MacEwan University Alumni News by MacEwan Alumni

alumni news SUMMER 20 16

INSIDE // The Advocate’s Journey Reshaping the Landscape When Safe Isn’t Simple

CHANGE IS UNAVOIDABLE; THE PEOPLE BEHIND CHANGE, LIKE COURTNEY CLIFF, ARE UNSTOPPABLE.

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alumni news

SUMMER

2016

contents

M EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rebecca Chelmick

features 16

The Advocate’s Journey Advocate isn’t always a title that you choose. MacEwan University student Courtney Cliff and faculty member Petra Shultz share the personal experiences that led them to take up a cause.

Reshaping the Landscape City Councillor Scott McKeen walks us through changes on 104 Avenue that are set to impact the city at its very core.

When Safe Isn’t Simple A look at what it means to feel safe on campus—physically, emotionally and intellectually—and how MacEwan University is addressing issues surrounding safety of all sorts.

departments 7

what’s happening

News and events at MacEwan University David Cormican recognized with 2016 Award

distinguished alumni

off the beaten path

from the archives

energizing live music

6 books you should read this summer

law and order south of the border

Alumni share their favourite Alberta road trip destinations The early days of a new post-secondary institution What’s the future for Edmonton’s live music scene?

Psychology alumna-turned-prof studies crime and punishment Alumna goes from construction site to archeology site

feeling it in your bones

getting into the great outdoors

at the top of their game

classifieds

photo finish

Connect with nature without leaving the city

The new generation of Griffins

MANAGING EDITOR BJ Anderson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS BJ Anderson, Justin Bell, Caitlin Crawshaw, Rachelle Foss, Stephanie Sparks, Michelle Woodard CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ernest Augustus, Studio E Photography Steven Stefaniuk DESIGN Lindsay Van Driel M is published two times a year by MacEwan University Alumni and Development as a service to alumni, donors, students, partners, faculty and staff. M invites your advertising, letters to the editor, story ideas and comments. We value your feedback! Please direct them to alumni@macewan.ca. M Alumni and Development MacEwan University Alberta College Campus P.O. Box 1796 Edmonton, AB Canada T5J 2P2 Ph: 780-497-4273 (address updates and all other inquiries)

Email: alumni@macewan.ca To receive your copy of M by email, send your name and email address to alumni@macewan.ca. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40063489

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Alumni and Development MacEwan University P.O. Box 1796 Edmonton, AB Canada T5J 2P2

New journalism grad Kyle Muzyka on stories forged by fire

We are committed to environmental responsibility. M is printed using vegetable-based ink, on Forestry Stewardship Council® certified paper.

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contributors bj anderson

(Office Administration, ’99)

BJ is a writer and marketing project coordinator in the Office of Communications and Marketing at MacEwan University. She loves a good story, whether she’s hearing one or telling one. When she’s not at work, she’s likely trying to get a word in edgewise with her husband and daughter (the family is full of storytellers) and tripping over the world’s most devoted pug. justin bell

(Journalism, ’04)

Justin Bell has spent more than 10 years as a journalist, managing student newspapers at both MacEwan and the University of Alberta during that time. He currently works as an editor full time and freelance writer on the side.

Go online for more

Visit MacEwan.ca for stories about amazing research, quirky class assignments, awesome alumni and cool s tudents between issues of M. Get MacEwan University news delivered to your inbox! Go to MacEwan.ca/News to sign up for our e-newsletter.

CONNECT WITH US!

caitlin crawshaw

Caitlin Crawshaw is an award-winning wordsmith based in Edmonton. She discovered her life’s work while volunteering for a student newspaper in her last year of university. More than a decade later, her byline has appeared in dozens of magazines, newspapers and websites across North America, including the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and Dog Fancy. In 2016, she will earn her MFA (creative writing) from the University of British Columbia. (Bachelor of Applied Communications in Professional Writing, ’15) rachelle foss

Rachelle Foss is a freelance writer/editor, and a recent graduate of MacEwan’s Bachelor of Applied Communications in Professional Writing program. She has worked on a variety of projects, including those with The Western Sentinel and NAIT. She’s been a member of the Earth Common Journal editorial board since 2012, and has published articles in each volume since its inaugural year. stephanie sparks (Bachelor of Applied Communications in Professional Writing, ’06)

Stephanie Sparks is a writer/editor living in Edmonton. By day, she works as a communications writer at MacEwan University and by night writes fiction. Her passion for telling stories of all kinds is one she has pursued from an early age. Her writing credits include Alberta Venture, Leap Magazine and Nursing PRN.

Connect with us on LinkedIn MacEwan University Alumni

M is Going Digital MacEwan University is committed to sustainability in education and its business operations. In an effort to uphold this commitment and to expand value-added programming for our alumni, we will be moving our winter issue of M Alumni News from print to a digital presence. Stay connected. Sign up at MacEwan.ca/Alumni

michelle woodard

Michelle Woodard is a writer in MacEwan University’s Office of Communications and Marketing where she spends her days getting the scoop on the endless cool things students, faculty and alumni are up to. When she’s not writing, you’ll most likely find her spending time with her family— or daydreaming about their next off-the-grid adventure on the west coast.

4 | SUMMER 2016

M E S S AG E from the E D ITO R

THE CHANGE MAKERS BEHIND THE CHANGE

h e n I wa s in high school, I remember driving through “the rathole,” a two-lane tunnel under the abandoned train yards on 109 Street. It’s amazing to think about all that has changed—and continues to change—in the city’s centre since then. If you’ve driven down 104 Avenue recently, you can’t help but notice the accelerating speed of that transformation. So in this issue, we invited City Councillor and alumnus Scott McKeen to chat about the future of the avenue that MacEwan’s City Centre Campus calls home.

It was an opportunity to reflect on how the university fits into its neighbourhood, and to consider how the new Centre for Arts and Culture will fit into the downtown landscape. Even as that incredible new structure quickly takes shape, we know that it’s the people who are the heart of this university. The alumni, students, faculty and staff who—by choice or by circumstance—are living through change, looking for change and making that change happen.

We set out to tell stories about those change makers in this issue, and it wasn’t difficult to find them because they truly are everywhere. Sometimes they’re at the front of the classroom—like faculty member Petra Shultz, who shares the heart-wrenching story of her son’s death in hopes that it will change the way nursing students think about addiction. Sometimes they’re sitting right beside you in class—like Courtney Cliff, a fourth-year Bachelor of Arts student who is one of the architects helping to shape a support system for the next generation of LGBTQ youth. Other times they’re further afield— like alumna Jillian Turanovic, whose research into how crime and punishment in the U.S. affects families is making its way to practitioners who can make a real difference in the lives of people.

If you know someone who is making a difference, tackling a problem head on or improving their community, please get in touch. We would love to hear their story. On the theme of stories, I can’t help but be struck by the ones I’m reading about the Class of 2016. As I learn more about the newest additions to our alumni family, it’s clear that we’re welcoming a new class of change makers into the fold.

rebecca chelmick alumni coordinator

Alumni and Development

While we’re proud of the stories we are sharing with you, we know that we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to the incredible things people in the MacEwan community are doing to change the world for the better.

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M E S S AG E from the PR E S I D E N T

e ac h i n g a n d r e s e a r c h

are the foundation of MacEwan University. Research informs and enriches teaching as much as the questions raised in the classroom inspire faculty to find answers and explanations. So it has been for a long time. But it remains that universities are much more, and that the demands placed on universities today are increasing at an exponential rate. Never in history has so much been known, a click away on Google. Mastering this information and using it responsibly is increasingly the goal of MacEwan University, suffusing and influencing everything we do both inside and outside the classroom. In this, we must be a model for others. Public discourse continues to grow

6 | SUMMER 2016

around such issues as sustainability, inclusivity, social responsibility and ending discrimination. During the last year, we have developed a comprehensive policy on sexual harassment, committed to supporting the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Final Report, and embraced new commitments concerning internationalization at the university. The students, faculty and staff of MacEwan University have enthusiastically embraced change in everything from gendered washrooms to aeroponic gardens to urban beekeeping. Small those these initiatives may seem, they serve as powerful signals of MacEwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsiveness to social change.

Our alumni remain a valuable part of our community, and by the many ways you have changed our city and beyond, serve as powerful examples of positive change. It is a source of continuing pride for MacEwan University, as an institution committed always to the public good.

david atkinson , president

MacEwan University

WHAT’S HAPPENING

at MacEwan University

Griffins indoor track team takes ACAC gold The MacEwan Universit y Grif fins women’s indoor track team captured the 2016 ACAC indoor track title; the men’s team finished four th overall, a marked improvement from the previous year. “ We are ex tremely proud of how our women competed and are pleased to see their ef for ts rewarded with a championship banner and trophy,” commented Grif fins head coach Drew Car ver. The star of the 2016 ACAC indoor track meet was MacEwan Universit y’s Vanessa Trofimenkof f, a four th-year physical education major, who was named the ACAC Female Player of the Year. She won gold in the women’s 300-metre, 600-metre and 1,000-metre races, and took silver in the 1,500-metre.

