Tidings Summer 2004 by University of King's College

Tidings

The University of King’s College Alumni Magazine

Summer 2004 PM40062749

Music professor Walter Kemp retires Rebuilding civil society in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Congo The Shopping Bags’ Anna Wallner (BJ ’94)

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DEGREE FRAMES Gold metal frame, blue matte and King’s crest embossed in gold at the bottom: BJ, BJ Hons., BA, & BSc prior to 1994, 18 x 24 ($75.00); BA & BSc from 1995 and BJ & BJH from 1996, 15 x 18 ($65.00). Dark wood frame, blue and gold double matte and King’s crest embossed in gold at bottom: BA & BSc from 1995 and BJ & BJ Hons. from 1996, 15 x 18 ($85.00). Cherry wood frame, 3 triple blue matte with King’s crest embossed in gold at bottom: BA

& BSc from 1995 and BJ & BJ Hons. from 1996, 15 x18 ($110.00). Italian wood frame, 4 triple blue matte with King’s crest embossed in gold at bottom: BA & BSc from 1995 and BJ & BJ Hons. from 1996, 15 x18 ($155.00)

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LIMITED EDITION PRINT Peter Bresnen’s watercolour of the A&A Building $80.50. Also available as a Notecard $1.15 17

FOR MORE INFORMATION or to order any of the above items, contact Jen Laurette in the Alumni and Public Relations Office at 422-1271, ext. 128. Cheque, VISA or MasterCard accepted. Cheques should be made payable to the Alumni Association, University of King’s College, Halifax, NS, B3H 2A1. Prices include HST. Shipping is extra.

Inside 9

‘Music comes as naturally to me as breathing’ Retiring music professor Walter Kemp says keeping an open mind has always yielded surprises — for him and his students

ON CAMPUS

The Journalism School’s 25th anniversary symposium brought together some of Canada’s top journalists

19 PROFILE

Rebuilding civil society Jaime Little (BJH ’99), Dana Schmidt (BAH ’92) and Jennifer Bakody (BJH ’97) help foster democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Congo

Carrying The Shopping Bags a zany, rewarding TV role

Former King’s president John Godfrey is now Paul Martin’s point man on the cities agenda

21 ENCAENIA IN PHOTOS Honorary degree recipients

Hosting and producing the W Network’s popular consumer affairs show is “a way of life” for Anna Wallner (BJ ’94) Summer 2004

Tidings

Letters

Tidings Summer 2004

Diploma programme was ‘pioneering’

Watch was student council publication

To the Editor:

I have read the article on the Journalism School in the Winter 2004 edition of Tidings. I found it very interesting but was a bit disappointed that no reference was made to the predecessor Diploma in Journalism programme which as launched when King’s returned to its buildings in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. The programme was launched in co-operation with Mount Saint Vincent University and the thenManaging Editor of the Halifax Herald, Mr. Rankin. Along with a handful of other students I was in the first class and subsequently received the diploma along with my degree in 1948. While the initial programme lacked both the breadth and depth of the current school, it was pioneering in its day. The course was rather elementary, dealing with the then-journalistic watchwords of who, what, where when and why. Rankin introduced us to the myriad actions involved in publishing a daily newspaper, and gave us writing assignments. We journeyed periodically to the Mount for lectures from one of the sisters in addition to our weekly seminar class with Rankin. I believe there were only six or seven in the original group, and with one or two exceptions, I think most of us followed other careers after graduation. The article in Tidings was indeed interesting and it is interesting to see how that rather small effort in 1945 developed into the professional school that exists today.

I just read my latest copy of Tidings and enjoyed the article on the history of the School of Journalism. I just wanted to correct one mistake in the article. The King’s Watch, which was started the same year as the School of Journalism, was in fact started by the King’s Student’s Council of that time, and not by the J-School. At that time, the J-School didn’t have enough money to start a student newspaper and so the powers-that-be asked if the council could help. I was a student Day-Rep at the time and I was appointed co-editor along with John McLeod, who now works at the Nova Scotia Archives. Almost all the JSchool students did work at the Watch (I was not one myself), but it was not a J-School publication, at least in its first few years. I can recall many funny stories about that year. For instance, I had to drive the layout sheets to Wolfville every Thursday morning to be printed by Kentville Publishing. I particularly remember one snowy day, when Darrell Dexter (BA ’79, BJ ’83) — of NDP fame, Lori Mullins and I drove down to the Valley. We hit a bad storm and my old Dodge Dart, with its bald tires, was sliding all over the place. Then my windshield wipers broke. We stopped at a service station and tied some twine to the blades and Darrell and Lori spent the rest of the trip pulling the blades back and forth from the front seat while I drove, in one of the most nerve-wracking car trips of my life. But we got the paper there on time.

Editor Postal Address

J.C. (Cal) Best (BA ’48, DCL ’95)

Tom Regan (BA ’84) Associate Editor, Christian Science Monitor

Tidings

Tim Currie (BJ ’92) Tidings c/o Alumni Association University of King’s College Halifax, NS Canada B3H 2A1 (902) 422-1271

King’s website: www.ukings.ns.ca E-mail: jen.laurette@ukings.ns.ca

Stories in this issue of Tidings were written by students in the School of Journalism.

Tidings is produced on behalf of the University of King’s College Alumni Association.

We welcome your feedback on each issue. Letters to the Editor should be signed and typed. We reserve the right to edit all submissions.

The views expressed in Tidings are those of the individual contributors or sources.

Mailed under Publications Mail Sales Agreement # 40062749 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Tidings c/o Alumni Association University of King’s College Halifax, NS B3H 2A1

Summer 2004

OnCampus Journalism School 25th Anniversary Symposium

Pundits have abandoned respectful discourse — Salutin Globe columnist’s address kicks off J-School’s 25th Anniversary Symposium By Diane Woolley

lobe and Mail columnist and playwright Rick Salutin says Canada’s media have lost their respect for adversaries — what he calls disrespectful disagreement. Salutin’s March 19 address lamenting the loss of journalistic manners constituted the annual George Grant Lecture, offered this year as part of a weekend symposium in Alumni Hall celebrating the 25th anniversary of the journalism school. “This is the age of the clash of civilizations,” Salutin told an audience of about 150 people, referring to the increase in diversity and culture in Canada and abroad. It was a straightforward message, but some in the crowd rejected Salutin’s plea to apply it universally. Salutin discussed several examples of disagreements, which have become personal attacks in the media and he stated that no matter how rigorously he disagrees with someone’s opinions or actions, he will not demean anyone as a human being. He argued that this is exactly what many pundits do when they don’t agree with their critics. Only with respect, Salutin argued, can people foster conversations that are enlightening for both parties and get their own points across. He also argued that respect does not need to

Summer 2004

be returned. Even if someone does not respect you — if you are showing respect rather than just arguing — you can have a debate that opens the opportunity to learn from each other. “Respectful disagreement is when you respect the fact that there is a man [or woman] across from you,” Salutin said. Friendly opponents As an example, Salutin cited his acquaintance with Conrad Black, the former media giant Salutin often criticized in his column for taking advantage of journalists. Despite publishing radically opposing views and opinions on several issues, the two actually became friends. Salutin said he has accepted several invitations to speak on rightwing talk shows in the United States where the host has showed no respect for him. But he said because he was respectful in return he got to share his views and perspective with not only the host, but the listeners also. Bruce Wark, a journalism professor at King’s, said Salutin’s level of tolerance of his opponents is uncommon. “It’s odd that a columnist who wants to make his point so hard is so respectful of the people he disagrees with.” Later in the evening Salutin was

Tidings

challenged by members of the audience with questions about how one could respect a person such as Adolph Hitler, who had views that are historically seen as evil. But Salutin simply responded by saying you need to be able to respect him as a person and not for his actions. “You can respect him for having his reasons for doing what he did,”

Salutin: “This is the age of the clash of civilizations.” Photo: Michael Creagen

Continued on next page

OnCampus SALUTIN / Continued from previous page

‘Juan’ more time A winter storm that hammered the Maritimes on Feb. 19 dropped a record 95.5 centimetres of snow on Halifax, shattering the one-day record of 50.8 centimetres set in 1944. Meteorologists nicknamed the storm ”White Juan“ after the hurricane that tore through the province last fall. Photo: Courtesy Bill Barker

he said. “You don’t respect antiSemitism, but you respect the person behind it so that you can have an actual conversation together.” Margorie MacDonald who attended the lecture on Friday said it was food for thought. “I never would have thought that he would embrace the concept of respectful disagreement,” she said. “I was somewhat disturbed by what he had to say and I have to think about it more. I am disturbed by having to respect people who I totally disagree with.” Philip Girard attended the lecture and said Salutin is one of the most thoughtful and intriguing columnists in Canada’s newspapers. “I agree with him that it’s the only way to organize society,” he said. “If we just have people talking past each other or refusing to try to understand each other’s argument then that means we can’t really make any progress.”

