the watch February 2015
Is It Still Winter(?) Edition
STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
FREELANCING FACELIFTS
WHO IS THE WATCH?
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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
ONLINE EDITOR
PUBLISHING BOARD
SOPHIE ALLEN-BARRON NICK HOLLAND
EMMA JONES
ZOË BRIMACOMBE ADRIENNE COLBORNE GRACE KENNEDY AIDAN McNALLY GWENDOLYN MONCRIEFF-GOULD JOHN SANDHAM TERRA TAILLEUR MELINA ZACCARIA
PUBLISHER GRACE KENNEDY
TREASURER JOHN SANDHAM
COPY EDITOR
CONTRIBUTORS HANNAH DALEY SARAH GRIFFIN AVI JACOB ERIN McINTOSH MORGAN MULLIN KRISTEN THOMPSON
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ASHLEY CORBETT
REBECCA HUSSMAN
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EDITOR’S NOTE
It’s not an easy time to be a journalist.
Every day, we sit with our classmates. Many of us are in the publishing world somehow, and all of us are preparing to step even deeper into it. And almost every day, it feels like we get news of another blow. Turn on the television or radio, click online or read a newspaper: cuts are happening. Cuts at Bell. At Rogers. At PostMedia. It’s stressful. We’re preparing to find jobs in this industry, and there seem to be fewer and fewer to go around. But then we think of who media is really for: its consumers. The people of Guelph, who lost their local paper. Montrealers without a tablet who need to find an alternative to La Presse now that it’s gone digital-only. We Haligonians haven’t lost a paper. Not yet, anyway. But what good is a paper without the quality journalism that established its trust? The fiasco at the Chronicle Herald is heartbreaking to watch. In the span of a month, the largest independently owned newspaper in Canada locked out its newsroom staff and the staff responded by striking. Since then, the Herald has been running on freelancers. o o o o o 02
Deciding to perform scab labour is strongly frowned upon by members of the Herald’s union and other journalists alike. It’s seen as a betrayal of fellow writers, a temporarily self-serving but ultimately career-damaging move. For writers scrambling to find paid work, we understand it can be tempting. With bylines stripped from the pages of the Herald, freelancers’ identities should be protected from the blow of being forever labelled a scab in Canadian media. And sometimes, you really need the hundred or so extra dollars from a story to put food on the table. But if you can help it, we encourage hopeful freelancers to steer far clear of the Herald while negotiations are underway. Going forward, the Herald management want to cut the newsroom by a third, slash salaries and remove the gender parity clause in contracts. Those changes will harm not only the newspaper’s decades-loyal employees, but anyone who joins them as well. Stand with your fellow writers and photographers. Paper cuts hurt. Sending strength,
Sophie & Nick
IN THIS ISSUE: VOL. 33 NO. 5 Cover Photo: Hannah Daley/The Watch
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HOW THREE STUDENTS GET SOME CASH OUT OF THEIR CRAFTS
ROLL THE DICE AND START A SOCIETY
FROM PASSION TO PAYDAY
STEP UP TO THE TABLE
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WHY SOME JOURNALISM STUDENTS TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES TO BE THEIR OWN BOSS
GRAB A HARD HAT AND CHECK OUT WHAT’S GOING ON AT NORTH POLE BAY
FREELANCING: IT AIN’T EASY
NORTH POLE GETS A FACELIFT
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It’s winter and you’re still pedalling through the city. Good on you!
