Issue 2, Vol. 152, The Brunswickan

VOLUME 152, ISSUE 2, OCTOBER 2018

Editorial Board

About us

Editorial Policy

Letters to the Editor

Editor-in-Chief Book K. Sadprasid

The Brunswickan, in its 151st year of publication, is Canada’s Oldest Official Student Publication.

While we endeavour to provide an open forum for a variety of viewpoints and ideas, we may refuse any submission considered by the Editorial Board to be racist, sexist, libellous or in any way discriminatory.

Letters must be submitted by e-mail to editor@thebruns.ca.

Include your name, since letters with pseudonyms will not be printed or posted online. Letters must be 500 words at maximum. Deadline for letters is Friday at 5 p.m.

Editor Emma McPhee Business & Creative Manager Maria Nazareth Araújo News Editor Alexandre Silberman Arts & Lifestyle Editor Isabelle Leger Features Editor Brad Ackerson Marketing & Sales Coordinator Samantha McCready Multimedia Editor Cameron Lane

Staff Reporters Diana Chávez Disha Bisto Patrick Donovan Photographer Book Sadprasid Cameron Lane Maria Nazareth Araújo

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We are an autonomous student publication owned and operated by Brunswickan Publishing Inc., a nonprofit, independent body.

We are also a founding member of the Canadian University Press.

Now a magazine, we publish monthly during the academic year with a circulation of 3,000. We publish weekly online at Thebruns.ca.

The opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Brunswickan, its Editorial Board or its Board of Directors.

All editorial content appearing in The Brunswickan is the property of Brunswickan Publishing Inc. Stories, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the express, written permission of the Editor-in-Chief.

@Brunswickan Front page illustration by Book Sadprasid

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News Briefs

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HIV

by Disha Bisto

by Samantha McCready

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Things To Do in Fredericton This Month

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Harvest Blues

by Brad Ackerson

Student Guide to Cannabis Legalization

by Brad Ackerson

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Jazz

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and

Conference Aims to Break Stigma of Abuse of Older Women

by Diana Chávez

Capital Complex

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by Patrick Donovan

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Five Necessary Reads for 2018

by Sarika Sethia

by Cameron Lane

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‘The weird and the wonderful’ of Bellweather

by Samantha McCready

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Student Vote Program Aims to Spark Civic Engagement

A New Era: Returning Reds Ready for Debut

by Alexandre Silberman

by Brad Ackerson

Wild Election Night

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by Alexandre Silberman

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Grey-Haired and Homeless

by Isabelle Leger

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On Sept. 11, 2018, Indspire and CIBC pledged $1 million in student bursaries to Indigenous students’ studying at UNB.

News Briefs Words by Disha Bisto | Photo by Rob Blanchard/UNB Campus car fire suspect to appear in court A man is facing pending arson charges after a car was allegedly set on fire near The Cellar Pub. Witnesses say the vehicle parked near the loading dock went up in flames shortly after midnight on Sept. 9.

Fredericton Police spokesperson Alycia Bartlett said police arrested an adult man following the incident.

The fire occurred near propane tanks and campus security and police had to evacuate students from the area. The fire completely ravaged the car and damaged surrounding pavement. Over 60 people were inside The Cellar at the time of the incident.

Patrick Hanson, the pub’s manager and owner of the vehicle, attempted unsuccessfully to stop the blaze with a fire extinguisher after calling 911.

The man allegedly involved is scheduled to appear in court in November. The incident continues to be under police investigation.

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“It Begins Here” campaign surpassed milestone of $110 million “It Begins Here,” UNB’s fundraising campaign, surpassed its milestone of $110 million to raise a total of $125 million with the aid of over 10,000 alumni and external organisations.

On Sept. 28, in the press release for the campaign celebration of the milestone, UNB president Eddy Campbell said, “I am delighted to announce that we have not only met our $110 million campaign goal, we have exceeded it by $15 million. And all of this support, 100 per cent, has come from the private sector.”

Alumni, individuals and organisations have been encouraged to provide support to the university by donating to the campaign over the years. Donor funds have been distributed in five sectors in an attempt to financially support students and create a better university experience.

Major contributors are Atlantic entrepreneurs and

companies such as Richard J. Currie; Gerry Pond; the Irving and McCain families; Emera Inc.; Irving Oil; J.D. Irving, Limited and OSCO Construction Group; national and international leaders such as Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, Stephen Jarislowsky, Ron Joyce and Seymour Schulich; and financial institutions such as Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank, RBC, Scotiabank and TD Bank.

In his initial message about the campaign Campbell said that half of the $110 million campaign goal will be dedicated to supporting students.

Twenty-five million dollars of the funding will be invested in the construction of new buildings and research groups on both Fredericton and Saint John campuses.

This includes the New Kinesiology building (UNBF), a multi-purpose Greenhouse Laboratory (UNBSJ), a Centre of Excellence for Children and Families (UNBF) and a Natural Products Research Group (UNBSJ).

Ten million dollars will be given to faculty-specific projects. A list of the projects is available on the campaign website and donors can contact the development and donor relations office to contribute to their preferred faculty and project.

On Sept. 11, CIBC made a contribution to the campaign by donating $500,000 to support Indigenous students through a bursary program. Indspire, a nationally registered, Indigenous-led non-profit organization, will manage the bursaries to be presented to First Nations, Inuit and Métis undergraduate students in financial need.

Innovation is one of the priorities of the “It Begins Here” campaign. Ten million dollars have been attributed to support centres that support UNB students to become successful entrepreneurs. The centres include the Pond-Deshpande Centre, International Business and Entrepreneurship Centre and Dr. J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management & Entrepreneurship.

students to succeed in the world” and it has an allocation of $15 million. This section involves The Promise Partnership in Saint John, offering tutoring and mentoring to K-12 children, and the Lorenzo Society, giving arts students experience with theatre production, writing and publication.

At the announcement on Sept. 28, UNB Chancellor Allison D. McCain said, “I was especially pleased that we could announce three major new initiatives at today’s campaign celebration—a gift of $500,000 from The Jarislowsky Foundation, which comes on top of its earlier gift of $1.5 million in health research funding; a gift of $400,000 from Dr. Robert Quartermain to create the Allan and Elizabeth Quartermain Research Fund, and a commitment from Osisko Mining Inc. of $250,000 for field education in Earth Sciences.”

Funding Announcement for Engineering faculty On Sept. 6, it was revealed that the OSCO construction group are investing $2 million in a research centre within the department of engineering on the Fredericton campus.

This collaboration between the OSCO group and UNB is an attempt to change the conventional methods of construction; instead of carrying out all operations at a jobsite, UNB will investigate building parts offsite to be assembled later on location. The $2 million will be mainly used for human resources, equipment purchase and space expansion.

During a press release, UNB president Eddy Campbell said, “You may have heard New Brunswick described as a failing province, indeed not failed but failing and this is part of the motivation that we have for the work that we are doing.”

The department of civil engineering will work with the OSCO chair to build an internal research team and to create relationships with potential clients.

The search for an OSCO chair is ongoing and the centre will host an international design symposium within the next 18 months.

