Volume 46 Issue 1

Volume 46 | Issue 1 | September 12, 2011

Westapolooza!

Photo by Jennifer Bo on

Running to live Trent student Scott Cannata runs across Canada to raise money for cancer research

By Matthew Davidson

“I live to run, and now I am running so that others can live.” With those words, Scott Cannata launched his run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Dubbed ‘The Run To Live’, Cannata is running a marathon a day with the goal of raising $2 for every Canadian.

A Trent University student, Scott began his cross-country journey on May 1 in Newfoundland, and has followed the route first blazed by Terry Fox. The iconic Canadian is one of Scott’s heroes, and Cannata will follow the route until it ends near Thunder Bay, at after which Scott will create his own trail. As of the time I am writing this article, Scott was a few days past Sudbury.

As one of the trainers at the Trent gym, Scott was already a committed athlete and long-distance runner prior to embarking on this journey. Even so, Scott says that his running a marathon a day, which is an impressive 42 kilometres long, has been ‘gruelling’. Yet he is also quick to point out that what he must go through is only a fraction of what cancer patients go through in their struggle to be cured, which is something he has seen first hand.

“My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was twelve,” noted Scott.

It is certainly a story that resonates with the Trent community, especially after having a number of losses in the community dues to cancer in the past year. The Trent community had came out in record numbers last year to try and find a bone marrow match for Trent student David Smyth, who was suffering from leukemia, a type of cancer. Not surprisingly, many of those same people packed the stadium at Trent earlier this summer when Scott made his way through Peterborough, and that support has continued since.

“At the time Scott gave us the challenge of

running an equivalent of a marathon each week [around the track],” observed Kais Aloboosy, a former Trent student and staff member at the Trent Community Sport and Recreation Centre. “Now a number of the gym members go out there and run laps around the field and add it to our tally. The varsity teams add to that as well.”

Much of Scott’s original support also came from the Trent community, with a number of university bodies such as the Graduate Student Association and the Alumni Association, amongst others, appearing on the list of sponsors on The Run To Live website. Most of The Run To Live support team are also Trent students, who have also taken a full year off to join Scott on his journey.

Support has certainly been building outside of Peterborough as well. Scott has had a full emergency services escort with him since entering Ontario, and says that he has been getting great encouragement from folks along the way. “We’ve had people join us for a run at various points along our route, and people will stop us along the road to give donations,” noted Scott, appreciatively. So far The Run To Live has managed to raise nearly twenty thousand dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society.

With the exception of needing to let an injury heal early in May, Scott has only taken three days off, and is approaching the halfway mark. He hopes to reach the Pacific Ocean by Christmas. As Kais put it: “The journey that Scott and the TRTL team are on is so great and sometimes so hard to visualize, its still hard to believe even months into it.”

To support Scott and The Run To Live, check out http://www.theruntolive.com. Bracelets are also available for $5 at the Trent Community Sport and Recreation Centre.

Photo by Matthew Davidson

in the paper this week: Volume 46 | Issue 1 | September 12, 2011

Masthead by Jackson Creek Press 751 George Street • Suite 104 Peterborough, ON • K9H 7P5 tel: 705-745-3535 • fax: 705-745-3534 editors@trentarthur.ca www.trentarthur.ca

Co-Editors Business Manager Iris Hodgson Miranda Rigby

Copy Editor -

Associate Editors -

News Reporters

Tyson Shennett

Photographer -

Proofreader -

Webmaster -

Distribution

p. 4 - Trent Enrollment Targets p. 5 - Call out to all international students p. 9 - Trent Radio - pitch your show p. 10 - Purple Onion Festival loves local food p. 11 - listings (a.k.a., what’s goin’ on in Peterborough)

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Board of Directors Chair • Kate Taylor Secretary • Caitlin Currie Treasurer • Not yet named Members at Large • Matt Rappolt, Brett Throop, Joel Young

Contributors Matt Rappolt •Jennifer Boon Caitlin Currie • Alice Scott • Chelsea Rodrigues Brea Hutchinson • Brianna Salmon Rain Gill • Nick Ferrio • Matthew Davidson Zach Ruiter • Jonathan Alphonsus James Kerr • Joan Michaels

Submission guidelines A r t i c l e s A rticl e s s h o uld be s u b mi t t e d v i a e m a il to e dito rs @t re n tart h ur . ca , in t he b o d y of the me s s age , o r as an * . r t f , * . d o c , o r * . t x t atta chme n t . Th e bo d y s h o uld b e a p p rox im a t e ly 800 word s . Lis t in gs , ann o u n ce m e n t s, o r b r i ef s s hould n o t exce e d 100 wo rd s. Fe a t u re p i e ce s ca n be up to 1500, but m u st b e a r ra n g e d in advan ce wit h t he e d i to rs.

I m a g e s H a rd copie s (ph o to grap hs, o r i g in a l a r t wo r k, etc.) sho uld be bro ught in to t he offi ce ( 751 Ge org e St re et , S uit e 104 ) to b e sca nn e d . I f s ubmittin g fil e s e l e ct ro ni ca ll y , p le a se sa v e a s *.tif, wit h a d pi of n o l e ss t ha n 3 0 0 p i x e l s.

L e t t e r s Limit lette rs to t h e e dito rs to 25 0 wo rd s. Let t e rs lon g e r th an 25 0 wo rds m a y b e p u bli she d b u t A rthu r re se rve s t h e right to e d i t fo r le n g t h a n d cl arit y (but n o t co n t e n t ).

Conribu t e rs are e n co ura g e d to a t t e n d t he we e kly s to ry me et in g o n We d n e sd a y a t 4p m, or to co n tact t h e e d i to rs i f co n sid e r in g su bmit t in g to an u p co min g i ssu e .

Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of Arthur staff, volunteers or its Board of Directors.

Contributors are encouraged to attend the story meetings Wednesday at 4pm or contact the Editors to discuss story ideas. All article submissions are due Thursday at midnight.

Letters, Listings, Classifieds, and Events are due Friday at five and should be sent to listings@trentarthur.ca. Advertisers are encouraged to contact advertising@trentarthur.ca for ad rates and contracts.