New to Instagram? Bored of your current feed? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration, excitement or a new reason to procrastinate after you follow these seven Instagram accounts
WHEELIN’ THROUGH WINTER
#FOLLOW FRIDAY
We welcome your feedback on each issue. Letters to the editors should be signed. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. The Watch is owned and operated by the students of the University of King’s College. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people not be warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at watchman’s hand. - EZEKIEL 33:6
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Photo: Hannah Daley/The Watch
FROM PASSION TO PAYDAY How three students get some cash out of their crafts
by Hannah Daley
As a university student, finding a balance between the things you enjoy and schoolwork can be difficult. Three first year students at King’s are taking matters into their own hands and turning their hobbies into a way of getting a little bit of extra cash. First, there are FYP students Julia Hancock-Song and Hannah Reid. During the last semester they each took a liking to the art of henna. Not too long after they decided to turn it into something more. “We talked about it for a very long time before we actually did anything,” said Hancock-Song. “Then one night at the Wardy we just set up a page and did everything.” That was around November, and not long after they were gaining business. In their first day they reached about one hundred likes on their page, “Henna on Humans.” Both Reid and Hancock-Song enjoy the art of henna. For them, it is a great way to spend time doing something they love while also getting something for it. “It’s a nice way to procrastinate and equally keep up with your art,” says Reid. The artists are up for any design. “No commission is going to be too out there. Honestly, if you present us with a picture we’ll do our best to copy it,” says Reid. Both of them have their own styles that they work with. “We definitely have really different styles, and we’ll overlap a lot. We’ve done a lot of cool experiments,” says Hancock-Song. Hancock-Song and Reid are enthusiastic about what they do. “I am doing henna on myself so much because I always want
to do it… I can’t stop. My left arm and hand is always covered with henna because I can never stop practicing on myself,” says Hancock-Song. “If you’re a human and you want to have henna, just shoot us a message or literally just stop one of us in the hall and say ‘Hey,’”says Reid. Another first-year student has channelled her creativity into cash. Amanda Tickner is selling embroidered patches through Facebook and in person. Not long after the Christmas break, Tickner started selling her patches in the Facebook group “Buy n sell UKC”. “One of my friends invited me to the group and I noticed that there was a lot of clothing and stuff being sold, so then I thought ‘Hey, this is a free place to advertise my stuff. I’m a student, I can’t afford to keep an Etsy or something like that going, and then I can’t ship anything,” says Tickner. Selling through the Facebook group was successful from the start. “I put three (patches) up originally, and then they sold within I think two minutes of me doing the post. Those three were sold and then I made some more and posted them, and then I’ve been getting commissions every so often. A lot of people have been asking for stuff on their clothes or something like that. It’s just kind of grown from there,” says Tickner. All three students agree that when it comes to a university environment, you have to think about who you’re selling to. Hancock-Song and Reid have set their hourly rate at twenty dollars, but they usually go at about five dollar increments for every 15 minutes. They are flexible with their rates, understanding the student market they are trying to reach. The same goes for Tickner. She is selling most of her patches for four dollars. |w
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Photo of Jack Mol: Ashley Corbett/TheWatch Photo of Monopoly: Flickr/mikaelmiettinen
STEP UP TO THE TABLE Roll the dice and start a society
by Sarah Griffin
A unique moment of starting school at King’s is the moment the overwhelmed FYPster realizes they can apply to create any society they please.
so, it’s important to remember that, while engaging with the topic at hand, the socializing involved in the process may be just as memorable.
Prior to arriving at King’s, talk of niche and often obscure societies creeps its way into the talk of prospective students in high school — “Does your university have a communist knitting society? Oh, that’s too bad. Mine does.”
“If people are stressed they can come and de-stress. It’s relaxing, you don’t need to go to a party to have a fun way to hang,” says Mol.
But where did all these societies go? I was excited to write about the niche culture of smaller King’s societies, contacting six in the process. I was frustrated when only one responded, letting me know that they’re still active and willing to speak. I received more than one email claiming that the previous leaders now have graduated and the society no longer exists. Are small societies at King’s somehow thriving without our knowledge? Are they so niche that an outsider can’t even contact them? Or, is the sad reality that they are slowly dwindling with their lack of recognition? Jack Mol, a third-year student at King’s, decided to take matters into his own hands when he and a few friends realized there was no society that appealed to his love for board games. So he ratified a society — as easy, and special, as that. The King’s Tabletop Gaming Society is still alive and kicking today — although often in shallow water. “Usually it’s just me and my friends playing board games. There used to be only three to four people last semester, but we have at least 10 people now. Which is a huge jump,” says Mol. It’s as if we as a community feel that there is magic herd of people that attend these small meetings, that keep the niche culture of King’s alive, yet are unheard of otherwise. It’s easy to forget that the average King’s student is needed to keep the wonderful eccentricities of King’s alive and well. “What’s most exciting is when people come out. It sucks when it’s just you standing there with a bunch of board games. It’s happened,” says Mol.