Career Opportunity at King’s Reporting to the President and in conjunction with senior college and volunteer leadership, the Director of the Office of Development, Public Relations and Alumni will develop and execute a strategic action plan for advancement at University of King’s College. He or she will be building on the success of a recent $7.1 million capital campaign. Responsibilities include fundraising, working with the alumni board, directing the College’s communications and public relations activities, and providing financial management of the advancement function and overall direction of the Office of Development, Public Relations and Alumni including supervision of two fulltime staff, one of whom will be an Alumni Officer. The ideal candidate will be a well-organized, independent professional with excellent communication and organizational skills and proven ability to set strategic objectives and execute them. This leader will be familiar with the philanthropic environment in Nova Scotia and across the country, understand issues facing higher education, have the ability to motivate others and the demonstrated skill to manage and support volunteers, and grasp the unique mission of the University of King’s College. The successful candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and a minimum of five years’ experience in the not-forprofit sector, preferably in fundraising in a post-secondary educational environment. CFRE accreditation is an additional asset. Please direct applications with curriculum vitae and the names of three references to: Dr. William Barker President and Vice-Chancellor University of King’s College 6350 Coburg Road Halifax, NS B3H 2A1 The deadline is August 31, 2004. The University of King’s College is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified men and women, including visible minorities, aboriginal persons, and persons with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Tidings

Summer 2004

OnCampus Journalism School 25th Anniversary Symposium

Journalists appeal for more freedom, greater public discourse By Dina Bartolacci

series of spirited seminars and emotional panel discussions marked a momentous gathering of some of Canada’s top journalists at King’s on March 20. The media industry workers discussed and contemplated the role of the media in democracy and the importance of freedom of the press for the School of Journalism’s 25th Anniversary Symposium. About 250 members of the journalism community, students and citizens gathered to hear about and discuss the role of the media in society, and to remember the discourse that shaped freedom of speech in British North America — Joseph Howe’s famous libel defence speech. For many, the best part of the day came when His Excellency John Ralston Saul delivered the keynote speech. Saul, the Canadian philosopher whose writings have shaped political and social thought around the world, said the media are doing a poor job of helping people sort through a flood of facts. “News has become a series of clips and sound bites creating a false sense of urgency,” Saul said. “It’s leading to journalism’s decline into semi-phrases and shouting; for and against; right and wrong.” Saul maintained the only way to combat the declining interest in the news media is to encourage discussion and thought among people. “Citizens don’t want to listen,” he said. “They want to discuss.” Saul said he finds it ironic that even with advancements in technol-

Summer 2004

ogy and longer life spans, people are gathering less and less for productive discussion and debate. “We have all this extra time for open debate,” he said to an attentive audience that packed Alumni Hall. “Change will happen in halls like these.” Saul directly linked Joseph Howe’s 1835 address to the inclusion of freedom of speech in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He says the phrase in the charter “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication” don’t apply to journalists exclusively. “Even if you’re not a journalist,” said Saul, “you still have a right to hear them (practised in the media).” Panel tackles political indifference, media concentration The speech was followed by a panel discussion entitled Democracy and Journalism. Sitting on the panel were Marci Ien, news anchor for Canada AM and CTV Newsnet; Globe and Mail columnist Rick Salutin; and CBC Radio, television and online news editor-in-chief Tony Burman. Burman discussed public demands on the media. He focused extensively on a survey conducted by the CBC that indicates people want more international news, multisided stories and better political coverage. He lamented the political ignorance of young Canadians and blamed plummeting voter turnout on a “lack of political competition.” Ien tackled the question “Why is

Tidings

freedom of speech not always practised?” In her opinion, it boils down to ownership concentration, streamlined thinking encouraged by media convergence and a lack of money. The final panelist, Rick Salutin, agreed with Ien and addressed the paradox created by asking journalists to be independent of their employers.

John Ralston Saul delivered the keynote address: “News has become a series of clips and sound bites creating a false sense of urgency.” Photo: Michael Creagen

Continued on next page

OnCampus

Emotionally charged panel discussions JOURNALISTS / Continued from previous page

Top (left to right): Journalist and author Stevie Cameron, National Post senior writer and investigative reporter Andrew McIntosh and senior Ottawa Citizen writer Juliet O’Neill Bottom: Michael Bawtree reenacts Joseph Howe’s famous 1835 address. Photos: Michael Creagen

However, Salutin also said journalistic freedom is greater than it was 30 to 50 years ago, warning, “The victories won during this time can always be reversed. They must be must be reinforced so that people can learn from them.” One of the more emotionally charged moments of the symposium came with the second panel discussion of the day entitled Freedom of the Press. This time, the panelists were investigative journalist and author Stevie Cameron, senior Ottawa Citizen writer Juliet O’Neill, and National Post senior writer and investigative reporter Andrew McIntosh. All three panelists had directly fought battles to publish information or protect their sources. The RCMP raided O’Neill’s home and office in January in search of

information that would identify a source in a story she wrote about Maher Arar, a Canadian detained in Syria last year. The RCMP alleged O’Neill violated Section 4 of the 1939 Security of Information Act, an offence that carries a 14-year prison term. O’Neill described the invasion of privacy as a “hideous process.” ”I care about the misuse of power” McIntosh had written about the so-called Shawinigate issue — allegations that former prime minister Jean Chretien had inappropriately lobbied for approval of a government loan to a friend in his Quebec riding of Shawinigan. McIntosh had steadfastly refused to reveal his confidential sources. “I care about Canadian democracy and the misuse of power,” he said, fighting back tears. “This is what I do. I did it because I’m a reporter.” Cameron, who published The Last Amigo, a book about former prime minister Brian Mulroney and the infamous Airbus scandal, said she’s been followed by strangers and has had to get police protection for her daughter. As a freelancer, Cameron has had to bear the legal costs of defending the information in her book herself. “I knew that if I didn’t tell the story nobody ever would,” said Cameron. In addition, she’s been accused of being a police informant. Although

Tidings

she’s admitted to having talked to the police, she denied giving them anything but trivial information. Halifax Daily News reporter Jerry West said a symposium like this one boosts morale. “It’s important to talk about ideas in journalism,” he said. “It renews your sense of purpose about why you’re in journalism.” Graduating journalism student Lindsay Smith said the symposium was an opportunity to hear what people in the industry have to say. “Some of these people are considered ‘on-air talent’‚ and we only ever see them in our living rooms on TV or in the paper,” she said. “So it was cool to see them interacting with people about important issues.” The day concluded with a condensed, one-man performance of Joseph Howe’s famous 1835 address in which Howe successfully defended himself against charges he libeled Nova Scotia magistrates and police by publishing allegations they had received illegal payments. The address was made by Michael Bawtree, executive director of the Joseph Howe Initiative, a non-profit society set up in honour of Howe in his 200th birthday year. Bawtree performed one hour and 15 minutes of the original six-hour speech. It was a fitting end to King’s first journalism symposium with powerful words that inspired the spirit of freedom of speech and rights of the media.

Summer 2004

OnCampus

‘Music comes as naturally to me as breathing’ Retiring music professor Walter Kemp says keeping an open mind has always yielded surprises — for him and his students By Laura Pellerine

t seems only logical to begin with The Logical Song. Perhaps playing the Supertramp hit annually during the final FYP lecture is not the most esteemed part of Dr. Walter Kemp’s 39-year-teaching career. Yet it is a memory that lingers in the minds of FYPers: “Yes, won’t you please tell [us] what we’ve learned?” After spending seven months discussing Descartes’ theory on the existence of God and the symbolism in Achilles’ shield, Kemp’s imploring song selection was welcomed with smiles and cheering. Meanwhile, Kemp would stand qui-

Summer 2004

etly by observing the scene, amused by the students’ reactions, enjoying sending off a new generation to stay awake when the rest of the world is asleep. “A student came up to me once and said it should be the programme’s anthem,” Kemp says, laughing softly. Unfortunately, Kemp’s afraid that the 1979 hit will no longer be heard by the next generations of FYPers. At 65, he’s retiring as King’s professor of music. “Mandatory retirement,” he says, as he tries to clear a path through his office in Dalhousie’s Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in late June. “I have until July 1 to clean out 25 years worth of papers.”

Tidings

Piles of folders, and shelves upon shelves lined with books showing off titles upon titles of Beethoven, Haydn, Russian music and light opera, smother his tiny office. At the far end sits his desk, a dusty computer monitor pushed to one side, and in the opposite direction, a record player and stereo hides beneath another stack of papers. Kemp, dressed in a grey suit but comfortably sporting sandals, slides easily into his chair and leans forward, his fist cradling his cheek. He talks nonchalantly about being asked to start a music department at Waterloo Lutheran University

Kemp: “King’s students seem to have a real hunger for classical music.” Photos: Michael Creagen

Continued on next page

OnCampus KEMP / Continued from previous page

Flashback Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm (BSc ’58) was the guest of honour at this year’s KSU Awards Dinner to present the Bob Walter Award for outstanding contribution to student life by a male student. Hamm won the award himself when he was a student. Hamm (centre) is accompanied here by KSU President Colin Burn and King’s President Bill Barker.