Physics prof builds a virtual liver Vahid Rezania, associate professor of physics, is using his exper tise in how fluids move to reimagine the way lifesaving drugs are tested. His research, in collaboration with researchers at the Universit y of Alber ta, involves building a vir tual liver that will test chemo drugs on computers instead of people.

So in collaboration with par tners Jack Tusz ynski at the U of A and Dennis Coombe of Computer Modeling Group Ltd. in Calgar y, Vahid set out to build a computerized model of liver lobules— roughly hexagonal groups of about a million liver cells—using a combination of physics laws, formulas, mapping and computer code.

Ever y thing you put in your body eventually ends up in your liver. It’s like a brownish-red, pear-shaped gate that collects ever y thing coming at it and decides what stays and what goes. If you’re a scientist developing a new drug, you not only need to figure out if your drug is going to make it through the gate, you need to know if it’s going to damage the gate in the process.

He’s made a lot of progress in just two years, but the process is slow and careful. It will likely be another five before he has a vir tual liver that functions properly. And while he feels the pressure to make this technology available as soon as possible, he’s also enjoying the process.

Chemotherapy drugs are especially hard on the liver, but seeing how much damage a treatment is going to cause involves a lot of guesswork. Right now, no one really knows what a new drug will do to the liver until someone takes it. For a person already traumatized by a cancer diagnosis, dealing with a side ef fect like liver damage—whether temporar y or permanent—seems like a kick in the teeth. That’s why testing drugs before they’re even swallowed or injected is so impor tant.

“This project is the most rewarding thing I could be doing. If we are able to develop a vir tual organ that finally works, it means we will have answered the question why, shown what’s happening, modelled it and developed a deep understanding—and as a result, found a way to pretest drugs on a computer, not on people.”

“Competing in multiple endurance events such as these demonstrates Vanessa’s fitness level and resilience,” says Grif fins Coach Linda Miller. “At times she only had 20 minutes to recover from one race before stepping on the line to compete in the nex t.” Other notable medal winners were Bachelor of Ar ts students Hannah Leggatt and Amanda Ntiamoah. Chanelle Gagne also put on a good show, but was edged out of two bronze medals in the last 30 metres of both the 1,500-metre and 3,000-metre races; she did help the team clinch the gold in the 400-metre relay. In curling, the women’s team beat out Red Deer College to capture the universit y’s third ACAC championship (previous wins were in 2004/05 and 2009/10). The Grif fins placed fif th at the CCA A national championship tournament. Meanwhile the women’s basketball team placed four th at the Canada West playof fs.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

at MacEwan University

Women’s hockey coach leads Team Australia at world championship

MacEwan launches the Clock Radio podcast In search of engaging stories that you can listen to on the go? Check out MacEwan Universit y’s first-ever podcast, Clock Radio. Enter the worlds of our students, facult y, staf f and alumni and go deeper into the accompanying long-form stories, including “ When Safe Isn’t Simple” (MacEwan.ca /SafeSpaces) and “A Long Way From Copenhagen” (MacEwan.ca / EdmontonBikes). Our first four episodes are available now at Soundcloud.com /MacEwanU. Have a listen, subscribe and be sure to leave a review.

“Building a team in a countr y that is 14,000 kilometres away, where outdoor ice is non-existent and hockey isn’t par t of the culture has been really interesting,” says Lindsay McAlpine, Grif fins Women’s Hockey head coach. Lindsay was named Team Australia’s new head coach and was responsible for choosing the players who would compete at the Women’s World Championship in Spain in early March. “The work I do at MacEwan is ver y hands-on—I’m with my players six days a week and our coaching team has been together for five years, so they know what I’m going to say before I even say it,” she says. “ With Team Australia, our player meetings and coach meetings happen through Sk ype and I focus on providing a bit of a dif ferent tactical look, energy and voice.” Lindsay says she bases her coaching and her decisions about forming the team on footage she watches from games in the Australia Women’s Ice Hockey League—and it’s a much smaller communit y than what she’s

used to. To illustrate, the International Ice Hockey Federation stats show that Australia has 389 female hockey players compared to Canada’s 86,612, and 10 indoor rinks compared to Canada’s 2,631. That has made for a bit of a steep learning cur ve for Lindsay’s Aussie players, but it’s a challenge the coach has enjoyed. “I really want to see how they come together, but I’m probably most excited for the first game of the World Championships,” she said in Februar y. “It will feel a bit strange to hear the Australian national anthem playing instead of ‘O Canada,’ but I know that playing a par t on the international stage will be ver y exciting.” Lindsay will continue as head coach for the Grif fins Women’s Hockey team for 2016/17.

Nicole Bourque-Bouchier takes her place as Allard Chair Nicole Bourque-Bouchier is MacEwan Universit y’s 30th Allard Chair in Business, and the dynamic entrepreneur looks for ward to mentoring the nex t generation of business leaders. The CEO and co-owner of the Bouchier Group is one of 2015’s 100 Most Power ful Women in Canada, Alber ta Venture’s 50 Most Influential Alber tans, and the most prominent businesspeople in the Nor thern Alber ta region. Along with her husband, Dave, Nicole oversees the Bouchier Group, which includes a heav y equipment contracting company, a general oil industr y ser vice provider, and a technical resource ser vice.

8 | SUMMER 2016

“It’s impor tant, more than any thing else, to raise awareness of women in nontraditional roles and Aboriginal people in business, especially in our Wood Buf falo Region,” says Nicole. The Allard Chair in Business honours exemplar y business leaders who have made significant contributions to the communit y. Throughout the year, the Allard Chair engages with students and facult y through various activities and events, providing insight and inspiration. As the first Allard Chair from the Wood Buf falo Region, Nicole gets to share her company’s stor y of success with Aboriginal business students in hopes of inspiring future entrepreneurs.

“Our team knows that there are always challenges, but when times are tough, we pull together, lean on each other and get through it.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING

at MacEwan University Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Public Outreach Grants. Pimachihowin focuses on the research of David Ler tzman, assistant professor in the Universit y of Calgar y’s Haskayne School of Business, and looks at how the Cree philosophy of Pimachihowin, which roughly translates into “living with the land,” might contribute to the environmental discourse between indigenous communities and oil companies that is of ten dominated by political protest. The Genius of the Violin features a project led by Guillaume Tardif, associate professor, Music, at the Universit y of Alber ta, and explores the diverse identities of the stringed instrument that is sometimes called a violin, and other times a fiddle. The film brings together players, including MacEwan Universit y Music facult y member Daniel Ger vais, to explore the spaces where dif ferent cultural traditions overlap, and where tensions and conflict emerge. While the two films could not seem more dif ferent on the sur face, Michael says that both, at their hear ts, are about dialogue between cultures.

Music faculty member launches two SSHRCfunded research documentary films In the last three years, you would have been just as likely to find Michael MacDonald, assistant professor in the Depar tment of Music, holding a video camera as one of the many instruments he plays. In Januar y, Michael unveiled the results of his work on two videos funded through Social Sciences and

“My own research is focused on cultural sustainabilit y, and that’s really what both of these projects are about,” he says, adding that he used his background in ethnographic film—documentaries that tell the stories of people—rather than his role as a researcher to contribute to both projects. “The research findings in both cases are impor tant, socially relevant and culturally significant, but are dif ficult to share in traditional ways that research is disseminated,” he explains. “As valuable as academic writing is, film provides a dif ferent way to reach a wider audience—and it’s increasingly being recognized as scholarly activit y. As a researcher myself, I’m still publishing in books and journals, but video is the medium I want to use to ar ticulate what I have to say nex t.” Pimachihowin and The Genius of the Violin can be viewed online at Vimeo.com/MichaelBMacDonald.

University celebrates the Book of the Year Mãn by Kim Thúy is the MacEwan Universit y Book of the Year for 2015/16. First-year English students, facult y members and staf f read the 2014 finalist for the Prix de 5 continents, and welcomed Kim at the March 8 public reading event. “Mãn being named MacEwan Book of the Year confirms my status as the luckiest girl in the world,” says Kim. “This honour is beyond what my imagination could have imagined.” The universit y plans to announce the nex t book in August. Visit MacEwan. ca /MacEwanBook for more information or to submit a book for future consideration.

AQUATIC CAMPS

Inner Tube Games Junior Lifesaving Sport and CPR Aqua Troopers Outdoor Swimming, Canoes, Kayaks and the Log Roll

SPORT CAMPS

Swim Strokes and Triathlon Volleyball/Basketball Combo Basketball Volleyball Sport and Swim Hockey

See website for details: MacEwan.ca/SportCamps

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

at MacEwan University

Portraits of MacEwan a social media hit Last summer, we launched “Por traits of MacEwan.” Inspired by the fantastic stories of Humans of New York, MacEwan Universit y wanted to celebrate the passions and insights of our students, staf f, facult y and alumni. Follow us at MacEwan.ca /Facebook to read about our ama zing people, including Brooke, a theatre production student: “I came to the Theatre Production program wanting to tr y new things, so I signed up for the class I was most scared of first—carpentr y. I knew if I could get through it, then I could do any thing. The person heading carpentr y for the first show I worked on mentored me through the whole thing and helped me fall in love with it. I didn’t expect that, but it’s exciting and super rewarding to see something you built on stage.”