“Even if you don’t know how to play boardgames, we will teach you. It’s completely free. And usually there are snacks.” Mol’s enterprising nature proves he is a firm believer in the fact that some of university’s most memorable moments can come from the extracurriculars we engage in. “In first year, we were playing the ‘Game of Thrones’ board game, which is super backstabby. I backstabbed one player, who was the owner of the game. He literally walked out, and he never came to play the game again. He stormed out. So now I have his copy of the board game. It was super awkward. I betrayed him, and he couldn’t deal with it.” So, while you’re in the hustle and bustle of your active life at King’s, the casual drop-in to one of the smaller societies can be a reminder of the close-knit life many of us came here for. The ability for every student to officially partake in activities in community that we probably wouldn’t do otherwise is a large part of what makes us special. And, like many things, it would be wrong to take that for granted. Think back to your excitement of coming to King’s. What were you excited for? Now, go and try to ratify that. Having a large group of people in close proximity who enjoy the same obscure thing that you do won’t last forever. Think big picture. |w If it just so happens that your excitement truly lies with the King’s Tabletop Gaming Society, they meet every Thursday at 5:30.
Maybe tabletop gaming isn’t your idea of a good time. Even
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FREELANCING: IT AIN’T EASY
Why some journalism students take it upon themselves to be their own boss
by Morgan Mullin
The current labour dispute at the Chronicle Herald has made national headlines, with journalists waiting to see what will happen next. The way this strike is resolved could show which way journalism is heading. If resolved well, the newsroom may have hope. If botched, it could feel like watching an outdated model gasp its last breath. The Chronicle Herald has asked King’s journalism graduates to fill in for the striking workers. Called “scab labour,” it is seen by many journalists as unethical. For young freelancers thirsting for money — not to mention writing experience — the offer can be tempting. After all, freelancing has as many difficulties as it does advantages. For freelancer Rebecca Dingwell, a 2015 King’s journalism graduate, the new career track is already proving true. Dingwell operates on a full-time schedule writing stories for several publications in Halifax. While it allows her the freedom to write on a wider range of issues than a desk reporter could, which she loves, Dingwell says it does have its challenges. “I really wish I had somebody that I could just talk to about certain issues and that I could bounce ideas off of,” says Dingwell. She says since freelancers do everything from finding a story idea to “bringing it to fruition,” having a mentor or boss that she could rely on for expertise would remove a lot of uncertainty from her work. Newsroom reporters will often be given a story and then be able to knock on an editor’s door if problems arise. As Dingwell explains, however, it isn’t always so clear-cut for freelancers. Rather than being hired to create content for the publication, they are being paid for a finished piece, a sort of story-writing contractor who receives a flat fee. King’s journalism student Michelle Pressé also works as a freelancer, balancing writing for various publications with two other part-time jobs. Pressé agrees the job can be difficult, saying key knowledge is something you discover for o o o o o 08
yourself. “I wish someone had taught me sooner how to write a query letter and be able to sell yourself and your story… Because that’s really how journalists get their start,” she says. There are other adjustments that come with the freelancing lifestyle. Pressé says that the lack of a traditional office space can be a challenge, especially in terms of balancing work and home life. “It can be really hard. I do pretty much everything in my room, whether it’s school work or freelancing or sleeping… you’re not even just taking it home with you, but living in that home of work,” she explains. Dingwell agrees, saying the need to write as many stories as possible often means she has a hard time putting down her work. “For me right now, I think if I had a full-time job I’d be asking for some leave because I have a lot going on in my personal life,” says Dingwell. “But in the freelance world the times when you don’t have work it doesn’t feel like a break. It feels like panic.” While most other lines of work — including traditional newsroom jobs — give paid leave, time off for a freelancer means going without a paycheque. While we watch situations like the labour dispute at the Chronicle Herald, these issues could become more commonplace for all journalists. In the end, both Dingwell and Pressé agree that a passion for writing and the need to find answers to questions will keep writers like them working, regardless of the potential downsides. As Pressé says, “I love this job…I just think it’s beautiful. Because, you know, no one does this without loving it…they sure as hell aren’t in it for the money.” |w
Photo: Morgan Mullin/The Watch
Rebecca Dingwell is a freelance journalist.