The fifth branch of the campaign is called “Prepare our

CLIPPERMEN'S BARBERSHOP 5

Things to Do in Fredericton This Month Words by Brad Ackerson Note: Here you will find our recommendations for things you can do over the upcoming month to experience the best Fredericton has to offer. While this is far from a complete list, we try to provide a well-rounded mix of everything from shows to attend, places to go and things to try.

Oct. 6: Fall Festival of Colours Crabbe Mountain’s Fall Festival of Colours is a great opportunity to take in the beauty of fall in New Brunswick from one of the most extraordinary vantage points in the Fredericton area. In addition to a number of activities taking place at the lodge, such as music, pumpkin carving, food and items for sale, attendees will also be able to participate in guided hikes and mountain biking.

Tickets are $10 per person or free for 2018-19 Crabbe Mountain season pass holders and can be purchased on arrival.

Crabbe Mountain, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Oct. 11: Wings ‘n Suds Fest The Fredericton North Rotary Club is hosting its second annual Wings ‘n Suds Fest this month – an event that is exactly what it sounds like. The event features a range of Fredericton’s great craft breweries and wineries offering samples, in addition to food vendors selling wings and other favourites. There will also be live performances from several local musicians.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Proceeds from the event will support local Rotary projects in the city.

Boyce Farmer’s Market, 665 George St, 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM.

Oct. 13 & 14: Women’s Hockey – Opening Weekend The return of the UNB women’s hockey team against Mount Allison after 10 years should be one of the best sports moments on campus this year. The team will then follow up the next day with an on-ice revival of UNB’s longstanding rivalry with St. Thomas. The rivalry, dubbed ‘The Battle of the Hill,’ has largely been dormant in recent years after UNB cut its varsity women’s hockey program and STU cut men’s hockey.

All in all the weekend will be a great opportunity for students, regardless if they are sports fans or not, to show their school spirit while witnessing school history in the making. The game on Sept. 13 begins at 7 p.m. while the game against STU the following day will take place at 2 p.m. Doors open an hour before puck drop and entry is free for all students with the presentation of student IDs.

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Oct. 27: Paint ‘n Sip Looking to add a little creativity to your Saturday night out? Paint ‘n Sip is hosted by Chimo Helpline where people of any skill level have the chance to learn to paint while drinking wine – all for a good cause. All supplies needed to do your own painting will be included with your ticket and there will be a cash bar on hand. Instruction begins at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $42 each and can be purchased online through the Chimo Helpline Facebook page.

Crowne Plaza Fredericton, 659 Queen St, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Oct. 30: PIGS: Canada’s Pink Floyd PIGS is a Pink Floyd cover band from Victoria, BC that has garnered significant critical acclaim for its authentic recreation of the classic rock group’s legendary live shows. PIGS’ stop in Fredericton is part of their cross-Canada tour in celebration of the 45th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s classic album The Dark Side of the Moon. In addition to the album being played in its entirety, attendees of the show can expect nearly three full hours of music to go along with the impressive and psychedelic visuals that were staples of Pink Floyd’s live shows.

Tickets cost $46 each and can be purchased online at theplayhouse.ca or at The Playhouse box office.

The Playhouse, 7:30 p.m.

Every Wednesday: Reggae Party with Dub Antenna Looking for the perfect way to celebrate legalization on Oct. 17 or just want to hang out with friends in a laid-back atmosphere while listening to good music? Look no further than The Capital Complex’s Wednesday night reggae party. With roots going back to Jamaica’s Rastafarian movement wherein consuming cannabis is considered an important religious ritual, reggae has long been associated with marijuana use and has had a massive impact on cannabis culture.

The reggae party takes place Wednesday night from June to January in Wilser’s Room and features live music from local reggae band Dub Antenna. Doors open at 9 p.m., an hour before the show starts, and $3.75 drink specials are offered all night long.

Wilser’s Room, The Capital Complex, 362 Queen St, 10 p.m.

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psychoactive experience and are more popular with young people and non-medicinal users.

There is a large variety of plant strains in the world of cannabis and each will affect your experience differently.

The two main types are Sativa and Indica. Indica strains, containing more CBD, tend to have physical effects—referred to as a “body high”—and are more appropriate for relaxing or sleep. You may here the phrase “In-da-couch” associated with this strain; this mnemonic device helps you remember that Indica may make you sluggish or lethargic.

Sativa strains, containing more THC, are more energizing and uplifting. Their “mind high” can help spark your creativity and goes well with partying or hanging out with friends. Hybrids of sativa and indica plants balance out the effects of both strains.

There are even different flavours to different cannabis strains; the chemical compounds affecting this are called terpenes. These aromatic compounds make the product smell like anything from berries and citrus to pine and fuel. Flavour traits influence the names of cannabis strains like “mango kush” or “sour diesel.”

Terpenes may also affect the experience of your high, as the terpene pinene has an energizing effect while the terpene linalool is more sedative.

With the thousands of strains now on the market, the discussion about flavour and experience has reached the level of wine-tasting. It’s easiest to think about the different effects of indica and sativa in terms of intention and occasion. If you want to lounge around and feel relaxed without feeling like space is in your brain, maybe have a bowl of indica after dinner. Feel like having the stars in your head and want to experience something more cerebral? Get your most energizing and mind-blowing sativa and go see a screening of Planet Earth II! A “high THC” or strong strain refers to a strain that has 20 per cent or more THC when regularly tested in a laboratory setting. Such strains include “kosher kush,” “ghost OG,” “Bruce Banner,” “ghost train haze,” “chemdawg” and even Star Wars themed names like “Death Star.” The world’s top-selling cannabis strains tend to contain high THC levels because of their

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Really, it’s all about knowing your personal preference for experiences and how you want to customize your own high. There’s a multitude of different moods and activities that pair beautifully with each cannabis strain, and medicinal-grade cannabis can contain effects that you might not have been able to find in other forms of medicine.

Does eating cannabis sound weird to you? Don’t worry, you’re not the first, and with legalization around the corner, you’re certainly not to last person to have thought that. Cannabis edibles can seem intimidating and with a massive market booming already, there are a lot of options out there.

We’re going to take you on a whirlwind tour: what edibles are and how they work; how you can safely consume cannabis-infused food; the pros and cons of edibles against other methods of cannabis consumption; the options you have and products you can try.

Edibles are, as we’ve said, cannabis-infused food products, but what part of the cannabis is infused, and how the do you get it in there? The compounds of cannabis in the edibles are THC (tetrahydrocannibol) and CBD (cannabidiol), the two main cannabinoids on the plant material. THC is the main psychoactive cannabinoid, and CBD is the more therapeutic, pain-reducing and body-affecting cannabinoid. When you hear someone talking about different strains having a “mind-high” or a “body-high,” these are the two cannabinoids they’re talking about.

Now of course, you can’t just put raw cannabis into food and expect to make a proper edible or experience any form of high. The compounds enter into the food through a process called decarboxylation. We can hear it now, “What the hell does that mean?” It means that the cannabis loses a carboxyl group when heated, and needs to be cooked in the presence of a solvent like butter or another high-oil and high-fat food so that it can infuse itself into the substance.

