February 2015 by The Watch

CHANGING THE TUNE ON

SEXUAL ASSAULT

the watch ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

February 2015

Editorial: Our levy King’s finds $2M

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Why we think the Watch matters

Inside King’s

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Nick Holland Grace Kennedy ONLINE EDITORS Sophie Allen-Barron Dina Lobo

Take a look inside the Sodexo kitchen

PUBLISHER Rachel Ward

Registrar Change

TREASURER John Sandham

With the Elizabeth Yeo gone, will the registrar’s office look a little different?

05 04 03

Editor’s Note

Taskforce Updates

14 12 10 09 08

IN THIS ISSUE

the watch

watcheditors@gmail.com TWITTER @kingswatch

Letter to the Editors

VOL. 32 NO. 4 FEBRUARY 2015 watchmagazine.ca

Colleen Says...

Georgia Atkin and Jesse Laufer give you the lowdown.

How one student feels about layoffs in J-School

Infringment

A photo essay by Sasha Pickering

Sexual Assault

Things may change at King’s

Coping With Eczema

COPY EDITOR Keili Bartlett CONTRIBUTORS Georgia Atkin Alex Cooke Colleen Earle Madi Haslam Jesse Laufer Dave Lostracco Caora McKenna Sasha Pickering PUBLISHING BOARD Michelle Johnstone Adrian Lee Ocean-Leigh Peters Haritha Popuri James Pottie Emily Rendell-Watson Fred Vallance-Jones

How painful and embarrassing it really is

Employees We Love Some of the people around campus and town who are cooler than the flip-side of the pillow

Look both ways before you cross the street, gosh...

Be green. Share and recycle this issue.

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people not be warned: if the sword comes, 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 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.

EDITOR’S NOTE

y now you may have heard about our eloquently named “money troubles.” We’ve survived this year on the remains of the 2013-2014 levy; after the printing of this issue the bank will be empty. Our problem arose primarily from the discovery of a 2001 document outlining how we should receive our levy. This document, which Alex Bryant found last school year, is substantially different from the way we have traditionally received our levy. The 2001 document was brought up at the last publishing board meeting of the 2013-2014 school year, and both sides agreed to look into changing it. This year, the KSU has followed the 2001 agreement while we followed our constitution – as we have done for many years. The result was that we did not receive the money students had already spent on us. According to the 2001 agreement, we were to receive half of our fall levy before Sept. 20. This did not happen. In an email from Michaela Sam, she said “the first 50 per cent of the fall levy should have been released by the KSU directly without a vote of the Publishing Board, we were unclear about this fact as it had not been made clear to us by the Watch executive. This is an error on our part and we will release this sum as soon as possible.” At the Jan. 26 council meeting, Sam’s report said that the Watch’s cheque for that initial 50 per cent has been written. We just recieved the cheque on Feb. 5. Rachel has called another publishing board meeting to vote on whether we will receive the rest of our levy, as well as look at the possibility of an external committee to draft a new agreement so this doesn’t happen again. The vote passed with the quorum defined by the 2001 agreement.

these people together. King’s is more than just deficit – no matter how frequently that topic comes up in our articles and conversation. It’s more than just KSU rallies and meetings. It’s something special that comes together only when you have people from different parts of the school working together. This is why we think it’s important that we actually pay our writers and photographers. You are the people who make the Watch what it is (no matter what design we decide to try out). The content is yours and it is unique. And it is undoubtedly worth something. There is a trend in the writing world to avoid paying people for their work. The abundance of unpaid internships is staggering. They offer you the opportunity to increase your portfolio and pad your resume, to get your byline on the internet. They seem to say that your work has value only to you. We want to pay our contributors because your time and effort and words have value to everyone. We can’t pay you what your work is worth - not even close - but we can pay you enough to show you that your labour is appreciated by more than just your resume. The same trend that is pushing our writers towards unpaid work is also pushing the media towards what some people call the death of print. The online world is more lucrative, faster breaking, more interactive – in short, the experience more readers want.

But really, why does this matter?

We think that Peter Preston, in an article for the Guardian, said it best: “We don’t know whether news on paper and news on screen are the same or subtly different.” We would like to believe that news on paper is subtly different. There is something special about holding your article in a newspaper. There is something unique about seeing your photo on the cover of a magazine. Somehow, in some way, having it in print is different.

Grace was asked by a family friend how important the levy really was. Do we really need to publish a print issue? Do we really need to pay our contributors? Does the Watch really matter at King’s when there are already the j-school publications?

Of course, we could be just kidding ourselves. Our print edition could be a useless extravagance. Our contributors could be just as happy as volunteers. The Watch could be irrelevant to life at King’s.

We would like say yes to all of these.

But we believe the things we do matter. Even if it is only for one person, our existence means something. And that is why our levy is so important to us. It’s not because we want to get paid. It’s not because we want to create waves with the KSU. It’s because we care about this magazine, and we think it is something worth fighting for.