Two journalism students shortlisted for national award For the second year running, MacEwan Universit y’s Bachelor of Communication Studies students made the semifinals in the national Emerge Media Awards. Tamanna Khurana and Riyah Lakhani were among five journalism students selected from programs at universities across Canada to compete in the Written Word categor y for 2016. Their stories were originally published in the Scavenger, an annual online maga zine featuring student work on MacEwanJournalism.com Riyah’s piece, “A refugee’s tale,” tells the stor y of Meron Gadda, a bright young girl in a resettlement camp in Kenya, while Tamanna’s, “The struggle for the soul of Alber ta Avenue,” explores how the neighbourhood is shaking of f a long-standing stigma. In 2015, MacEwan grad Nikki Wiar t won the Written Word categor y for her ar ticle “Meet the people behind Canada’s death revolution,” featured in the first edition of the Scavenger. The 2016 winners were announced as this issue went to press.

MacEwan University offers assistance to Fort McMurray evacuees In early May, as devastating forest fires forced an 88,000-person evacuation from For t McMurray to other par ts of Alber ta, MacEwan Universit y opened its campus residence to evacuees. Within days, the residence building reached full capacit y, and the universit y opened its parking lots for vehicles, RVs and motorhomes. Staf f, facult y and students reached out to help by donating to the Red Cross and Edmonton Emergency Relief Ser vices Societ y, as well as volunteering as needed in the communit y. “I am ver y touched by this response and it reflects the caring and socially responsible communit y that we are,” says President David Atkinson. “Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the many displaced people of For t McMurray who have lost so much.”

10 | S U MMER 2016

WHAT’S HAPPENING

at MacEwan University

Hard hats and tuxedos Another successful Mad Hatter’s Gala took place on April 23. More than 400 people attended the event held in the Robbins Health Learning Centre at MacEwan Universit y. Guests came dressed in their most creative, decorative and outrageous hats, including hard hats. “This year’s gala was in suppor t of MacEwan’s new Centre for Ar ts and Culture, which is under construction just steps away from the Robbins,” says event organizer Sarah Branton, manager of Communit y Development with the universit y’s Alumni and Development depar tment. “Bringing it back to campus was a natural fit.” The event included non-stop activit y—a four-course dinner, silent auction, per formances by students in the universit y’s per forming ar ts programs and a special appearance by MacEwan alumna, Juno-nominated singer/ songwriter Chloe Alber t. Award-winning hats brought colour, style and creativity to the annual Mad Hatter’s Gala.

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DISTINGUISHED

Alumni

Congratulations to our 2016 Distinguished Alumni!

ac h y e a r , M ac E wa n University presents the Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of the outstanding contributions of its alumni. David was awarded this honour at the university’s convocation ceremonies this past June.

David Cormican (Theatre Arts, ’01) has made many notable contributions on screens both big and small. As partner and executive vice president for Don Carmody Television (DCTV), David co-produced the 2014 Rogers-Netflix original series Between—the first new Netflix original series launched in Canada. David’s producer credits for DCTV also include ShadowHunters, a second season of Between, the Emmy-nominated The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe and Tokyo Trial, an upcoming miniseries. David’s filmmaking accomplishments include the Christian Slater thriller Stranded, The Tall Man (Jessica Biel), 13 Eerie and Faces in the Crowd. In 2008, David founded the Canadian Short Screenplay Competition which he ran until 2012. During that time, he produced five winning short film scripts. Rusted Pyre premiered at the 2011 Festival de Cannes and Will won the Golden Sheaf for Best Drama at the 2013 Yorkton Film Festival. After being selected for Playback’s 10 to Watch in 2012, David was named one of the magazine’s 2015 New Establishment recipients in an annual feature highlighting great mid-career success. David was also part of Hollywood Reporter’s Next Generation Canada: 2014 and he received the National Screen Institute’s Producer Drama Prize in 2010.

12 | S U MMER 2016

David Cormican

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD Nominate an alumnus who has achieved exceptional recognition in their career or community today!

FURTHER INFORMATION AND NOMINATION FORMS:

MacEwan.ca/Alumni M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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OFF

THE

BEATEN PATH

If you’re a serious Alberta road-tripper, you’ve stalked dinos in Drumheller, stampeded in Cowtown and enjoyed a mountain adventure or two in the Rockies. But there’s even more to explore if you’re willing to take the road less travelled. Here, a few of our alumni share their favourite destinations just off the beaten path. 1 Two of my favorite places offer the

ability to observe wildlife in their natural habitat while contributing to conservation of native species. They are also leaders in public education, which is paramount to the ideas of living with wildlife. The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation is the only educational and research facility in the world strategically located to study boreal birds on their breeding grounds. Elk Island National Park boasts some of North America’s best wildlife viewing, and offers activities, tours, camping and more! — Dawn Doell, B.Sc. ’14, Biological Studies

3 Bodo offers a lot

of public outreach, and there are other programs where you go in the trench and excavate with certified personnel. With the average archaeology site, statistically for every one arrowhead you find you can expect to find a thousand little flakes that were hit off to make that arrowhead. At Bodo, we find tons of arrowheads. It’s not just a matter of looking at a slideshow here and there—you actually go in to do archaeology. (bodoarchaeology.com) — Benjamin Keyes, BA ’16, Anthropology

1 4

2 While I was on a placement at

the Alberta Historic Resources Management Branch, I was assigned to research the significance of Fort Assiniboine. Fort Assiniboine is significant in Canadian and Alberta history because it was an important (or at least inevitable) stopping point in the route travelled by the Hudson’s Bay Company’s men, which took them from the actual Hudson’s Bay down to the mouth of the Columbia River in present-day USA. It’s hard to believe this tiny town played a role in the exploration and settlement of the entire Canadian West, and consequently in the history of First Nations people after the arrival of Europeans. — Andres Lalama, BA ’15, History

4 I’ve been dying to visit the ribstones

near Viking—I believe they are very rare. This was a sacred place for Aboriginal people, where they left offerings in order to have a good buffalo hunt. They are a salient reminder of Aboriginal peoples’ history prior to the arrival of settlers, and serve as a reminder that these lands once belonged to Aboriginal peoples. I think people should visit the ribstones to consider the larger impacts of settler colonialism, recognize these territories once belonged to Aboriginal peoples, and reflect on the impacts of settlement to Canada’s indigenous peoples. — Chantal Roy Denis, BA ’15, History

5 I love driving so I always take a lot

of pleasure in the trips I’ve had as a musician. A venue that comes to mind is the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod. The wooden beams in the basement dressing rooms have signatures of vaudeville people from the 1910s and 20s—amazing history. Another of my favourite drives is along Highway 22 (the Cowboy Trail they call it). Absolutely gorgeous drive through the foothills of the Rockies. You can take that road all the way down to the Crow’s Nest Pass, and all along the way there are great restaurants, music venues and fun people ready to have a good time! — Solon McDade, Music ’98

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FROM the ARCHIVES

A NEW KIND OF WORLD Cheryl Luchkow recalls the early days of a new post-secondary institution In each issue of M Alumni News, we reach back into the archives for history about MacEwan University.

called it “a new kind of college for a new kind of world.” It was that kind of talk (and programming) that attracted one of Grant MacEwan Community College’s very first students—Cheryl Luchkow. a r ly p r o m o ti o n a l m at e r i a l

“Grant MacEwan Community College was a brand new, exciting place and it offered this new program called Fashion Technology,” she recalls. Cheryl registered in the program at the new college’s downtown administrative office and began taking classes at Cromdale Campus in September 1971. (Read about Cromdale Campus in the Winter 2015/16 issue of M) in September 1971.

and recent alumni, shield your eyes: Fashion Technology courses were a mere $20 in 1971. The cost to replace a lost ID card, however, was a whopping $5, and the students’ association fee was $12. “I like nostalgia—these things are part of my life and they still have value to me,” she says. “I’ve got all my report cards from school, I know who sat in front of me; I remember all of my teachers’ names. I only keep these items for myself, but I’m not throwing them away yet.”

She soon discovered that fashion technology wasn’t what she wanted to do. “It wouldn’t have paid as well as being a secretary at that time.” The following term she transferred into Secretarial Sciences (a precursor to the Office Assistant program). Since then, she has been a secretary, stay-at-home mom, undergraduate and graduate student, and has worked at the University of Alberta and in private industry. Her current consulting work even led her back to MacEwan to fill in as manager of Student Leadership Development and Community Engagement, and assist with policy development.

FAST FACTS: The First Year*

“When I came back last year, it was like coming home.”

> First-ever programs included Child Care Worker, Fashion Technician, Nursing, Psychotechnician (which later became Behavourial Sciences Technician) and Social Service Technician.

Cheryl kept a few documents from those early days. The first thing you notice when you look through her course list and transcript is the cost of tuition. Current students

> Doors opened on September 7, 1971. > Average tuition and fees were $100 per semester. > In 1970, “The Edmonton College” was the placeholder name used until “Grant MacEwan Community College” was chosen. > In July 1971, 240 students were enrolled or in the process of enrolling.

