which is essentially learning how to fall down safely – a very valuable ability!).

You’ll be introduced to these techniques gradually and you’ll learn to be more comfortable with them as you train. Over time you will find that your endurance, strength, flexibility, and speed will improve, and if you’re like me, you’ll find that you will accomplish things you did not think you were

capable of.

And like I mentioned above, the great thing about Trent Jiu-Jitsu is that you don’t need any previous experience. In fact, the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to join, as there will be a number of novices on the mats ready to learn the basics right along with you. And if you train regularly, you may earn a yellow belt at the December grading!

Again, as a Trent student beginning the new school year, I would encourage you to try out as many new clubs and groups as you can.

You will find that some are not for you, while others are just what you are looking for. We hope that you will become a welcome addition to our community at Trent Jiu-Jitsu!

We train from 8:30-10:30pm every Tuesday and Thursday at the Athletic Centre.

Meet us on the landing outside the change rooms.

The first few sessions are completely free to try out, just come with some comfortable, loose clothing (e.g. a t-shirt and track pants). Don’t be late!

For up-to-date information, visit www.jitsucanada.com and www.peterboroughjiujitsu.com, or the Trent University Jiu Jitsu Facebook group. Also, be sure to stop by the jiu-jitsu booth at Clubs and Groups Day! For a more in-depth look into the world of Trent Jiu-Jitsu, check out our earlier Arthur article: http://trentarthur.ca/jiu-jitsuthe-best-course-at-trent/

Trent Fashion Show

Photograph by Samantha Moss

Ugyen Wangmo Trent Fashion Society (TFS) is in every sense a true mini-revolution in fashion, geared towards inclusivity and diversity all while raising funds for charity.

A student group with members who are passionate about “charity, change, fashion, and fun”, TFS is out to redefine the rules of fashion.

TFS recognizes that diversity in fashion and beauty is not just about race and size; it is about the entire spectrum of real life differences including shape, gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity and ability.

The group was initially formed in 2010 to bring together artistic students as a way to help nurture their creative flair through promotion of local fashion boutiques. Since then TFS has grown significantly not only in terms of its goals as a group, but also with regards to raising funds for charity, and promotion of local small business and artists.

This year, more than ever, TFS is here to bring you plethora of platforms to make your fashion experience at Trent monumental!

First on the agenda is Trent’s Next Top [Role] Model – a unique program to recognize exemplary style. It will honour a Trent University student with good academic standing who demonstrate themselves as a positive and progressive role model within the community. A student will commit to promoting self-love and a healthy body image, embrace professionalism and positive ethics, but not without style, fashion and fun.

Another equally engaging and exciting introduction is the publication of the very first TFS annual magazine in March 2017.

The circulation which is to be made available locally will not only serve as a fashion bible for the Peterborough community, but also immortalize the experiences of being a part of the fashion society here by way of collectible glossy pages. Above all, the magazine will be a tangible piece of fashion that maintains the honour of the TFS members, volunteers, sponsors, and its relentless contribution to make a difference for the YES Shelter for Youth and Families, as well as the community at large. The published magazine will be abundantly available throughout local Peterborough businesses with proceeds supporting the shelter.

YES Shelter for Youth and Families is a social services organization in Peterborough that “helps youth and families in Peterborough to lead full and positive lives by providing shelter, education and transitional supports”.

TFS strives to contribute to the Peterborough community with panache and pride, and has positively touched many lives and endeavors to enchant even more souls.

We believe that, together, we will succeed in moving forward to redefine the rules of fashion and stand proud as we raise funds for charity while doing so.

There are no rules to beauty, fashion or positive evolution; you, me and we are all ‘it’. So come be a part of TFS because you already are!

Look for our Twitter feed (@TUFashionShow), follow us on Instagram (@trentfashionsociety) or Facebook us, and watch us walk the runway on Youtube. Or pay us a little visit at www.trentfashionshow.com to meet the team.

If that excites you or raises some questions, then give us a shout out at trentfashionshow@gmail.com.

Editor’s Note: We included this ad because if you’re a student on a budget, Jo happens to be the best in town. A great alternative stylist, she can do any punk-rock or chic look you desire. Back in the day, and even now, when I didn’t have the money to go to a salon and pay upwards of $50 just to get a haircut, I would get my hair cut in Jo’s kitchen and emerge with a look that was salon-quality every time. Once, I wanted a radical change, and she cut my long locks into a bob that I still look back on as the best haircut I ever got. I’ve never let anyone touch my hair since, and essentially paid her peanuts. So tear out this page and tell your friends. If you’re looking for a great look and you’re broke, Joanna will do your do right.

Student haircuts are $20-$30, gender neutral. You rock Jo! -Zara

Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

9

10

www.trentarthur.ca

Volume 51 | Issue 0 | August 22 | 2016

11

COMMUNITY

Rock and Roll Fairy Godmother: Jill Staveley

Yumna Leghari & Zara Syed Observing Jill Staveley with her children Charlie and Meara is a beautiful insight into a special dynamic between mother and daughters. When Meara, just days away from her fourth birthday, couldn’t bring herself to smile as the lethargy of the day caught up to her, Staveley held Maera’s face in her hands and brushed back her hair.

“You have a lot of feelings right now don’t you? I know you do. I can tell.”

The shoot proved tiring for her youngest, but the promise of salty toffee and a game of ‘What Time is it Mister Wolf?’ afterwards, which we had the honour of joining in on, got her through.

For so many, the acknowledgement of complex emotions that can arise from a chaotic, albeit fun day, is rare. Staveley is nurturing a sense of joy and music within her daughters with self-aware parenting and entrusting them with instruments. As girls, there is nothing more empowering than owning a skill and being confident in that skill. Staveley, along with other prominent community members, has been passing this sense of confidence on to young women every summer for the past 11 years with Rock Camp for Girls, while incorporating her love and pursuit of music into everyday family life. This fine balance is an achievement considering the contemporary hardships of parenting in this part of the century.

Mothers have a lot on their plate, and it can prove even more difficult when trying to balance one’s own passions with honing those of our children simultaneously. Jill Staveley is a Production Manager at Trent Radio and has been involved in various bands such as The Burning Hell, The Staveley Project, and currently, Steelburner. She shared her insights surrounding the topic of family, motherhood, and its impact on being a touring musician. We dove into the

12

significance of Rock Camp for Girls in Peterborough and how the whole community comes together to make it happen.