The Watch matters to us – we wouldn’t have given up our honouraria this year if it didn’t. It is something special and separate from the journalism school. Our contributors are not only journalism students; they are also CSP, EMSP and HOST students. King’s people who only take courses at Dal. Students who spend hours in the library or in the gym. Rugby players, poetry weavers, photography junkies. We get to be the publication that brings all

-Nick and Grace

ITHE N MASTER S I D ECHEFS K OF I NSODEXO G’S

Colleen MacDonald, Executive Chef, and Gary Susa-Maclean, Sous-Chef, have been working for Sodeo for years. They have many stories to share.

“ “ ” ” “ ” FAVOURITE MEMORIES

1994 Commonwealth Games I was selected as the only female chef there. Plus, I got to cook for the Queen. We had 3500 (people), all you can eat. The kitchen ran for 24 hours. I was out there for a month and I loved every minute of it. --Colleen

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The Halifax G7 Summit When we hosted the RCMP—That was the G7. We were cooking for, I think, 250 RCMP. We were looking after the world leaders and whatnot. --Gary

White Juan During White Juan, a 2004 blizzard dumping tons of snow over Halifax, MacDonald and her team stayed four days at King’s. Feeding students and the community—they did it all in the dark. The only thing that worked was the steamer. Those 96 hours won them an award from the provincial government.

King’s 225 Anniversary We ran the floor for that and I got the (Ancient) Commoner Award. I received that last year. You know when you want to accomplish a lot of things in life? That was the icing on the cake for me. --Colleen

CHANGES FOR THE REGISTRAR By Jesse Laufer

are from Nova Scotia, how many from Vancouver?” Abbott said.

he departure of long time staff member Elizabeth Yeo signified the beginning of a restructuring process in the registrar’s office. A statement issued by the university shortly after Yeo’s Dec. 31 departure from the school explained how King’s will be consulting with a business analyst to see what aspects of the registrar’s office can be combined with Dalhousie. President George Cooper said that these aspects can probably be found in the offices’ data handling. Last year, an external review of the registrar’s office said it could be made more efficient by moving more “back office functions” over to Dalhousie. Some of these functions include the storage and use of the personal data of students. Currently, the Dalhousie and King’s registrars use the Banner System to handle all that data – each student has a Banner number within this system that starts B00. This system sorts and stores data inputted by students as they register for university. Over time, the university adds in relevant information such as your major, minor and grades. That’s how Dal Online knows if you’ve met prerequisites or not. According Adriane Abbott, the advancement director, not all of this data is used only in the registrar’s office. Some it has to be exported and manipulated into new datasets. The registrar’s office is currently directing media enquiries to the advancement office. “We have a tremendous amount of data reporting that we have to do (for) the government and also for registrarial purposes that isn’t about individual records, but general things, like how many students

“If all your students are coming from Nova Scotia you need to know that because you need to know where to direct recruitment funding and where to send recruiters. “We have to have this information and we have to have these records. The question whether (or not) Dal can be doing some of that statistical analytic information for us.” According to Jim Fitzpatrick, bursar and interim registrar, the process of consulting with the business analyst began on Jan. 15. Fitzpatrick didn’t know exactly what inefficiencies the school hopes to cure, what functions of the registrar will be moving to Dal, or how much money the university hopes to save in the process. “It’s impossible to say until we have the work done.” Fitzpatrick said he was familiar with financial end of the Banner system from his time at Dal, and the system is pretty efficient. Although making the registrar’s office more efficient is part of the restructuring, the main reason for it comes from the need to cut costs in the face of falling government funding and enrolment. However, according to Cooper, students shouldn’t worry that the registrars will be moving to Dal. “This would have the effect of allowing people in our registrars office to concentrate more on student centric activities. Student centric activities being recruitment, admissions, advising and life after King’s.” said Cooper. “In other words, the kind of face-to-face more personal student centred work of the registrar’s office.” |w

TASK FORCE FIND$ MILLION$

By Georgia Atkin

An overview of the new task force plans

hen it comes to finding solutions for the university’s financial crisis, everything is - once again - on the table. The newest task force committee has been meeting twice a week to discuss possible solutions for the school’s shortfall. In these discussions, the Board of Governor’s treasurer Katrina Beach and bursar Jim Fitzpatrick have found there’s an extra $2.2 million in the investment account. The task force has come up with possible uses for this money, which are meant to focus on renewable and sustainable fixes. These include using it for faculty renewal, programme restructuring, administrative restructuring, student services, urgent maintenance

that had been deferred, as well as reducing the university’s debt or replenishing cash balances. Although these unexpected funds have relieved some of the immediate pressure on the task force, it is still focusing on the financial future of the university. “The financial problems are structural,” said Kim Kierans, vice-president and task force chair. “If we don’t somehow get things together, we’re not going to be sustainable.” The task force committee has a deadline of Feb. 3 to submit an interim report to the Board. The report will primarily focus on shortterm solutions for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. “We’re asking for data,” said Kierans. “We need to have informed,

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evidence-based decisions. It just can’t be gut decisions.”

based on performance.

The university increased its draw on the endowment from 4.5 per cent to five per cent to allow for the creation of the new task force, and it will maintain that increase in the short term.