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centre spread - the Regional Blazers

editorial Panhandling gets a makeover

By Iris Hodgson

Over the summer, Arthur’s table at New Student Orientation was right beside Shinerama’s table. I watched as the folks there cajoled visiting parents into donating spare change. They talked about how the best friends you’ll ever make are those you meet through Shinerama. They explained that you probably won’t really shine very many shoes - who even wears shoes that need polishing anymore? They asked, “Do you know what Cystic Fibrosis is?” The answer always began, “Well, it’s a really horrible disease...”

As I write this editorial, Shinerama is coming up soon, but as you read it, the whole thing will be over. You might have participated with your new friends from residence, or you did in your first year. You might have donated, too. And you’re not alone. Shinerama has raised over $21.5 million for Cystic Fibrosis Canada since 1964, and more than 60 universities and colleges participate.

Shinerama raises money for an important cause, and it is also a way for new students to get to know each other better.

Most of people I encountered the when I participated in Shinerama were enthusiastic and happy to donate. Shinerama is fun. Shinerama is also very organized panhandling. Shinerama at Trent is a student group that receives a 51 cent non-refundable levy. It has a website and a logo. There’s t-shirts involved.

Still, it’s panhandling with some excellent branding.

Perhaps I should resist, but I can’t help but draw a connection to another effort to rebrand panhandling in Peterborough.

This summer, the City of Peterborough, at the request of the Downtown Business Improvement Association (DBIA), installed bright yellow “Care Meters” in the downtown. There’s one outside of the LCBO on Sherbrooke; one at the CIBC on George at Hunter. The last one is at George and Simcoe, at K and C Costumes, which has a small poster in its window in memoriam of a panhandler who often sat outside.

The idea behind care meters is that there are folks who want to do something about poverty, but they don’t want to give their money directly to people who are asking for it. They want to demonstrate that they care about homelessness, but they don’t want to interact with actual homeless people.

DBIA members want to see panhandling reduced because they say it makes shoppers less likely to visit their stores, and gives the perception that the downtown is unsafe. In an interview with CHEX this June, a DBIA representative characterized Peterborough’s panhandlers as “polite” and “passive”, clarifying that it was the perception of danger and the discomfort of shoppers that was the problem.

The DBIA’s request for the meters cited statistics from other cities stating that 75% of money given to panhandlers will go to alcohol or drugs. That’s a lot, I agree. But customers at the LCBO, where people often panhandle or busk, are probably

spending their discretionary funds on booze too. I don’t especially mind if someone spends my two dollars on beer, since that’s probably what I - and lots of you, too, I’m guessing - was gonna spend it on anyway.

I can understand that perhaps, care meters might seem like a good idea because they allow the public to know exactly where the money they donate will end up. The text on the meters reads, “All the money you put in this meter will be used

by Social Service Agencies in this community to provide food, shelter, and support for people in need.” Specific agencies or programs are not outlined, however. If Care Meters are desirable, it’s because those who put their spare change in them like the idea that someone else, some “expert”, can manage poor people’s money better than poor people themselves can. It’s paternalism.

Poverty in Peterborough is an issue that’s on our radar.

Needed amenities, like benches, are disappearing as a measure of discouraging panhandlers. This is an accessibility issue for people who might need to sit and rest as they go about their day. Warming and cooling rooms are closing due to lack of city funding. The contract for Our Space drop-in centre has not been renewed, and last year, Garden 579 was closed because the presence of Our Space clients was unwanted by the garden’s neighbours. The St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, which was within walking distance of the Brock Mission, relocated closer to the mall so that it would be more attractive to shoppers who don’t necessarily need to use thrift stores anyway.

It should be our responsibility, as a city, to do everything we can to ensure that people don’t need to panhandle. We should demand that the city build adequate funding for social services into its budget, rather than forcing organizations to rely on charitable donations. We need to help people treat their addictions, where applicable, rather than moralistically denying them the few cents in our pockets while still asserting that we “care.” If panhandlers disappear before this occurs, it is because we have created the uncomfortable position of forcing poor people to compete with a refurbished parking meter for whatever essentials are needed to survive day-to-day.

My guess is that Shinerama didn’t cause anyone in particular to feel unsafe. It likely didn’t detract from downtown shoppers’ enjoyment of the downtown. I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t think the typical Peterborough panhandlers pose a greater safety threat to the public than the student panhandlers during Shinerama. The difference is just the perception of safety; of welcome. Peterborough’s downtown businesses and the city itself do a lot to make Trent students feel at home here. As a year-round Peterborough resident, it’s nice to see more students again. But we should remember that there are other folks in this city who are being crowded out; people who are in just as much need of compassion and resources as the people that postgraduate students panhandled for over the weekend.

opinion

Thinking of writing for Arthur?

Here’s how to do it, and how to do it well

By Brett Thro op

For better and often for worse, I have a tendency to jump right into things. My first time writing for Arthur was one notable example.

It was three years ago, during my first months at Trent when I took that particular leap. I knew right away I wanted to write for the student press but was intimidated by seasoned student writers who seemed to know Trent’s political turf inside and out. How could I compete?

I held off until midway through the first term when I got my big scoop. The Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) National Chief was coming to Trent and no Arthur reporter was covering it; I had to do it! Without knowing what I was doing, I showed up early and wrote several too many pages of notes. I stayed after the talk, but was too nervous to ask then AFN Chief Phil Fontaine any questions (not to mention, I couldn’t think of any).

Writing for Arthur for the past three years now, as both a volunteer contributor and a paid reporter, I’ve (mostly) gotten over my fear of interviews.

However, I do still get nervous when I see a fellow student reading an article I’ve written on the bus.

Nonetheless, writing for Arthur has been one of those plunges that have worked out for the best. It’s a chance to practice writing; a part-time job; a way to participate in the community; and it looks great on my resume.

For those thinking of writing, here are some tips – gleaned from the internet, my grade nine English teacher, and all points in between – on how to do it well: Write what you know. If you’re a chemistry major, covering the latest research in molecular chemistry may not be the best place to start. But if you are a chemistry

major, making that research understandable to the rest of us could be really interesting.

Never assume someone won’t talk to a student reporter.