Beginnings

Jill Staveley has always been surrounded by music. Her parents met in a band and she grew up as a highland dancer. There was always live music around her, and she “always felt drawn to the music.” But it was when Staveley injured her knee that she really got into music.

Back when Staveley was a teenager, there weren’t really music lessons available for much besides basic piano lessons.

“All the gear was borrowed, every last piece of equipment, from our friends and the community” “I hadn’t taken guitar lessons and learned my scales or had access to the equipment, so I was told I could finger pick and sing backups, or it was, like, vocal stuff.” Staveley expressed how she feels her primary instrument is her voice, which leads to a lot of gender stereotyping involving the whole “chick as a backup vocalist thing.”

Motherhood “I always knew I wanted to be a mom, so I was ready for the time when I knew I had to put myself second. I couldn’t be a touring musician and be a mom. I wasn’t wealthy, I didn’t have the privilege of a travelling nanny, right?” Staveley toured and was playing shows as late as possible into her pregnancy with her first daughter, Charlie.

She recounts this experience fondly. “I was playing shows right up to my due date with Charlie. It was amazing. I had these visions that I would be able to pump breast-milk and leave for a couple of weeks, or that I would be back on track pretty quickly. I

Photography by Samantha Moss

www.trentarthur.ca

would watch other moms, before I became a mom, who hadn’t spent a weekend away from their kids, and always wondered how they could do that. How do you become so wrapped up in your motherhood? Well, that exact thing has happened to me. I have literally only slept one night away from Charlie, and she is six years old. That was my wedding night. I was breast-feeding, and practicing attached parenting.”

Motherhood creates a touring dynamic where one becomes very cautious and aware of how having a young child around is affecting band members and anyone else touring with you. Everyone is exhausted

and travel-worn, and simple things like keeping a baby quiet become more significant when you’re on the road. Car seats and changing diapers become sanctimonious with the reality that the band can’t play at a bar-it’s just not a thing you do with a baby in tow. Looking back, Staveley says that these were all very kind accommodations.

“I wasn’t invited to tour after that. Your music also has to be a business, and it’s just not functional with a baby.” We all laugh about how it’s still so impressive that she pulled this off, “Yeah, I was like, breast-feeding while tuning my guitar.” Is there any image more empowering than this one? We don’t think so.

Rock Camp

This year marks the eleventh year of Rock Camp For Girls in Peterborough, a grassroots initiative led by a group of women who wanted to teach young women how to rock and roll in Peterborough.

Jean Greig, otherwise known as the “Rock Queen”, was the first to hear about

Rock Camp For Girls and brought the idea back to Peterborough. Jean was and remains a part of The Estrogems along with Em Glasspool and Kate Story, a group that still performs to this day. With the help of Staveley, Story, Peg Town, and Glasspool, the very first Rock Camp For Girls in Peterborough was organized and delivered.

Since then, the Rock Squad (those who organize and volunteer their time to make this awesome camp function) has included individuals folks like Di Latchford, Chelsey Bennet, Kristen Clark, Charlotte Dempsey, Augusta Veno, Anwyn Climenhage, Kelly McMichael, as well as other volunteers and camp staff such as Kirstin Addis, Jocelyn Grills, Moe Laverty, Tracy Ashendon, Kate Gentle, Sarah Theobald, Anya Gwynne, and so many more.

“All the gear was borrowed, every last piece of equipment, from our friends and the community. It was incredible. None of us had ever run a camp before, and trying to do this liberating thing and get these girls rocking and rolling in our community, it was so empowering for us to do this.”

Rock Camp For Girls is part of a greater Rock Camp Alliance, which is associated with movements such as the underground feminist hardcore punk movement Riot grrrl that originated in the early 1990s. It is a subcultural movement that combines feminist consciousness and punk style and politics. It is rooted in giving voice to women in rock and roll, and it has slowly built up to become an important part of our community.

Rock Camp For Girls runs for two weeks in the summer. The kids joining the camp are between nine and eighteen and have a varying spectrum of talents and skills.

Some kids come in with no musical skills at all, and others arrive with a thorough knowledge of scales, tuning, and chord structure. Rock Camp is a space for kids

FEATURE

who are excited about learning more about music in a group environment, or jamming, and is also comprised of kids who are there because their parents work. Camp in this community is important for a variety of reasons.

Staveley tells us, “it’s everyone’s camp, but it was Jean’s camp, she’s the Rock Queen. She’s doing other things right now and in the past few years we almost had to shut down camp, sometimes we didn’t have enough volunteers and it became overwhelming. I had kids, and Jean and I both had to come in and put out a big call out.

It’s about participating year round.

We need people who can make a commitment to show up on the first Tuesday of every month.”

Though organizing Rock Camp For Girls while being a mother made the dynamic more difficult, it still sounded like motherhood and running the camp were two lifestyles that meshed better than motherhood and touring.

Staveley had both her daughters come to work with her at Rock Camp for a time, and both girls were able to come to all of the Rock Camp Shows, as the organizers ensure that all shows are matinees that their father, Matthew, plays with Washboard Hank.

“We try to do stuff that they can actually be there for. When we practice at home, we try to incorporate them so that they can participate. Charlie would make a sign or a show poster, so that they can actually see what it is that we’re doing.”

There is something about organizing music events that humans of all ages can attend and enjoy that really makes the community flourish. When all generations are involved in creating something fun and enriching, all of society benefits. Staveley has regularly been attending Charlie’s classes for the past couple of years to jam with the little kids, and is known there as Sister Jill. In this way Staveley remains in tune with her passions while being an attentive mother and active contributor to the community.

The camp started an internship program which gets students their high school community hours while helping out with the big stuff. One year, Greig and Staveley organized an intermediate senior camp containing its own separate curriculum from what was running at Rock Camp. Local band The Lonely Parade were a part of this and now they’re part of the Rock Squad, the staff roster at Rock Camp For Girls. The community just keeps giving back to itself; some campers leave for good once they’re

done while others return for more camp experiences or as volunteers to continue the camp’s growth.

So what exactly do kids learn at Rock Camp? There are tech workshops where campers learn how to put together a PA system, along with songwriting workshops.

Every year the camp writes a song together.

It’s easy to write a song by yourself, but it’s hard to write it with others, as that incorporates peer cooperation and teamwork. The campers get instrument lessons with either the bass, drums, guitar or keyboard. Once assigned, campers are taught timing and rhythm along with the basics.

Rock Camp For Girls registrations go online in February, and the kick-off concert is usually in the first week of March annually at The Spill.

“We love Dave Toby [The Spill’s owner], he’s amazing. We always do a matinee and it’s a chance for older and younger people in the community to play.”