A salary freeze isn’t the only option the committee is looking at in regards to the faculty. There was also the possibility that retiring Carnegie professors might not be replaced, or that current King’s faculty could replace those professors.

Among the short-term solutions, the task force committee will look at different budget cut scenarios submitted by the various academic and administrative departments. These scenarios will involve budget cuts of five, 10, or 20 per cent. Tuition and student fees will also be a part of the task force’s discussions. Kierans said a three per cent increase in tuition is likely to happen for the next year. King’s fees often mimic Dalhousie fees, so an increase may also depend on what Dal decides to do. Michaela Sam, the KSU president and a student representative on the task force, said she’s concerned about maintaining the accessibility of education. “Obviously, not only does it harm the accessibility of the college and our ability to attend King’s... but it also hurts enrolment numbers, and that’s not good for the school’s bottom line,” she said. The university has already been responding to the trend of falling enrollment in a variety of ways, particularly focusing on potential student engagement. In 2014, faculty members promoted King’s at over 60 public and private schools across Canada, giving lectures on topics such as Hegel, opera, journalistic storytelling and media law. This year’s current FYP students received finger puppets of Plato, Hemmingway or Tesla, depending on their course of study. Although there have been conversations about restructuring academic programs, changes are unlikely to happen soon. “Our priority in those conversations is maintaining the programs that we already have,” said Sam. “Ensuring that... our operating budget is going to support what is core to King’s, which is our teaching and our learning and our libraries and things like that.” However, even those core aspects of King’s will be scrutinized. According to the an update emailed to the UKC community mailing list, the task force is looking at the possibility of implementing total or partial salary freezes. The update offered the projected savings of two different scenarios for a salary freeze. The first includes Carnegie professors – faculty employed by King’s to teach at Dalhousie – as well as unionized teaching and senior fellows. It gives options for excluding employees from the salary freeze if they earn less than $60,000, $50,000, or $40,000. With these four variations, the update said the salary freeze could save between $300,000 and $360,000. The second scenario excludes Carnegie professors and unionized teaching fellows, and has the same qualifications for excluding employees making less than $60,000, $50,000, or $40,000. This scenario could save between $250,000 and $300,000 Both scenarios also have an option that only freezes the income maintenance charge, which allows salary increases to accommodate the increase in the cost of living. The savings here are about $200,000 less than other options, however, it doesn’t freeze the career development increment, which allows for increases in pay

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Sabbaticals next year could be deferred, or not funded by the university. The eventual retirement of faculty and staff might also provide savings, and buyouts could be offered to ease the process. Kierans stressed that this is only an idea, however, and it would be entirely optional. Kierans also mentioned some Dalhousie employees are working half-time for half-pay. Faculty at Dal can take half-time appointments to ease themselves into retirement. King’s could follow suit. Kierans said the possible impacts of all these ideas on academic programs and teaching would have to be considered first. Sam agreed. “It’s difficult to say what will definitely happen, because there are so many different constituencies in the room,” said Sam. “We all have different ideas about what King’s needs to prosper. “What I can say is that we are working very hard to protect those in precarious work situations at King’s.”

Where did the new task force committee come from? The Long Term Financial Strategy Taskforce Report, released in Oct. 2014, was the work of a committee put together to begin to solve the university’s financial crisis. Faculty created their own working group to look at solutions to the financial crisis. Both the faculty report and the KSU fact sheet, which was given to students to outline the task force report, indicated a need for a more accountable committee that would take all members of the university community into equal account. On Nov. 17, the Board of Governors decided to create a more representative committee to look at long and short-term solutions. The new task force has thirteen members: Michaela Sam and Emily Rendell-Watson as student representatives; Stephen Kimber, Gordon McOuat, Neil Robertson and Shirley Tillotson as faculty representatives; Kelly Porter and Jennifer Barnhill as staff representatives; the chair of the Board’s task force committee and King’s alumnus, Tom Eisenhauer; Board member and alumnus Colin MacLean; president George Cooper; Board chair Dale Godsoe; and Kim Kierans as the task force’s chair.

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Another avenue the new task force is looking at comes from King’s non-academic revenue. Conference services are now offered at King’s in the summer, providing spaces for different events. Kierans said this service has the potential to produce $100,000 in revenue next year.

After submitting the interim report on Feb. 1, the task force will start working on long-term solutions. They will expand their focus to include where King’s fits in compared with other universities in Nova Scotia, as well as its relationship to government funding.

Although a merger with Dalhousie could still be discussed at a later stage, Sam said the idea is not featured in the task force’s immediate discussions.