Ask open-ended questions. The goal of an interview is to find out what the interviewee thinks. Don’t ask yes or no questions; “yes” and “no” are not the most illustrative quotations. What, when, where, how, and why questions will elicit quotable answers that tell you what the interviewee thinks. Be short and to the point. The interviewee needs to understand the question and remember it as they go about answering.

Ask yourself: can this story be found somewhere else?

Arthur is not students’ only news source. No one needs you to summarize news stories that major media outlets have already covered. Only cover a major national or international news story if you have a unique angle on it. Think about what’s been left out of the mainstream coverage or how it will affect the Trent and Peterborough communities. Then call up someone (a professor, politician, fellow student, etc.) with something to say about the topic.

Use only the best quotations. The quotations you publish should be the most compelling and the most clearly stated words the interviewee said. If they used an interesting turn of phrase, use that. Don’t over-quote; you’ll need to do some analysis as well as re-iterating the interviewee’s comments.

A compelling lead. The first sentence has to sell the article. If a reader’s attention isn’t grabbed by the first line, they’re not likely to keep reading. A captivating lead states even something mundane in an engaging way.

Keep it short and simple. After you write your first draft, pare it down ruthlessly. Long-windedness is a sure-fire way not to keep readers engaged. Your goal is to capture the reader’s attention immediately and hold it for as long as possible, before an inevitable distraction arises. Aim for a maximum of 20-25 words in a sentence. You won’t capture every nuance, but simplification is an evil necessity of journalism.

Practice, practice, practice. This one is from my grade nine teacher. It was a revelation at the time; I’ve kept a journal ever since, and my writing keeps improving. If you don’t think you’re ready this year, practice on your private scrolls and consider submitting a piece next year.

Interviewing: Do it. If you want to write restaurant reviews or poetry, this doesn’t apply, but when it comes to reporting, you’ll need to master this skill. Posing your own unique questions to those involved in a news story will make your article your own. This can be intimidating (it sure has been for me). Let yourself be nervous and do it anyway. Even if you’re covering a national news story, you are sure to find someone to comment on the issue. I once snagged a phone interview with an Ottawa lawyer in a federal court case just by sending an email.

Get a second opinion. Always read your pieces over multiple times and ask a friend to give you their opinion.

They may raise an interesting perspective you haven’t considered, suggest re-wording a sentence or two for clarity, or even have a good title for your piece. Don’t take criticism personally; use it to improve your writing.

Lastly, ignore all of this advice if it doesn’t suit you and write something anyway.

Letters

column

Bottled Water?

My cap is off to you.

TRNT 1000Y

By Daniel Arron danielarron@trentu.ca

Getting rid of bottled water on campus?

Great start. However, it’s only a start.

To think that our water supply is now safer because we no longer buy bottled water is both naïve and optimistic.

The water in those bottles, which companies source from local water supplies, is no different than that found in soft drinks or energy drinks. The main ingredient in every drink sold on campus is water, even if it is flavoured in some way. That water comes from somewhere, and it comes at almost no cost to the manufacturer.

BPA, Biphenol A, is a toxic chemical found in water bottles as well as many other varieties of plastic, and can cause birth defects, health problems and is a by-product of crude oil. It seeps into water contained in bottles and is dangerous at even very small doses, we’re talking parts per million, certainly not a noticeable amount, but the damage is still being done.

It’s wonderful that we’ve gotten rid of plastic bottled water on campus, but that is certainly only the tip of the fresh water iceberg. Less than 2% of water on earth is potable, and we are sitting idly by while large companies like Coke and Nestle, are literally stealing our water at no cost

to them, and then selling it back to us at a mark up of ridiculous proportions.

We can keep sitting around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for other people to act, but realistically, we are the agents of change, our student union is a joke – it’s essentially a high school student council but with more money. The decisions that are made are of little or no consequence.

When unions came about, they existed because employers were exploiting people and resources with no consequence. Our water is being stolen and we have the power. Imagine if every single student met on campus and decided that not a cent of tuition would be paid until a list of demands regarding our university campus was met. Now imagine every student in Canada doing this. Our government would listen.

You want lower tuition. Let’s make it happen. You want more access to education, it’s up to us. To you I pose this question, are you apathetic or just bored?

Don’t buy bottled drinks. Get your own water bottle; drink milk cartons; buy local produce. If you think that we need to speak out about the problems in our education system please contact me. The time for apathy has passed. A tuition march in Toronto once a year is not going ruffle feathers for more than a day. If we want change, we need to commit to it.

A brief introduction

By Matt Rappolt

Trent University is a place with a past.

During Trent’s opening ceremony in 1964, the Governor-General of Canada, Georges Vanier stepped to the podium and announced his desire that the university should establish strong connections to its past. “I know no better study than history,” he declared, “and pray that Trent be known as a university with a sense of history.”

That was forty-seven years ago and much has changed since. Three years from now, Trent will be celebrating its 50th birthday and preparation is already underway to make the occasion a special one. Trent’s history will no doubt play a large role in that commemoration and it will hopefully serve to highlight both the evolution of the school and the challenges that it continues to face in changing economic and social times.

For Trent, founded as a small, collegiate, liberal arts school, those challenges have been amplified as the role that universities play in society has shifted in the past few decades.

For better or worse, many students now view a university education as a means to an end rather than a place to explore subjects of interest. A quick look at the rise and focus put on Trent’s professional programs highlights the extent of the change in education that students both want and receive.

In fact, the perceived role that students play at a university has also been changing since Trent’s inception with administrators and law makers more than ever measuring potential students in funding dollars rather

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than by what they can bring to and take away from a university education.

Because of its unique status and history among Ontario universities, significant tension has arisen at Trent between this current climate of post-secondary education in Canada and the school’s founding philosophy. That tension has only grown as university governance has attempted to negotiate between its own ingrained identity and an opposing external reality; the community-wide backlash against controversial issues such as the new private residence, the closure of Peter Robinson College in 2001, and the new integrated plan are proof of this.

And so, this fortnightly column will be an attempt to explore these and other important aspects of our university. From history to current Trent politics, this will hopefully be a space where students can learn a bit more about the university that was, the university that is, and the university that could have been.