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Send us your news and we will pass it along to your classmates in our next issue. Mail it to the address on p. 4 or e-mail: <jen.laurette@ukings.ns.ca>, or enter it on the Web at: <http://www.ukings.ns.ca/for/alumni/alumni.htm> NAME DEGREE (EG. BA ’63) OR YEARS AT KING’S

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(now Wilfred Laurier University) at the age of 26, and then landing the job of Dalhousie’s Music Department chair just 10 years later in 1977. He later continued his Dalhousie teaching while also becoming King’s professor of music in 1985. He became part of the university’s joint faculty, where he’s been ever since, instructing students on the influence of music in western culture and directing them in the chapel choir. Music has always played a large role in Kemp’s life. He grew up in a musical household where his father was a vocal soloist while his mother played the organ. Even his grandmother played the ukulele and his grandfather mastered the trombone. Kemp didn’t stand a chance. He jokes that his mother knew right away he’d be musical. When he was a baby she noticed that he would bang his head against the wall to the beats of songs. At four he began learning how to play the piano and fell in love with what would become his life’s passion. “Music comes as naturally to me as breathing,” he says. He pursued this love in his postsecondary education and his resume lists schools a parent could only drool over. Kemp first earned a Bachelor’s degree in music at the University of Toronto and then later did his master’s in the same subject. He then made his way to Harvard University where he earned another master’s degree in music history and then flew off to Oxford in England where he did his PhD in musicology. Kemp was studying at Oxford when he was offered the position to start up a music department at Waterloo Lutheran University in 1965. He stayed for a decade, building what is now the Faculty of Music at Wilfred Laurier University, and developed a strong choir that now, 30 years later, has formed an alumni choir. More than 90 former

Summer 2004

OnCampus

Kemp plans to write books on music history Continued from previous page

students from the years 1965-1976, came together for the first time last year to put on a concert that has since become an annual event. This year the group performed Faure’s “Requiem” — Kemp emphasizes the correct spelling of the composer, carefully stating the F-A-U-R-E — to honour its former director. Kemp says his positive experience with Waterloo’s small student community was what eventually drew him toward King’s after he moved to Halifax with his wife, Valda. He initially began giving a few guest lectures on music in the Foundation Year Programme. Later, then-president John Godfrey, along with former president Colin Starnes, asked Kemp to join King’s as a joint faculty member in 1985, and from there he became King’s professor of music — hired by King’s, but primarily teaching at Dalhousie. But it wasn’t always easy. Kemp leans forward in his chair and his shoulders tense as he talks about a time in the mid-90s, when he was forced to fight for the music programme at Dalhousie. After coming back from a sabbatical he remembers being called into the dean of arts’ office and told that the university couldn’t financially continue to support performing arts programmes. Music and theatre lovers from across the country sent in hundreds of letters to the university protesting the decision and demonstrators held a four-hour assembly in the Rebecca Cohn to show their support. Kemp remembers the late Georg Tinter (former conductor of Symphony Nova Scotia) making an impassioned speech. “He said, ‘Such things cannot be. Otherwise we are going back to barbaric age!’” Kemp says the conflict was even-

Summer 2004

“

Every year I learn something new about music from students.”

tually resolved when he proposed that students pay auxiliary fees for their programmes, thereby counteracting the extra expenses with added funding. “It was a terrible time,” Kemp says, reclining into his chair again, adding that he still has all of the support letters. The highlights of Kemp’s career revolve around the many choirs he’s conducted, directed and founded: the Dalhousie Chorale (“Chorale is spelled with an “E” at the end, not many people know that”), the Dalhousie Chamber Choir, St. Paul’s Anglican Church’s choir, The St. Paul’s Singers, The Walter Kemp Singers, the Nova Scotia International Tattoo Choir. But it’s not until he starts speaking about the King’s Chapel Choir that a faint smile comes over his face. In 1991, he took over as director of the King’s chapel choir and founded the Aquinas Choir in 1991. “There is something uniquely special about King’s students,”

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Kemp says. He adds that, as a whole, the student body seems more aware of classical music than other university he’s worked at. “They seem to have a real hunger for it. Perhaps that type of passion is harder to maintain in a larger school, but here it’s infectious.” King’s enthusiasm for music has motivated Kemp to keep his position of chapel director for one more year after his retirement. This makes him happy as he admits that he will sorely miss staying “contemporary.” “Every year I learn something new about music from students,” he says, “whether it’s a new pop group that deserves a place in musical evolution or a movie they think I’d like.” Kemp used a song he learned about from a student in his closing FYP speech this year. He ended his talk Paul McCartney’s “Someone’s Knockin’ At The Door.” He sings some of the lyrics: “Someone’s knockin’ at the door, Somebody’s ringing the bell, Do me a favour, let them in.” That’s the message he’s always tried to instill in his students, he says. Keep your minds open; always be watching for new opportunities. Kemp says he has a few new areas he’d like to explore himself, along with directing the chapel choir, continuing his Saturday morning CKDU radio show and conducting the Tattoo’s choir. He’d like to write a few books. In fact, he’s already sketched out three — one on music in the church, another on the history of Canadian music and a third on the role of surprise in musical compositions. He jokes that he’s supplying the details of his obituary. But there promises to be a lot more surprises to come from Dr. Walter Kemp; musicologist, organist, choir director, composer — music lover.

King’s Alumni Golf Tournament Thursday, August 12th, 2004 Ken-Wo Golf & Country Club, Wolfville, Nova Scotia Tee Off Time: 1 p.m.

2 0 0 3 – 2 0 0 4

Alumni Award W I N N E R S Michael Elliott Award ($1,000) Jim Reid & Mary Harrison Beaver Club Award ($1,000) Susan Read Sandra Macleod ($1,500) Kate McKenna & Eva Holland

A fun event for golfers of all levels with great prizes, great food and a great opportunity to get together with other King’s alumni. King’s has exclusive use of Ken-Wo’s facilities for the day. Your $125 ticket includes: Barbecue Dinner 18 Holes of Golf

New Brunswick Award ($500) Jessica Ross Michael Saunders Award ($500) Terra-Lee Duncan

Post-Golf Reception

This year’s tourney features a shotgun start, best ball and ... a chance to win a new car!

John Godfrey Book Prize ($100) Terra-Lee Duncan

For more information and/or registration forms, please contact the Alumni Office: Ph: (902) 422-1271, ext. 128, fax: 425-0363 or e-mail: <jen.laurette@ukings.ns.ca> Registration forms can also be downloaded from the King’s website * EVENT PROCEEDS HELP FUND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIPS *

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Summer 2004

The Alumni Association is veryexcited to announce its newwebsite! This site will provide alumni with information about upcoming events and what’s happening with fellow alumni and the King’s community. You can sign up for email for life and an email newsletter, look through the alumni directory for old friends and help us find some of those lost sheep! It’s easy to register! We have already assigned you a Username & Password, it is the number printed directly above your name on the address label of this issue. Just go to www.ukcalumni.com and sign in! *If you and your spouse receive only one issue there may only be one number printed above your names, if this is the case please contact the office and we will be happy to provide your other number (902-422-1271 ext. 128; jen.laurette@ukings.ns.ca)

2004-2005 Alumni Association Executive Position President Vice-President Treasurer Past-President Bd. of Gov. Member Bd. of Gov. Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member University President (Ex-Officio) Student Union President (Ex-Officio) Summer 2004

Name Doug Hadley (BA ’92) Steve Wilson (BA ’87) Andy Hare (BA ’70) Tim Rissesco (BA ’93) Ken MacInnis (BA ’71) John Stone (BA ’65) Joan (French) Buck (BA ’70) Don Buck (BA ’71) Ginny (Lewis) Clark (BA ’68) Charlie Wainwright (BA ’73) Kyle Shaw (BSc ’91, BJ ’92) Brian Cormier (BJH ’86) Dan de Munnik (BScH ’03) Sherry Aikenhead (BJH ’85) Des Writer (BJ ’02) William Barker

Term 2004-2006 2004-2006 2004-2006 2004-2006 2002-2005 2003-2005 2003-2005 2003-2005 2003-2005 2002-2005 2003-2005 2003-2005 2004-2006 2004-2006 2004-2006

Colin Burn

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Rebuilding civil society Alumni help fosterdemocracyin war-torn countries

Jamie Little works in the studio with Afghan trainees. Photo: CIDA/ Pedram Pirnia

Radio training programme for Afghan women helping to bring about ‘extraordinary change’

Jaime Little (BJH ’99) measures programme’s success in small steps By Laura Graham

t’s been a long day for Jaime Little. She’s practically shouting into her cell phone in Kabul, Afghanistan. A generator is roaring nearby because of the unreliable power in the city. Little’s co-workers are in the background trying to figure out how they will produce a newspaper without the software to print in the native lan-