“I love King’s, and I will fight for King’s as long as I possibly can, and I think that it does have a future,” said Kierans. “We just have to figure out a way together.” |w

Jan. 28 Task Force Update By: Jesse Laufer

new draft proposal suggests freezing salaries for some King’s faculty and staff. A task force struck to find potential solutions to the financial problems at King’s presented these ideas to the community. Its report suggests staff at a low wage would not see the wage freeze, although that exact level has yet to be determined. Also excluded from the proposed salary freeze would be unionized faculty, as well as Carnegie professors. Carnegie professors are faculty King’s pays to teach at Dalhousie, according to King’s history webpage, and contribute to the King’s community. This is part of a longstanding partnership between the two schools, dating back to when King’s in Windsor burned down and the Carnegie Foundation helped pay for King’s to rebuild and associate with Dalhousie. Well-known professor Wayne Hankey, for example, falls under this agreement. The wage freeze proposal, said the report, is for a maximum of two years. The report also suggests eliminating session staff in the humanities. In November, rumored layoffs of sessional professors – three in particular – sparked a letter writing campaign headed by the student union. Vice president Kim Kierans told the Watch that the rumour of specific cuts was founded in miscommunication at a faculty meeting. These ideas, the salary freeze and sessional layoffs, would save the school $300,000 for the 2015-16 fiscal year, said the presenters.

The school’s financial woes stem largely from lower enrolment and lack of government funding over the last few years, it said. The task force committee was started to analyse these issues and find solutions, with this most recent report combining meetings since mid-December. The force is comprised of 13 members, including Kierans, president George Cooper, as well as faculty, staff, student and board representatives. The report brings even more surprises. King’s has discovered roughly $2.28 million, it said, in endowment and investment lines. The money is a result of “past internal restrictions related to items not including general operations,” according to the report. The school could use those funds to lessen the amount of cuts this upcoming year. However, most of the conversation in the report and during the town hall centered around how to invest those funds in ways which could lead the college to become financially prosperous in the long-term. The five per cent budget cut garnered discussion. Daniel Brandes, the Foundation Year Programme director, noted during the town hall that a five per cent cut to FYP would amount to around $80,000. That’s a seventh of the amount the school hopes to save with the cuts. The task force previously discussed cuts of 10 or 15 per cent, but according to the report, decided that would hurt the King’s experience. “There are units and programs that cannot sustain even a five per cent cut, others that can cope with more,” it said, so even the five per cent cut might not be implemented across the board.

The largest area of potential savings, however, was a suggested overall five per cent cut to the budget, freeing up an estimated $561,000 next year, according to the report.

Also proposed are energy retrofits and renovations to school facilities. The draft report said the school should see returns on those types of investments almost immediately, which director of facilities Alex Doyle supported during the town hall.

“We need to reduce our expenses by approximately $1.4 million in 2015-16,” said the report. “If we don’t, the College’s deficit will increase by another $500,000 in each subsequent fiscal year.”

The task force meet on Jan. 30 to discuss the feedback received during the town hall. Its final interim report is due out Feb. 3. |w

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OPINION

King’s is headed to Dal

n a Friday in mid-summer, Kate Ross sat in her office on the third floor of the A&A building Googling tech problems and editing photos while listening to CKDU 88.1 FM. The masters students had left for the day, and the building was mostly empty. Moments later, she was summoned to a meeting in the director’s office. There, she was informed her services were no longer required. Ross was a well-known journalism tech assistant at King’s and somewhat of a notorious figure in the quad – with hundreds of pairs of glasses, dozens of refurbished bikes and extensive knowledge of Apple products. That day, she was let go as a part of King’s “restructuring.” Rock n’ roll. Deal with it. This is where we’re heading, folks. The King’s so-called “restructuring” is a short-sighted hatchet job. The most visible signs I’ve noticed: 1)Journalism tech assistant mysteriously let go 2)Printed version of the Halifax Commoner newspaper torpedoed, and with it the popularity of the upper-year journalism print workshop 3)The sale of a property owned by the school 4)The end of the line for the registrar and at least two communications staff. None of these stand out on their own, but combined with the formation of the “College Task Force,” the poorly named “Strategic Plan” and disturbing annual financial reports, one thing is clear: enjoy King’s while it’s still an independent (sort of) institution. I had to laugh when the school of journalism booted Kate Ross. On one hand, the school promotes “digital journalism” and on the other it cuts ties one of the most tech savvy employees it has… I mean, had. Ross was not a journalist by trade. Despite not being classified as an instructor, she taught classes in photography, coding, and print and web design. Ross was one of a handful of journalism staffers who is proficient in skills needed for 21st century journalism. King’s hired a replacement with a similar name, occupying the same office and a disturbingly similar role. This replacement graduated with a bachelor degree from the journalism school in 2013, just over a year before she was hired to replace Kate Ross. This signifies where we are headed: cut costs and pretend nothing has changed. The fact that King’s still offers a print journalism workshop is baffling. It’s an injustice to charge students to take a six-week course in a dead medium that they’d be wise to avoid. For the past few years,