Peer feedback is always welcome and if you have an idea or an angle that you want to share write to Arthur or post comments on the Arthur Blog. I hope to use the blog to post pictures, sources, extended interviews, audio, video, and anything else that I feel is interesting and relevant.

What I hope to convey above all through this column is the “sense of history” that Georges Vanier declared so important. This university has a rich and interesting past that directly impacts you the Trent student, faculty, staff or Peterborough citizen. It is a past worth exploring and so I look forward to exploring it with you.

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September 12, 2011

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campus

Trent Enrollment Targets Why you are here according to administration

By Iris Hodgson and Zach Ruiter

Trent’s targeted total student population for this academic year is 8,024, representing an increase of 184 full-time students over last year. The university is hoping to increase the total student population by an additional 241 additional full-time students for 20122013.

According to a “Multi-Year Enrolment and Retention Plan” update, published in February of 2011 by the Strategic Enrolment Management Committee (SEM), this target is “ambitious.” The Plan recognizes that a decrease in enrolment is likely without “further improvements” in the conversion and retention of students.

First-choice conversion rates at Trent have decreased from 74% in 2000 to 525 in 2010, when only 544 of 1051 offers of admission were accepted. Last year, applications to Trent increased by 15%, but enrolment did not increase. The SEM have been tasked with finding out why applicants who apply to Trent don’t end up attending university here.

Trent’s Director of Marketing, Marilyn Burns, canceled an in-person interview scheduled last week with Michelle Wilson, the Associate Vice-President of Strategic Enrolment Management. Instead, Burns arranged a twenty-minute phone interview with Provost and Vice-President Academic Gary Boire, who chairs the SEM, on the condition that Arthur submit all interview questions in advance.

Boire acknowledged that Trent’s projected enrolment figures are “kinda ulcerating and soul destroying,” and “not the news [he] wanted.”

To reverse this trend, Trent is relying on enrolment in new programs, such as

“

Why don’t we offer a course in outdoor recreation, tourism, and hospitality services... lo and behold we do - its offered through Geography.”

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems and Archaeology, and a joint Journalism program with Loyalist College. Trent also plans to increase the number of students who graduate with a four-year degree; increase summer course offerings at Trent and in Oshawa; increase “targeted marketing to students of Aboriginal origin”; improve academic advising; and “develop a distinct campus identity” at the Oshawa campus.

The update also recommends that Trent becomes more “transfer friendly.” At the same time, the update recognizes that more data is needed to determine whether articulation agreements, like those Trent has developed at Fleming, Durham, and Loyalist “are beneficial to Trent”, and whether students who attend Trent on an articulation agreement “are succeeding.”

Boire did not respond directly when asked why Trent struggles to meet its enrolment targets, compared with provincial averages.

Nor did he directly respond when asked if recent cuts to academic programming may be having an adverse affect on the decision of prospective students to enroll at Trent.

Boire suggested however that we “reconsider how we package ourselves... we know that many students don’t like the location because they want to live in a big urban centre. They come [to Trent] and they don’t like the rivers and streams.”

Instead, “Why don’t we offer a course in outdoor recreation, tourism, and hospitality services... lo and behold we do - its offered through Geography.” Boire concludes, “We’re not so much lying about what we do but we need to refocus and say to students if you don’t like rivers and streams don’t come here…”

In addition to the new academic programs, the plan includes expenditures like increased marketing and financial aid; tuition incentives for international students; the hiring of an Associate Registrar, a recruiter for Aboriginal students, a recruiter for Oshawa; and a “major investment” in data collection and storage.

Despite the ambitious nature of Plan, the update says that “any reductions to targets would require further cuts to the operational budget.” This means that Trent

must meet these enrolment targets in order to maintain its current budget. When asked if the administration has considered cuts to executive compensation at the university, Boire replied that the SEM was considering all options: “It’s not on the table yet, but I can’t see excluding anything if we are going to brainstorm.”

In a February 2011 letter to the Trent’s Administration on behalf of the Cultural Studies Faculty, Victoria De Zwaan argued that “If cuts are to be the order of the day, as has been implied in public statements by the President, [Trent’s Integrated Plan] must account for potential damage from cuts – for example, the damage to student retention that could result from the removal of any actual degree.” De Zwaan also noted that “expansion of the student body and the introduction of new programs…needs to anticipate appropriate supports for these, including an increase in faculty, staff, and other infrastructural resources.”

Ontario universities are reporting a record number of new first year students, 90,000 of them, nearly 2,000 more than the doublecohort year when OAC was eliminated.

In a recent interview with the Hamilton Spectator, Bonnie Patterson, President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, and former Trent President, credits the increase partially to “a new economy that has emerged in Canada and elsewhere — two out of three jobs being created require post-secondary education.” She also cited the recession and slower economic growth as contributing factors.

Actual enrolment numbers at Trent for 2011-2012 are not expected until November, so it is too soon to say whether Trent’s enrolment will be on par with the provincial trend or the SEM’s internal projections.

[resist] Women and the Liberal Arts

By Caitlin Currie The Centre for Gender and Social Justice

In the beginning of 2011, the Trent Women’s Studies Department officially became the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies.

Many invested in feminist academia at Trent were pleasantly surprised and had expectations that the change would broaden the scope of the department’s content.

Even Arthur was optimistic. This January, a staff reporter covering the issue wrote, “The expansion of the name could create the space for new examinations of gender while being sincere to the program name.

Trent as of the 2009-2010 academic year offered its first course on transgendered feminism, this new name could lead to more changes in the courses offered.”

Over the summer though, eight students from this small department who had signed up for the fourth year Trans Feminism course were met with disappointment. The valuable half year course, that offers material and theory from an emerging discipline, was cancelled

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for the 2011/2012 academic school year due to the inability to secure a professor to teach the course in Peterborough. The cancellation of this course, which would have been a required credit for many of the eight students’ honours degrees, was avoidable.

According to Gillian Balfour, the head of the Women and Gender studies department, after losing a potential instructor to a full time position at another university, a professor located in another province agreed to teach the course via video conference while meeting with students a couple times during the semester. This method of teaching, which could work similarly to a reading course, was not considered suitable, resulting in the course cancellation.