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guages of Dari and Pashto. Little (BJH ’99) faces challenges like this every day, on top of her main responsibility to train Afghan women to produce radio programs. She helps them write stories, do interviews and voice their reports about various issues from jobs to mental health. The shows air to the community twice a week. The program is run through IMPACS, the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society. It’s a Canadian organization that aims to develop independent media in order to encourage a more democratic society. In Afghanistan, it’s meant to play a crucial role in preparing

Summer 2004

the public for the upcoming national elections. Afghanistan has suffered decades of instability created by war and corrupt leadership. The Afghans have been oppressed by their government — whether it’s the communists, the Taliban or the warlords. The upcoming elections in September will be the first democratic vote in 25 years. It’s a daunting task to produce radio programs in Afghanistan because people are distrustful of the media. Previously media outlets were operated in the interests of the communists or the Taliban. “Or whoever had the most guns,” Little says. “People have to be ready to vote, to be aware of what the issues are, who the candidates are and what’s going on in their communities,” she says. “So we hope to help them be prepared to make a decision before they go into the ballot box.” In a place where 80 to 90 per cent of the women are illiterate, communication by radio is the best way to get information to the people. ‘Lifestyle differences’ Little measures success far differently than when she worked for CBC Radio as a reporter in Yellowknife or Rankin Inlet. “Because there are so many obstacles in getting through a normal day,” says the native of East Dover, N.S., “sometimes it feels that if you just get one thing accomplished, it’s been a successful day.” The challenges are often far greater than language barriers. Little can’t go out alone at night. Bombs and rockets fall near her home and earthquakes shake her bed. But despite the dangers, she doesn’t feel like she’s making sacrifices. “I don’t know if I would use that word,” she says. “Mostly it’s just lifestyle differences. I wear the chador, the headscarf, whenever I’m outside the compound. There aren’t as many fresh vegetables in the

Summer 2004

wintertime. And in the summertime I can’t go swimming because people have been shot for going skinnydipping.” “But I don’t think I’d call them sacrifices. I think they’re just differences.” The sacrifices she sees are from the women whom she works with. Especially under the Taliban, women were restricted to working in the home without the opportunity to get an education. People in Afghanistan have told Little that she’s disrupting family values and going against the culture of Afghanistan. But women keep showing up for the programme. Little once arrived in a small conservative town still run by warlords to teach a training session when anti-aircraft fire starting going off. “I thought war had broken out,” says Little. “But it was just the local warlord having some fireworks and some fun.” She went to a mud-floored building to wait and see who might turn up for the training. She expected maybe two or three women to come. “We sat there and watched as one after another after another of these blue burkas walked in. Altogether 25 women came on the first day. So things are changing in these communities.” ‘They have to struggle to make very, very small steps’ Little speaks enough of the native languages to get by, but she uses a translator mostly to speak with the women. Even with the vast cultural differences, she has formed relationships with them. They invite her into their homes for meals and celebrations and she feels welcomed into their world. She also feels inspired by them. “They have to struggle so hard in order to make very, very small steps,” says Little. “They’ve dealt Continued on next page

Tidings

Car bombings, rocket attacks a typical day’s obstacles in Iraq

Schmidt in his 45 lb antifragmentation vest: “It runs your nerves ragged after awhile.”

Dana Schmidt (BAH ’92) is trying to rebuild country’s shattered infrastructure under treacherous conditions By Tim Currie

he otherwise ordinary job of managing procurement services is a lot more dangerous when it’s in a war zone in northern Iraq. Dana Schmidt’s workplace for the last six months hasn’t gone more than 36 hours without being subjected to a mortar or rocket attack. Continued on next page

Dana Schmidt took this photo from the passenger’s seat of an armoured SUV while travelling in a high-speed convoy: “The point is not to stop.”

IRAQ / Continued from previous page

“It’s extremely difficult when you’re working seven days a week — 12 to 14 hours a day — to have explosions going off; to hear the sirens and then to have to run with a 45 lb anti-fragmentation vest and Kevlar helmet for the bunkers,” says Schmidt in Halifax in late June. “That runs your nerves ragged after awhile.” Schmidt (BAH ’92) had been working since December at Camp Anaconda, the U.S. military base located in the tumultuous Sunni triAFGHANISTAN / Continued from previous page

with such extraordinary change in such a short time.” Recently, she was making arrangements to visit the gravesite of an Afghan woman who was part of the radio programme. “She killed herself because wasn’t allowed to marry the man that she loved,” she says. “He was from a different ethnic group than she was and so her family wouldn’t allow her to marry him.” There are many harsh reminders of how tough things are for women who want to break away from tradition. One woman did a radio pro-

angle in northern Iraq. The site, home to 17,000 U.S. troops, is located near Balad, approximately 68 kilometres north of Baghdad. Schmidt had contracted his services to Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of U.S. oil giant Halliburton. He resigned his position in June and returned home to Nova Scotia for a few days. But he was planning to leave again for the Kurdish area of Erbil to do similar work with U.K.–headquartered AMEC/Fluor Daniel, a multinational joint venture that specializes in construction of water and electrical infrastructure. Despite having lived and worked

gram about the burka, asking the public to comment on what they think about the traditional head-totoe coverage for women. When she returned home to her village, she was threatened and told that her father’s crops would fail. Little sometimes questions her role and the role of IMPACS in Afghanistan. “I wonder whether we’re a help or how best to help and whether we’re creating a dependency,” she says. “I hope that in a couple years time, internationals like myself won’t need to come here. That the people who are running the programme will be Afghan nationals.”

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on a heavily defended military base, Schmidt says the spectre of violence was ever-present. Last spring a rocket fired by insurgents landed outside the commissary (base store) injuring 25 people. “It just missed a friend of mine, who had the presence of mind to step behind a pillar when she heard the rocket coming in,” he says. “Luckily most of them were wearing their body armour.” Earlier this year one of the men Schmidt had contracted to drive buses from Jordan was hijacked. The attackers gave the driver the option of surrendering two of the vehicles in exchange for his life. ”He did — immediately. Other contractors aren’t so lucky.” Schmidt’s job in Iraq was to subcontract companies — mainly American, British, Iraqi and Turkish — to bring in supplies and deliver services such as providing transportation, supplying fresh water and performing electrical and plumbing work. Americans had destroyed much of the base during the 1990-91 Gulf War and much of his job concerned “making the base livable again.” He picked up a little Arabic, but relied on translators to converse with local workers and contractors. Continued on next page

Little feels as if her experience in Afghanistan has made her more compassionate after meeting the women in her programme. “They’ve dealt with the destruction of their homes and deaths in their families. But they still try to continue to make a contribution to their community, despite all of those problems.” Little is now back in Canada for a summer break and she says via email: “I miss Afghanistan in ways I never expected.” But in the fall, she looks forward to going back to her second home to prepare for the pivotal national elections. ■

Summer 2004

IRAQ / Continued from previous page

Still, he says he gained immense respect for the Iraqi people, many of whom endure great risks from car bombs as they line up at the base’s north gate (“it’s happened several times”). The Iraqis wait in the hot sun for up to four hours a day to undergo “humiliating but necessary searches” before entering the base. These workers, attracted by good wages from the American military, are seen as collaborators by the resistance and are often targeted later. “I met some amazing people — very strong, very intelligent. They just want to get on with their lives … But they tell us it’s getting more dangerous,” he says. Prior to April, Schmidt himself travelled periodically to other military sites in 30-vehicle high-speed convoys, escorted by heavily armed Coalition troops. But rapidly escalating numbers of attacks on Coalition troops beginning April 9 put a end to that. It had been a risky mode of transportation to begin with. Insurgents routinely try to stall convoys by remotely detonating bombs at the front and rear before unleashing a rocket-propelled grenade assault. “The point is not to stop,” says Schmidt. He wouldn’t travel on the roads now, he says. “It’s not worth it — there is too much risk. I’m not going to convince anyone I’m not American. I’m riding in an American vehicle, protected by American soldiers and wearing American body armour. “ He says the security situation in Iraq is a mess, and the country — including the contingent of Coalition troops — is ruled by fear. He says many of the U.S. troops he worked with are naïve and are genuinely emotionally hurt that they are being attacked. “These kids are scared. They are afraid of dying — like everyone is. They are a long, long way from home and they don’t understand why they are not being welcomed

Summer 2004

with open arms. They either don’t understand the bigger political picture or they misunderstand [it].” Schmidt’s experience in unstable countries has given him a good sense of the bigger political picture. He has been involved in humanitarian work for several years since leaving King’s. He “went off to save the world,” as he puts it, to work as a contractor in countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Burundi and the Congo. His life quieted down for a few years while he worked for Exxon Mobil and then Irving Oil in Nova Scotia. But, having grown up in other countries, he was lured back to the developing world when he learned that Halliburton was looking for experienced support services managers. Perils for foreign workers The husband and father of two says his former assignment tested his desire to better the lives of others, despite the fact that “it paid very well.” He’s moving on to AMEC/ Fluor Daniel and northern Iraq for a better employment opportunity, more money and a paid trip home to Halifax every eight weeks. “Mentally for me it’s a lot healthier,” he says. Still, the next assignment may be only marginally less dangerous. He’ll be working in a protected compound, but the work itself — building infrastructure — is still the target of insurgents who want to disrupt rebuilding of the country. A rash of abductions — and subsequent beheadings — of foreign workers in June continues to make work in Iraq a harrowing experience. As Schmidt prepared to leave Halifax in June, the security arrangements in his new job were unclear, but he doubted he would be doing much travelling. “It’s still too lawless a country … I don’t plan on being beheaded,” he says matter-of-factly. “A lot of [Iraqis] don’t hate the Americans,” he says. “They’re just tired of the occupation. They want their country back.” ■