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By Dave Lostracco

it went on as it always has, until this Fall when the 2015 graduating class abstained from ludditry (at least for one semester). Finally, students were smart enough to know they were being had. Unfortunately, the multi-talented professor Dean Jobb – recognized for expertise in journalism, law and history – saw his role change from educator to recruiter. Yes, a full-time King’s prof and author of two widely used journalism textbooks was sent on the road to recruit any rubes foolish enough to consider a journalism degree in this day and age. I’m sad I didn’t get an invite to one of these spectacles. Jobb should’ve been reassigned to another teaching or research role where his skills could have been utilized. Instead he spent six weeks re-enacting a Bob Seger song. Jobb’s print workshop had no chance. My opinion is that it was torpedoed as a cost-cutting measure. The workshop must have ran a significant deficit from printing a newspaper, so I’m sure someone was quite happy no one signed up. Oh wait, in the Fall, it was announced that the ‘print’ workshop would not be printing anything. That’s right. King’s expected students to sign up for a workshop where the finished product was something akin to a make-believe newspaper, while their colleagues broadcast actual radio and TV shows and publish articles online. This seems too foolish to be true, yet this is where we’re headed. It’s mysterious that Ross was previously the assistant in the not-tobe printed workshop, back in the days when it was printed (up to 2014). I’m not a mathematician, but to me, the solution was simple: offer the print workshop in one semester, instead of both, and actually print a paper. That’s half of the production cost. As the print workshop returned in January from the Fall hiatus, Ross’ non-replacement-replacement seems to be assisting Jobb’s reincarnated web-only newspaper on a regular basis. Hmmm… And the house went up for sale. In the fall King’s rid itself of 6305 Coburg Road at nearly $100,000 below the assessed value of the property, records show. Once again, I’m not a mathematician, but two things stand out: 1) Real estate that can be rented to students, close to a university, should be worth more, not less, than the assessed value 2) It’s never a positive sign when an organization liquidates capital assets that can be used as a revenue-generating asset (for example, as Dalhousie University has, offering off-campus housing).

Sure, the house goes a long way in balancing the $1.1-million deficit earlier this year. More must be done to make a lasting financial effect on the budget crisis. Cutting the registrar likely helped. Elizabeth Yeo and her $120,000 salary is no more. The details of her departure are cloudy at best. She is said to be pursuing academic interests, but this too doesn’t pass the smell test. Why ditch a lucrative job with status and a chance to travel for more schooling? Yeo will not be replaced. Her job will be split up between her former underlings and others. Those staff will not be in line to replace the now-amalgamated position. But this is where we’re headed. It’s only a matter of time, I believe, until nearly all of the financial and administrative services are folded or turned over to Dal.

Play Harry Potter and listen to the choir while you still can. Food and residence may still make money for King’s, but Dal may need the beds. Soon we could see the quad have a new landlord. I predict in 10 years, King’s will still be called King’s. The school will offer some of the same courses, yet will be little more than a department of Dal. That department will have the Dalhousie Student Union (God help us) and lack in-house administration, the Blue Devils, separate facility services, residences and dining hall – and several professors we all love. Even tenure is not the Divine Right of King’s. That can be revoked. In one year, the school is well on its way to being a shadow without consequence. This is where we’re heading. Philosophers and journalists of the quad unite (if you’re not too busy). |w

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INFRINGMENT 2015 Photos By: Sasha Pickering

The 2015 Infringment festival went from Monday Jan. 19 to Saturday Jan. 24, and involved a Shame Night opening gala (students were invited to read their high school diaries and freethought writing), crafts with cats in honour of the final Mancat play, radio plays and of course plays in the Pit.

CHANGES TO KING’S SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY MAY BE ON THE WAY

By Madi Haslam and Caora McKenna

niversities across Canada are updating their sexual assault policies, and King’s is one of them. Kim Kierans, the university’s vice-president, believes the policy at King’s can be better. It was adopted in 2012, and the conditions of the policy say it must be reviewed every two years throughout its first five years of operation. Kierans says she’ll bring it to the King’s Governance Committee’s next meeting, asking them to set up a working group of faculty members, students and staff to review and improve the current procedure. Kierans also acts as the school’s equity officer. She handles allegations of discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, on campus. She says the changes have to be made while understanding the uniqueness of the King’s community. “You can’t paper a Dalhousie policy on us, or a SMU policy or whomever. It has to be right for all of us: students, staff and faculty,” she says. The school’s code of conduct is in the Yellow Book, the goto procedural handbook. It says sexual harassment is “unwelcome or inappropriate sexual attention or behaviour, which adversely affects the working or learning environment.” The current policy doesn’t include criminal behavior like including stalking and sexual assault. However, a clause in the policy says King’s will give advice to anyone concerned about stalking or sexual assault. Michaela Sam, the president of the King’s Students’ Union, will be one of the student representatives participating in the review process. “It’s our hope that there’s enough student input to make sure we’re supporting our students in the best way possible,” says Sam. “Policies are important. They provide a resource for students to turn to and provide us with guidance so that we don’t get caught in grey areas.” Sam believes that one of the things missing from King’s current policy is the possibility for students to make reports of harassment and assault anonymously. “The Dalhousie Student Union is calling for anonymous reporting from their students. That’s something that needs to be available on every campus and on our campus, too,” she says. Kierans has training from Avalon and Dalhousie counseling services. The mediation process varies on a case-to-case basis.

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92 percent

of sexual assault victims in Canada are women (StatsCan, 2008) Cities with the highest police reported rate1 of sexual assault (StatsCan, 2011) 1. Winnepeg, 79 2. Edmonton, 78 3. Halifax, 76 4. Brantford, 73 5. Saskatoon, 72 1 Per 100,000 people

“If somebody has been sexually assaulted, I direct them to Avalon (Sexual Assault Centre) and counseling right away. I’ll ask them what they need to be safe talk about the police and charges, but Avalon normally covers that,” she says.