For a department operating with 1.7 professors, finding qualified staff to teach unique courses in emerging disciplines is difficult.

Class sizes determine pay for contract instructors and resources allocated to the department at whole. Relying on contract staff often means that instructors live out of town, which results in a

dependence on email and other forms of technology to maintain time sensitive communication with instructors. Full time professors are in turn overworked with larger course loads and responsibility for more students.

Having “1.7” professors also indicates that many professors who teach within the department also teach across disciplines.

Both the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies and the professors are extremely valuable in bringing a much needed and appreciated gendered focus to other disciplines. By expanding the department to Gender & Women’s Studies and ensuring the inclusion of content such as Transfeminism, departments across campus will benefit from the perspectives the content brings.

Allowing the number of students enrolled to indicate the value of a course’s content will not only result in devaluing Trent’s rich history of liberal arts and interdisciplinary education, but will also misrepresent the relevancy of the content within Gender & Women’s Studies courses.

campus

cartoon

Trent’s International Student Community

Ready For 2011-2012 ... and this is how you can be involved

By Jonathan Alphonsus

The office of Trent University’s International Program, more commonly referred to as TIP, is all geared up for the 2011/2012 Academic Year. With some 200 new students arriving from more than 60 countries this September, TIP staff are anticipating more great additions to Trent’s vibrant and diverse international community.

TIP Camp, which took place on September 5 to 8, was held at Camp Timberlane in Haliburton.

The camp was a great orientation event for new students, and included practical programming around things like cultural adjustment and adapting to the weather, which helped many students who have never been to Canada or even North America before.

The Trent International Student Association (TISA) is also set to welcome new members come September. Seifudin Abdi, Director of Finance, highlighted the numerous opportunities for involvement, including joining the TISA Choir, joining regional groups like HOLA (Organization for Latin Awareness) and TACSU (Trent African and Caribbean Student Association), or volunteering for events like Cultural Outreach.

The Association is also seeking to elect a First Year Representative; a first year student who sits on the Board of Directors. TISA is a student levy group, which means all undergraduate students are members of the association and encouraged to get involved with its activities.

International students can also expect support and great involvement opportunities with the Trent Central Student Association. Brea Hutchinson, Vice-President Student Issues, said that international students face more barriers to accessing services, and thus, the TCSA is committed to providing a stronger voice for them.

She cited two campaigns that are currently being planned. The first is to return international students to health coverage under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan instead of the current University Health Insurance Plan, and secondly to continue addressing safety issues in downtown Peterborough.

Trent World Day on Wednesday, September the 14 will feature various student groups, international food, hair-braiding, henna art and other great events all on campus for the day. It will be a great opportunity for all members of the Trent community to appreciate our diversity.

This year’s theme is ‘Around the World in One Day!’ and it looks set to be another exciting time following up on past Trent World Days.

Finally, international students stand to benefit from the TIP Job Subsidy program, which enables international students to work on campus as well as for student organizations like Arthur and the Central. All available positions are listed on the Co-Curricular Record website (ccr.trentu.ca).

For more information, visit trentu.ca/tip, trentcentral.ca and tisatrentu.org

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September 12, 2011

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The Regional Blazers

arts

Zach Ruiter ponders the future of Trent’s new Catholic College after taking in a performance of “The Cavan Blazers” at the 4th Line Theatre

By Zach Ruiter

Trent and Peterborough fade into the rearview mirror when arriving outside the quaint town of Millbrook for a lateevening open-air performance of “The Cavan Blazers” at the 4th Line Theatre.

20 years since it was first staged, “The Cavan Blazers” returns to the farm

where its playwright, Rob Winslow, was raised.

The play follows the Blazers, a group of Orangemen who burn settlements and torment a small Catholic minority.

After scenes of exterior confrontation, the play gives us access to both sides as it alternates between the interior scenes of Catholic and Protestant life.

The seating structure of the theatre

resembles parliament or a tennis match; the audience split in two face each other, following the tension drawn on historical and religious lines in Millbrook and Cavan County.

Winslow reminisced that when the play first opened in 1991, “What was going on in Ireland was completely transported into this show.” The show was controversial at that time.

Winslow explains, “growing up it was 99% Protestant but I found out that there were hundreds of Catholics who lived here in the 1840s-1850s whose collective memory was erased.”

The pendulum of violent acts between two sides in “The Cavan Blazers” explicitly asks its audience to consider how acts of intolerance continually shift into new forms. In the play; men and women of Catholic Cavan cannot have their marriages recognized in Protestant churches, the only churches in the area at the time. In turn, today’s Catholic Church would have allied in phobia with the Protestant Blazers of the 1840s, for refusing to recognize same sex marriage or the ordination of women priests.

Local history in the “Cavan Blazers” takes on a new significance for the Trent community as President Franklin stated in the Examiner that he “would like to ensure there is a smooth transitions for students” of a new Catholic College in Peterborough, a private institution he hopes Trent Students will take advantage of to “round our

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I found out that there were hundreds of Catholics who lived here in the 1840s1850s whose collective memory was erased.”

their studies.” In a Peterborough Examiner article this June, Bishop Nicola De Angelis claims the Catholic college in Peterborough was “the Pope’s own idea.”

Trent’s founding president Tom Symons believes a relationship with the Catholic college “would be a very good thing for a public university to have as a complimentary college.” Yet the connections between phobia and tolerance, and private and public spaces seem at times predicated on staying out of each other’s space, which complicates the interests of Mayor Daryl Bennett and Dr. Symons, who sit on the board of trustees for the Catholic college.

Could a “smooth transition” between Trent University’s new Positive Space policy to “to challenge homophobia, heterosexism, and transphobia” not be compatible with constitutionally protected freedoms of religion exercised within a private institution?

I can’t help but drawn feel into the depth of historical and current conflict evoked by the play; in Tahrir Square; the Canadian House of Commons; the streets of London; and the soon to be surveilled streets of Peterborough.

After the Catholics are banished, with regret, Cavan Blazer leader Daine Swain recounts the cost of victory to his rival, realizing “we should have talked.”

The play finished with sadness in the night’s sky held by the symbolic weight of an ending, where hope and belief can go on, unobstructed and finally heard.