We asked Staveley why she thought Rock Camp For Girls was so important, in comparison to a Rock Camp for, well, everyone.

She told us a little story that put things into perspective.

“When Rock Camp For Girls first started, I wondered, why are we making this exclusive? I was a little standoffish in the first year, and then I became very passionate. I’ve never been into girl specific activities, things like ‘girls only open mics’ or ‘girl things’ in general. I hate the whole ‘we need a girl band to play’ thing. You know? I don’t want to be a girl. I want to be a musician. So initially, this was problematic for me.

One day my friend was running the kitchen at Sadleir House and she had a local male musician come in to help her while Rock Camp was in session. He was the same age as some of the girls, and he had stuck his head out and all of a sudden, this environment of risk-taking turned into girls fixing their hair, and literally nobody was willing to go on stage. I was like, ‘Oh! Now I understand why we need this space.’”

Staveley and her counterparts are seeking to create a hands on learning environment for girls, while insisting that this is not an exclusive term, but rather, inclusive.

“It’s for youth, basically. We’re still trying to figure out the best language to use.”

Rock Camp For Girls is not about creating a ‘woman only’ space, rather, it’s about creating a space where kids can gain enough skill, and have the confidence to take that skill outside in the public sphere.

“I find that girls are conditioned not to be confident risk takers in comparison to boys. I grew up with the gender binary, and

all of that stuff affected how my actual confidence developed.”

As a woman in the music industry, Staveley has ample experience dealing with the patriarchy in the music world. Women are treated differently all over the music stage. She lamented about times when she would get on stage, and sound technicians would try and tell her how to use her gear.

This lady runs Rock Camp, has been in several bands, was a sound technician herself, and some bro-dude is trying to tell her how to use her amp. Can you imagine? We still haven’t stopped cringing over here.

“I worked at the Gordon Best for ten years and did everything from bartending to sound. There would be really big name bands that would come through, and you’re doing your job, and they’d be like ‘Oh, are you the door girl?’ I literally had guys on stage ask me the colour of my underwear while I was doing soundcheck.”

Staveley warmly recounted working with people like Ian Osbourne, who were so very respectful of all people in the craft. It was difficult to always catch on to the fact that there was gender inequality when working with people who treated musicians as musicians and technicians as technicians regardless of what their body parts are.

“I was very lucky to work in that environment. But it’s true, as a performer I think I’ve only played at one venue where the sound technician was a female. It’s a thing. It’s a totally male dominated society.”

this year is that when we introduce ourselves we also include our prefered gender pronouns. We are opening up that dialogue.”

Motherhood bleeds into every aspect of Staveley’s life decisions and how she approaches camp, “I’m getting old, and these kids are young. We are creating an environment that my kids are growing up in. I don’t want to teach them the oppression we are fighting.

Rock Camp for Girls is not about a genre of music, it’s about a way of life, taking risks, and making mistakes. It’s about being inclusive and recognizing there’s no lead singer. We talk about how we’re all stars and we can’t make a Rock Camp constellation without each other.”

Community

Interestingly, the emergence of Rock Camp For Girls was opportunistic for some misogynists who made an appearance in the community. Often, creating a space to combat such things can reveal an ugly underbelly.

“There were some people who would pay lip service to Rock Camp but then behind our backs they would be like, ‘well why is this person teaching that, there are way better players in the community’. We tried to explain that it wasn’t about being

Trent Radio has always had an important role to play in Staveley’s life as well as Rock Camp. Trent Radio is involved with many local people in the community, and record lots of live music. It is one of the reasons Staveley is there, as it is a musical outlet and a great way to work with the community.

Trent Radio, with Staveley’s involvement, created a project called Local Youth and Music.

“You had to apply and audition, and when you were selected you did a series of workshops with local experts in the music scene, with people like Nick Ferrio. Then, as a group we recorded an album with them. That’s how the first Lonely Parade album came about. I recorded that with them through the Local Youth and Music project.”

Through grants and funds such as the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Trent Radio has been able to remain actively involved with young local musicians, and help them record, promote and set up shows.

“We paid for copies of the album and promoted it to Exclaim! and got national promotion.”

the best at something but about creating an inclusive space.”

Staveley explained how Rock Camp is growing and transitioning with its name.

Rock Camp is not simply for “girls” but non-binary and trans youth as well, which is clearly stated on their website. The whole point of Rock Camp is to give an opportunity of encouragement and support, and to build confidence and skills within those not traditionally included in what society knows as rock and roll.

There have been kids who have transitioned and no longer identify as “she” returning to camp, and are conflicted about whether they can still be a part of Rock Camp. It’s the job of the women running the camp to give those individuals a stronger voice in the community.

“One of the things we started at camp

That the campers grow as individuals is clear to anyone who witnesses the transformation of those attending. Camp allows kids to be anyone they want to be.

No matter where a kid is from, no matter what their school life is like, a camper gets to define how they want to present themselves. This newfound confidence is then taken back into the community, and however small or large the confidence gain, it is still a benefit to both the individual and the community they hail from.

“I know that I have gained so much from working at Rock Camp. Bad shit happens and you think, how do I move forward from it? We as councillors take risks constantly.

We have a rule at Rock Camp that says you’re not allowed to say sorry. You have to say ‘rock on.’”

Language

“We are creating an environment that my kids are growing up in. I don’t want to teach them the oppression we are fighting.”

Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

13

COMMUNITY

How to create your own theatre: don’t be afraid

Simon Turner

When I started my degree at Trent, I never dreamed that within four years I would have written my own play and staged it in downtown Peterborough.

This past February, I directed a double bill of original one act plays at the Theatre on King: When I Sorrow Most and Quinn McGlade-Ferentzy’s Sinking’s Better Than Standing Still. By the end of August 2015, I had talked Quinn into writing her script and designing and running tech for the two shows, and had booked three nights at The Theatre on King with Ryan Kerr (TTOK’s artistic director) for the production.

But I don’t think I actually realized this was really actually a thing that I would be doing until Quinn and I had our scripts read at Mysterious Entity’s Script Club that October. Script Club is a monthly event which provides playwrights the opportunity to have their scripts heard aloud by volunteer actors as well as getting feedback for rewrites from the audience. Putting my script through Script Club boosted my confidence and definitely improved the final play I put on.

Next up was to apply to Theatre Trent so I wouldn’t be paying for the whole thing out of pocket.

We cast the two plays in November and rehearsed through the Winter until it was opening night. Despite having worked on the project for half a year at that point, it was an overwhelming and vaguely unreal experience.