Photo: Ashley Corbett/The Watch
NORTH POLE GETS A FACELIFT Grab a hard hat and check out what’s going on at North Pole Bay
by Avi Jacob
With the new year rung in and students back for the winter term, King’s has set out to fulfill one of its biggest projects of the year—renovating North Pole Bay. The renovations, which will include a full remodel of the aesthetic and technical aspects of the bay, are necessary for the state of the building. According to facilities staff at King’s, every building that houses students has an expiration date. For North Pole Bay, that date has come. “This project is dealing with a huge part of the deferred maintenance at the school,” says Alex Doyle, the director of facilities at King’s. “It’s going to eliminate a good chunk of what needs to get done on campus.” From the basement to the top floor, everything students knew about North Pole will be different. According to Doyle, who’s heading the project, everything from heating to electrical will be updated to run at a more efficient—and hopefully greener—level. This, he says, is a big step for the school. North Pole houses the equipment responsible for powering itself, Cochran Bay and the A&A building.
mini quads, each with their own fire door. This will allow students to leave their individual doors open within their groupings. In their current layout, fire codes require each double room to have closed doors at all times. Doyle says facilities are still working with the fire marshal to make the rooms as safe, open and friendly as possible. Alex McVittie is the student representative on the committee responsible for the planning of the renovations. She says it’s clear the students are the priority during the project. “They’ve really wanted to know what the students think because it’s going to be a better space for everyone, including day students,” says McVittie. Since North Pole has a common room, the new plans include an improved area for all students to enjoy. This will include an open-concept space and glass doors to create an inviting feel for those who don’t live in the building. Facilities and the registrar are hoping the renovations will help the school in a variety of ways. “Any student, especially coming from far away, wants the place they’ll be living in their first year to be amazing,” says McVittie.
As for the living space inside the building, future students can expect a whole new experience from North Pole.
Dean Hatt agrees that residence is a huge factor for anyone making decisions regarding university. He thinks the changes to the building will only improve the university’s appeal. While the renovations to North Pole are happening fairly quickly, in the coming years every residence building on campus will undergo similar changes.
Nick Hatt, dean of students, says he sincerely expects the renovations to create a better place for students.
“This is an exciting time for King’s,” says Doyle. “We’re creating the future template for residence life.”
Doyle and the rest of the facilities team are focusing the improvements around the sense of community integral to the first year experience at King’s.
He says that once this first job is done, facilities will have a clear plan in place for the other bays and a clear idea of the costs—something they are still unclear of with the current project.
“It’s going to be more environmentally sound and save on energy costs for the future,” says Doyle.
With this in mind, the placement of doors within each floor has become top priority. The new concept shows eight single rooms broken into two
Facilities has decided on a tight timeline. Doyle says the hope is to have the building up and running by May 1 in order to rent the new rooms for conference services in the summer. 11 o o o o o
WHEELIN’ THROUGH WINTER
It’s winter and you’re still pedalling through the city. Good on you!