Promotional photos provided by 4th Line Theatre

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Volume 46

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Issue 1

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September 12, 2011

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columns

Extra Curricular > Curricular @ Trent Radio

By James Kerr

In first year I knew a girl who, freed from the yoke of her parents’ house and given the largest sum of money she had ever seen (her student loan) decided instead to spend it on something she had desired since childhood: a horse.

Clearly, this was not a wise decision. But the point is, for many first year students and even returning students, every year at Trent University represents a chance to be somebody new. This is not necessarily the person you were last year, and certainly not the person you were in high school, but is always a chance to explore new interests and new avenues, and even be a little out there.

University is not just about classes and assignments and teachers and chasing the game of credits up the ladder of achievement. It is also about the time spent, personal development, and the skills acquired that will make you a stronger personality. University, in history, was rarely ever about getting a job. In ancient Greece, attendees to the lectures of Socrates were not expected to become ancient philosophers themselves, and I’m sure even they had to justify the practice and its expense in hard-earned denari to their parents. They were there to broaden their minds. In the contemporary university this can often involve extracurricular activities as much as those in the classroom.

Your student owned and operated Trent Radio 92.7 FM, CFFF in Peterborough, is here for your use. Many students find it a helpful distraction from their studies, and many others find it a helpful homework tool. For instance, you could propose a show about philosophy, and talk about how Descartes would be as a roommate (hint: lousy, he does not believe in vacuums). This means you are spending a solid block of time each week talking openly about something of your interest, exploring the topic in great detail to the listening audience. That kind of review of your favourite subject – if it’s philosophy, science fiction, middle-eastern folk music, or video games - will enrich your understanding. Our stance is, if you’re interested in what you’re saying, then the listeners will be too.

Every year Trent Radio throws open its doors to students interested in doing a little broadcasting. This is your invitation. No experience is necessary to facilitate this

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goal – we expect people to come in with interest, perhaps a bright idea, and little else. We also do something that is considered organizational suicide – we scrap our schedule twice a year, so that it is entirely blank when the students arrive in the fall. This means we build an entirely new schedule every fall, making sure everyone applying for a programme has just as much opportunity to get the time they want to pursue their interest in radio. We do this again going into the summer, which means people can easily move on to other interests, expand their participation or shift their focus. At Trent Radio we have no programming of our own, and rely on submissions from students, and are here to help them pursue their interests.

Come visit the Trent Radio booth at Clubs & Groups Day, Monday September 12, to find out how you can get involved. We are very friendly people. All you have to do to apply for a show on Trent Radio is fill out a Programme Proposal, a simple who/what/where/when about your show. These can be picked up at Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North, or on the internets at www.trentradio. ca.

The deadline to submit a proposal is Friday September 16 at noon. Having trouble filling it out? Think you have an idea but not sure if it’s “good enough” or not? (Even though if you’re thinking that much about it, it probably is). Then come to any one of our handy Programme Proposal Workshops, where you meet with our Programme Director - me - and I will help you through the process of picking out great ideas and getting you on the air.

The bus will take you straight to us from campus. You don’t even have to walk a block. Just a few simple steps, and you can have a radio show. It may not be as exciting as owning your own horse, but you can get a lot out of it, and have a lot less to justify to your parents on reading break.

(Certainly, doing a show about horses is a safer alternative than actually buying one.) Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth – come to our workshops, stop by Trent Radio House for a chat, email the Programme Director – again, me – at jkerr@trentradio.ca to get involved.

Programme Proposal Deadline: Friday, September 16 at NOON.

Programme Proposal Workshops Thursday September 8 at Lady Eaton College Ro om 201 at 11:00am Tuesday September 13 at the Peterborough Public Library, at 7:00pm Wednesday September 14 at Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North in Peterborough Thursday September 15 at Sadleir House, 751 George Street North in Peterborough

Come visit the Trent Radio booth at Clubs & Groups Day, Monday September 12, to find out how you can get involved. We are very friendly people. All you have to do to apply for a show on Trent Radio is fill out a Programme Proposal, a simple who/what/ where/when about your show.

TCSA News

By Brea Hutchinson, Vice-President Student Issues

I am sure everyone can agree that this past summer has flown by. It feels like only yesterday everyone on campus was fretting over exams and final papers, and here we are at the beginning of another year. This column will give a glimpse of what has happened at the TCSA, The Central, over the past four months.

The TCSA started the summer off by extending our transit passes throughout the summer, saving students who stay in Peterborough over $200. This success was complemented by our office now being able to authenticate student identification for the GO transit system. Acquiring the sticker through our office can save students over $20 when purchasing a 10-ride ticket to Union Station.

During the month of June the TCSA in conjunction with

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Health Services at Trent, allocated funding to provide a subsidy for the Guardisil vaccine. The cost of the vaccine will be $51 for each of the three shots. The subsidy is available to all those who are on the TCSA health benefits plan. There is an ongoing discussion around holding a mass vaccination event for those eligible.

July saw City Council begin discussions on the proposed private residence, an issue close to many students’ hearts and to the TCSA. The Council, after many hours of delegations, approved the proposal, but not after an elder community member made this analogy: “The administration is Judas, betraying the students for some cheap silver.” Important to note: in this analogy, students are Jesus.

By the time August started to roll around, planning for ISW, Welcome Back Week and the Ontario provincial election began took full effect. To top off the busy planning

and implementation, our smart-phone app was already in its final stages of preparations and release. The app can be found at mobile.trentcentral.ca.

This is only a brief glimpse of what we have been up to for the past four months. We have been sitting on committees, working with provincial and federal student movements, and addressing a myriad of student issues on campus and in the community. If you want to get involved with The Central, run for a Board position in our fall elections. Nomination packages are available in our office in Champlain College, or on our website at trentcentral.ca. Packages are due this Friday, September 16 at 4pm.

We are looking forward to another great year!

campus

Welcome to Peterborough, from the Trent Queer Collective

By Alice Scott, TQC Hub Member

Around this time four years ago is when it hit me: Shit, I need to start figuring out where I want to live and learn for at least four years of my life. This realization was terrifying, including the thought of having to leave my little alternative school bubble.