When you heat the cannabis, a chemical reaction occurs that removes a carboxyl group, and releases carbon dioxide and water. The release of this carboxyl

group changes the non-active THC-A into the psychoactive THC, and it brings the other cannabinoids with it.

The temperature to effectively decarboxylate cannabis is approximately 220 degrees Fahrenheit for around 30 to 45 minutes, although you can cook it at a slightly lower temperature and for longer to preserve the terpenes with the cannabinoids—the thing that gives each strain of cannabis its own distinct flavour.

After decarboxylation, the most popular way to infuse food is to make cannabutter. This can be made by melting butter on low heat in a saucepan, and cooking it again on low for around 45 minutes. You can then use a cheesecloth or another strainer to drain the butter into a container, then remove and discard the “decarbed” plant material. And voilà, you’ve made your very own cannabis-infused butter.

Now how should you be safely consuming edibles?

The mantra in the cannabis community is simple and effective: “Start low, and go slow.” This refers to either starting with a very low dosage edible, or a small portion of a high dosage edible. 10 milligrams of THC is the most commonly recommended starting dosage for beginners or those with low tolerances. As well, particularly with most beginners, you should go slowly with an edible and allow for the effect of your

first dosage to kick in around 45 minutes. Also, some people tend to avoid taking any on an empty stomach since the effect will be much stronger. It’s important to remember that you can always take more, but you can’t any less once you’ve eaten it.

The average dose or unit of THC is 10 milligrams, and this tends to be the recommended amount to start with. It’s important to note that an edible high lasts much longer than a smoking or vaping high, and it will be a different kind of high. An edible high can last from four to eight hours—and some even say 12. This of course depends on the dosage, but make sure you don’t have anything important scheduled for your day after an eating that special brownie! The high can be very intense as well, as it doesn’t absorb the same way as inhaling (through your liver rather than your lungs), and this leads to pronounced effects.

If you’re making edibles at home, make sure you measure your dosage correctly. It helps if you know the strain type and the THC/CBD content of your product, and measure it with a scale. Cannabis, while cooking, is an ingredient like any other in the kitchen, and just like you wouldn’t want salty brownies, you wouldn’t want strong dosage brownies either. Of course, if you’re a parent, keep those sweet-looking edibles in a safe place and away from the kids, and driving under the influence is obviously prohibited.

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The benefits of eating cannabis-infused food or drinks rather than alternatives like smoking or vaping tend to vary from person to person, but each typically serves a different purpose. If you’re a medical user and you need to treat your chronic pain, low appetite or nausea, edibles are a great way to do so, and they’re also extremely discreet if you need an all-day effect.

There’s also a wide variety in the edible market, and plenty of great-tasting choices. Maybe you’re someone who wants to consume cannabis in a more fun or creative way, or maybe you’re someone concerned with lung health concerns and you cannot smoke or vape. It’s critical to consider your intention with an edible as well: are you looking for a mildly good time or mild relief? Do you want to be locked into the couch staring at a painting or are you looking to fight your insomnia?

However, edibles (particular of the homemade variety), are hard to judge by dosage to make sure you have the best experience with your cannabis. As well, once you get overwhelmed by an accidentally-high dosage product, you can’t come back down from it 12

and you need to wait out the consequences. That being said, an edible high lasts much longer, so you need to determine if this experience is a long-term or short-term desired effect, and at what time of day you consume.

The different options you can choose on the current American and Canadian medical market are astounding. There are hot chocolate mixes and teas, as well as drinks typically called “elixirs” with the dosage already mixed in a packaged product. You can get all forms of solids, something as simple as cannabutter, plenty of candy assortments and desserts, and even fine dining.

There are tinctures and sprays as well, more for those who are looking to consume their cannabis orally without the flavour and nutritional value.

If you’re a beginner or a frequent cannabis user, edibles can be an incredibly enjoyable experience when done right. Just remember to be on the cautious side, but also to be amazed by the huge market and options available to you.

the helpful insight from the stoned nonsense that you thought was extremely important when you wrote it.

Enjoying a marijuana high is clearly not rocket science—simply ingest and wait. However, getting the absolute most enjoyable and satisfying experience you possibly can while high is a much more difficult thing to accomplish due to the wide range of factors that can dramatically alter the quality of the effects you feel. These factors can include everything from your surroundings, to your diet to the type of strain you are using. Making it more difficult is the fact that no two people’s ideas of a “perfect” high are the same and therefore the methods of achieving it also differ from person to person.

For this reason, we have put together a list of suggestions and strategies to help you get closer to your ideal cannabis experience by avoiding some of the things that most commonly ruin people’s highs.

Plan ahead Before you get high take a minute or two to consider why you are getting high. Are you trying to wind down before going to bed on a weeknight? Are you looking to make a night out with friends a little more interesting? Maybe you just want to lay down and listen to music or binge-watch a show? Whatever your reason for using marijuana, being aware of it will allow you to plan accordingly. Ensure that you have everything you think you will need to do what you are planning so that you can spend the entire high doing what you wanted to do instead of wasting it searching for the things you need or trying to remember what you even wanted to do in the first place Take notes We realize that diligent note-taking is likely not at the top of anyone’s to-do list when they are looking for ways to get the most out of their high. With that said, keeping a diary of your stoned experiences and thoughts can help improve future highs even if it seems like a pointless and tedious exercise in the present.

That is not to say you need to write anything in-depth; it can be as simple as making the effort to quickly jot down any thoughts or observations that seem important to you while you are high. Pay specific attention to making note of what makes you feel better while high and what makes you feel worse. Making the effort to do this on a regular basis can make a big difference in terms of giving you a clearer picture of what you find improves the quality of your high and what diminishes it. Bonus: it can be quite entertaining to re-read your notes the next day while sober and sorting out

Avoid uncomfortable situations Your experience while high can vary greatly depending on your surroundings. Remember that marijuana makes everything seemed heightened, and therefore it’s logical to expect that going into a an anxiety-causing setting or situation while high will cause you even greater levels of anxiety than when you are sober. If you know you will be getting high, plan to avoid any places or situations that may cause you any level of distress. Instead, stay in surroundings where you usually feel comfortable, safe and happy.

Avoid negative people In a similar vein as the previous advice, avoiding people who frequently cause you emotional discomfort of any kind is wise when you are high and in a more vulnerable state than usual. You will be more sensitive than usual to whatever “vibe” the people around you are giving off; if you are around people who often put you in a negative frame of mind while you’re sober, you can expect the same thing to happen to an even greater degree after you are a few hits deep. If you are the type of person who only enjoys cannabis in social settings then you will want to make sure that the people you are getting high in the company of people who make you happy and who you know you can trust to help maintain a positive atmosphere. However, the simplest and most effective way to prevent others from negatively affecting your high is to get high by yourself someplace private where you know you will not be disturbed.