I was 22 and had written and directed my own show with a group of wonderful folks who ranged from staples in the theatre community to people who were just starting to get into theatre.

The process certainly taught me a heck of a lot and while many of those lessons are things I’d have to write another play to try and explain, I’ve limited it to three basic tips for any Trent students who think maybe, just maybe, they’d like to try and make some theatre magic for themselves.

1. Have some idea what you’re getting

Photo by Andy Carroll

yourself into!

Theatre is exciting and fun and challenging. The best part about doing it is pushing yourself to learn and grow. It’s a cliché, but risk-taking is key (and often rewarding)!

That said, if you’ve never been part of a play either on stage or off, you should get your feet wet before committing to a revival of Cats because you saw it once in Toronto.

We all have to start somewhere, but don’t direct for the first time without some idea of how to get a cast and crew together and efficiently run rehearsal time. Also keep on top of those logistical details like sets, props, lighting, and making posters.

If you have a script you really want to put on stage but don’t feel ready to be in charge of all the nitty-gritty, find a friend with a bit more experience who might be willing to direct it and you can assistant direct or produce the show. Theatre is only made through teamwork: it’s okay to admit you don’t know everything and call on others for support!

2. Theatre Trent is your best friend!

Theatre Trent offers funding to local productions with the primary criteria that 50% of the cast and crew have a Trent student number. That means that as long as half the people involved are students or alumni, you could put on a play for free! Doesn’t matter if that one actor you want to cast went to Trent 30 years ago, they still count!

One of the best parts of being funded by

Theatre Trent is its partnership with The Theatre on King, a black box theatre that lives right downtown. TTOK provides productions funded by Theatre Trent with free rehearsal time in the space, which will leave more room to allocate funding toward things like costumes and set.

TTOK is also the least expensive performance space to rent in Peterborough and is equipped with dynamic options for lighting and sound. It’s a small theatre, but this gives new artists the room to fail – believe me, you don’t want to be performing for 5 audience members in the Wenjack.

Theatre Trent has three funding application deadlines throughout the year: October 15th for Winter/Spring productions, February 1st for Spring/Summer productions, and May 1st for Summer/Fall productions.

But you should have a number of things figured out before you apply. What’s your budget for the show? You won’t have the exact cost of everything yet, but if you need to purchase performance rights for a play, get the estimate ASAP; some simple googling should give you a good idea what things like specific props will cost.

But don’t forget that Theatre Trent houses a vault of costumes and props from past productions in Sadleir House that you are welcome to sign out (plus thrift stores should always be your first stop, especially for costumes).

I suggest copy and pasting the application into a word processor to fill out fully before working with the online form – that way you don’t have to do it in one sitting and there’s no risk of submitting an unfinished application.

If you don’t know all of your cast and crew yet, that’s okay too – at least start with listing yourself and make sure you have those student numbers for your final report to Theatre Trent.

Theatre Trent funding can’t be used to pay you, the actors, or anyone else on the production team, but! all the money made off the door goes straight to you! Throw your cast and crew an after-party! Divide that cold hard cash between your team (you couldn’t have done it without them)!

Anyone interested in putting on a performance at any point in the near or distant future should definitely Like the Theatre Trent Facebook page and check out their website at theatretrent.wordpress.com.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

There are so many people at Trent and in Peterborough who do theatre – you may need to dig a little to find the niche where you fit, but they’re there, trust me!

At Trent, various theatre happens yearly through the Cultural Studies and Indigenous Studies Departments, the Anne Shirley Theatre Company, and the Classics Drama Group.

In Peterborough, there’s Mysterious Entity, the motley collective, The Theatre on King, The Peterborough Theatre Guild, St. James Players.... and so on.

This means there are a ton of people around the community who have the experience to help you with any problem that may come up in any stage of putting on a production.

And stranger still, most of them are more than happy to help and support us amateurs in any way they can!

So, to recap: get out there and get some experience while still being willing to take risks; Theatre Trent is your lord and saviour; and people will have your back if you let them. All you have to do is actually do it!

Inspiring campuses free of sexual violence and harassment Lisa Clarke

14

The Take Back The Night movement was founded in Philadelphia in 1975 in response to the murder of microbiologist Susan Alexander Speeth. Over the past 40 years this movement has grown globally, empowering women and survivors of sexual violence in their right to a life free of sexual harassment and violence.

In the streets and on campus, survivors, women and their allies gather together to rally for safety, sing and chant for change, and walk together in candlelit solidarity to end sexual harassment and violence.

As a centre offering education, support and counselling for survivors, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre’s mandate for Take Back the Night encompasses the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence where we live, work, learn and play.

We will be hosting Take Back the Night with our partners simultaneously in Peterborough, Cobourg, Haliburton and Lindsay on Thursday, September 22 as part of the Peterborough Pride Week events.

We invite Trent University and the greater Peterborough community to join us for Take Back the Night Peterborough at Fleming College, Residence Circle of Sutherland Campus, 599 Brealey Drive.

There will be a bus picking up community members at Bata Library stairs at 6:00 pm and at Seeds of Change at George Street

www.trentarthur.ca

United Church at 6:15 pm.

Our partnership with Trent University and Fleming College students and staff is vital to addressing sexual violence on and off campus. We work together on policy, prevention and response.

To support this work, we will be launching a Weekend Webchat starting September 9 to support survivors in accessing services and asking questions. We will also be present at campus orientations and events during the first few weeks of classes.

Most campus sexual assaults will occur by a casual acquaintance or dating partner in the first eight weeks of classes. Together with our partner campuses and student associations, we work to address the myths of sexual violence and harassment, identify the risks of people causing harm, and build safer and more inclusive spaces for support.

Please join us as a survivor or as a supporter and ally in ending sexual and gender-based violence.

To learn more visit kawarthasexualassaultcentre. com, like us on Facebook and Instagram, and follow us on Twitter @ksacstaff #endsexualviolence #TBTN2016 #TrentTalksConsent #FlemingTalksConsent #First8Weeks.

COMMUNITY

The rise of Black Lives Matter in Peterborough

Photography by Samantha Moss

left to right: Niambi Leigh, Bethsheba Alal and Charmaine Magumbe speaking at the Black Lives Matter Rally

Ugyen Wangmo Black Lives Matter Peterborough (BLM PTBO) is taking big strides towards building a strong community for people of colour in Peterborough.

The movement was formally initiated in 2014 by two dedicated individuals, Charmaine Magumbe and Niambi Leigh.