I went to a high school where intolerance was not tolerated; an offhand homophobic remark could get you suspended or result in you becoming a complete social outcast hated by the entire student body.

I had made the decision to leave home and for me, who grew up with a gay father in a totally accepting and open family, that was a very scary prospect. Moving also meant leaving Toronto, the city that had raised me. While I am the first to admit that Toronto is in no way a place where hatred, bigotry and homophobia are extinct (or even endangered), it is a city that has many spaces where I feel safe.

I was about to step way out of my comfort zone, and it goes without saying that I was hoping to find a city with a vibrant, active and inclusive queer community. With this in mind I started researching schools and finally decided on my top choice.

Even though my friends and family were shocked that I picked Trent, I had heard so many promising things about the LGBTQ community here and so I packed up my things and moved to Peterborough.

Photo by Andy Fox, 2008

Trusting what I heard about the city, I was half expecting pride flags to be hanging from every window. I was really disappointed by the fact that in my first year I saw no signs of a queer community and I felt so alone. During my second year at Trent I started to notice what I had missed the year before. I just had open my eyes, venture out of residence and look around for it.

One of the things that sparked this

realization was when a friend of a friend joined the Trent Queer Collective Hub, the group of TQC members who guide decision-making at the TQC, and who run the TQC’s events and services. This past year I’ve been a part of the Hub, and the experience has affirmed for me that I wasn’t wrong about Peterborough. We do have a very vibrant and active Queer community, it’s just one that is pretty easy to miss. So this is my advice to you, if you are interested

in meeting some cool people want to get involved, there are tons of opportunities for that here.

September 17-25 is Peterborough Pride.

Saturday, Sept. 17 is parade day, when Trent students will be joining students from Fleming campuses to march from City Hall to Del Crary park. On Sunday Sept. 19, The TQC’s queer knitting group, Unwind, meets downtown at Needles in the Hay. The following Friday the 23rd, the TQC is joining the Rainbow Youth Organization to host an all-ages dance party called “Ignite Your Pride” featuring Evangeline, Light Fires, and Rouge. Then on Sunday we’re participating in the Scotiabank AIDS Walk For Life. Join our team! And check out the Pride website at peterboroughpride.ca.

We’re also hosting an informal oncampus PFLAG meeting on Monday, Sept.

26 as part of DisOrientation Week. Come on out! (I promise not to use that pun again.) We sure could use some volunteers, Hub members, and audience members at all this stuff. Come see us at Clubs and Groups day. We’re hiring one OWSP and one TIP-funded position for this year, so ask us about that.

Stay updated at facebook.com/trentqc or email trentqueercollective@gmail.com. All queer, trans, questioning, and community members and their allies are welcome.

Community Transportation Update

By Brianna Salmon Transportation Programs Co ordinator, Peterborough Green-Up

The monthly Community Transportation Update will provide the Trent and Peterborough communities with information about local organizations and programs that support sustainable modes of transportation, including walking, cycling, transit and carpooling. The Update will also highlight opportunities for political engagement, community capacity-building and volunteerism.

Transportation is one of the most basic human activities, linked to almost all of our daily routines, and greatly impacts our interactions with our community and our environment. This month, as we resume our commutes to Trent, it’s worth giving pause to consider how we might transition to more active and efficient modes of transportation – there are plenty of resources to facilitate this shift, and it might even become one of the best parts of your day!

Those of us traveling to Trent’s Symons campus on a regular basis are well positioned to be able to use sustainable modes of transportation for our commutes. The

Symons campus is situated on the Rotary Greenway Trail, a multi-use recreation trail that will take you directly to campus from both downtown Peterborough and Lakefield. To help you navigate this trail as well as others in the area, the City of Peterborough has recently created a new Bikeways and Trails map – a useful tool for route planning. The map is available at no cost from City Hall, Peterborough GreenUp or Wild Rock Outfitters, and is also available online at peterboroughmoves. com/maps. The trails in Peterborough are beautiful as well as functional, and traveling along them to Trent is one of the most pleasant commutes I’ve ever had.

If you’re interested in cycling to Trent, but need to fix up or purchase a bicycle on a budget, the Peterborough Community Bike Shop is a great place to visit. The Bike Shop currently has a downtown location, but is working with the Trent administration to create an on-campus workshop (and some day soon, a Bicycle Share), thanks to a Trent levy! If you’re already passionate about cycling, or feel a budding interest, the downtown Bike Shop and the new Trent Bike Shop are always looking for dedicated volunteers to help run their workshop

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hours, contact tegan@communitybikeshop.org to find out more about this opportunity.

To find out more about the many organizations who are working to improve your transportation options in Peterborough, and to pick up useful resources to assist your travels, drop by Shifting Gears Fest, which is taking place on Saturday September 17 from 2 until 4 in Nicholls Oval Park, on the east side of the London Street Footbridge. For more information about transportation programs in Peterborough, e-mail transportation@ greenup.on.ca or phone 705.745.3238.

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community

Local, Fair, and Good at the Purple Onion Festival First annual festival starts next week

By Joan Michaels Transition Town Peterborough

Retired business man Fred Irwin came to the conclusion that dealing globally with the three main issues of our time - climate change, peak oil and economic instability did not increase personal and community resilience to meet these challenges.

To become more resilient, localization of essential services, namely food, water and energy, is crucial. This is what the transition movement, with transition towns throughout the world, is all about.

Transition Town Peterborough (TTP), initiated by Irwin in 2007, became Canada’s first official Transition Town.

TTP is not directly about the environment.

There are already groups in this city with that as their main focus. TTP is about the people of Peterborough and surrounding areas; about creating personal and community resilience through the localization of our economy in order to be better prepared to deal with the challenges of our time.

This first annual Purple Onion Festival was conceived by Irwin to bring local food suppliers and local talent together. It is hosted by Transition Town Peterborough with the City of Peterborough, KWIC, Stickling’s Bakery, DBIA, the Greenzine and Wire Megazine as partners, and run by community volunteers.

Visitors to the festival will be able to purchase I Love Local Food club membership cards. Purchasing this $10 card entitles the bearer to a vegetarian meal at the festival, a discount with the vendors as well as discounts at participating downtown food establishments from Sept.