Try not to eat unless you are hungry Stereotypical stoners shovelling seemingly endless streams of snacks into their mouths while high is undoubtedly one of the most well-known cannabis cliches around, and for good reason. Indulging in your favourite meal or snack while high is a borderline spiritual experience. The smell, the taste, the feel—everything you enjoy about a specific food is amplified by marijuana to an almost overwhelming degree. The downside is that eating can often have a diminishing effect on the quality of your high, making it a trade-off that is often not worth it if you were hoping to still be able to enjoy your high in other ways after you are done eating. This is certainly not to say you should never eat while high, but refraining from doing so can actually help you get more value out of your weed. Instead, try eating a small meal one or two hours prior to ingesting any cannabis in order to ensure you won’t get hungry during your high, and then waiting until you are noticeably coming down from the high before starting to eat again. The

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food will still taste better than usual, but you won’t risk diminishing your high at its peak.

Less is more As many longtime cannabis users can tell you, weed tolerances can increase very quickly. The more you use, the more it will likely take to get you equally high in the future. Additionally, unless you are using edibles, there are diminishing returns when you keep trying to get higher and higher after you’ve already reached the peak of your high. Continuing to take hit after hit is only going to waste bud, cost you money and distract you from enjoying the high. Instead, try going slow and stopping once you are feeling good or you notice that your hits aren’t actually making you feel higher anymore. It’s also a good idea to take prolonged breaks from time to time in order to allow your tolerance to come back down a bit. The longer you wait before using marijuana again, the better your next high will likely be.

Almost all marijuana users experience getting too high at one point or another. While cannabis overdose is not life threatening by itself, its symptoms can still be terrifying and extremely traumatic for the person experiencing them. It is unfortunately not possible to force yourself to instantly come down from your high.

However, there are many simple things you can try to help calm your mind so you can ride out the rest of the high in peace.

Hydrate The first thing you will want to do when you notice that your high is getting too intense for your liking is to start drinking cold water. In addition to helping to combat the effects of dry mouth that you may be feeling, keeping hydrated will help dull the psychoactive effects of the high.

Eat something Similar to the dulling effects of drinking water, getting some food in your stomach should help settle your high a bit. Also, eating is simply one of most enjoyable things you can do after consuming marijuana and your enjoyment of whatever you choose to eat will help by serving as a distraction.

Get comfortable After you’ve grabbed some water and a snack you will want to get as comfortable as you possibly can. Lay down in the most comfortable place you can—ideally somewhere quiet and private where you will be able to stay as long as you need to without being disturbed.

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Keeping your head and shoulders propped up a bit while you’re laying down may be helpful if you are feeling dizzy at all.

Take CBD Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the main cannabinoids found in marijuana and its sedating effects are known to help counteract the anxiety-inducing effects of THC, the other main cannabinoid in marijuana. Smoking marijuana that is high in CBD but low in THC could help even out your high somewhat, but your best bet would be to invest in some CBD oil that you can keep nearby in the even that you start feeling too high.

Put your phone away Although it is a good idea to keep a phone nearby while you are high in case you need anything, sometimes being so connected to the rest of the world can be simply be too much when you are too high and already feeling heightened levels of anxiety. The last thing you need when you are feeling in is to have your mind flooded with things like social media negativity or emails from your boss. Try putting it away and keeping your focus on yourself and your immediate surroundings.

Remember: nobody has ever died from marijuana overdose Ultimately, no matter how uncomfortable your high is making you feel, you can always take comfort by reminding yourself that the high will wear off in a matter of time and you will be fine. The paranoid thoughts that are often associated with an overly intense marijuana high may seem terrifying in the moment but you will most likely laugh off the experience in a few hours when you realize you were never in any actual danger.

Focus on your breathing A big part of being able to ride out a too-intense high is coming to the realization that you are largely in control of your high. Once you’ve come to realize that you are not actually in any physical danger, you can begin shifting your focus towards trying to relax. A straightforward way to do this is to keep your focus on your breathing as you are laying down and taking slow, deep breaths.

Sleep The simplest and probably most effective way to deal with the effects of overindulging in cannabis is to just allow yourself to fall asleep. Odds are by this point in your high your body will be ready to rest anyway and falling asleep will just happen naturally. If not, try putting on some relaxing music while you close your eyes and focus on the music rather than your own thoughts.

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By Patrick Donovan Fredericton’s well-known and well-loved Capital Complex celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special show on Sept. 13.

Owner Ted Beach built the Capital Complex in 1998. “He wanted to build what he saw as ‘Fredericton’s Friendliest Bar’,” said Zach Atkinson, the bar’s current manager. Not only is The Capital now a composite of multiple performance spaces, it also serves as a home base for musicians and creative performers with live music nearly five times a week.

Atkinson came on board at the friendly music hub about 10 years ago, while “the music landscape was starting to shift a lot in Canada and out East.” Starting as a music promoter and working his way into the general manager role, he still takes care of all the artist and entertainment booking. “There was a point where one bar would have a band playing three nights a week, but now you’re booking three or four bands a night, three to five nights a week,” said Atkinson. “There was really a need for a team of people with this new demand.”

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You can see why the chaos and excitement of so many new acts coming through Fredericton led to a lot of creative mish-mashing. Sean Hutchins, a member of The Midnight Ramblers, The Mothership and Maggie’s Farm Revival, remembers the bands that have come and gone over the years.

“It changes with the new bands that pop up and the bands that come out of old bands, like a group of musicians that played for a while and then split ways. A good example is a group like Some Dads, a group that people would have seen in older bands and watched them grow creatively. The new people that show up also create new collaboratives and new festivals and lineups going on.”

The Capital of course is a very casual setting, with friendly staff and unique drinking nooks in every corner. This relaxed atmosphere fits the ways people tend to come across The Capital. “We hear a lot of stories of how people find The Capital, like patrons who stumble across the bar,” said Atkinson.

According to him, it might be due to the student population in town and how The Capital can be a cosy alternative to other bars in the city.

“Fredericton’s a university town, and in first year you’re kind of just going with the flow and sometimes this is just the place that your friends go to.

We also get lots of stories of people discovering The Capital because their friends are going out to party clubs, and they didn’t necessarily feel like it was the right environment for them, so they happen upon The Capital and make it their second home in some cases.”

Atkinson said that other bars of course have their strengths, but that the aim at The Capital is simply to “appeal to a broader audience.” They do just that with the variety of shows they host in their performance spaces. “We really try to encompass all [different forms of performances]. We do a lot of drag events, comedy shows, improv groups like Hot Garbage Players, and it’s really a bit of everything.”

The Capital Complex is busier now than it has ever been and sometimes the venue has had to turn acts away. “Unfortunately, we can’t book everyone that are trying to come through, but we’ll do our best to try and book the acts that we can, or find them a creative home in the city while they’re coming through on their tour,” said Atkinson. With this many performances going on, Atkinson said they are “very grateful that we’ve been able to retain an audience of people that have been coming and want to experience music in a live format.”

probably played here,” said Atkinson. “We do get a lot of acts that are touring nationally and internationally, so Canadian acts like Ria Mae, Joel Plaskett and groups like The Arkells come through.”