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Journalist’s work in Congo highlights democratic role of radio Jennifer Bakody (BJH ’97) works to support fragile state of independent media By Keitha Clark

hen Radio Okapi hired Jennifer Bakody in January to work at its main broadcasting station in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), she was required to take a survival course on how to avoid landmines and gunfire. Bakody admits there is an element of risk in her job, but she says it’s a smart risk. “Someone once said to me at the CBC that if you’re a natural risk taker and you’re interested in doing this kind of thing, you have to be smart about the risks you take.” The BJH ’97 graduate is currently working as a producer/assignment editor for the radio station in the capitol, Kinshasa. The vibrant grad says the BJH program made her realize the importance of radio in the democratic process. She still hears the voice of King’s journalism professor Bruce Wark in her head, telling her to question the numbers and statistics fed to the press. For years, the DRC has been plagued with military conflict and economic stagnation. More than three million people have died from malnourishment, violence, and ill-

Bakody: “[Canadians] have access to information laws. Those laws don’t exist in those countries.”

Continued on next page

Bakody: Stories – even true ones – can incite civil war CONGO / Continued from previous page

ness as the governments of Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC battle for control of the DRC’s abundant natural resources. Radio Okapi’s motto “One Radio, one voice for all” is a tough objective to meet. When the station began broadcasting in February 2002, its purpose was to work hand-in-hand with the peace process that began in the DRC in 1999. Radio Okapi has 10 regional stations operating in five different languages. Programming is focused on health, education, human rights, culture and music. Bakody says that before Radio Okapi, the media were often used as propaganda tools to fuel conflict between the different ethnic groups in the DRC. In a country of fragile peace, where former enemies are now neighbours, journalists have to be extra sensitive. That’s where Bakody comes in. As an assignment editor and producer she can use her experience to help local journalists generate nonpartisan stories.

Distinguished gentlemen of King’s Andy Hare is 2004 Hudson Award winner

While Africa is a long way from Bakody’s childhood home in Dartmouth, she is no stranger to foreign locations. Bakody has been working abroad since 2000, first as a freelance journalist with Agence France-Presse (AFP), and then as reporter for Radio France Internationale. It was in France that Bakody became interested in African politics and news. France has many Africanborn residents, and African events are frequently covered in the press. When a job became available at the Radio Okapi Network in the DRC, Bakody applied. Bakody says it is a challenge to help Congolese journalists gain the trust of the many ethnic groups in the DRC. She says Congolese journalists work under very different conditions than their Canadian counterparts. She says it’s “ridiculous” to compare the two. “In Canada or any sort of a stable, usually western, country you will see an institution like the CBC — publicly funded, in theory mandated to be — function as a gate keeper.” (From left to right): John Stone (BAH ’65) winner of the 2002 Judge J. Elliott Hudson Distinguished Alumni Award, Andy Hare (BA ’70) winner of 2004 Judge J. Elliott Hudson Distinguished Alumni Award, President Bill Barker, and Geoff D’eon (BJ ’83) Executive Producer, Arts and Entertainment, CBC Atlantic, and Keynote speaker at the Alumni Annual Dinner on May 18, 2004. Judge Elliott Hudson (BA’24) was a long-standing member of the King’s College Board of Governors and pastPresident of the Alumni Association. Previous winners include Stephanie Nolen (BJH ’93) in 2003, Peter Cheney (BJH ’84) in 2001, Ruth Hudson in 2000, Gordon Earle (BA ’63) in 1999, Bruce Archibald (BAH ’70) in 1998, Linda Fraser (BA ’63) in 1997, John Mark DeWolf (BA ’65) in 1996, and Lois Miller (BA’65) in 1995

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“[Canadians] have access to information laws. Those laws don’t exist in those countries. If you were a young Congolese journalist who believed the government had laundered diamonds and you wanted to report on it — even if you could prove it — the consequences of putting such a story out could be quite severe and could incite a civil war.” Bakody says journalists need to remember the impact the media can have on a society. “We forget that the media are very powerful and dictate a lot in our society. We forget that we are responsible for every story that we tell.” Bakody says her six-month contract with Radio Okapi will help her “connect the dots.” She says the more she travels, the more she understands how things fit together. ■

The Alumni Association gratefully acknowledges

SPONSORS OF THE

Alumni Annual Dinner

held May 18, 2004

Meloche Monnex Pete's Frootique Quinpool Market Superstore Peller Estates Sodexho

Summer 2004

Cities agenda a passion for MP John Godfrey Former King’s president assumes key federal portfolio By Laura Pellerine

ohn Godfrey is angry. As Paul Martin’s newly appointed point man for revitalizing Canadian cities, he’s upset that urban areas are deteriorating to a state of appearing shabby and rundown. He says people are desperate to find decent, affordable housing. He says he often gets visits from an elderly woman, who ends up cry-

ing after every visit in his office because she is having such a hard time paying rent. “She is an educated and dignified woman, but I have no direct role in obtaining social housing for people,” he says. He can direct her to people who might be able to help her, but Godfrey feels that situations like this shouldn’t happen in the first place. He believes in the Order of

Canada motto: Desiderantes meliorem patriam (“They desire a better country”). He also wants to make a difference, not only to the citizens who voted him into his Toronto riding of Don Valley West, but because he’s one of the 80 per cent of Canadians living in large cities. Affordable housing is just one of the major issues he’s facing in his riding. Insufficient public transport, inadequate support for immigrants and poor air quality are also challenges the former King’s president is hoping to alleviate. In fact, Godfrey envisions an improved Halifax as his dream city — with a cleaner harbour, a restored Point Pleasant Park and more qualified immigrants choosing to make their homes here. When Godfrey lived in Halifax during his tenure at King’s (1977-87) he loved the city’s “European feel” of people socializing in downtown streets lined with open-doored shops and an ocean breeze nearby. The 61-year-old was first elected as a Member of Parliament for the Liberals in 1993. He now heads the Martin government’s much touted mission to revitalize Canadian cities — a demanding role when you’re at the heart of one of the prime minister’s top five priorities. He’s now Minister of State (Infrastructure and Communities). The post is a newer position for the government, resurrected from a similar role in place during the Trudeau years. The government’s plans are big — building a stronger relationship between the feds and municipalities

Godfrey: “It’s a very inclusive government.” Photo: Courtesy John Godfrey’s parliamentary office

Continued on next page

Summer 2004

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New role has ‘limitless’ issues — Godfrey Godfrey (with President Bill Barker and former Dean of Residence Kelley Castle) at King’s formal meal in March: “It’s never dull.” Photo: Courtesy Bill Barker

GODFREY / Continued from previous page

is one of the prime minister’s goals, as well as providing city leaders with more money to help them maintain infrastructure such as roads, buildings and transportation. The government has already given cities a full rebate on the GST they usually pay to the federal government, an increase from the former 58 per cent rebate they used to receive. Unfortunately, Godfrey says it doesn’t add up to much, so Prime Minister Paul Martin has also committed his government to giving municipalities a cut of the federal gas tax. Godfrey says the biggest problem will be ensuring provincial governments don’t ‘claw back’ the funds. “We want to make sure everyone is committed to helping out,” he says. He adds that eventually, city maintenance will have to become an equal priority between all three levels of government, with everyone pitching in money to keep urban areas going. Godfrey also has to keep small communities across the country in mind. With 85 per cent of the Canadian population living in urban areas, rural regions are suffering from lack of employment, people, and finances. Balancing these needs along with the demands of the “hub” cities is a tricky business — everyone needs more money and no one wants to share. But Godfrey says he’s up to the challenge. “This role suits me well because I love the limitless range of issues: economic, social, environmental and cultural,” he says comfortably. Godfrey certainly has worn a lot of hats. From being editor of the Financial Post, chairman of The National Children’s Agenda Caucus Committee, founder of the Financial Post’s Environment Awards for Business to being the

“

This role suits me well.”

chairman of the Dalhousie Art Gallery, Godfrey cites his wide range of interests as helping him remain sensitive to the histories and geography of cities. Godfrey says he’s excited and ready to grow into his new responsibility, saying that working under Paul Martin’s administration is exciting. “It’s never dull,” he laughs, saying that he always has to be on his toes because the prime minister sporadically takes a keen interest in what his MPs are doing. “You never know when [he’s] going to call. Early in the morning, late at night, weekends — the man never sleeps!” Martin ‘a hands-on kind of person’ Godfrey describes Martin as someone who likes to get intensely involved with his government’s projects. “He’s a hands-on kind of person,” Godfrey says, contrasting him to former prime minister Jean Chretien, who he says preferred to delegate. Although he was not appointed