They seek to give a voice to the black people who have been killed at the hands of police brutality, an injustice seen especially in the US. “BLM PTBO is not about the rally— it is all about the injustice, especially in regards to how black men are killed in a really violent manner,” says the cofounder Charmaine Magumbe. She added that this is really a cry to bring to the forefront the injustices black people are facing not just in the US, but all around the world.

According to Magumbe, the movement seeks to create a safe space where they can come together to speak freely about how black people experience injustices right here in Peterborough.

Additionally, the goal is to to achieve a long-term goal of justice, equality, dignity and respect for black people, people of color, and Indigenous people. “We don’t want to be seen as invisible people in society, but want to be active members included in decision making processes,” she added.

The opportunities for BLM moving forward would be to break down barriers and create a better inclusive environment.

“Right now [Peterborough] doesn’t feel like it is inclusive; it is extremely exclusive because of the fact that it is 96 percent white,” expressed Magumbe. People tend to deny that racism exists here in Peterborough, and question why BLM events even happen. But just because one doesn’t see it, doesn’t mean that this town

is free of racial discrimination: “I can tell you as a chair of the Community and Race Relations Committee of Peterborough, we have the highest hate crime rate in Canada,” Magumbe clarified.

The major challenge BLM PTBO currently faces is its lack of enough black people to lead its rallies. There are certainly black people in Peterborough, but it is just those two cofounders who are directly involved with planning the events and keeping the movement alive.

“Finding people—people of colour— willing to get on board and help move BLM forward, is the main challenge,” pointed out cofounder Niambi Leigh. BLM does have a lot of allies who help them out, but that help can be obtained only behind-thescenes based on the premise of what the organization is about,” added Leigh.

The movement has been fairly successful at meeting its goals, but “it is still Peterborough, and we worry about people trying to protest, or showing up and not supporting the movement but just causing disruption,” admitted Leigh.

So far, although they have been fortunate enough to not experience any of that directly, there has been a case where after the recent rally one of the speakers was harassed. “That was not acceptable but we as a movement are trying to plan better ways to self-care,” Leigh explained.

BLM is planning to hold workshops on how to safely promote the cause and how to be a part of the movement while still protecting individuals’ mental health and physical safety.

Leigh elaborated on the vision of the movement: “We want to build a strong Peterborough community for people of colour that knows about each other, are supportive to one other, and has a sense of reliance on each other when needed”.

They explained that as people of colour, and black folks specifically, it is very hard to not have somebody to talk to where one does not have to explain all the layers of why they speak or feel a particular way.

They also mentioned some common misconceptions regarding the BLM: that it is not a movement of peace, or is not accepting of help from anyone besides black folks and people of color. This is not the case, stressed Leigh.

“We are just focused on having black folks and people of color being visible in the BLM movement but there are lots of allies in this chapter who are being very helpful. It is just behind the scenes,” she explained.

It was also made clear that they are trying to incorporate Indigenous people in to the movement because of the fact that they are on the Indigenous land and also for the reason that they are people of colour.

Besides, Peterborough has a very strong Indigenous community who has been involved in a lot of similar things that

BLM is trying to do. And not to mention the immense support the Indigenous community has already rendered them, from giving advice to helping out at the events themselves. “It is the support from them which has been a big part of why we are at where we are right now, and having them incorporated just makes more sense!” stated Leigh.

Moving forward, Black Lives Matter Peterborough is extending its communication with bigger BLM movements such as BLM Toronto. It is also looking to officially register to become a part of the national movement, and is working towards incorporating the Indigenous community into the movement as “BLM PTBO-NO GO”.

15

Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

COMMUNITY

Celebrating one year: Amusé Coffee Company

Photos by Keila MacPherson

Zara Syed A pretty little French café is celebrating its one year anniversary this August! Amusé Coffee Company, located at 641 George Street North, is where Joe Hay and Lindsay Brock, a beautiful married couple, turned this cozy little space into a Frenchinspired affair.

With chandeliers that brighten up the intimate, open space, it has quite a different vibe from the establishments that have previously resided at the location. Framed photographs Lindsay took on a trip to Paris add to the quaint Parisian decor, offering a unique atmosphere in Peterborough’s concentrated café selection.

Lindsay, with her extensive background in coffees and teas and Joe, with his culinary background, have put together a menu that reflects the café’s motif. “We are a coffee shop built on European coffee culture,” Brock tells Arthur.

“Finding out about this location was somewhat of a happy accident,” says Brock, who heard the space had become available

16

www.trentarthur.ca

through a tenant in the building in June.

“Everything that has started here, such as The Ritz and Food Forest, have been great successes. That is something we hope to accomplish.”

Brock had taken a couple of years off and began experimenting with baking, and is now the talented baker who provides the fresh pastries every day. Artful gluten-free macaroons and perfect madeleines, a rare thing to find in Peterborough, sit at the counter where you can place your order.

Buttery croissants and delicious paninis are also made fresh on the premises. At

Amusé, butter tarts are provided exclusively from Pies by Melissa.

Other local products are featured at the café, such as Chimp Treats Nice Cream, a line of kombucha from new local producer, Belly of the Beast. Walton Wood Farm line of Hand Rescue hand creams, and the men’s line of beard balm and solid cologne, with such creative names as “Men Don’t Stink” are also available at the counter.

A community café that supports other local initiatives is worth celebrating, if not for all the love and care that goes into each

product, then for the beautifully crafted works of others proudly on display here.

Amusé takes their beverages seriously, with a large variety of Fair Trade Organic teas and coffees. Lindsay has created a draft-brew coffee (coffee brewed in a keg) served iced that has become popular during the specially hot summer we have had in Peterborough.

A seasonal drink these editors are looking forward to in the fall is a Pumpkin Spice Latte: a drink sure to warm you up on a cold autumn day, the latte is topped with a cream cheese icing and a pastry crumble topping provided by Pies by Melissa.

Coffee is a hard thing to come by in the George and Parkhill area. One has to trek downtown to find a good brew to satisfy that pretentious pallette. However, now one can get anything from a strong cappuccino, to an americano, to a creme brulee coffee and many more on upper George Street.

If you’re a tea lover, this café has you covered with a wide assortment of teas.

This heaven-sent café is open seven days a week.

REPRINTS

Community Butcher Shop a throw back to a more sustainable time Jack Smye & Zara Syed When one walks into Community Butcher Shop, they are first struck by how clean and modern the open space is. With gleaming counters and exposed brick, the shop is a stark comparison to what it once was: a retailer’s room of basic white. With the new layout, it is clear that the ideology of fresh, local, and sustainable food is prevalent in every aspect of the butchering process.