Several local bands who began at The Capital have gone on to tour Canada, the United States and Europe. This shows that The Capital serves as a creative launch pad for aspiring musicians. “We’re a home base of Fredericton music, and you have a lot of artists come see each other’s shows and that even bulks up the audience on nights with bad weather,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson is simply grateful to provide opportunities for creativity in a changing music industry, and knows this wouldn’t be possible without the immense support they have received from the Fredericton community. “[We hope to continue] doing the same kinds of things we’ve been doing for the last 20 years. The music scene and genres of popular music might change, but we’re going to be right there alongside that change.”

Artists like Sean Hutchins appreciate the diversity of performances and audience members. “Some bands bring a student audience, an early show with a super wide range of ages from 19 to someone in their 70s. The Wilser’s Room seems to cater to some older acts, but there’s also Reggae nights on Wednesdays and that’s the complete opposite. We have a really wide range of people and all ages.”

The bands that The Capital entertains come from all over. “There’s obviously a heavy local component and any band from around the city would have

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Health officials concerned with spike in New Brunswick HIV cases Words by Samantha McCready | Photo by Cameron Lane

Horizon Health released a statement on Sept. 14 that said there has been an increase in HIV and gonorrhea cases in New Brunswick. Horizon reminded residents of the importance of being tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sexually transmitted blood-borne infections (STBBIs).

There have been 16 new cases of HIV reported since January, which is more cases of HIV than public health expected in a year. According to Horizon Health, this outbreak of HIV resulted in a 175 per cent increase in provincial HIV cases. 69 per cent of the total reports were from the Fredericton and Oromocto area.

Dr. Na-Koshie Lamptey, the regional medical officer of health from the Department of Health, said the driving force behind this increase is still unknown. “Many of the cases are due to people who have chronic infections, but there has also been newly acquired infections as well from local exposures,� said Lamptey.

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Lamptey said that while the average age of an HIV-affected person is 33, these cases range from ages as low as 20.

Lucia O’Sullivan, professor and director of the Experimental Psychology program at UNB, touched on the importance of condom use to reduce the risk of STIs and STBBIs. “Condom use remains fairly inconsistent…which helps in part to account for the infection rate increases we are seeing,” said O’Sullivan.

For condom use to be an adequate prevention method against STIs and STBBIs, “condoms have to be used each time, for the whole time (from start to finish), and used without errors,” said O’Sullivan.

Young people especially are prone to improper condom use and this may result in condom use becoming an inadequate prevention method of STIs and STBBIs. “Using it late in the sexual interaction...not leaving space at the tip which can lead to breakage, rolling the condom inside out and then flipping it over and continuing its use, not checking for damage or deterioration,” O’Sullivan said were some of the improper uses.

The UNB Student Health Centre is taking action and urging sexually active students and those engaging in risky sexual behaviour to get tested for STIs and STBBIs. Stacey Taylor, a nurse practitioner at the UNB Student Health Centre, said the Student Health Centre will be partnering with Public Health to ensure accurate information is given to students and the public in a timely matter.

The UNB Student Health Centre and Public Health will be providing education “to promote safer sexual health practices,” said Taylor.

The UNB Student Health Centre offers free testing for STIs and STBBIs for all full-time UNB students.

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1. Steve Earle’s guitarrist plays during his concert at Harvest Jazz & Blues.

2.. The violinist in Alan Doyle’s band performs a solo to the delight of the packed audience.

Doyle performed in Fredericton on Thursday, Sept. 13 as part of the annual Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival.

3. Steve Earle’s drummer rocks out during Harvest Jazz & Blues. The band’s music is a compilation of stylistic influences from metal to Irish Celtic rock.

4. American singer-songwriter, Steve Earle, plays his renowned folk tunes on the closing night of the Harvest Jazz and Blues festival on Sept. 16.

Right: Newfoundland Celtic-rocker Alan Doyle sings at the Harvest Festival on Sept. 13.

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CONFERENCE AIMS TO BREAK STIGMA OF ABUSE OF OLDER WOMEN Words by Diana Chavez | Photo submitted by Danie A Gagnon Women. Abuse. Two words that, put together, are getting more and more conversations started. Two words that, put together, are getting the attention they deserve.

Add a third word: elder.

The attention drops, and the conversations fade away.

Abuse against older women isn’t talked about much, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

The research team is a collaborative initiative between the University of New Brunswick, Université de Moncton, University of Prince Edward Island, and Dalhousie University. Their headquarters are located at the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research (MMFCC) at UNB. The centre has many different research groups that look into abuse suffered by different groups of women in the Maritimes. These groups include older women, immigrant women, francophone women and women with disabilities.

Exploring the ground

Danie Gagnon, community co-chair of the Abuse and Neglect of Older Adults Research Team (ANOART), is working to address this problem.

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According to Gagnon, abuse affects older men and women differently. Men are more prominent to suffer abuse from their children, while women are more

likely to be survivors of intimate partner violence.

The ANOART started their research in 2014 by doing a survey in which they asked different survey providers across the Maritimes provinces if they thought elder abuse was a gendered issue.

Most of them did not, which led the research team to focus on “better understanding the needs of older women who experience intimate partner violence.”

“When we look at services for intimate partner violence on women, they are generally focused on women of child bearing age,” Gagnon said.

“We assume that women no longer experience intimate partner violence in later life, which is not the case,” Gagnon said. “We have recognized in research in the past 20 years that intimate partner violence doesn’t stop, but evolves.”

Abuse perpetrated against older women is often different from other forms of violence. While the aggressor may be less physically capable of performing abuse on their partner, women may feel pressured by their families (or even themselves) to stay quiet lest they face familial strain. In other cases, women are financially dependent on their partners and feel they have nowhere to turn for help.

Women are considered to be elderly when they are 65 or older. However, Gagnon said this excludes women between 50 and 64 who experience violence in similar ways. His team therefore decided to research the experiences of women who are 50 and older.

When the ANOART looked into services across Canada and the world that help women in abusive situations, they found that these services are often poorly communicated to older women.

According to Gagnon, 80 per cent of abuse cases are not reported in the judicial system. This informs the misconception that abuse is not as big of an issue for older women as it is for younger women.

The MMFCC is a community-based centre, which means they rely on academia, members that participate in research activities and community organizations for information.

It’s all about community

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“We create and conduct research that comes from the ground up as opposed from top to bottom,” said Gagnon. “It creates more engagement for both sides of the equation and is much more effective. There’s a lot less back-and-forth and a lot more collaboration.”

As part of their dissemination activities, the centre is currently organizing a conference that aims to engage the community, raise awareness, teach how the services offered for women who suffer intimate partner violence can be improved and break the stigma that surrounds the issue.

“Once you understand vulnerability and how it impacts someone’s well-being and quality of life, I feel I have a better appreciation on how to address it and how to approach it,” said Gagnon.

The conference is a two-day event that will occur from Oct. 23 to 24 at the Wu Conference Centre at UNB. Guest speaker Janice Du Mont will open the conference with an explanation of intimate partner violence and what the contributing factors are that make it a different situation for older women vs. younger women and older women vs. older men.