24 to Oct. 31.

Sept. 24 is 350.org day around the world.

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Founded by author Bill McKibben, the day aims to bring awareness to the fact that we need to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere to below 350 ppm in order to avoid catastrophic effects from climate change. By localizing our economy we will reduce our energy consumption/carbon emissions.

The Purple Onion Festival is a celebration of local talent, beginning with a grand procession featuring The Purple Onion Goddess with dancing and music, and food defined as local, fair and good connecting us to our farm community. There will be vendors as well as venues providing information and demonstrations of food preparation, reskilling demos as well as entertainment in the main tent throughout the day.

We invite everyone with an interest in building greater food security and prosperity in our community to come celebrate with us at the Purple Onion Festival.

Listings Elect Dave Nickle – Upcoming Events Monday, Sept 12th 1:00 pm Rathika Sitsabaiesan MP at campaign office 3:00 pm Rathika meets with Trent NDP Club 5:00 pm Rathika takes part in panel Discussion at Trent University Tuesday, Sept 13th 7:00 pm Realtor & Home Builders All Candidates meeting – Lions Centre Jazz Duo, pianist Biff Hannon and vocalist Donna Collison at Curry Village, 306 George St. on Saturday September 17, 2011 from 6 pm to 9 pm 7421432. No Cover.

St John Ambulance has Standard first AID/CPR courses on every weekend this fall and many weekdays, CPR renewals on Tuesday nights 705 745-0331 sja.ca Student discount on most courses.

Peterborough English Country Dancers host their first community dance of the 2011-2012 season. Saturday, September 17, 2011. 7:30 to 10 p.m. at St John’s Anglican Church Hall, 99 Brock St, Peterborough. Live music, experienced callers, families (6 years & up) welcome. Adults $8, students $5, family discount. 705745-1630.

Fall Monday night Yoga Class! Prana Flow Yoga 12 week series. Yoga has proven to reduce stress, increase euphoria, and maximize health in body and mind. This all levels class. All are welcome! Instructor: Tiina Kivinen 50 hr certified Dates: Mondays Sept 12 - Dec. 5. (not including Thanksgiving) Time: 7:30 - 9pm Cost: 12 weeks for $108 (commit to your practice!) or Drop in for $12 - 15 sliding scale At Sadleir House Dining Hall 751 George St. N Peterborough Interested in volunteering for Peterborough Pride 2011? It’s not too late! We are still looking for volunteers to help with the Parade and Community Carnival on Saturday Sept 17th, as well as a Dance & Show on Saturday Sept 24th. Join us! Contact us

by e-mail at volunteer@peterboroughpride.ca and check out our website at www.peerboroughpride.ca.

Fleshy Thud invites you to come and watch “Waiting: a private communication” on Thursday, September 15th, Friday, September 16th, and Saturday, September 17th at 7:30pm in the courtyard behind Black Honey. This project incorporates the sculpture of Beth McCubbin and the choreography of Ryan Kerr.

Performed by Kerr and newcomer Amanda Mackey this the the first collaboration between these Peterborough based artists.

Introduction to Buddhism: “Travelling from Confusion to Original Sanity” A 10-week Study Group based on talks given by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and carefully compiled under his direction. Starts September 15 at Sadleir House. Whether you are new to Buddhism or already have experience studying the Dharma, this is a great opportunity to engage in lively discussion of Buddhadharma.

For more information, call 705755-0063.

Scottish Country Dancing at Trent: The twenty first year of Scottish Country Dancing at Trent begins Thursday, September 15th in The Gathering Place, Peter Gzowski College, on the Main Campus from 8.00 to 9.30 pm. Social dancing for all ages. FREE nine week introduction. If Thurdsay does not work for you the Peterborough Scottish Country Dance Society have a Beginners class on a Tuesday evening from 7.00 to 9.30 pm in the parish hall of All Saint’s Anglican Church. They offer a special reduced fee for students. For more information on either of these groups call John or Joan Reeves at 748-5255 or e-mail jfreeves@ smpatico.ca.

Peterborough Storytellers Monthly Gatherings September Theme: Romance and Adventure Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 7-9 pm.

Peterborough Public Library, Auditorium, 345 Aylmer Street North. Free; newcomers welcome (adults & children over 12) For information contact: Diana 705-874-9859. The Peterborough Storytellers invite you to monthly storytelling gatherings. This event is free and open to the public (adults and children over 12).

Transition Town Fall Curriculum 2011: Sadleir House, 751 George St. N. from 6:30 pm. to 8:30 pm and $5 or pay what you can unless otherwise specified. pre registration requested Contact Joan 705 743 8032 or joanttp@ cogeco.ca. Sept. 17th 10 am. to 4:30 pm. Introduction to Edible Landscapes, Permaculturist Trent Rhode This is a Saturday workshop. Please bring your lunch. Cost is $15 or PWYC. Oct. 4th: Heart & Soul – Episode 4 Sacred Balance Series facilitated by Jo Hayward-Haines. Meeting basic physical needs is just a beginning for human well-being. Like air and water, fire and earth, we need spiritual connection: we need to understand where we belong.

Oct. 25th: Raw Foods with Donna Williams. Donna will take us beyond salads while explaining the benefits of eating raw foods, showing a brief film and food preparation with dressings. Nov. 15th: Gasland Documentary. This film exposes the hazards of gas drilling. Dec. 6th: Touch for Health(TFH) with Linda S. Clarke: TFH is especially effective at quickly identifying and resolving muscle and joint pain, postural distortions and the physical/psychological effects of stress, accidents and trauma.

classifieds Thinking about Adoption?

If you are pregnant and need a nurturing loving home for your child, then we would love to talk to you about our family. We look forward to hearing from you! call Trish at 1-519-304-1555

Listings are your space to put your event information for the Trent community or Peterborough community. We ask that you keep your listing to approximately 60 words. All longer will be edited for size as required. Listings are free and are meant to advertise events within the Peterborough area. Products and services can be submitted as classifieds. Please contact advertising@trentarthur.ca for advertising rates. Please submit your listings to listings@trentarthur.ca.

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September 12, 2011

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