*Source: Grant MacEwan Community College: The First Two Decades by Glenn David Ruhl

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The The

Advocate's Journey by Caitlin Crawshaw

How personal experiences led MacEwan University student Courtney Cliff and faculty member Petra Schulz to advocate for others

h e fa m o u s a n t h r o p o lo g i s t Margaret Mead once wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” A half a century later, her words still hold true— advocates shape society by speaking out and standing up for the things that matter.

Of course, the journey is not for the faint of heart. It’s no easy thing to change public attitudes, attract media attention to a cause or convince politicians to back a legislative change. But that hasn’t deterred MacEwan faculty member Petra Schulz or student Courtney Cliff. Inspired by the events in their own lives, both work tirelessly to help vulnerable populations and bring about change.

“We decided to speak .” about addiction openly

- Petra Schulz of Applied Faculty, BachelorAdm inistration Human Service

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Keeping other parents out of the club In 2014, Petra Schulz lived out every parent’s worst nightmare when her youngest son died. Danny was just 25 years old, a talented chef and musician. He was “the funny one” in the family. But Danny had been suffering from depression and anxiety since his teens, and had turned to using drugs to cope. When the addiction spiraled out of control, his parents convinced him to move back to Edmonton to get his life back on track. By all accounts, it was working— Danny was seeing a therapist, had a job as a chef and was rebuilding his life, bit by bit. “Slowly things were coming together again and we had over a year where things went well with some relapses,” says Petra. But tragically, a year-and-a-half into recovery, he became one of the earliest victims of Alberta’s fentanyl

Danny Schulz

crisis. Like many oxycodone (oxy) users, he was tricked into taking a small green pill that was actually fentanyl—a dangerous narcotic 100 times more toxic than oxy, heroin or morphine. After his death, Petra’s family decided to be candid about what had happened and spoke of Danny’s addiction and overdose at the funeral. It opened up a floodgate of people—friends, colleagues, neighbours and others—who approached them afterward to share their own stories of addiction. People told them of their own struggles, the loved ones they’d lost and the children they were trying to support. “Even though there’s a lot of stigma attached, we decided to speak about addiction openly,” she says. It began when she and her husband penned a tribute to Danny for the “Lives Lived” section of the Globe and Mail in July 2014. The fentanyl problem was becoming a full-blown crisis in Alberta and other parts of the country, so Petra agreed to media interviews and began writing letters to the editor, critical of how the crisis was being handled. Not only were health warnings issued too late, but they didn’t offer addicts any way to stay safe—for instance, Vancouver’s supervised injection sites provided oxy users access to medical help in the event they accidentally overdosed on fentanyl.

Knowing that there is power in numbers, Petra helped create a national activist group called mumsDU (moms united and mandated to saving Drug Users). The group’s goal wasn’t to push sobriety, but rather lobby government to adopt more harm-reduction strategies to save lives. Petra’s advocacy work has contributed to a number of changes, including the ability of Alberta firefighters and paramedics to carry naloxone, an antidote to fentanyl that can save people who have overdosed. She has also shared Danny’s story with hundreds of MacEwan nursing students in the hopes of inspiring more compassionate care for addicts. It’s emotionally taxing, but Petra perseveres. “As a parent who has lost a child, what I gain from this advocacy work is making sure others don’t join my club,” she says. “And it allows me to keep Danny’s legacy alive.”

Helping LGBTQ youth find community Before Courtney Cliff came out to her friends and family at 15, she was terrified. “Lucky for me, it went okay,” she says. Unlike many LGBTQ youth, she wasn’t disowned or abused by her family. “But I still had the fear of ‘what if?’” Nearly a decade later, Courtney is a fourth-year Bachelor of Arts student who advocates for the next generation of queer youth. As the community liaison worker for the non-profit altView, she works closely with school boards to create GayStraight Alliances (GSAs) in junior high and high schools throughout Strathcona County. These student-run clubs can take many forms, but all provide safe spaces for LGBTQ youth and their allies. “My school didn’t have a GSA and I can’t even imagine what my life would’ve been like if it had,” says Courtney. She thinks having the support of her peers and teachers would have made navigating her identity as a queer teen M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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“I don’t stop because I just respect these kids so much.”

ADVOCACY 101:

HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE AND RESILIENT AGENT OF CHANGE In her disability studies course on advocacy and activism, assistant professor Karen Heslop teaches students that there are as many different approaches to advocacy as there are issues to advocate for. But whether you’re advocating for a relative with a disability or lobbying for environmental protections, you’ll be more likely to succeed with a full toolbox. Here is Karen’s advice on what you need to know.

- Courtney Cliff Student, Bachelor of Arts

smoother. “It makes it a lot easier if you have at least one support system.” In fact, research shows that social support can save the lives of queer and trans youth, who are four times more likely to attempt suicide than young people who are heterosexual or cisgender (individuals who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth). While GSAs have many benefits for students, they’re still a relatively recent phenomenon. Last year’s changes to Bill 10 mean that Alberta schools are now legally obligated to provide a GSA if a student requests it—but sometimes students don’t feel safe enough to ask. That’s why Courtney approaches school administrators about creating GSAs regardless of whether a student has asked for one. For the most part, schools are receptive, but she still hears “no” more often than she’d like. “It’s hard not to take it personally because I’m standing in front of school administrators as a person who understands what it’s like to be discriminated against and oppressed,” says Courtney. It can be overwhelming, but working alongside resilient queer and trans youth helps her stay the course. “There are times when I want to stop because it gets so tough, but I don’t stop because I just respect these kids so much. They’re doing things I could never have done at that age and it’s remarkable.”

Understand political and social structures Inequality in society stems from the nature of the community we live in, says Karen “If you’re an advocate and either working for people who are disadvantaged or disadvantaged yourself, it’s important to try to understand why that disadvantage exists.”

Know your options for action Advocacy exists on a continuum. Start with subtler actions like education and lobbying politicians before you move to more extreme actions like civil disobedience. Assume people will help you.

Understand how the system works By knowing how an organization or government functions, you can identify the people who can help and any protocols you’ll need to follow to get their attention.

Be clear on your goal “Articulate what it is you want done,” says Karen. Is it raising awareness? Changing a law? Funding for a program? Having a specific goal can allow you to target your efforts for the biggest impact.

Connect with others Gather other advocates around you or find a group to connect with. Not only is there power in numbers, but you’ll need the social support when things get tough.

Commit to self care Advocacy work comes with emotional risks. Avoid burnout by taking good care of your body and mind—and take time to celebrate the victories, even when they’re small.

Fall 2016

PROGRAM GUIDE coming REGISTER NOW FOR SUMMER CLASSES! • Free fitness and aquatic classes • Highly qualified trainers • Complimentary parking

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2016 MacEwan.ca/SportandWellness

Our stories connect us Nurse. Researcher. Loves to share. To share or not to share—that was Paige Steuber’s conflict after a clinical placement evaluation. But participating in research about self-disclosure has given her a new perspective on her nursing practice, and has shown her that she may not be alone. Read more about Paige’s story at MacEwan.ca/Paige. Bachelor of Science in Nursing ’15, Alumna

Energizing Live Music “

Alumnus leads the charge to bring life back to the city’s live music scene By Rachelle Foss

s ta r t o f the day was right in the middle of Bill 6 discussions and the speaker had to settle everyone down. Then they brought forth the motion that MLA Dave Shepherd and I were proposing to extend live music hours, and there were only three abstaining votes,” recalls Thom Bennett (Music, ’01).

particularly in Edmonton’s smaller-scale live music scene. After a rash of venue closures, he felt the cycle of live music in the city that once ebbed and flowed organically seemed to need a little more help. “No one was really moving towards improving things,” says Thom. So he decided it was time to make his own move.

A few years ago, you were more likely to find the MacEwan alumnus behind a drum set, producing an album or teaching music students than poring over policy details and contributing to reports for the minister. But all of those things have become Thom’s new normal since the MacEwan alumnus started the Edmonton Live Music (ELM) Initiative.

Initially, he approached City Councillor Scott McKeen, who agreed that local musicians needed to be able to support themselves both by playing locally and touring. Since then, Thom has put together three advisory boards and is in regular contact with Alberta Music, the Edmonton Arts Council and MLA David Shepherd.

“Other supportive MLAs got up and spoke about the genuine connection they had to live music,” he recalls from his day in the Legislature back in December 2015. “That’s one of the most exciting things for me—that everyone innately feels an attraction to live music.”

“Thom played with me in a band I put together called the Rain Dogs,” says David, who speaks of the great personal resonance live music holds with people in the community. Referring to the motion he and Thom brought forward for debate on December 7, David says, “It’s a win-win for everybody involved.”

Th e

The ELM initiative aims to improve the live-music ecosystem in Edmonton by working with all stakeholders involved, including musicians, venues, politicians and advocacy groups. Thom knows he’s fortunate to make a living as a musician, but he was concerned when he started noticing fewer opportunities for younger people—

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Thom says he is coming to recognize the significance live music clubs have in the community beyond economic value. “Local music contributes a sense of community and cultural wellbeing. There are even mental health benefits associated with having a strong arts and live music scene.”