Du Mont is an associate professor and the director of the Collaborative Specialization in Women’s Health at the University of Toronto School of Public Health. She is also a senior researcher in the Women’s College Research Institute.

The second day of the conference will feature two panel discussions in the morning and several work-

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shops in the afternoon. The first panel will discuss abuse faced by older immigrant and Indigenous women, including both rural and urban perspectives.

The second panel will talk about government services available in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Gagnon said that we need to change societal stereotypes of the elderly and reach out more effectively to those who need help.

“Aging is not a disease; you can’t cure aging,” she said.

“Older adults have a lot more to offer than we recognize in a lot of ways. They are keepers of knowledge, and though they may sometimes not have the physical abilities to do things, they certainly have experience and perspective that we younger adults don’t have until we get there.”

Words by Brad Ackerson | Image via UNB Athletic Twitter For many, the return of the UNB varsity women’s hockey program after a decade-long absence is a victory in and of itself. For head coach Sarah Hilworth, however, it is simply the first step toward her team’s ambitious plans for the future.

The team’s return is undoubtedly important for many reasons. To summarize a long and contentious saga, then-director of athletics Kevin Dickie and UNB cut the program in 2008, citing financial reasons for the decision. What followed was a seven-year legal battle over a gender discrimination claim filed by a former player that resulted in the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board ordering UNB to reinstate the program.

But for Hilworth and her team, that is all ancient history. They are focused solely on making UNB a renowned hockey powerhouse, with both its women’s and men’s teams contending for annual cham-

pionships. This year begins a brand-new era for the program and there is much work to be done to bring the team up to its full potential.

Despite all the optimism about the team’s return and its future, the fact remains that becoming an elite program typically requires the resources, financial and otherwise, of an elite program. Considering the administration’s justifications for cutting the team in 2008 and the fact that they only agreed to bring it back after they were ordered to, it would be fair to question whether the university is willing to make that type of investment in its women’s hockey program.

To this question, Hilworth stated that she is very happy with the support she has received from UNB’s athletics department and the university has already demonstrated their full commitment to ensuring the success of the team.

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“I think the university has done a really good job of giving us the resources we need to be successful.

We are looking forward and keeping the past in the past. I think the university is ready to do that as well by giving us those resources. They want to see us successful and they want to see us here long-term.”

The team is tasked with the challenge of building cohesion within a fresh-faced roster in a short period of time. After beginning on-ice training in late August, the team made an early September trip to Snider Mountain Ranch to help kickstart the team bonding process. In addition to giving the players a chance to build a sense of team unity, the weekend also provided Hilworth valuable insight into the personality of the group and an idea of which players may emerge as team leaders.

“We put them into different situations where they’ve got to rely on one another and show some vulnerability, which is hard to build. I think because they are so young and we’re such a new group it’s important… that they can start trusting each other a little sooner and feel like they are in a place where they are cared about. I think we were definitely successful,” said Hilworth.

After getting back from Snider Mountain, Hilworth’s focus quickly returned to learning more about her players on the ice and molding the team to her expectations as coach. So far, Hilworth told The Brunswickan, she likes what she has seen.

“I think we’re going to shock a lot of teams with how fast we are. We want to be a fast, ‘in your face’ team that plays with a lot of confidence. We want to be

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gritty, we want to play a fast tempo game that will hopefully leave teams behind because of the pace we play at.”

While the team’s inexperience at the U Sports level will certainly be a major challenge this year, Hilworth believes there are enough natural leaders on the roster to make up for their collective lack of experience. The majority of the team’s roster this season consists of rookies, but the team does have several seasoned players, who transferred from other universities, who Hilworth says have already been establishing themselves as leaders on the team.

It may be difficult to develop realistic expectations for the team in their first season back.

For Hilworth, the team’s success depends on the overall culture they are able to establish; however, she does believe the team has the potential to reach the playoffs this season if they maintain consistency throughout.

“I’m just excited for the players,” said Hilworth. “I know what it’s like to pull that jersey on for the first time and how amazing it feels to actually live one of your dreams. For them to have the opportunity to play at the university level, all of them have probably been thinking of that since they started playing hockey.”

The UNB women’s hockey team will make its historic return to the Aitken Centre on Oct. 13, where they play Mount Allison University at 7 p.m..

Sandy introduced herself as a 60-year-old woman who was a cook for 30 years. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and colitis, forcing her to get a colonoscopy. It got infected, requiring another surgery, the result of which was a punctured lung.

A few years later, Sandy was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Originally from Saint John, Sandy had to leave the Port City’s poorer air quality and move to Fredericton because of her lungs. Moving away from family and friends and unable to work, she became homeless.

Standing in the King’s Place mall, next to the Head Hunter’s sign, I looked for someone who fit the description of grey-haired and homeless.

Last February, I was working on a story about the homeless community. I made it my goal to spend 40 hours or more with someone who is homeless.

I wanted to learn about their life and what brought them to where they are today.

My uncle, Murray Weeks, a social worker, recommended me to a woman named Sandy Robb. He described her as a kind, vibrant woman who, despite being faced with a great amount of turmoil in her life, was always in a positive mood.

As much as this description warmed my heart, it didn’t help when going to meet her for the first time.

As I stood in the King’s Place mall, I realized I had no idea what a homeless person looked like. Or, when being faced with this challenge for the first time, I was also being faced with the biases I held against them.

I hope she’s wearing a winter coat, I thought to myself.

I asked several grey-haired individuals if their name was Sandy. I asked a woman wearing a wool coat, a woman with a dirty backpack that had different extensions attached to it and a man who had a bob.

I had been waiting for 30 minutes when I noticed a woman sitting in the food court, smiling at me.

My first thought was, Her hair has more of a yellowish colour. My second was, She’s wearing a winter coat, thank god.

“What was it like being homeless?” I asked.

Sandy recalled living at the women’s shelter in Fredericton. She said she would be walking down King Street and would see men and woman sleeping under benches. She had to fit all of her belongings into one backpack.

Sandy’s life is different now; she lives in a seniors’ home and is supported by welfare for her monthly income. She works alongside my uncle and several other volunteers to offer an outreach program for the homeless in Fredericton. Sandy helps create brochures and plan weekly events to offer food and clothing to those who need it most.

I asked Sandy when I could see her again, hoping I didn’t sound too eager. I was intrigued by this woman. I was intrigued by this community and this way of life that was so foreign to me: a naive girl who didn’t realize she was sitting on a throne of privilege.

Sandy invited me to stop by the Cathedral Memorial Hall any Monday I chose for their weekly breakfast event.

A week later, I walked toward a big beige building with a silver cross on the front. I was so nervous.

What gave me the right to intrude on these peoples’ Monday morning? Is it rude to eat the food?

I wondered.

I opened the doors to see about 20 people socializing in an open room. My uncle was chatting with a man wearing a raggedy black leather jacket, with a coffee in one hand and a triangle-shaped sandwich in the other.

Sandy gave me a hug and thanked me for coming.