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to a cabinet position last December, he says Martin brought him to attend some of the cabinet meetings. “It’s very inclusive,” he says, explaining that the prime minister is trying to bring more government factions together by getting them involved with the cabinet. Godfrey has also shown that he can handle high-pressure situations. He was one of the first MPs to bring forth the Kyoto motion, co-organized the Ethiopia Airlift which dropped two DC-8 cargo planes of food and famine relief supplies in the poverty-stricken country, and he started his 10-year presidency of King’s when he was just 35 years old. Godfrey still maintains close ties to King’s, saying he enjoyed his time at King’s immensely. “Those were happy years,” Godfrey says. “Full of high jinx and fun.” This interview was conducted before the June 28 federal election in which the residents of Don Valley West re-elected John Godfrey. On July 20 Prime Minister Paul Martin elevated Godfrey’s appointment from parliamentary secretary in charge of cities to a cabinet position with greater responsibilities for the same agenda — Minister of State (Infrastructure and Communities). – Ed

Summer 2004

Encaenia2004

Clockwise from top left: The graduates’ procession leaves the quad; Naomi Goloff (BSc ’04) receives an alumni pin; Nicholas Cotton (BAH ’04) poses for a photo with his family; Owen Averill (BAH ’04) delivers the valedictory address; graduates enter the cathedral; Margaret MacMillan gives the convocation address.

Photos by Kerry Delorey

Summer 2004

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Encaenia2004

2004 Honorary Degree Recipients

Silver Donald Cameron

Joan Clayton

Margaret MacMillan

Rev. Gary Thorne

(Doctor of Civil Law)

(Doctor of Divinity)

Joan Douglas Clayton, CM, a King’s alumna, is being recognized for her remarkable volunteer work in the Toronto area. In the mid 1980s, Ms. Clayton helped found Second Harvest, a non-profit organization that provides food for approximately 12,000 meals a day. From modest beginnings out of the back of a station wagon, the organization has grown to become a sophisticated distribution network that collects and distributes food daily to more than 140 social service agencies in the Metro Toronto area. Another program, Harvest Kitchens, was later developed to provide food for The Goodwill Toronto. Ms. Clayton is also co-founder of Windfall Clothing Service, a non-profit organization that distributes used clothing to some 15,000 people annually through about 70 social service agencies in the Toronto area. The City of Toronto awarded Clayton the Gardiner Citizen of the Year Award and the Constance E. Hamilton Award. In January 2004, Joan Clayton was appointed Member of the Order of Canada for her humanitarian work in the fight against poverty.

Margaret Olwen MacMillan, DPhil, is Provost of Trinity College and Professor of History at the University of Toronto. Dr. MacMillan is an accomplished academic and award-winning author of Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, an account of the first six months of the Versailles Peace Conference. Paris 1919 won numerous awards including the New York Times Editors’ Choice Award and the Samuel Johnson Prize for best non-fiction written in Britain. Published as Peacemakers in England, Paris 1919 was also a finalist for the Westminster Medal in Military Literature. Dr. MacMillan has also written numerous articles and book reviews for both scholarly and non-scholarly publications. Her previous books include Women of the Raj and Canada and NATO. Dr. MacMillan completed an Honours BA in History at Trinity College and a DPhil at the University of Oxford with a dissertation on the British in India. She was a member of the History Department at Ryerson University from 1975 to 2002 and served as Department Chair. Since 1997 she was an adjunct professor in the History Department at the University of Toronto.

The Reverend Canon Dr. Gary Wayne Alfred Thorne, Rector of Saint George’s Round Church (Anglican), Halifax, is being awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity in recognition of the outstanding contributions he has made to his parish, to his community and to King’s. Dr. Thorne is a widely respected pastor and theologian committed to serving the pastoral needs of his parish as well as the social and educational needs of the diverse community in which it serves. He is co-founder and chair of YouthNet, a highly successful youth ministry outreach program that helps form mentoring relationships and build self-confidence among inner-city children and youth. He is deeply committed to a number of community projects including St. George’s weekly soup kitchen, now in its 20th year, and Christmas outreach programs for neighbourhood families. Dr. Thorne studied at Acadia University, Dalhousie University and the Atlantic School of Theology before being ordained in the Diocese of Nova Scotia. In 2003 he completed his doctoral studies at the University of Durham in England.

(Doctor of Civil Law) Silver Donald Cameron, PhD is an accomplished journalist, playwright, educator and champion of grassroots community economic development. He is the author of 15 books, more than 50 radio dramas, television scripts and innumerable magazine articles. Silver Donald is the founding Chairman of Telile, Isle Madame’s community television station and cofounder of The Mysterious East magazine and Centre Bras d’Or, the Cape Breton arts organization. He has been a Director of North Isle Madame Credit Union, and editor and publisher of the development newsletter The Cape Breton Letter. He is a former columnist for the Globe and Mail and the Halifax Sunday Herald. Since 1971 Dr. Cameron has been involved in the restructuring of the Isle Madame economy following the collapse of the fisheries. He is a frequent speaker at conferences on community economic development. Dr. Cameron was the first Dean of Community Studies at the University College of Cape Breton. Dr. Cameron holds a BA from the University of British Columbia, an MA from the University of California and a PhD from the University of London.

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Summer 2004

Carrying The Shopping Bags a zany, rewarding TV role Hosting and producing the W Network’s popular consumer affairs show is “a way of life” for Anna Wallner (BJ ’94) By Tim Currie

nna Wallner has a printer attached to her computer at home that’s always breaking down and jamming paper. And it’s noisy. She jokes that, if she had it on, you could hear it from her home in Vancouver. “I went cheap and I’m paying for it,” she sighs. “I regret that one.” But she recently bought a new computer. And when the first store wouldn’t give her a discount she went to another and saved $300. “I don’t believe in paying full price for a big ticket item,” she says. “You can get free delivery; you may be able to get extras thrown in; or you might get something knocked off the price tag.” Wallner (BJ ’94) should know. As co-host of the consumer advocacy show The Shopping Bags on the W Network she researches and tests hundreds of products each season. She also gives viewers the inside scoop on getting the best deals. The show, now in its fourth season, hasn’t tested printers yet, but

Summer 2004

it has examined products in almost every other category. Right now, Wallner is testing body wash. She’s got five different kinds in her shower and she’s trying to remember to try a different one each morning — and take notes. And she’s barely finished with the lemon squares. She’d been evaluating toaster ovens, a test that required her to bake exactly the same food in each one to compare different models. As a result, she did so much cooking she didn’t go out to dinner for weeks. “I made so many batches that I never want to see a lemon square again for the rest of my life!” she laughs. “It really is a way of life,” she says of the show. “There aren’t a lot of resources out there that will test the products for you — and will test them in a way that you, the consumer, would use them. So not only do we take the blender into

Tidings

the lab. But we also take the blender home and test it for a week, two weeks, or a month.” Wallner and her partner Kristina Matisic are co-hosts, as well as executive producers, and sometime writers and directors of the show. Their production company, New Shoes Productions, produces 26 shows a season for the W Network in conjunction with Vancouverbased Force Four Entertainment. Wallner and Matisic were nominated for a Gemini Award for best hosts in a practical information series two seasons ago. The

Anna Wallner: “There aren’t a lot of resources out there that will test the products for you — and will test them in a way that you, the consumer, would use them.” Photo: Courtesy Corus Entertainment

Continued on next page

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‘It’s like a marriage’ WALLNER / Continued from previous page

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Shopping Bags has won four Leo Awards from the British Columbia film and television industry. And just this summer the series began airing in the United States on the Fine Living Network. Originally from Toronto, Wallner moved to Vancouver in 1987 and received a BA in political science from UBC in 1991. She says the BJ degree from King’s in 1994 helped her get her foot in the newsroom. “It was really good for me because I think I was a bit snobby, to be honest,” she says. “I thought the only way to a successful career was through pure academics. It was a good balance. I needed to be shoved in that direction.” Wallner met Matisic when they both worked as journalists at Global Television in Vancouver, where Wallner had interned. Wallner was bureau chief of Global’s Fraser Valley news bureau; Matisic was news anchor and producer of Global’s evening newscast. They quickly became best friends and hatched the concept of the show in 1999. She says they simply combined the things they already knew about — journalism, TV and shopping. “It’s like a marriage,” she says. “I think we play off each other well. I’m more of the daredevil disorganized one. She’s more of the one who has a neat desk.” Joking that the show is “all about us,” she says the two regularly use their own homes — and friends — on the show. When they tested blenders to see how well the machines crushed ice, they recruited friends for a margarita party. “We pull in a lot of favours to get this done — no question.” This personal involvement is what makes the show appealing, but Wallner admits it can be difficult to leave her work at the office. “It’s impossible to turn off. I

Tidings

can’t help but share with people when I see them [overpaying] for a big name brand or when I just know they’re paying for fancy packaging. I want them to save money — I want everyone to save money!” Wallner says that although one of the show’s perks is getting paid to shop with her best friend, the two are serious about its content. The show is lighthearted in tone, but critical in its approach. The show has experts analyze different products, but it also regularly has real people doing the same. She says that while the show has ridden a wave of consumer reporting programmes that spans the TV dial, it’s targeted at women who want practical information in a fun, engaging way. “We try to absorb all of that information for you, do all of the testing and present it in a way that is fun, easy to digest and that gives you a jumping off point for researching products,” she says. She says most people are overwhelmed by the millions of products in the marketplace. She says knowing simple tips like that you should only ever buy a soft-bristled toothbrush — can make shopping easier. For her, the highlights of the show have been getting snowboarding lessons from Olympic gold medalist Ross Rebagliati and, at another time, learning that a condom can fit over her head. She also remembers being slightly embarrassed when she inadvertently broke a product — a device for fetching items from high cupboards called The Gopher — that she was testing on camera with shoppers in a mall. Wallner and Matisic have a book related to the show that they expect will be published next spring. In the meantime, has researching and testing products diminished the joy of shopping? “Absolutely not,” she says. “It’s more fun than ever.”