“That’s one of the most exciting things for me—that everyone innately feels an attraction to live music.” - Thom Bennett

Music ’01

Michael B. MacDonald, assistant professor in the department of Music, agrees. “Music plays a community-building role. It helps bind people together,” he explains. “With the loss of those clubs, we are losing an important piece of our cultural ecology. The ELM initiative is putting our focus on that ecology. If there are no opportunities for musicians to build a fan base, then those people don’t have an opportunity to become professionals.” Beyond zoning, parking and outdated bylaws that affect venues, support at the municipal and provincial levels is allowing the ELM initiative to assess the whole system.

“The provincial restrictions we’re examining include underage performers in bars,” says Thom. “It’s an important part of the apprenticeship model for kids. You can do that in every other province in Canada except for Alberta. “We’re trying to think in terms of the long game,” he adds. “Is this something that’s going to incite a business to want to relocate here? Is it going to make it a healthy environment for artists to make a living?” Thom would like to see a lot more places where tourists and locals can get out and see a live music show. He wants to see Edmonton as a city where people can enjoy a wide variety of quality music.

M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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RESHAPING the

LANDSCAPE by Michelle Woodard

Illustrations by Lindsay Van Driel

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PART

in our series introducing the NEW Centre for Arts and Culture

How changes on 104 Avenue are shaping the city’s future

Scott McKeen’s (Journalism ’83) connections to the city’s core—and MacEwan University—run deep. After graduating from MacEwan in 1983, he spent 24 years at the Edmonton Journal, including eight as City Hall columnist. Today, Scott is city councillor for Ward 6. The streets and avenues that make up the city’s centre are his backyard, and the people who live, work and visit downtown are his neighbours. We couldn’t think of a better person to tell the story of how much 104 Avenue has changed and what its 20-plus city blocks will have to offer in the years to come, so we invited him to talk about it on an early spring walk from City Hall to 110 Street.

M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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Building the City Centre Campus was a great decision for MacEwan, and for the entire city.

- Scott McKeen, Journalism ’83

to New York City back in 2000, the energy and buzz of the city’s sidewalks were still fresh in Scott McKeen’s mind as he finished a quick workout at a downtown Edmonton fitness club. But when he stepped out onto Jasper Avenue between 103 and 104 Streets, the concrete strips that lined the streets of his hometown bore little resemblance to the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. fter a trip

“You could have shot a cannon and not hit a single person on that sidewalk,” recalls Scott. “Busy sidewalks can be a hassle, but they’re also dynamic, vibrant places with their own brand of energy. They’re the lifeblood of downtown and if they’re empty, it says a lot. I remember visitors at the time calling the city ‘Deadmonton.’ The hardest part was that it was kind of true.” Fast-forward 16 years and things have definitely changed, and some of the most

But Scott says things could have been a lot different if the University hadn’t moved into the old CN rail yards in the early 1990s. “I have vague memories of people being able to catch a CN train here back in the 1960s when I was a kid,” says Scott, gesturing at the CN building. “The streets were busy back then, but then we started to build a downtown that wasn’t well planned and hid everything inside.” Things continued that way into the 1980s, when the recession meant that suburban-style strip malls were the only development proposals for the empty lots along 104 Avenue that were once home to the CN rail yards. “Thank god for MacEwan or 104 Avenue would have ended up a sea of chain stores and parking lots,” says Scott. “Building the City Centre Campus was a great decision for MacEwan, and for the entire city. To have that level of investment in a downtown that was moribund for 30 or 40 years was huge.”

115 street

THE NEW 104 AVENUE

remarkable of those changes are happening along 104 Avenue—Ice District, the new Royal Alberta Museum, the Brewery District and MacEwan University’s Centre for Arts and Culture.

CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CULTURE

EDMONTON BREWERY DISTRICT 104 Avenue

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MACEWAN UNIVERSITY

DOWNTOWN BOUND: MACEWAN’S HISTORY ON 104 AVENUE

The idea of MacEwan establishing a “core campus” was around as early as 1969, but it wasn’t until 1984 that it began to gain momentum. Before then, MacEwan had been establishing multi-campus facilities throughout the city.

City Centre Campus, from concept to construction to completion.

Originally talks positioned the core campus in northeast Edmonton, but former president Gerald Kelly favoured a downtown campus, knowing the venture would garner political support. Sure enough, when MacEwan announced its official plans for a downtown campus in April 1988, then premier Don Getty committed $100 million—”the largest single capital project in the history of the Department of Advanced Education,” according to Glenn David Ruhl’s Grant MacEwan Community College: The First Two Decades.

Not everyone saw it that way. “I’ve heard that people had doubts about the institution taking on the reclaimed railway land on the north edge of the city,” says President David Atkinson. “But we couldn’t have asked for a better place to be. We’re an urban university at the epicentre of urban development, and our towers have become iconic.”

In 1989, MacEwan purchased the CN rail yard grounds—giving new life to 26 acres of underutilized land in the city’s core.

There’s no question that moving downtown was a pivotal point in the university’s history, but Simon O’Byrne, vicepresident of Stantec’s Urban Planning and MacEwan’s 2015 Allard Chair in Business, thinks the university brought far more than just buildings to the city’s centre.

With Getty, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association onboard with the project, MacEwan began site work in 1990, completed City Centre Campus ahead of schedule (and $6 million under budget), and hosted its first classes in the Fall of 1993.

“Replacing blighted land with attractive buildings, landscaping and double rows of trees planted along the north side of 104 Avenue makes for a beautiful campus walk—and the beginning of a grand boulevard effect that could extend down 104 Avenue,” he says. “But downtown isn’t just about buildings—it’s about diversity in terms of who is spending time here. MacEwan brought thousands and thousands of students, faculty and staff downtown every day.”

101 street

105 street

109 street 104 Avenue

ICE DISTRICT

Almost a quarter of a century later, the university will open a new chapter of City Centre Campus history when the doors to its much anticipated Centre for Arts and Culture open in Fall 2017.

CITY HALL

ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA

CORE POTENTIAL:

A HEALTHY DOWNTOWN OPENS A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES Healthy heart of the city “As goes the downtown, so goes the city.” Simon O’Byrne, Stantec’s vice-president, Urban Planning, couldn’t agree more with this adage, as he says downtown neighbourhoods are often relied upon as the temperature gauge for a city’s vitality. If your downtown is known for crime, empty streets and shuttered businesses and homes, it may be giving off the impression that the entire city—and maybe even its region—is in a severe economic downturn. Think of any major American metropolis hit hard by the recession in 2008. “The more a trip downtown is an enriching, interesting, vibrant experience, the more visitors and inhabitants will think of that city as being a vibrant, rich and interesting place—because downtown is the brand of the city,” says Simon. He points out that when we think of Vancouver, we think of the downtown peninsula or Stanley Park, not necessarily Mission or Surrey. When we think of Toronto, we picture the postcard perfect CN Tower and downtown skyline, not the surrounding suburban neighbourhoods. New visitors, new growth “MacEwan has been an unsung champion for the downtown,” says Simon, noting how the university’s presence has drawn thousands of students and employees into the core, and transformed an otherwise underutilized piece of land. More people means more businesses and condos spring up to serve these new visitors and residents, and more public transit options become available. Welcoming people to the core invites investments and business growth. Partnership potential Downtown universities are more than just buildings—they are opportunities to reach out into the community. “Urban universities are always looking for partnerships,” says David Atkinson, president of MacEwan University. “We know we can’t do everything by ourselves, and that’s what drove us to partner with the Oilers and the Katz organization on a community rink as part of Ice District. If not for that partnership, we were never going to have a rink—not in a million years. We just don’t have the land for it. But for a relatively modest investment, we will compete in an amazing facility that no other university in Canada could rival.” And sharing ice time is only one of several exciting prospects. MacEwan is also keen to connect with its other neighbours on matters regarding food and medical services. “Do we need to do everything ourselves when there is potential to do that in a community setting instead? I don’t think so,” says David. “Partnership is one of the benefits that is intricately tied to being a downtown campus.” 26 | S U MMER 2016

Those people are an essential ingredient to a vibrant city centre. “When a city’s streets are packed with life and interest and there are lots of delightful, fun, whimsical things happening, we think of that city as a more vibrant, rich and interesting place,” says Simon. Edmonton is getting there, and Scott says that it can and will happen if the focus is on building a downtown that reflects what is unique about the community, its culture and its values— and offering enough to entice people from the city’s far-flung reaches to spend their downtime downtown. “Downtown belongs to the whole city, so we need to have something here for everyone—and we’re pretty darn close. When you see the new Royal Alberta Museum under construction, along with Rogers Place and Ice District, as well as planned expansions or renovations at MacEwan, the Winspear Centre and the downtown Milner Library, the message we send to visitors and investors is: Edmontonians value art, culture, history, education and prosperity,” says Scott. The handful of years it has taken for the city to adjust to the fact that MacEwan is a university is also testament to the fact that this city values post-secondary education, says David Atkinson.