She looked over at my uncle and giggled at him. Lat-

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er, my uncle told me of a Monday morning where they offered an assortment of cheeses. When he reached for a slice, Sandy yelled, “Cheese is for the poor!”

I didn’t just attend that one Monday breakfast and the next one I attended fell on voucher week where, at the end of every month, the church provides gift cards to those who need them.

Sandy stood calling out ticket numbers. You would never know she has a punctured lung and lung cancer, I thought, before insisting I take over. She rolled her eyes, but handed the role over to me. When I began yelling out ticket numbers, she said, “Clearly you’re not from the country, darling. Where I’m from you can hear your momma hollering from 10 miles away.”

I stayed after to help clean up. Sandy and I were in charge of folding and putting the tables away. I, not so sneakily, lifted from the middle of the table to take on more of the weight. She said, “I know what you’re doing,” rolled her eyes and laughed.

times and got to know a few of the regulars. Ivan was always excited to see me and would give me a hug. Rose would always compliment me on the shirt I was wearing; “Where did you get that one?” she would say.

Sandy and I would sit down together every time it would start to slow down. I always pressed her with questions and she gladly answered them.

One time, we were mid-conversation when a woman walked through the door. Sandy gasped and said, “Just a minute.” They made there way over to each other and hugged. When Sandy came back, she said, “That’s my best friend.”

Looking back on it now, I can’t believe I ever described Sandy as just “grey-haired and homeless.”

She’s not grey at all, frankly; she’s a bright joyous yellow. And, her heart, well, that’s gold.

As for homeless, I’m not sure if she ever really was—at least not in the figurative sense. Sandy makes a home wherever she goes.

I went to the Monday morning breakfasts many Photo by Cameron Lane

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As a child I was an avid reader, eagerly consuming each book I happened upon. Books revealed other worlds of friends and adventures to me: I wanted to go to Hogwarts, explore the multiverse with my dæmon and defeat the White Witch with Aslan.

Reading fulfilled my sense of adventure and wonder, and I longed for a fantastical story of my own.

But just as real life is not always sunshine and rainbows, so too with books. While I enjoyed the many tales ending in “Happily Ever After” of my childhood and learned from them many subtle life lessons, the books I read as I got older taught me more specific lessons that left a greater impact. These later books left me feeling unsettled and pushed me to contemplate the state of the world. That such books are often about serious topics has no bearing on the quality of the writing—if anything, it takes more skill to write about delicate subjects in a balanced, respectful way that remains compelling.

This is a hard task, to be sure, but one that is possible. I believe the books listed below have hit the right balance and are especially relevant in the current political climate. We have so much to learn from shared stories and the written word; these unique sources of knowledge only grow more important in our increasingly digital world.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee If you haven’t heard of or read this book, then it’s time to crawl out from under your rock! Published

in 1960, this Pulitzer Prize-winner has since become entrenched in the literary canon as a classic.

The story starts out by establishing the childhood innocence experienced by main characters Scout and Jem, before shattering that innocence by bringing them face-to-face with the racial prejudice and resulting injustice that plagues the Deep South.

Atticus Finch, everyone’s favourite defence attorney, tells Scout that in order to really understand a person you need to walk around in their shoes.

This book reflects this message by reminding us of how the world looks through the eyes of the “uninitiated.” Atticus Finch also serves as an excellent example of how education must start at home, and the resulting effect this has on children. Given the recent discussions of the injustices present in legal systems across the world, To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that everyone needs to read.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead As a history student focusing on the British Empire, many of my classes have involved the study of the transatlantic slave trade. It’s a heavy topic, but it’s essential to learn about how the atrocities of the past continue to shape our present. However, after a discussion in a seminar at the start of this year, I realised students were already desensitized to the subject; we’re so inundated with stories of violence in the media that it’s difficult to grasp the reality of these events. The statistics about enslaved Africans that we wrote down were just that: statistics, and

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nothing more. The nonchalance displayed in that seminar disturbed me and I feel we need to find other ways to connect with these topics in the classroom.

The Underground Railroad presents another way.

Colson Whitehead’s story imagines the so-called Underground Railroad as an actual underground railroad and depicts the main character Cora’s tumultuous bid for freedom. Despite its historical fiction status, the book is quite realistic: the way African Americans are treated in the book is described in such a visceral way that images from the story haunted me for days afterward. While I would say this book is not for the faint of heart, it’s still something everyone needs to read to begin appreciating what enslaved Africans had to endure.

dia red. Woven throughout are countless personal stories, mostly from widows of victims; each story is more heartbreaking than the last. I wanted to scream and rage about this to everyone around me. Why didn’t more people know about this? Why don’t more people talk about this? How could it be that this just happened and people still haven’t received justice, nearly 35 years later?

The other thing that struck me while reading Singh’s book was how eerily familiar it felt. It was reminiscent of the way Muslims are treated in the post9/11 Western world. This book serves as a reminder of the damage that can be caused by intolerance and discrimination.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank This book hardly needs any explanation on my part. Anne Frank’s diary provides heartbreaking insight into the horrors that Jewish people and other persecuted minorities experienced during World War II. Not only does exploring personal experiences and perspectives make the Holocaust more real for us, but it also serves as a reminder that people living in 2018 also have experiences not so dissimilar to Anne’s. Just because I am fortunate enough to live somewhere unthreatened by war, doesn’t mean everyone has the same privilege.

I Accuse…: The Anti-Sikh Violence of 1984 by Jarnail Singh Jarnail Singh is a journalist who became infamous in India for allegedly throwing a shoe at the Indian home minister during a press conference. While the media focused on his act of throwing the shoe, nobody questioned why he did it. This book is Singh explaining why: he describes the events following the assassination of Indira Gandhi (then prime minister) in 1984 that led to mass violence against followers of Sikhism and turned the streets of northern In-

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Finally, I end on an ever-so-slightly lighter-hearted note with a work of fiction: Nineteen Eighty-Four.

A satirical criticism of Stalin’s Russia, Orwell explores an alternate version of London that has been absorbed into a totalitarian regime where no free thought is permitted. The main character, Winston, tired and angry with the oppressive government he works for, decides to rebel for the first time in his life. This book is relevant in 2018 not because we necessarily face these problems now, but because we’re seeing the beginnings of a surveillance state creeping into our lives. People often bring up Orwell for his freakishly accurate predictions about the state of the world—you might as well get a jump on it and be prepared.

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By Samantha McCready

wether consignment in April 2017 and business has been booming ever since.

Nestled above the streets of downtown Fredericton sits Bellwether, a quaint, locally-owned consignment store that aims to reduce the mass production of clothing, encourage conscious shopping and support local artists.

Thirty-four year old entrepreneur and Fine Arts graduate Laurel Green is the owner of Bellwether, which sells refurbished vintage clothing and accessories. The store accepts clothing from Fredericton residents and sells that clothing in-store. Once the item is bought, the consignor will receive a percentage of the profit.

Green said the opportunity to create this business arose when ReNeu Boutique, a previous local consignment shop, relocated.