by Kristen Thompson
It’s that time of year again. The snow is falling, the temperature’s dropping and bikers are storing their bikes away for the winter. Except for winter bikers, that is. King’s is home to so many cyclists that facilities installed an extra bike rack last October to attempt to accommodate students’ needs. With winter in full swing and a large number of bikers packing away their bikes for the winter, Regine Tiu, a second year student at King’s, is grateful for the extra space. “I used to have to store my bike on trees due to the amount of bikes, but luckily now there are less people biking. There’s not a lot of storage now, so there’s lots of room for the winter bikers,” she said. But with the recent construction on North Pole Bay, a large number of bike racks have been removed, with more scheduled to be moved in the upcoming weeks. Winter storage has been left scarce. Tiu is also concerned about the lack of snow removal in and around the bike racks. “The problem is that once it snows, the snow tends to freeze underneath the racks, and it makes it very hard to be able to lock up my bike since I have to lift it and it slides around so
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much,” she said. Not everyone opts for winter biking. Halifax’s harsh winter weather can cause major damage to bikes, making storage during the winter months especially important. Students who live on campus are able to access the free on-campus storage provided through the front desk at Alex Hall, but day students are left to fend for themselves. Finding means of storage off-campus can be tough considering the lack of space in student housing. Jonathan Gallagher, a second year day student, is currently storing his bike in a hallway of his home. “I’m lucky that I’m the only one in my house who has a bike to store, otherwise it would get a little crowded and crazy,” he said. With winter coming to a close within the next few months, bikers at King’s are left wondering about what storage will be available once bikes are back out in full force. The missing racks in front of North Pole Bay leaves both Tiu and Gallagher hoping there will be other options for bike storage come spring. |w
Photo: Flickr/16nine
#FOLLOWFRIDAY
New to Instagram? Bored of your current feed? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration, excitement or a new reason to procrastinate after you follow these seven Instagram accounts
by Erin McIntosh @thewardroom Not only is the Wardroom the coolest on campus hangout/ bar space in Halifax, it also has a pretty cool Instagram account. For picture quality, they aren’t afraid to get up-close and personal with the artists performing or the students enjoying. When I’m too lazy to leave my bed on a Friday night I can check @thewardroom and feel like I’m part of the fun. If you love King’s, and you like music and colourful photography, then you should definitely follow @thewardroom. @kingsbookstore Who doesn’t like books? As a King’s student, I read a lot and I like to stay updated when the King’s bookstore has new arrivals, or more importantly when they received a new shipment of adult colouring books. Support one of only two independent bookstores left in Halifax and follow @kingsbookstore. Their captions are usually pretty cute too! @kingsbookstore can make a book look really enticing too when they outline it in pins! Feed includes monochromatic schemes, geometrically pleasing displays, clever puns and great gift ideas! @discoverhalifax Follow this account to see our beautiful city, through the lenses of the people who live here. This account features photographers all over Halifax that have captured a beautiful moment in time. It always uses the original caption and tags the original account that uploaded it, so it’s a great way to find even more Instagram accounts to follow. (I was featured here and got over 200 likes on my picture and I loved it.) @discoverhalifax is a great account to follow when you want to look at pretty pictures and it’s fun to recognize the places photographed. I highly recommend following it if you’re a fan of Halifax. @hollie.amanda She’s a local photographer with an aesthetically pleasing feed and I guarantee she will make you buy a cappuccino from The Nook. Her coffee table portraits are fantastic and she has a knack for making a grey day look not so grey. I’ll admit, I have some Instagram envy. Her photography skills are on point and I was in love with the way she made Halifax o o o o o 14
look in the fall. She brings out the best of Halifax. Her feed is vibrant, geometric and fun. We’ve never met, but if I could do a photo shoot with anyone it’d be her. @Art_For_Breakfast It has nothing to do with breakfast, but if you like art, or cool abstract paintings then you should definitely follow @art_for_breakfast. It’s like going to an art gallery on your phone! The feed features paintings, drawings and quotes from around the world. It usually tags the original account from where the art piece came from and the caption explains how the piece was made and what the title is. It has over 74,000 followers so it must be good. (Warning: it posts rather frequently in a day so beware of @art_for_breakfast clogging up your homepage.) @indisposibleconcept This account is dedicated to film. But not just any film, film from your disposable camera. The project launched in 2012 and since then @indisposibleconcept has over 14,000 followers and has posted over 11,000 times. I’ve been featured on their account a handful of times. I highly recommend following this account if you like the raw, unedited beauty of film. Anyone can be featured. All you do is send them an email with the roll of photos attached with a description of when and where the photos were taken. It is a wonderful account that lets you enter the lives of so many people from around the world. @explorecanada This account is verified! It also features some incredibly talented photographers and posts a lot of remarkable photos from around our country. This account makes me actually want to explore Canada. It also makes snow look fun and appealing. You can be featured on their page if you tag them, but you have to take a really, really nice photograph. I definitely recommend following @explorecanada to give you some envy of a country we already live in. Follow me @erinnmcintosh because one day I want to be Instagram famous. |w
Photo: Nick Holland/The Watch
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