“MacEwan has truly come of age in this city,” he says. “There’s always pressure to grow, but we need to be careful not to be too ambitious. The new Centre for Arts and Culture is a magnificent structure, but buildings do not a university make. And you can’t construct a building unless there is a future.” The future—for MacEwan and the city’s core as a whole—is one Scott sees as having much promise. “It’s kind of hard to visualize right now,” he says, standing across the street from Ice District. “There will be thousands of people spilling into this area 100 or more days a year. I understand the controversy around the arena, but I think what’s happening on 104 Avenue is the best

marketing program the downtown has ever had. It will bring people who haven’t come downtown in years.” As those people make their way to and from the game and rediscover the downtown core via the arena, they will also be walking or driving drive by restaurants like Rostizado and Corso 32, and venues like the new Centre for Arts and Culture. All excellent reasons to return to 104 Avenue on non-game days. And when they do, they’ll be helping build a community—perhaps not the kind you would find in a traditional neighbourhood, but one with its own unique flavour. “Community in a downtown context is a little different, but I think you can still do it,” says Scott. “Perhaps most importantly, you need to have places where people can bump up against each other and find the things they share in common.”

DOWNTOWN IS A PLACE THAT BELONGS TO THE WHOLE CITY, SO WE NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.

M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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The new Centre for Arts and Culture, scheduled to open in the Fall of 2017, is one of several projects changing the landscape of 104 Avenue.

MEET THE NEW CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CULTURE Thanks for reading part one of our series about the new Centre for Arts and Culture. As MacEwan University prepares to move its Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications to Edmonton’s city centre, we want to keep alumni in the loop about what’s coming next. Watch for updates in upcoming issues of M Alumni News. MacEwan’s new Centre for Arts and Culture is one of those places. “It might be subtle at first, but over time I think this new building will have a real impact on downtown,” says Scott, gesturing across the street to the construction in progress. “The facility itself will be fabulous, but it’s the people and their vision for what downtown could look like that I find most exciting—the students and future entrepreneurs who will see new opportunities to express music, art and culture, and partner with the other flagship arts and cultural venues we have here. The people who might see the underutilized areas north of MacEwan as a great spot for a little jazz club, or an art gallery or little coffee shop. I think MacEwan will be a catalyst for all kinds of interesting growth in the coming years, and its students will change the culture here—they’ll be looking to build the kind of city they want and demanding things from their city council. And I love that.” There are still a few years before the cranes all come down, the dust settles and 104 Avenue moves into its next incarnation. It’s a work in progress. One that won’t automatically result in packed sidewalks bustling with urban life, but one that easily could.

28 | S U MMER 2016

“Edmontonians who have travelled to cities with great downtowns will begin to see that here in their own city,” says Scott. “I think we’ve long had a collective humility in Edmonton—and that’s not a bad thing—we’re willing to work hard to create what we want. Our city has a lot to offer, but my favourite are those urban experiences—they’re the part of the city I’m most proud of. We still have work to do, but we’re getting there and I think we’re just beginning to see what the potential might be.”

Do you have memories of life and learning at the west-end campus/Jasper Place/ Centre for Arts and Communications? We want to share your stories in our next issue. Email alumni@macewan.ca.

Save Your Seat MacEwan University continues to make an impact on its community with the building of its new Centre for Arts and Culture, opening in 2017. With your donation of $500, your name, or the name of someone you would like to honour, will be acknowledged on a seat in the proscenium theatre or the recital hall.

Visit MacEwan.ca/Alumni to save your seat * Seats are limited and are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information please call 780-497-4679.

SUPPORT OUR CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CULTURE

WHEN SAFE ISN'T SIMPLE Beyond buzzwords: Find out what “safe spaces” really means by Michelle Woodard

t u d e n t s f e e l s a f e here. The hallways are bright. People smile at each other. When nature calls, they go to the washroom— without fear of judgment or danger greeting them on the other side of the door. They don’t hear racist, sexist or other negative remarks as they walk down the hallway. They go to class feeling like their questions and opinions are welcome. Discussions are open. The debate isn’t always easy, but that’s okay. They listen to what other people have to say, and they’re listened to as well. After all, this is university and a post-secondary education is about learning, growing, asking difficult questions and seeking new knowledge.

Sounds great, right? That doesn’t mean it’s simple. 30 | S U MMER 2016

Universities across the continent continue to wrestle with issues surrounding safety of all sorts: physical, emotional and intellectual. Safe spaces are continually being created—and questioned. Can a space truly be 100 per cent safe? Should we be aiming for “safer spaces” instead? Or is there a risk that safe spaces actually prevent open discussion by misinterpreting safety in ways that shut down unpopular ideas and views? And could these places inadvertently become hideaways for a variety of ugly “-isms”? They’re big questions that are being asked at campuses everywhere, including MacEwan University. Safety in its most straightforward sense seems like a good place to begin. So, how does the university fare when it comes to physical safety? For the answer, Ray Boudreau, director of Security Services, looks, in part, to the Edmonton Police Service’s neighbourhood crime map. Select Oliver or Downtown and a rainbow of colourful dots indicating criminal activity pop onto the screen. Zoom in a bit closer and you’ll notice far fewer dots in the five city b locks that make up MacEwan’s City Centre Campus. Ray says that is no accident. “There are many things the university does by design to protect the safety of students, faculty and staff—prevention techniques, patrols by trained security personnel and communication strategies, but safety isn’t a guarantee and safe doesn’t necessarily mean free of risk.” Security Services receives about 1,200 reports annually, up from fewer than 100 only six years ago. While on the surface a twelvefold increase in reported incidences may seem like cause for concern, Ray says the jump in numbers is a sign of improvement.

“It shows that our efforts are working, and that students, faculty and staff are increasingly engaging with security.”

She believes those conversations should be making their way into the university’s classrooms.

That’s important, Ray explains, because knowing about the safety and security issues that exist on campus is the first step in dealing with them—whether that means introducing a new security protocol or drafting a new policy.

“Faculty members can be role models in all kinds of ways. If we handle an issue or a discussion in a manner that says ‘I expect openness, dialogue, tolerance and collegiality,’ then we are creating class environments that live those principles. There are also examples and links that faculty members can bring in their classrooms and draw from that encourage discussions about safe campuses, sexual violence and other big issues.”

“There are many physical things that we can do as a university that affect the safety and security on campus, and those are relatively easy to accomplish,” adds John Corlett, provost and vice-president academic. “Creating security protocols, implementing policies, introducing allgender washrooms, and giving students the option to use a preferred name and gender in our student information system are all relatively simple things to do—they require planning, time and funding, but they’re achievable. What’s more difficult is establishing safe spaces in the minds of the people who come here every day.” So how do you go about changing attitudes and culture on campus when it comes to safety? The university’s campaign against sexual violence that began last fall is one example. “If you look at that campaign and things like introducing all-gender washrooms, I think it says to students that we’re paying attention, that we’re proactive, that we’re concerned about the issues and the safety of our students,” says Aimee Skye, assistant professor, psychology, and president of the MacEwan University Faculty Association. “Beyond setting up systems and resources to make sure that when things do happen they’re handled well, preventing sexual violence is about changing the culture so that this issue is out and on the table regularly and frequently. We have to learn how to talk about sexual violence—and other issues— in a way that is constructive, useful and respectful.”

Junaid Jahangir agrees that having those discussions, and modelling tolerance while they are happening, is critical. So the economics assistant professor begins cultivating an environment where that can happen by talking about diversity on the first day of class, and making a point of including it in his course outline. “My classrooms are safe spaces irrespective of your religious beliefs, your sexual orientation and the way you make your living—whatever background you come from in life, you have the right to be here in my classroom and will be given equal respect,” he says. “The colour of your skin, the thickness of your accent or the piece of garb on your head or not on your head, or gay or straight or trans, whether your mannerisms are more masculine or feminine—none of that matters. All that matters is that you are in my class and whether I can excite you in economics or not.” For Junaid, this message of tolerance goes far beyond words on a page. He’s spent more than a decade of his life outside the classroom researching, writing and advocating for positive change when it comes to LGBTQ issues within the Muslim community.

“Here, a safe space is not a place to hide— it is a place to grow, to be seen, to thrive.” - John Corlett, Provost and Vice-President Academic M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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Junaid Jahangir

Academic freedom, John explains, was never intended to afford academics—or anyone else—the right to say whatever they wanted at any time. Instead, the purpose is to ensure that society has all of the ideas available and decide which best represents its ideals. “Safe intellectual spaces in a university are not about every idea being equal in value,” he says. “It’s about feeling safe to express an idea in a collegial, civil, respectful way in accordance with the laws of the city, As a faculty member who uses his free time to study an issue that the province and the country. Having your idea rejected couldn’t be further from what he teaches, Junaid has personal is not necessarily an argument that you didn’t exist in a experience in the value of academic freedom and intellectual safety. safe space. The safety was to allow you the intellectual freedom to think how you wish to think, to express those “I can’t fit myself into one box because my life revolves around many ideas in a way that is consistent with the civil values of things. I teach my students about diminishing returns, but I also know society and to understand that if your idea doesn’t carry that there is much more to life than just economics—or physics, or the day that you’re still safe from the repercussions of LGBTQ issues. Universities should be a place where people ask difficult having held a differing idea than the majority. Holding questions, but also where they look out for one another. I’m proud to different views, expressing them, receiving criticism of say that in my classroom students them and being disagreed with—that is generally are a tightly knit group. They the essence of what a university is about. stand up and watch out for each other.” We need to welcome a diversity of views Clock Radio is because diversity is a strength, not a Kindness, understanding, respect a new podcast weakness or problem.” and tolerance seem integral to psychological and intellectual safety. But is there a dangerous side to creating safe spaces? Is there such a thing as too safe? Could these spaces inadvertently become fortresses where people hide from ideas and views they find unfamiliar, unpopular or unpalatable in the name of safety? Or could safe spaces be twisted into places that house hate speech, intentionally or otherwise?

featuring stories about what makes us tick at MacEwan University. In the first episode, Junaid Jahangir speaks about his role as a researcher and advocate—and what he thinks it will take to change a community’s perspective on LGBTQ issues. Subscribe on iTunes to download this episode, and more.