The shop’s owners, Scott and Kara Walsworth, say they want this seemingly simple ideology to permeate within every level of their establishment. In the modern era of packaged meats - factory farmed and mass-produced - this local butcher stands as a throwback to a simpler time when the community actually had a relationship with the one who provided the most essential food for their families.

Arthur had a chance to sit down and talk with Scott Walsworth about his move to the heart of downtown Peterborough and what it is that his shop stands for.

According to Walsworth, just walking into the store can tell you a lot about what principles the Community Butcher Shop endorses. The shop is deliberately laid out in an open concept that has the butcher block in plain view from anywhere in the store. There’s a very good chance that any patron at any point will see a carcass being butchered.

The reason for this, as Walsworth explained, is because people should know where their meat is coming from. According to Walsworth, “when you make the decision to eat meat, there are some realities that come with it. I don’t think it’s fair or respectful to the animal to ignore these and fool ourselves into thinking that meat comes from a package or a box.”

He continued, “I want people to see [the butchering], I want people to make that connection - that an animal died so you can eat.”

Walsworth also commented on the process by which an animal makes it to his shop, noting that all of his meat comes directly from farmers within a 50km radius.

This butcher makes the conscious decision to only buy local meats that are raised ethically and free range. Most of this meat comes from Otonabee Meat Packers; a small abattoir that services local farmers and processes the animals as ethically and stress-free as it can.

Community Butcher Shop and another local establishment, Sam’s Place Deli, receive their meat from this same slaughterhouse. Walsworth clarified the important difference between a Meat Distributor and a Meat Packer and spoke a little about Sam’s.

“What Otonabee Meat Packers does is take in a whole animal and give back a dead whole animal. They don’t sell boxes of stuff. So Sam’s Deli is really cool because they go right to Otonabee and they’re not buying a whole animal but they’re buying stuff where it’s just the farmer and the slaughterhouse and there’s nothing else. So there’s a lot of accountability there.”

This idea of sustainability echoes throughout all of the work that this new butcher shop is doing. “The activist in me doesn’t want to be a business that’s yelling from the sidelines,” says Walsworth. “If I can get a loyal base of customers and start nudging over the years, even the farmers, towards more sustainable practices - I see that more as my role over the next fifteen years.”

He continues: “We try very hard in the

shop not to shame people, like hey, you’re eating at the grocery store: here’s the stuff you’re eating. The binders, the food dye, here is how the animals are treated… people can find out that information on their own. I just want to be there waiting with an alternative. We’re here, we’re doing something different, and even if the ethics of it isn’t important to you, once you taste what we’re selling I don’t think you’ll go back to the grocery store.”

These Arthur writers decided to test out Walsworth’s words and purchase some of the locally sourced meat to compare with the sale price of grocery store meat we are accustomed to. One pound of Community Butcher Shop’s jerk chicken wings sold for $5.99 and were, in fact, juicy and succulent with more meat on a chicken wing than one is used to. Their Moroccan-spiced sausages were not only easy to prepare, but surprisingly flavourful and affordable in comparison to frozen Oktoberfest sausages for the same price “on sale” at Freshco.

Some meat averages to just a dollar more than what one might pay for discounted meat at the grocery store, but Community Butcher Shop is dedicated to affordability, keeping in mind the students at Trent.

“I can feed a student on five bucks a day.

There’s no reason for students to resort to Mr. Noodles,” says Walsworth. “We try to be affordable and the resurgence of the progressive food movement has been a gourmet thing. What we are trying to do is get back to the roots of the butcher shop; an everyday place to visit where you get your meat.”

In this model, there is very little freezing and preserving that goes on. All of the meat is fresh and right at hand - prepared earlier that day most likely. Patrons

will have a relationship with their butcher and they can personally choose their cuts knowing that an uncompromising amount of care and respect has gone into producing it.

In the shop itself, there is a grand antique scale on the main counter. On the wall behind it is a picture of a butcher shop called W. S. Fraser; the owner was Walworth’s wife Kara’s great grandfather.

“My parents were not butchers, I started working at a butcher shop in Oakville when I was in high school,” recounts Walsworth.

“I then went to University for a long time, and I put myself through school working in butcher shop. I finished a P.H.D in industrial relations (labor economics and relations) at U of T then went out to Saskatchewan and worked at a University for eight years as a professor. But it was always my passion to do this. It’s a little uncommon I suppose.”

When it comes to purchasing meat from here on in, this local butcher has certainly convinced these writers - who can no longer go back to pre-packaged grocery meat.

Not only for the difference in quality and taste, but in the ideology behind the animal we’re eating. When asked what happens to the meat that isn’t sold, because they don’t freeze or preserve their meat, Community Butcher Shop donates to charity.

“If I have three or four slow days I wrap up a whole bunch of stuff and I give it to the Kawartha Food Share. I may not be making a ton of money but that was never the point of this. I mean I need to eat, but, I had a prof job and made money. This was more about lifestyle and something I thought was important.”

Stay tuned for a very special look at Community Butcher Shop Issue 1!

Editors’ picks: Dreams of Beans should be your go to downtown Yumna Leghari & Zara Syed Everyone knows of Dreams of Beans, the beautiful cafe and coffee bean dispensary that sells homemade pastries such as the famous spinach and feta boureka.

This was one of our favourite study spots as students, and is still a space where we enjoy having writing dates.

The comfortable lighting, exposed brick and plentiful local artwork make for a productive and relaxing workspace. This little cafe is changing the game in coffee culture, introducing a new menu that features organic and homemade Spanish cuisine.

That’s right, authentic Spanish food, a refreshing game-changer amidst the concentrated coffee scene in Peterborough.

Jin Chanana, owner of Dreams of Beans for almost four years, discusses the new addition to this well-known cafe on Hunter Street.

“Everyone knows us for our pastries, samosas and coffees, but what we were finding was that people who came here to do work would often have to leave to eat lunch and then come back. So we now have Fresh Dreams, a local couple that prepares and serves the lunch menu,” Chanana said.

We can attest to that, having lamented over having to uproot ourselves to refuel with a meal in the midst of being in a writing groove, disrupting our workflow.

A dynamic husband and wife team, Fresh Dreams is featured at Dreams of Beans during their lunch hours 11a.m. to 3p.m.

Alvaro De La Guardia and his wife Monica Silva have been perfecting their Spanish cuisine for years, and are excited to showcase something new in Peterborough.