Summer 2004

AlumNotes the

40s

Jack Wilcox (Dip J ’49) received the Minister of Veterans Affairs’ Commendation in a ceremony held Nov. 4, 2003 in Ottawa. He was dubbed “Canada’s journalist of Remembrance.”

the

50s

Pamela Collins (BA ’50) received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003 for 35 years of volunteer service. LeRoy Peach (BA ’59) is a columnist for the Cape Breton Post in Sydney.

the

60s

David Jones (BA ’68) has joined the faculty of Royal Roads University. He is teaching the Technologies for Management course in 2004. David is Director of Knowledge Management for the RCMP.

the

70s

Peter Bernier (BA ’74) celebrated his 12th wedding anniversary on Feb. 26, 2004. Ian Deakin (BA ’70) headed to Broadway to play the Duke of Albany in Stratford’s remounting of King Lear. Play also starred with Christopher Plummer and Tony Award winner Brent Carver. The play opened March 4, 2003. Cynthia Fry (‘79) rides for the Bicycles Plus team and won the 2003 Nova Scotia “Provincial Road Race Points Championship” and the Nova Scotia “Top Female Cyclist” for road racing in 2003. For anyone interested in learning more about road racing please contact Cynthia at tuscany_2@juno.com John Roby (BA ’73) scored a series, Around the World with Tippi, for The Discovery Channel. The Rev. Peter T. Young (BA ’75) now works at the St. Thomas Anglican Church in Newfoundland.

Summer 2004

the

80s

Valery Boyd (BJ ’83) is working as a teacher in Dartmouth. She has three children, Alex (at St. FX), Connor (Grade 11), and Griffin (Grade 5). Allen Fownes (BA ’81) has joined the Halifax law firm of Crowe Dillon Robinson conducting a general practice with an emphasis on civil litigation. He continues his busy law practice in Liverpool, N.S., where he has practised for 19 years. Fellow alumni can contact Allen at: acfownes@novascotialaw.com Gillian Grambo (BSc ’89) gave birth to a son, Joshua Patrick on April 26, 2003. Joshua is a brother for Isaiah, Sophia and Emily. Henry Howard (BA ’89) started his Master of Architecture degree at Dalhousie in September 2003. He is on a work term at Burgess Brado in Edmonton, Alberta, returning to school in September 2004. Mark Mackenzie (BSc ’85) and his wife Megan now have three children, Malcolm, 1, Charlotte, 5, and Anna, 6. Alex Rettie (‘84-‘86) lives in Calgary, where he works as a training development specialist for SMART Technologies Inc. Alex is also a columnist for AlbertaViews magazine. He and his wife Agnieszka have one son, James, born on Christmas Eve, 2002. Fellow alumni can contact Alex at: alexrettie@smarttech.com Thomas Scura (BJ ’87) is pleased to announce his marriage to Maria on June 21, 2003, in Thunder Bay. John S. Weeren (BAH ’85) was appointed speechwriter and assistant to Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman in April, 2004. His new job entails working with Tilghman on speeches, reports, and statements while also representing the president’s office at meetings and events. Jean (BA ’90) and Bernie Wills (BAH ’90) are pleased to announce the birth of their fourth child, Jonathan, on Dec. 17, 2003 in St. John’s. Jonathan’s siblings are Kristin, 7, Jeremy 5, and Thomas, 3. Cindy Wilson (BA ’89) gave birth to a daughter, Catherine, on June 19, 2003. Catherine is a sister for Cindy’s first child, Matthew, born in 2000. Krista Wood (BJH ’86) recently moved to Vancouver Island with her husband Tim Wood and two daughters, Samantha, 12, and Jamie, 7, as part of a military posting.

Tidings

A May 2004 gathering of self-described “neredowells”: Left to right: David Jones (BA ’68), Mark DeWolf (BAH ’68) and Mike Nichol (’66-68).

the

90s

David Allaby (BA ’96) and Amanda (Eagles) Allaby (FYP ’90) are pleased to announce the birth of their first child, Julia Margaret Allaby on Nov. 6, 2003. Allison Banks (BA ’96) is pleased to announce her engagement to David Mailman of Coldbrook, N.S. The wedding will take place May 21, 2005. Allison has been employed as a travel counsellor at BTI Canada since November 1999 and is currently working for the Corporate Fulfillment Solutions Department with the Self Service Reservation tool. Friends and alumni are invited to contact her at allisonbanks@eastlink.ca. Jena Cameron (’89-93) is pleased to announce the birth of her daughter, Katherine (Katie) Delaney Butts. Katherine was born July 24, 2003. John Cameron (BA Hons ‘91) was recently appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of International Development Studies at Dalhousie. He and his family are currently living in Bolivia, but will soon be moving to Halifax. Fellow alumni can contact John at: john.cameron@utoronto.ca Paula Clarke (BAH ’93) and husband Paul Novak are pleased to announce the birth of their son Jack Lawrence Novak, born May 30, 2003. They live in Ottawa where Paula works as a lawyer for the Department of Justice. Fellow alumni can contact Paula at: novak4605@rogers.com J. Ryan M. Coutts (’94-95), with a friend, is opening a sport apparel store at 2580 Yonge St. The store is to feature “Jut”, a brand of their own making. Kevin Covert (BSc ’93) is currently living George Cooper (former capital campaign chair and current Board of Governors chair) was named a Member of the Order of Canada in January.

AlumNotes in Atlanta, Ga., working on software that runs movie theatre megaplexes. Fellow alumni can contact Kevin at: k_covert@mindspring.com. Ross Healy (BA ’95) will complete his master’s in Science in Education at Canisius College, NY, in December. He is currently the head of the English Department at Deer Park Public School in Toronto. Fellow alumni can contact Ross at: poohmanchu1@yahoo.com Michelle Hebert (BA ’91, BJ ’92) married

Andrew Boyd on 29 July 2000. They’re thrilled to announce the birth of Ainsley Madeleine Hebert Boyd, born Nov. 15, 2003. Michelle works for Health Canada on community-based youth health initiatives, and is completing her thesis for an MSW degree at Dalhousie. Fellow alumni can contact Michelle at: amboyd@ns.sympatico.ca Stuart Henderson (BAH ’99) is working toward his PhD at Queen’s University. Ashley Hennessy (BAH ’93) is engaged to

Atlantic Journalism Award winners The 23rd annual Atlantic Journalism Awards ceremony was held on April 17th at the Casino Nova Scotia Hotel in Halifax. King’s alumni were once again among the winners and finalists for 2003. Keith Bonnell (BJH ’00) of the Halifax Daily News was a finalist in the category Spot News Print for his coverage of Hurricane Juan. He was also a finalist in the category Feature Writing Print for his story Covering the Pain. Steve Sutherland (BJH ’97) of CBCRadio Sydney was a finalist in the category Enterprise Reporting Radio for Bio Diesel: Fish Into Fuel. Chris O’Neill-Yates (BJ ’93) of CBC-TV St. John’s won the gold award in the category Enterprise Reporting Television for Where It Went Wrong: The Dr. Shirley Turner Story. Sally Pitt (BJH ‘84) of CBC-TV Charlottetown was a finalist in the same category. Ruth Davenport (BJ ’03) of the Halifax Daily News won the gold award in the category Feature Writing Print for The Best Defence, a story on self-defence tactics. Peter Evans (BJ ’97) of Eastern Woods & Waters, along with Perry Jackson, was a finalist in the same category for Plywood

and Glue. Peter also was the gold award winner in two other categories — Atlantic Magazine Article for his story, Hebron, which he wrote for Saltscapes magazine, and the Commentary category for Companies Must Be Punished, an opinion piece he wrote for the Halifax Daily News. Elaine Bateman (BJ ’82) of CBC-Radio Saint John was a finalist in the category Feature Radio for her piece The Homeland. Jim Reyno (BJH ’92) of the Halifax Daily News was a finalist in the category Sports Reporting for his Crosby Feature. Andrea Nemetz (BJ ’88) of the Halifax Herald was a finalist in the category Arts & Entertainment Reporting for her piece, Sharing a Personal Story. Mike Ayyash (BJ ’02) of Global TV News Halifax was a finalist in the category Photojournalism Spot News Television for his story Old Sambro. Kelly Connors (BJ ’01) of CBC-Radio Halifax was the gold award winner of the Jim MacNeill New Journalist Award. Sarah McGinnis (BJH ‘01) of the Saint John Telegraph-Journal was the silver award winner. Diane Woolley (BJH ’04) won the Boyne Clarke Prize for Excellence, a student award.