“When it comes to intellectual safety, I see zero conflict between creating safe spaces and academic freedom,” says John Corlett. “I think you can run into uncomfortable situations where people misinterpret what their safety limits should be and what intellectual safety is. Avoiding that means having discussions, and creating the right definitions and understanding of what we’re all talking about. People should feel that they are in a place where physically they are protected from harm, and where psychologically they are in a comfort zone of a particular kind—but one which ought not be too small.” 32 | S U MMER 2016

Embracing diversity, however, isn’t a license to say anything. There are limits to academic freedom, just as there are limits to free speech. “The law is clear,” says John. “You cannot come to university and hide hate speech under the guise of academic freedom or freedom of speech. Here, a safe space is not a place to hide—it is a place to grow, to be seen, to thrive.”

And creating that kind of safe space is an ongoing process. “There is no utopian endpoint in which we settle and then say, ‘Wow, we finally got it completely right.’ Circumstances change all the time, so there’s never going to be a time when we say we’re done. Working toward safety on campus in all its interpretations is really a journey—one that should never end.”

6 BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ THIS SUMMER From hope and hardships to happiness and horror, MacEwan Library Staff have you covered

At the beach, in the car or on the deck—wherever you find yourself relaxing this summer, grab a book and get your read-on. MacEwan Library staff offer up some of their recent favourites to keep you company over the next few months. GODS BEHAVING BADLY MARIE PHILLIPS How can you not love a book where Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite and Dionysus share a flat in 21st-century London? Michelle Bezenar - Acting Manager (Alberta College Campus Library)

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE ANTHONY DOER I loved this book about World War II and a story about a blind French girl and a young German boy and how their worlds collide. Glenna Helm – Manager, Library Administration

THE BROKEN HOURS JACQUELINE BAKER (FACULTY) I loved the genuinely creepy and gothic atmosphere of this novel. Nicolle Lemay - Librarian

AND THE BIRDS RAINED DOWN JOCELYNE SAUCIER, TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH BY RHONDA MULLINS

And the Birds Rained Down is both deeply poignant and at times light and even humorous. In this enchanting, often surprising, story, Jocelyne Saucier moves between a mystery hidden in a tragic event from Canadian history and the lives of her characters in the present. I read the English translation by Rhonda Mullins, but plan on reading the original in French, for which Jocelyne Saucier was awarded France's Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie. I have been giving this book to my friends I think you will, too!

DELANCEY MOLLY WIZENBERG A fun read about the development of the author's relationship with her husband, paralleled with the creation (and evolution) of their restaurant, recipes included at the end of most chapters. Jill Day - Manager, Cataloguing and Acquisitions

Some other noteworthy books to add to your summer reading list, including the university’s Book of the Year and others written by MacEwan faculty and staff, past and present: Mãn by Kim Thuy (MacEwan’s Book of the Year 2015/16) Rosina, The Midwife by Jessica Kluthe The Unfinished Child by Theresa Shea How the Light is Spent by Gail Sidonie Sobat Kiss and Makeup by Taryn Leigh Taylor

Jody Nelson - Librarian

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Psychology alumnaturned-prof looks at how crime and imprisonment affect people and communities

Law and Order South of the Border J by Michelle Woodard

Tu r a n o v i c (B ac h e lo r of Arts, ’09) may

i lli a n

not have known it at the time, but seven years ago when she took her first steps inside the Edmonton Institution for Women, the then psychology student was unlocking a career path that would take her to the United States as a student, a researcher and now a professor.

That tour of the women’s prison in Edmonton was part of a MacEwan University sociology course on gender, crime and justice taught by Joanne Minaker. “It opened my eyes to the many injustices faced by prisoners and victims of crime, especially for females and racial and ethnic minorities,” says Jillian. “My interest in imprisonment and the different consequences victims experience after a crime is committed was certainly shaped inside that class.” 34 | S U MMER 2016

Once she realized that she was interested in studying mass incarceration, imprisonment and violent crime, she knew she would need to head south to do her master’s degree. That eventually led her to Arizona State University. “At the time, there were less than 500 women in Canada serving federal sentences of two or more years in prison,” says Jillian. “I remember going to the women’s prison right outside of Phoenix for the first time to collect data for a study on children of incarcerated parents and there were over 3,000 women just in that one institution.” As a professor at Florida State University, Jillian is continuing the research she began in Arizona—examining how incarceration affects families and communities.

“The goal of this work isn’t just to understand victimization and its impact, but also to develop programs and services that can really help people.” - Jillian Turanovic, Bachelor of Arts ’09

perhaps those who have better systems of support and resources, are able to cope with victimization in a way that is more resilient,” explains Jillian. “My current research looks at how people are affected by victimization at different stages in their lives—as adolescents, young adults and people in their late 30s or early 40s— and what helps them better cope.” It’s research Jillian began during her PhD studies with support from a prestigious graduate research fellowship with the National Institute of Justice.

“Florida faces many of the same issues as Arizona—overcrowded prisons and increased punitiveness. It’s rewarding to be able to do research and teach in a context where there is a lot of room for change and improvement.” Creating that change, says Jillian, often means finding the middle ground. “The debate about whether incarceration is always negative or always positive is one that’s ongoing,” she says. “Policy makers argue that being more punitive is a good thing because it gets criminals off the street and keeps them in prison longer, while criminologists and researchers say that incarceration is universally harmful for families and children. There really was no middle ground, but my research shows that it can be both.” The idea that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all also applies in Jillian’s second branch of research—victimization.

“The goal of this work isn’t just to understand victimization and its impact, but also to develop programs and services that can really help people. As academics, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the people we’re studying are real, and that they have complex lives.” So while seeing her research published in journals like Criminology, the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Justice Quarterly and the Journal of Pediatrics is satisfying, knowing that her work has real-world implications is what gives Jillian the most satisfaction. “It’s an interesting time, especially in the U.S. There are more discussions about issues like reforming punishment and releasing low-level drug offenders from prison. For me, it’s rewarding to see my research making its way to practitioners—the people out in the field who are dealing with victims of crime or children of incarcerated parents, and who can make a real difference in the lives of these people.”

“For some people, being the victim of a crime is an extremely traumatic and singular event that leads to many further hardships. Other people, M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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FEELING IT IN YOUR BONES

Anthropology grad on the road to becoming a bioarchaeologist by Michelle Woodard

at the heart of a civilization, and buildings and infrastructure are its bones, then between her work life and her academic life, Mellisa Thew (Bachelor of Arts, ’15) is the whole package. f p e o p le a r e

By night, the anthropology grad works on the traffic crew helping to build the backbone of Edmonton’s transportation network, the northeast leg of Anthony Henday Drive. While not necessarily a dream postgraduate job for an anthropology major, Mellisa says it’s the best way to save for graduate school—she wants to be a bioarchaeologist, a long path she knows will likely lead to a less lucrative career, but one she feels compelled to follow. “I feel so connected to bioarchaeology because I know that everything that has happened in the past forms our

36 | S U MMER 2016

present, and will continue to inform our future,” she says. The first time Mellisa felt that deep connection to the past, she was in Copán, Honduras. “I walked up to some Mayan temple remains and I had this weird feeling. I knew I needed to be connected to things like this. I came back to Canada, saved up some money and then one day I just woke up and knew the time was right.” So Mellisa began her anthropology degree, seizing every opportunity—field schools in Italy and Greece, work on the Alberta Historical Cemeteries project and an independent research project removing fiberglass resin from human skeletal remains.

During her final year, Associate Professor Hugh McKenzie invited Mellisa on a research trip to study small prehistoric mortuary sites in Russia. So instead of preparing for convocation, the new graduate found herself flying halfway around the world looking for relationships between groups of early Bronze Age hunter-gatherers in Siberia. Based out of a tiny 250-square-foot cabin in a touristy area in the old mountains on the shores of Lake Baikal, Mellisa and her nine fellow team members worked in their gridded-out plots early in the morning so they could avoid the surprisingly hot midday temperatures. They chose areas of interest based on stone layers and patterns where they thought they might find the graves of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. “If they looked like potential sites, we’d mark them off with string and do sod busts—remove the top layer, exposing all the rocks and then start drawing and taking pictures.” Then they would work their way down, sometimes not finding anything and other times striking archaeological gold. “We excavated several different plots at different ancient cemeteries—at Burlyuk II, Burlyuk IV, Ulan III and Budun IV, and on Olkhon Island.”