La Guardia is the brains behind the business and Silva is the talented chef who worked in the restaurant and cater-

ing business in Spain for many years. They have brought their knowledge of a disparate culture of food to the table. One of the best things about the menu is the pricing. Silva and La Guardia grow their own produce from a personal vegetable garden. This allows them to surpass the high prices Canadians are currently paying for produce.

They acknowledge how it’s difficult in the current Canadian economy to maintain a healthy lifestyle. By growing their own food they are able to provide delicious, healthy and fresh meals at a much lower cost!

La Guardia expressed very poignant views on Canadian food culture.

“Food here is a necessity, not a pleasure.

People don’t take their time, and most food is processed. Fifty-two per cent of our daily food intake is supposed to be raw, but the prices are outrageous.

“In Spain...in most of Europe, we share food. Food is a community and everything is centered [on] food. We go out, we talk and we eat communally.

Here, the attitude towards food is very individualistic, a very ‘this is my meal, that is your meal’ kind of sentiment exists. So, we are trying to bring some of that attitude here. We don’t mind sharing and teaching people better and healthier ways to eat.”

In fact, La Guardia happily provided us with the recipe and instructions on how to make their delicious gazpacho at home.

Silva explained the method behind her food, something different from the generic variety of food available in North American culture.

“Where we come from, when you order a meal you are given an amount of food where you can sample different things throughout. By trying something different in one meal it’s a real experience of eating

and enjoyment, you get to share everything, it’s a whole other culture of food,” said Silva.

“Coming to Peterborough, there are so many foods that are deep-fried and unhealthy. I believe in making everything fresh to order, and it’s so healthy while being cheap. You actually get more food for the price, whereas other places nearby will charge far more than $8 for the exact same thing.This is the food of our family, of Spain, I made it for dinner every night just as our parents made for us,” she continued.

Each item on the menu is accompanied with the health benefits it provides, which is pretty cool if you know you need a boost in any specific vitamins. You can experience this communal and shared eating experience at Dreams Of Beans, as they offer tapas! Cafe culture in Spain is aligned with the common order of tapas, which is a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. Now, on to the food! Please note, all of the following experiences were had sitting on a beautiful patio facing historical buildings on Hunter Street, enjoying the sun on our skin.

Gazpacho ($5/full order): Zesty Gazpacho, served with homemade croutons, fresh bread, and Spanish extra virgin olive oil arrived as our starter.

There is also an option to add chorizo to the mix, and if you’re a vegetarian, finely chopped bell peppers will do the trick! As we exclaimed excitedly at the taste of the cold, tomato based soup, a nearby table of girls came over and asked what we had ordered, having seen our reaction.

They ended up with the gazpacho as well and were as delighted as we were. For the unseasonably warm weather we’re experiencing in April, the gazpacho was a beau-

tiful way to cool down our bodies. A full order of gazpacho costs $5, but a half order is $3.50.

Pasta ($3/half order): We also had a half order of the pasta salad, which also had a surprising twist from the regular creamy salad one is accustomed to at a picnic.

Homemade sauce with a sweet twist incorporated apples and bacon to give it more depth than the traditional noodles and mayonnaise found in the general salad.

Next, we indulged in a couple of open faced sandwiches, though if you are brie lover there is a peameal and brie toast that is sure to satisfy that cheese and bread craving.

Dill Marinated Salmon ($8): The first bite hit my taste buds like the smell of the ocean at the beach. This is no ordinary sandwich.

Salmon fresh from Toronto, delicate dill is infused on a secret recipe of sauce that asserts creaminess to the lemony and zesty Calabrese toast.

Escalibada ($8): For all those eggplant and zucchini junkies out there, this is a must! Grilled fresh eggplant, zucchini, onions and sweet peppers over a tomato base gives you the satisfaction of a sandwich while remaining refreshing in this spring heat. A sweet, secret and special sauce graciously topped the sandwich, adding to the tones of this plate. It tasted as gorgeous as it looked.

So enjoy a little slice of Spain at Dreams of Beans Cafe. On a hot day, a light cool lunch is just what you might need if you’re craving something filling that won’t leave you feeling bloated and stuffed.

Silva’s catering has been featured in Elle Magazine, and she was also a finalist for the New Canadian Centre’s entrepreneurs of 2016.

17

Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

ARTS

Clairvoyant: a musical spotlight

Tyler Majer Clairvoyant: defined as, “A supernatural ability to perceive future events”.

Clairvoyant: defined as, “A Peterborough/Toronto band that battles life’s bullshit, one song, one verse, one angerdrenched line at a time.”

“There is so much left to do before I die” screams singer Hannah Edgerton on the opening track of Clairvoyant’s latest E.P, Rot. From the first minutes of listening to this band, one can see that Clairvoyant is a band that fights against the meanderings and absurdities of everyday life. The juxtaposition between expectation for the future, and death and stagnation is one that permeates throughout many aspects of the album. Clairvoyant is a new band, and it seems that their struggle to become a cohesive unit is exemplified in the E.P’s themes of hope vs. death, expectation vs. stagnation.

The first song on the album, ‘Golden Girl’, is a defiant punk song that fights against the stagnation of hometowns as well as preconceived notions of what a punk-rock girl should be. It is a more classic type of punk song with distorted guitars and screamed vocals.

However, the second song entitled ‘Paper Cuts’ is a more mellow song with indie vibes and punk undertones. The song follows a similar subject pattern, yet attacks it in a totally different and catchy way. “Pass the bottle, distracting myself,” sings Hannah throughout each chorus. The lyrics here, although being quite simple, are delivered with a rawness and simplicity that makes one want to scream, “Fuck yeah!”

18

www.trentarthur.ca

right back at them.

Clairvoyant’s subject matter is just as intriguing as their sound. Their E.P., while being downtrodden in its title, has both positive and negative images throughout.

It is this juxtaposition of moods in both the sound and lyrics of Clairvoyant that makes them such an interesting band. They are a band that are prolific in substance and sound, yet manage to carry a consistent message. The message being that life is hard, and that one’s best means to cope is anyway they can.

Clairvoyant’s origin is an amalgamation of different experiences and frequent changes like many other local bands.

Robyn, the drummer, and Hannah, the singer/guitarist grew up in Peterborough and played in multiple bands over the course of the last few years, the most prominent one being The Third Eye. Once they added Riley Barnes on bass, the band solidified itself, renaming as Clairvoyant.