Location of Sexual Assault, Male

“I’ve never actually had to use the official complaint procedure. It’s all been done through informal mediation in my office.” As dean of residence, Nick Hatt also deals with harassment and assault on campus. Every year, he and residence dons undergo a week and a half of training to ensure they run a successful residence program. In their training, the residence faculty learns how to respond to students in distress and approach incidents of sexual violence. “Quite a number of years ago, Avalon worked with us to develop an internal residence protocol for what to do if a student comes to us who been sexually assaulted — how to support that student, how to work with them,” says Hatt. “It’s very much a trauma-informed response. Avalon also comes in and does training with us for a number of hours.”

Residential Institutional (College, University, School) Public Place Commercial Unknown

(StatsCan 2008)

Complaints can be made verbally or through a formal written process at King’s. From 2010 until 2012, Kierans said, no cases of discrimination or harassment were reported to the equity officer. Since she was appointed to the position in 2012, Kierans said, the number of cases she has seen has been on the rise.

Residential Public Place Commercial Institutional (College, University, School) Unknown

In the 2012-13 academic year, one case of sexual harassment and assault was reported and resolved internally. In 201314, seven cases of sexual harassment were reported. Kierans mediated four of them. The other three complainants did not pursue resolution. Five complaints of sexual harassment and assault have been filed this academic year so far. It isn’t only students who approach Kierans with allegations of harassment and assault, she said. “I’ve had dons in here and staff in here, because our policies cover everybody. We’re all held to the same standards. We all have the same protection,” she says. “I think it’s great that we’re talking about this so everyone on campus can know their rights and that there’s someone here to help them. There’s a system.” As for the changes to the policy, Sam says it needs to be a part of a campus-wide discussion. Last year, the union held a panel on rape culture; last semester, a workshop on intoxication and consent; this semester, two workshops with Avalon. The union has also supported the Canadian Federation of Students’ No Means No campaign since it began two decades ago. The campaign seeks to raise awareness and reduce the occurrence of sexual violence on campuses and in communities. “We can’t just be responding to these events as they happen. We can’t just be putting the policies in place and saying that will solve these problems,” says Sam. “These are obviously systemic issues, and that needs to be a part of the conversation, too. Faculty, staff and our students are working to ensure that we are all responsible to one another, accountable to one another, and are making this place safe for one another.” |w

Location of Sexual Assault, Female

WHOTOCALL There are many resources available to people who have been sexually assaulted or have questions about sexual assault. Kim Kierans, equity officer kim.kierans@ukings.ca 902-422-1271 ext. 164 Michaela Sam, KSU president president@ksu.ca

Avalon Sexual Assault Centre info@avalon.ca 902-422-4240

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COPING WITH ECZEMA

By: Daren Zomerman - CUP, The Griff EDMONTON o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

he science behind eczema is simple — a genetic mutation that stops the skin from holding in moisture, resulting in an inflamed rash that is sensitive, painful and relentlessly itchy. It’s incurable, but mostly manageable. Inflammations, or flare-ups, can happen anywhere on the body. For me, it was mostly on the top of my right hand — the one I use to clean the dishes, introduce myself, serve patrons, write and generally do everything with. The worst part is the fact that I’m a cyclist, and sweat after a hard ride made my hands itchier than normal. If there was one time that I was most prone to scratching, it was a couple minutes after locking up my bike. And scratching makes everything worse. So I became left-handed, hiding my right whenever possible. I shook hands with my right palm facing up; I drank beer, used a fork and gestured all with my left. Anything to avoid the inevitable stares and glancing eyes. Part of my undoing was holding the eczema-ridden part of my hand against the ridge of the back pocket. The rough surface was just enough to send my hand into an itching frenzy — one that inevitably led to bleeding, guilt and shame. People will always say that to get rid of it, you have to stop scratching. The itch was so intense that I only remember being able to hold back from scratching twice in the past year. One of those two times, my girlfriend had to actively pin me away from my hand. How did I get to that point? How does anybody get to that point? Mostly it was reluctance to see a doctor. Mild eczema is supposed to be easy to get rid of. Simply moisturize with an unscented hand cream, such as Glysomed, or any hand cream that says “eczema” anywhere on the bottle. My partner made hand creams using beeswax and essential oils to soothe the skin. Nothing worked. When the skin is broken there is always the potential for a bacterial infection, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus, known as a staph infection. Staph is virtually harmless when it gets under the skin, but it makes treatment more difficult. At this point, clearing it up without seeing a doctor is a Sisyphean task. There is progress and it will start to clear, but eventually that boulder just rolls down the other side.