In Memoriam Elizabeth “Betty” (Cobb) Davidson-Mandeville died on June 7, 2004 at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Amy Densmore (BA ’29) died on December 10, 2003 at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Rev. William Earl “Bill” Dye (LTh ’61) passed away March 15, 2004 in Halifax. Rev. Dr. Canon F. Melvin French (BA ’37, LTh ’40) passed away April 3, 2004 at the Northwood Centre in Halifax. Sherry (Coolen) Graves (’68-’69) died Dec. 31 at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax. Eric Kierans (DCL ’86) passed away on May 10, 2004 in Montreal. Rev. Clifford James Matthews passed away on March 29, 2004 at the Northside General Hospital. William Morse (’39-41) died on Jan. 8, 2004 in Harbour View Haven, Lunenburg. Ruth Marie Petrykanyn (BJ ’03) passed away on June 10, 2004 at the QEII Health Sciences Centre.

Tidings

marry James B. Smith on August 28, 2004 in the Gaspe. Ashley is manager of online marketing for Harlequin Enterprises. Chimene Jewer (FYP ’99) is currently attending Acadia University for her MSc in Clinical Studies. Jay Johnson (BA ’91) and Linda (Barker) Johnson (BSc ’91) will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on Aug. 27, 2004. They have two boys, Quinn, 6, and MacKenzie, 3. Linda is a registered Homoepathic Practitioner and has recently opened her own clinic. Jay has just started his own firm as a government policy and First Nations economic development consultant. Fellow alumni can contact Jay at: johnsonjay@shaw.ca (and) johnsonlinda@shaw.ca Robin Joudrey (BA ’99) joined the firm Sealy Cornish as an associate lawyer on March 1, 2004. Robin’s focus is in the area of family law. Fellow alumni can contact Robin at: rjoudrey@scolaw.ns.ca Iona MacRitchie (BA ’92) married Mike Wise in 2002. She now works as an occupational therapist at the Toronto Western Hospital. Corey Matthews (FYP ’93) married Michael Hardman in April 2003. Michael is a blacksmith and Corey is a stone carver. They have one son, Elliot born in October 2002. Catherine Mazeika (BA ’92) and Aron Harris were married Oct. 11, 2003. “Team Harris” resides in Toronto. Stephanie Nolen (BJH ’93) won a National Newspaper Award in June for her reporting of Stephen Lewis’ crusade against AIDS in Africa. Stephanie is the Globe’s Africa Bureau Chief. Kristin Palin (FYP ’89-90) is pleased to announce the birth of Quinn Kennedy on Feb. 26, 2004. Colin Charles G. Pye (BJH ’97 ) graduated with his LLB from the University of Ottawa in April. Andrew Robertson (BA ’94) and wife Cory are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Lucy, born Oct. 29, 2003. Andrew is teaching elementary school in Ottawa. Jonathon Ross (BAH ’94) is studying medicine at the University of Calgary. Sean Sebastien Smith (BA ’90) has recently joined Offshore Systems Ltd., of North Vancouver, as a Proposals Specialist. Offshore Systems specializes in charting, navigation systems and land mapping from aerial photography. He was also recently elected Vice-Commodore of Stamps Landing Yacht Club, where his sailboat has the unique distinction of being the only one to fly the flag of his home province, Nova Scotia. Sailors and King’s Alumni are welcome to visit his website: http://vancouver-webpages.com/slyc/

Summer 2004

AlumNotes

on Now sa le

Kyle Shaw (BSc ’91, BJ ’92) and Christine Oreskovich (BA ’95) are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Sasha Elizabeth on March 3, 2004. Matthew Sherrard (BAH ’99) was project supervisor with Canada World Youth for three years, working in Tunisia, Egypt and eastern Europe. Matt is now in first year law at Dalhousie University. Anne Simms (BA ’94) and Benjamin Vitale are pleased to announce the birth of their first child, Julia Anne Vitale. Julia was born at home on March 31, 2003. Anne and Ben reside in the Cabbagetown area of Toronto. Peter Smith (BA ’99) received his Master of Science from the London School of Economics in City Design and Social Science. Theresa M. Nowlan Suart (BJH ’90) is working in the Faculty of Administration at the University of New Brunswick. Alison Thompson (BAH ’94) and Kevin Powers (BAH ’94) are pleased to announce their engagement. The wedding will take place at a California resort near the San Andreas Fault in late 2004. Julian Wainwright (BJ ’98) is living in Hanoi, Vietnam. Julian is a photographer with EPA — European Pressphoto Agency. He does regular assignment work for Time and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Fellow alumni can contact Julian at: julian@fpt.vn; mossmoon@hotmail.com Zach Wells (BAH ’99) recently moved back to Halifax after several years in Montreal and Nunavut, where he

worked in the cargo department of First Air. A limited edition book of Zach’s poems has been published and a full-length collection of Arctic poems, Unsettled, will be published by Insomniac Press in the Fall. More information is available on Zach’s website: www.zachariahwells.com

the

00s

John Bowman (BJ ’00) is working for CBC Toronto, in online journalism. Alison Bresver (BJH ’02) is working in public relations in Toronto. Heather Butler (BSc ’00) is studying psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University. March Clark (BA ’00) graduated from Acadia University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Education degree. Lucy Cuthbertson (BAH ’03) earned a Masters in Economics degree from McGill University and is now working for Euromoney in London, England. Ruth Davenport (BJ ’03) is working for Canadian Press in the Halifax office. Sidney Davis (BAH ’00) is currently working as a translator, interpreter and editor in Skopje, Macedonia. Jake Kennedy (BJH ’02) and Erin Ward (BJ ’02) are keeping warm in Yellowknife with their two dogs and a cat. Jake was recently appointed editor of Canadian Diamonds magazine. Erin is producing

University of King’s College Chapel Choir Adoramus Te, the new CD release by the King’s Chapel Choir under the direction of Dr. Walter H. Kemp, makes a perfect Holiday Season gift all the year round. Including choral arrangements and compositions from the British College and Cathedral repertoire, it recreates the atmosphere of the annual Carols by Candlelight of the traditional King’s College Christmas. The price is $15.00 per copy and is available from the King’s Alumni and Development Office 902-422-1271 ext. 128.

Summer 2004

Tidings

CBC Radio’s Trailbreaker morning show. They plan to wed in March 2005, in Yellowknife. Fellow alumni can contact Jake at: jake@uphere.ca You can reach them by e-mail at jake@mulberry.ca or erin@erinward.ca. Jen Laurette (BA ’01) and David Carter (BAH ’03) are pleased to announce their engagement. Fellow alumni can contact them at jenlaurette@hotmail.com or dvdcrtr@hotmail.com. Todd MacKay (BJ ’02) won the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association Award for best feature in the summer of 2003. Meaghan Michaud (BJH ’00) is engaged to marry Brian Lingley in August 2004. Brendan Quinn (BAH ’03) announces the release of his band, PDQ’s first fulllength album, Every New Place. Jillian Sabadash (BA ’01) has just graduated with her Bachelor of Education from Saint Francis Xavier. Jeffrey Silver (BSc ’02) is attending Medical School at the University of Western Ontario. Elliott Siteman (’88-91, BA ’02) earned a Master of Divinity from the Atlantic School of Theology. He was appointed Rector of the Parish of Neil’s Harbour and Ingonish on June 1, 2004. He was ordained as a Deacon in the Anglican Church on June 29, 2004. Sarah Thornton (BAH ’01) is teaching at a private school in Toronto.

King’s Alumni London, U.K. Chapter After more than two years of tireless efforts in creating and building the first King’s Alumni Chapter in London, U.K., Malia Mitchell (BA ’99) and Lindsay Broadhead (BA ’99) have stepped down as Chapter coPresident. King’s wishes to acknowledge their achievements and the time they spent in building the London Chapter — they will be missed! The London Chapter welcomes Chris MacNeil (BA ’94) as the incoming President for 2004-2005. Chris has lived in London for more than three years and is a freelance Learning & Development consultant. He is an advocate for Canadian expats living in London and enjoys theatre, restaurants and travel opportunities that London offers. Chris looks forward to hearing from King’s Alumni throughout London, the U.K. and Europe and will shortly announce King’s events for the coming year. You can reach Chris by e-mail at: cmacneil@egroup.ca or on his mobile at +44 (0) 7966 380 131.