The band mentioned that the main influence other than music in their recent tunes dealt with their move from their hometown of Peterborough, which is relatively small, to the big city of Toronto, and I can assume dealing with all the struggles of living and figuring out life and music in a new, disorienting space.

When asked about their writing process, Clairvoyant described an almost counterintuitive process, stating, “we actually write all instrumentals before we put lyrics to it! We basically jam until we find a structure that we like and really fine-tune it. We write lyrics according to how we interpret the overall feel of the song.” Their lyrics are such an important part of their songs that

to realize that they come second-hand to the instrumentals is not only surprising but also quite impressive. The amount of emotion that they evoke with their lyrics is a testament to their song-writing prowess, as well as their overall ability to gauge the feel of a sound, and write accordingly.

Punk rock is a genre that while carrying a seemingly easy sound takes a lot of effort and prowess to perfect. Not only does Clairvoyant pull off a more classic punk sound in songs such as ‘Golden Girl’ and ‘ Scumbag’, but they also bring enough originality to transcend past the punk genre and create intrigue and wonder as to where each song is going to end up.

Songs such as ‘Paper Cuts’ seem reminiscent of early 2000’s indie minus the whine, whereas others such as ‘Callisto’ seem to draw influence from jazz and electronic music.

The distinct differences in their sound that occurs from song to song may be attributed to the variety of artists that they draw influence from. When asked, the band cited Pup, King Krule, Nirvana, and John Bonham as influences, adding that they “draw influence from all over the place.” In Clairvoyant’s sound, this plethora of separate influences manifests itself into an interesting, intriguing, and collective sound.

Overall, however, Clairvoyant is an indie punk band. When asked about the state of punk rock, and whether they thought that punk as a genre is dying, they responded by saying, “We don’t necessarily think punk is dying, it’s just evolving and you can see that in successful bands like Pup, Fidlar, and Dilly Dally. All these bands in the past

year have really taken off and all have very punk driven vocals but the instrumentation is a little bit more complex than traditional punk. On our E.P., we jump all over the place, going from “Scumbag”, a very groggy, pissed-off punk song about a shitty relationship, to a song like “Callisto” which instrumentally is more of a soft jazzy song focusing on the positive sides of life.”

Overall, Clairvoyant is band that touches on a wide range of aspects while staying true to the general punk aesthetic of uncertainty, angst, anger, and doubt. They are a band that, while being very young in their careers, have their whole musical lives ahead of them. And although I am not a Clairvoyant, I see a very bright future ahead for them.

Listen to their latest E.P at clairvoyantto.bandcamp.com

LISTINGS SADLEIR HOUSE Sadleir House Board Game Night: Located at the Jolly Hangman Pub. Thursday Sep. 8, 9:00pm-12:00am. 751 George Street North at the Dining Hall Room 209. Bring your friends and your favourite games. Or just bring yourself and try something new.

Free cover, coffee and tea provided. Bring snacks to share! Cash bar.

Sadleir House Library: Support the Sadleir House Library! The library consists of literature, popular fiction, non-fiction, textbooks and antiques. All books are by donation ($0.50- $2.00). The book sale will be held at the Lecture Hall Room 106.

Wheelchair Accesible. October 1.

OPIRGS Annual Vegan BBQ: Each year, OPIRG hosts a free vegan bbq to welcome back the Trent community. We will have delicious food from Food Not Bombs and an open mic on Sadleir House’s front lawn. Be sure to check out the dining hall in Sadleir House during the barbecue as representatives from social justice, environmental and world-issue organizations will be there to tell you how you can get involved. The vegan barbecue is followed by a social with music in the dining hall (non-wheelchair accessible). The social is open to all ages although alcoholic drinks will be served for 19+. The barbecue and social is part of DisOrientation Week, brought to you by OPIRG. Come join us! Thursday September 15 6:30pm-8:00pm. Disorientation Social will be held afterwards. Oh, it’s FREE! Contact: opirg@trentu.ca

ARTS Peterborough Poetry Slam: The August Slam with David Silverberg is around the corner! Dave Silverberg is the founder and artistic director of Toronto Poetry Slam.

As a spoken word artist, he has performed across Canada, including a Western Canada tour in 2013, and at Montreal’s Throw Slam, Ottawa’s Capital Slam, and at dozens of Toronto events.

He has performed in schools across Ontario, bringing a mix of performance and workshop to his school visits. He is the editor of Canada’s only spoken word anthology, Mic Check (Quattro Books).

As always 7:30 Sign-up for Slam or Open Mic; 8:00 p.m. Start at The Spill.

414 George Street North.

Regular Slam Rules Apply.

The Joy of Bob: The Theatre on King is excited to host The Joy of Bob on Monday, August 29th, 2016 @ 8pm. $10 or pwyc Come watch our guest painters (Paul Nabuurs, Kate Story, and Quinn Ferentzy) try to keep up with the master as he leads them through the process of landscape painting. Remember: no mistakes, just happy accidents.

Robert Norman “Bob” Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was best known as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS. Uke CLub: Hello, Fellow Ukulele lover!

A friendly reminder that you get to learn a new song, jam on the happiest instrument in the world and hang out with the kindest, quirkiest and most fun human beings around! The Happy Uke Group will be Meeting at the Spill at 5 pm Monday the 22nd (today), see you there for the best part of your week :D Bonus points for sharing our facebook event and bringing your friends and family along to an experience they won’t forget!

Simons Silver Screenings #1: The Theatre on King is happy to welcome Simon’s Silver Screenings #1 on Thursday, September 22nd, 2016 at 8pm. Pay what you can at the door.

The first of Simon’s Silver Screenings is The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.

“The first true horror film” according to critic Roger Ebert, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920) is the quintessential example of German Expressionism, a film style developed in Germany during the artistic experimentation that exploded after WWI and before the rise of the Nazis. Introduced by Simon Turner and his brainbox of arcane trivia.

Shirley & The Pyramids w/ Severed Feathers: Shirley & The Pyramids are foggy psych-pop with vague tendrils of tunage oozing from the eternal drone from Saskatoon.

Severed Feathers are Peterborough’s very own space hippies surfing the interstellar psych waves. $7 cover at The Spill on August 29.

Lonely Parade Album Release Party w/ Casper Skulls & Stacey Green Jumps: October 7 at The Spill, 9:00pm-1:00am. “No Shade” is out September 18th on Sleep Walk, copies of the album for sale at this show.

Volume 51 | Issue 0 |August 22| 2016

19

$3 | 19 + | 10pm

August 27 @ The Pigs Ear Tavern

with The muddy Hack

STEELBURNER