Most people don’t get it that badly, and most people treat it before I did. For those who don’t go to a doctor in time, and for those who have worse cases, there is help. Sabrina Lee has been dealing with eczema all her life. It was at its worst in junior high and high school. “It’s basically your whole entire life,” she says. “You get up in the morning, and you have to deal with it, and it’s something that’s always in the back of your mind.”Her struggle brought her to start an Edmonton support group called YEGzema, giving people non-medical advice on dealing with flare-ups. YEGzema started in 2013 when she won a $1,000 award from the Field Law Community Fund Program. Since then, she has been helping others and providing advice for anyone who asks. It took Lee years to get it under control, but even that success is relative. “It’s still not amazing. I don’t think it’ll ever be gone, but I’d say the amount of flare-ups have decreased quite a bit — it happens just a few times instead of a handful of times each month,” she says. Getting there took a lot of lifestyle changes, including cutting dairy and gluten from her diet as well as moving to an apartment without carpet. She also tried methods that have worked for others, such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine and light therapy, to no avail. “I’d say that going on the diet was very helpful, and it kind of allowed it to heal and for me to get it under control,” Lee says. “I tried so many different treatments that apparently worked for everyone else, and nothing worked for me. It was super discouraging knowing that I could have this forever and never have it under control.” The Eczema Society of Canada is another helpful organization that provides information for people with eczema. The website has tips and facts about eczema, and how to manage it, as well as a list of approved skin care products for managing the condition. Anything can cause or worsen eczema, such as allergies, soaps, harsh chemicals, sweat, temperature changes and weather. Dry climates are hard on skin, making Edmonton a particularly inhospitable home for many eczema sufferers, Lee says. “The winter is probably the worst. It’s super dry because you crank up the heat . . . basically you can moisturize a million times a day and it doesn’t feel like anything is really going through,” she says.

Eczema can be a debilitating condition. I broke down every time that I saw the eczema pop up in an image or video taken of me, every time that a person took a second, disgusted glance, every time I was asked if I got into a fight, and every time that I couldn’t stop scratching. It’s gone now, and what’s left is a visible scar, and more fragile skin from overuse of cortisone ointments. What held me back the most was feeling alone and isolated in my condition. I know now that is not the case. Even though Edmonton isn’t the most hospitable climate for people suffering from eczema, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is support, and there are other people going through the exact same thing. “The most important thing to say is you’re not alone in this,” Lee says. |w

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RELIEVING THE ITCH Advice from the National Eczema Association: Try soaking in a bath for 20 minutes then immediately apply a moisturizer before drying. then allow your skin to air dry. Also fish oil, flax seed oil, any sort of anti-inflammatory oil is beneficial. Two baths: one in the morning and one before going to bed. Immediately apply a moisturizer followed by Aquaphor Healing Ointment. Apply Curél Itch Defense lotion three times a day. Use sunflower oil or Vaseline. Sunflower oil with Vitamin E oil provides a moisture barrier with no additives. Benadryl before bathing and do it two times a day. Apply coconut oil infused Vaseline immediately after bathing before drying off. Use tea tree soap in the shower and moisturize with an aqueous cream. Shea butter moisturizes and evens out the skin. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

“I’d highly recommend, unfortunately, moving to a more humid climate.”

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Dylan from Nova Pharmacy ConveThird-year journalism student, Michelle Pressé, says every time she needs a pack of gum or something to drink, she’ll always go to Nova Pharmacy because of their employees. “Just comparing it to other people at convenience stores, they just talk about the weather and stuff… these guys actually joke around and have conversations with you,” she said.

Favourite employees in & around King’s

That isn’t to say they don’t take their jobs seriously. “They’re good at what they do; the store is well kept and organized. They just have fun while doing it. They’re hilarious while still being professional.”

By Alex Cooke

When Pressé goes to the store, she’s usually helped by Dylan, one of the employees there. “He genuinely cares about his customers’ day. He’s not just like ‘Hey, how are you?’ He’ll actually talk to and listen to you. “If there’s two places with the same prices side by side, people are going to go to the one whose staff are friendlier.”

Linda from So-

Fourth-year biology student, Daniel Feil lived on residence for 3 years, so he knows the meal hall staff pretty well. Linda, in particular, stands out to him as a warm, kind figure. “She’s always super friendly… she calls everyone ‘love,’ like ‘Hey, how are you doing, love?’” He said many of the staff members there are great, but what really sets Linda apart is her caring nature. “I get the impression that she really cares… Sodexo staff in general try their best with what they’re given, but she actually seems to care about your day.”

Michelle Pressé, who is also in her third year of living on residence, agrees. “She’s literally like a grandmother to everyone on campus. She wants to know about everyone’s lives even outside of school… she’s just a very caring person.” Pressé told a story of how one of her friends tried to sneak a martini glass out of the Christmas dinner, and having Linda catch her and tell her she was disappointed. “She felt terrible! She was like ‘Oh no, I’ve disappointed Linda!’ She ended up putting it back.”

Billy and Sheldon from King’s

While you may not see them around very often, these two make their presence known through their hard work and the upkeep of the buildings and campus. Joy Shand says that she first got to know them through her work on campus patrol. “They don’t talk down to the students; they’re always very willing to collaborate with us. “Sometimes I feel like in the past, relationships between students and the facilities staff had been a bit antagonistic. But they really work on their relationships with the students and helping us out.”