“Just because things aren’t showing up doesn’t mean that things aren’t there—the absence of results is still results.” - Mellisa Thew, Bachelor of Arts ’15 Once the remains were uncovered, Mellisa focused on the teeth, looking for specific genetic traits like extra cusps (the pointy parts on a tooth), winging (incisors that are placed in a v-shape in the jaw) and shovelling (where the incisors are scooped). Using a grading system, she compared the teeth against casts and ranked them, recording her results on data sheets that she later entered into a database. Why? “Certain geographical areas have specific traits and others don’t, so if you start seeing traits in an area that hasn’t had them before, you can see a geographical shift in populations or someone coming in from the outside.” Finding out exactly who was coming into the area is a key part of the larger research project, funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant. “We’re trying to use teeth—the ones we gathered this season and others from past seasons—about 50 sets in total—to see if there is a specific group use or intergroup use of cemetery plots,” explains Mellisa. Now that her data is collected and digitized, Mellisa writes up her findings during the precious spare time she has away from her 100-hour work weeks on the road crew. Reaching her end goal is going to take patience, but she says that won’t be a problem. “What we do in anthropology is all about patience,” she says. “Just because things aren’t showing up doesn’t mean that things aren’t there— the absence of results is still results.” And while Mellisa says she has already gotten a lot out of her archaeological experiences, giving back is really what motivates her. “I want to end up excavating mass graves from more recent civil wars. There are families in Central America and other places around the world who don’t know where their relatives’ remains are. I’d like to work on a recovery program that gives people back their loved ones.” Mellisa is off to the Netherlands this fall to pursue a master’s degree in archeology at Leiden University.

Mellisa examines the remains of early Bronze Age huntergatherers from prehistoric mortuary sites near Lake Baikal, Siberia during a research trip in the summer of 2015. M A C E WA N .C A / ALUMNI

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FITNESS feature

Getting into the Great Outdoors Learn II program provides opportunities to connect with nature within the city limits By Justin Bell

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quiet, except for the gentle sound of a paddle breaking through its surface. A bird flies overhead, and heavy traffic crawls across a bridge in the distance. h e wat e r i s

It’s a scene Imran Ahmad is familiar with and has come to love. Without the traffic, the scene could be at any of Alberta’s lakes or rivers—but it’s the North Saskatchewan, winding its way through a city of almost a million people. It’s here that Imran takes on the enviable task of showing Edmontonians how to connect with their natural spaces. “All around you, the city is doing its thing, and you can see the traffic passing in the distance,” says Imran, an instructor with the City of Edmonton’s River Valley Programs and recreation assistant with MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. “But after paddling for a few metres, it’s just you and the water, the beach and the trees. You’re cruising down the river at your own speed.” The Sport and Wellness’s Learn II Summer Outdoor Series gives members and the public the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and try activities they may have never otherwise considered. The program offers four courses over the summer: canoeing, stand-up paddle boarding, archery and outdoor skills (think camping and survival skills). Instructors spend about an hour demonstrating the day’s activity and giving lessons,

then participants are free to use the equipment and just enjoy, with instructors available to answer questions or provide guidance. “We hope that people make new friends and try something new, maybe find a new passion,” says Jessica Walker, a recreation consultant with MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. “The program exposes people to the fantastic opportunities so close to home.” All the courses are run at parks throughout the city, giving participants a chance to get close to nature without having to travel too far. “I think everyone gets a different experience,” says Imran. “I’ve had people who are super nervous. By the end, everyone who comes to our program says, ‘Thanks for taking me out on the water.’ I just take them out, give them a few tips and let them do it on their own.” That appreciation and connection to the outdoors and these activities are what organizers are hoping for—it worked for Imran. A history major at MacEwan University, his Learn II Summer Outdoor Series experience provided him with the knowledge and drive to pursue a master’s degree in recreation and make the outdoors his career. For more information about the Learn II Summer Outdoor Series, including costs and program dates, check out MacEwan.ca/Recreation.

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At the TOP Of Their

Game

A new generation of MacEwan teams go further than they ever expected in CIS play By Stephanie Sparks

Tre and Darren Ross, future and former Griffins Basketball players.

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The Griffins Women’s Basketball team celebrates after sweeping the University of Victoria in the first round of Canada West playoffs.

Cross-country runner Vanessa Trofimenkoff (centre), earned a spot on the second team Canada West all-stars.

h e y e a r D a r r e n Ross (Management Studies, ’94)) stepped on the basketball court as a Griffin, the Bangles topped the Billboard Charts and Ben Johnson set a new world record in the 100-metre dash.

Those aren’t the only things that have changed. “During my first year on the team, we were a bunch of ragtag high school kids and transfer students,” says Darren, a former point guard. The motley crew ended up pulling together and winning the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) championship, but that’s something Darren says couldn’t happen today, more than two decades after he hung up his high tops for good. “The basketball the Griffins play today is so much better than it was during my time on the team that there’s really no comparison, and I don’t think anyone who played back in the 1980s would disagree,” he says. “Now that MacEwan is playing in the Canada West division of the CIS, the pace is faster, the players are bigger, they’re stronger and they’re smarter.” It’s something Darren, now the owner of a personal training fitness facility in Sherwood Park, has seen first-hand from the bleachers at almost every Griffins home game this year with his son Tre at his side. Tre has been a Junior Griffin for the last two years and is set to join the men’s team in the fall. “I’m excited to watch Tre have fun playing a game he loves, and to see him compete at a level I was never capable of,” says Darren. When Tre joins the team next year, the university will have completed its three-year probation period as part of its application to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). It has been a long road, but one that has been incredibly rewarding—and surprisingly successful.

“When you make a transition like this, it’s not unusual to end up being cannon fodder,” says Ken Schildroth, director of Athletics. “It’s more demanding physically and there’s no room for coasting or ‘winning ugly.’ But our teams have risen to the occasion. We’ve had resounding successes across the board, and that was both intentional and incredibly rewarding. We didn’t want to just be in this league—we wanted to shape our participation in a way we could truly compete.” And compete they did. Cross-country runners Vanessa Trofimenkoff, a Canada West all-star, and Hannah Leggatt, Canada West Female Rookie of the Year, were both pumped to line up with the best in the country for the CIS nationals. The Griffins Women’s Soccer team earned a Canada West playoff spot for the second year in a row. The Griffins Men’s’ Basketball team hosted a historical series that brought teams from two Edmonton universities together to compete in playoff action for the first time. And the Griffins Women’s Basketball team’s trip to the final four tournament in Saskatoon is a feat destined to ink the university’s history books. “All of these athletes have been incredible ambassadors for our university, and reflect our commitment to excellence,” says Ken. “Competing at this level has meant that they had to focus and make a big commitment—both athletically and academically—and we couldn’t be more proud.” Tre hopes to continue the Griffins success next year, and to carry on his dad’s legacy. “As soon as I started to realize how much I love basketball, I knew I wanted to play in the CIS. Being on a team at a CIS university in Edmonton is exciting, but getting to play at the university where my dad played is a real dream for me.” Read more about the Griffins’ transition to CIS at MacEwan.ca/GoGriffs.

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the CLASSifieds

HAVE NEWS TO SHARE? Let your classmates know what you have been up to by sharing your stories and successes in the CLASSifieds. Submissions can be sent by email to alumni@macewan.ca High-resolution photos are welcome and will be used when space permits. We reserve the right to edit submissions for content, length and clarity.

Kaylan Pepin, Bachelor of Commerce, ’13 Kaylan Pepin, former President of MacEwan’s Accounting Club recently, finished his CMA-CPA designation while working at RBC as a commercial banker. Kaylan is currently with Magnum Mortgages & Realty Corp. where he has had the opportunity to hire three MacEwan graduates.

Chelsey Souther (MacDonald), Bachelor of Science in Nursing, ’13 After graduating from Grant MacEwan University, Chelsey worked as a Registered Nurse in Labor and Delivery for two and a half years. Recently, she has transitioned her career into public health where she works as a member of the Healthy Beginnings and Child Health Clinic Team. After getting married last year, she and her husband are now happily expecting their first child.

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PHOTO finish

A PATH FORGED BY FIRE

I lo s t my house in the Slave Lake fire, it made me realize what it’s like to have nothing. I always wanted to be a journalist, but when I looked up the pay on career days at school it was terrible. After the fire, monetary success didn’t seem as important anymore. hen

I’ve been pinch-hitting at CBC Edmonton this year while finishing my degree. When I went into work in the afternoon on May 3, things were starting to get crazy and the newsroom was buzzing. The first shots coming in of the Fort McMurray fire were surreal and looked vividly like my memories of getting out of Slave Lake. I never thought I’d see something like that again, let alone be a journalist reporting it. In situations like this every person not only has a different story, but a different incredible story. I think we love to tell them because they shape who we are. —Kyle Muzyka, Bachelor of Communication Studies ’16

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