Shand describes them as being hard workers and committed to making King’s campus a better place.

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Monica from Alex Hall Whether you’re a first-year student new to the residence or a seasoned fourth-year ready to graduate, you’ll know who Monica is. She’s the friendly face behind Alex Hall reception, and she’ll always be willing to lend a helping hand. Mike Tucker, a third-year contemporary studies and English major, said that Monica has helped him out in a pinch more than once. He told me about how in first year, he once locked himself out of his room in the bays while wearing only a towel. Not wanting to walk across the quad in that state, he called the desk. “I explained the situation, and she called patrol right away to let me in.”

The JustUs! If you’re in the mood for coffee and in the Spring Garden area, the people at JustUs! coffeehouse will always get you what you want. Camille Horton, a thirdyear political science major, said she always likes going there. “They’re super personal, they chat with you… it just doesn’t seem like they hate their jobs!”

He also says she’s just a great person to talk to in general.

She says that friendliness and good customer service make a huge difference to her when she goes for food or coffee.

“Ever since first year, she remembers who I am. She’s easy to talk to and really helpful, whether you need to print a paper at the last minute, or if you just want a chat.”

“When you go to Starbucks, they’re just focused on getting you out the door as soon as possible. These guys are different.”

Anthropology and psychology major, Joy Shand, works at the front desk as a co-supervisor, and says that she’s only had good experiences with Monica. She describes her as “the most kind, generous person on the face of this planet.” “She’s very caring and she’s very good at making King’s feel like home, and she constantly goes above and beyond for students, and students that work for her.” Shand said when she was having a difficult time getting her student loans in, she talked to Monica about it. She said Monica was very understanding, and told her to feel free to come to her with any problems. “She was incredibly supportive of me as a person, as a human being; way more than another boss would be. “I really appreciate that she’s really respectful. She trusts us with a lot of responsibility, and takes what we have to say very seriously. She’s very appreciative of what we do.”

Terra from the Registrar’s Whether you need help picking out classes, or if you’re just unsure of the future, the King’s registrar’s office is the place to go. But Camille Horton says that Terra Bruhm specifically does a great job at helping students out. “She’s a gem. She has helped me a lot with figuring out what to do with my education. She’s super nice, super friendly, and makes sure to help you.” Horton says that she went in for academic advising stressing out about her future. “I was freaking out not knowing what to do for the rest of my life.”

Photos of Dylan, Linda and JustUs! staff by Alex Cooke. Photo of Billy and Sheldon by Sasha Pickering. Photo of Terra and Alex Hall from ukings.ca. Monica did not want her photo taken.

However, she said that Terra sat her down and talked her through all the courses that she already took, and the ones that she had to take in the future. “I just left feeling so much more calm. Better than I did going in there. She’s just great.”

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Sincerely, a t’d off driver By Colleen Earle

As both a driver and a pedestrian, I have noticed some alarming trends on the streets of our fine city. I have almost been hit at marked crosswalks more times than I can count, and I have almost hit pedestrians who have chosen to cross wherever they want. Here are some tips to drivers and pedestrians to make our roads safer for everyone, because we all have a responsibility for our own safety.

Pedestrians

1. Corners are unmarked crosswalks, driveways are not. Do not cross right out of King’s. Walk five feet and cross across from the corner, or use the marked crosswalk by Dalhousie Drive.

2. If the red hand is flashing, do not enter the crosswalk. This

is a warning to those halfway across the intersection that the lights are about to change and they need clear the intersection so that cars turning left – read liable to run you over – can do so safely before the light turns red.

3. It is a well known fact that the colour black is both fashion-

able and slimming. However, it is also dangerous. Make sure you are wearing something light-coloured so cars can see you at intersections when it’s dark. Don’t blend into the shadows.

4. Music is fun, but you need to be able to hear the cars that are hurtling towards you. Turn it down or unplug.

5. I find it remarkable how many people have forgotten the simple elementary school lesson to STOP AND LOOK BOTH WAYS. Do not enter the intersection until you are sure that traffic is stopping for you and you are able to cross safely. Remember, just because you have the right of way does not mean cars will stop for you.

Drivers

1. Look for pedestrians where they may be crossing like corners and crosswalks. Be prepared to stop.

2. Don’t encourage jay-walking by stopping for someone who

seems like they may want to cross the street at some point in the future. Although pedestrians do not have the right of way unless it is a marked crosswalk or corner, if they walk out in front of your car it is your job not to run them over.

3. Be aware of potentially unsafe situations. Although we hope

all pedestrians will follow the rules above, it’s not likely. Look out for the people who don’t look before they cross, who are texting as they walk, who might blend into the scenery, or who are listening to music.

4. It helps if you don’t have your music too loud as well. 5. Keep calm and focused. Being a defensive driver is a lot easier when you are able to focus on the road rather than failing a midterm or the fact that you’re late for work.

Ultimately, there are two rules that everyone should follow: DON’T WALK OUT IN FRONT OF CARS and DON’T RUN PEOPLE OVER. |w

Photo: Chris Goldberg Flickr.com/chrisgold 18 | the watch