“I was a consigner and sold my artwork there…and I kind of just spotted an opportunity to go into business for myself,” said Green. Green opened Bell-

“We have nearly 350 consignment accounts. I have clothing showing up almost every day that I get to generate from. It’s kind of like Christmas,” said Green.

Due to its limited floor space, Bellwether needs to be particular with the clothing they choose to sell.

“As you can see the space is small, so we need to be selective. Vintage clothing is what we are in business for. We also take high-quality boutique brands, as well as handmade clothing and accessories…stuff that is different and special.”

Green has always been heavily involved with the art community in Fredericton, so Green wanted to use Bellwether as another platform to support local artists.

“We often sell clothing and accessories from local

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artists…it’s good to give local artists some exposure,” said Green.

Green is a strong advocate for consignment shopping and believes having a consignment service in Fredericton is important for the community.

“It sort of encourages more conscious shopping.

Kind of giving an opportunity for consignors to make a little bit of money from clothing they have already invested, or to exchange for new clothing,” said Green.

Green also touches on the environmentally friendly aspect of consignment shopping and stresses the importance of not supporting the fast-fashion industry.

“There are clothes here from the 1960s that are in

mint condition. There is a lot of good quality clothing that’s kicking around that is actually in better shape than something you’d buy at H&M. You know, bought six months ago, washed three times and it’s already in bad shape,” said Green.

Bellwether is hoping to continue to reach out to the Fredericton community and encourage more conscious shopping in Fredericton.

Bellwether is currently accepting consignment clothing for the fall season.

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Eager hands shoot up in the air to decide who will vote first.

In teacher Sophie Thériault’s grade 6 class, it’s election day. Students joined their peers in a school voting program across New Brunswick aimed to increase civic engagement and boost voter turnout in the future.

The initiative is run by non-profit organization CIVIX, Elections NB, and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. This marks the first time a student vote has been held for a New Brunswick provincial election.

Over 24 000 grade 4-12 students from 175 anglophone and francophone schools participated in the program. The electoral district of Fredericton North had the greatest number of participants in the province with over 2,000 students. Fredericton South was second, followed by Miramichi.

Students in Thériault’s class at Devon Middle School learned how to conduct research on all the candidates for their riding of Fredericton North. They also learned voting terminology, how to mark a ballot and civic engagement.

Thériault said most of her students were “super stoked” to participate.

“Democracy and politics is one of my personal passions, so I’m excited that I get to teach it,” she said.

Paul Howe, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick, said the largest non-voting segment of the 18-24 year-old demographic is people without a university education. He said student vote programs in elementary, middle, and high schools might be an effective way

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Sophie ThĂŠriault explains voting terminology to her French immersion class at Devon Middle School in Fredericton on Sep. 21.

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Ewan Snikkers casts his ballot during the student vote program at Devon Middle School in Fredericton on Sep. 21.

Twenty students voted during a mock provincial election in Sophie Thériault’s class at Devon Middle School. In the class, the Green Party won with seven votes, compared to four votes each for the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and People’s Alliance. The NDP received no votes and one ballot was spoiled.

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to increase participation with people who don’t pursue post-secondary education.

In the classroom on Fredericton’s north side, one student asked what he should do if he liked multiple candidates. His teacher explained that he could only choose one, under Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system.

Cameron Hanson, 11, said his voting experience was better than he thought. He said his parents don’t talk about politics much at home, and he’s still not sure if he’ll vote at 18.

Parker Layton said he had heard something about the “purple party” bringing back shale gas. The 11-year-old plans to vote in the future.

For other students, the experience helped them get comfortable with the process of voting.

“I feel confident that I know how to vote,” Fred Eagar said.

Elias Flores said while he thought voting was “cool,” he had to make a tough decision between the Progressive Conservatives and the Green Party.

“I want to grow the economy in a certain way but I also want to help the environment,” he said.

In the end, Flores checked the PC box on his ballot. He said he felt their party platform was more extensive.

Dylan Frier said he cast his vote for the Green Party after watching a video about their messages for youth.

He said the Greens “seemed confident in what they believe in,” and plans to vote once he’s 18.

“I will vote so I can have a better future,” he said.

Merrick Johnston, 10, said he felt “a bit scared, excited and anxious” about voting.

“It seems easier and simpler now after seeing it,” he said.

In the class, the Green Party won with seven votes, compared to four votes each for the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and People’s Alliance. The NDP received no votes and one ballot was spoiled.

In Fredericton North’s actual election on Sept. 24, it was Liberal candidate Stephen Horsman that won by three per cent of the vote.

Province-wide in the student vote program, the Liberals formed a majority government with 26 seats and 34 per cent of the vote. The Progressive Conservatives won 16 seats, the Green Party won four and the People’s Alliance won three.

Thériault said she didn’t learn about voting until university, and would have appreciated being informed as a young child.

“I feel like I’m giving them a voice as a teacher,” she said.

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New Brunswickers elected candidates from four political parties into the legislature on Sept. 24, resulting in the first minority government in nearly a century. Experts weigh in on the unprecedented legislative shakeup that has caught national attention.

By: Alexandre Silberman Every election involves a winner—but a confusing result greeted voters the morning after the New Brunswick provincial election.

A wild election night on Sept. 24 resulted in the first minority government in the province since 1920 and left no party able to claim an immediate victory.

The Progressive Conservatives came away with 22 seats, the Liberals won 21 and the Greens and People’s Alliance each took three. New Brunswick’s legislature has 49 seats, and no party had the 25 needed for a majority government.

Shortly after midnight, Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs told supporters that he had spoken to some constitutional experts and was ready to celebrate.

“As in any race, the one who has the most numbers wins,” he said.

Meanwhile in Dieppe, Liberal Leader Brian Gallant said he would meet with the lieutenant governor to see how he could work with other parties to continue governing.

“We heard the message loud and clear, New Brunswickers have sent third parties into the legislature in a

way that they haven’t done before,” he said.

Third parties were celebrating their success—for the most part. Green Party leader David Coon had been re-elected by a wide margin and two other Green candidates were voted into office. Three People’s Alliance candidates will be joining the legislature for the first time after two unsuccessful elections, including party leader Kris Austin from Fredericton-Grand Lake. The NDP, however, failed to win a single seat and dropped substantially in popular vote percentage.

The morning after election night, political analysts and party officials scrambled to determine what would come next.

“It’s highly unprecedented,” Tom Bateman, St. Thomas University political science professor, said. “In no one’s living memory has this happened, and this is an especially awkward party configuration.”

Third party surge In a historic surge of third party support, the People’s Alliance and the Green Party obtained three seats apiece in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly.

The People’s Alliance began in 2010 as a centre-right party focused on “common sense,” rural populism and opposition to some aspects of official bilingualism and duality. Austin lost his riding in the 2014 election by only 26 votes.

This election, the party nominated 30 candidates, 19 short of a full slate.

The Alliance drew strong support from rural, majority anglophone ridings in southwest New Brunswick this election. Austin finally won his seat after his third try; the party also won seats in Fredericton-York, where Rick Desaulniers defeated PC incumbent Kirk MacDonald, and Miramichi, where Michelle Conroy beat Liberal cabinet minister Bill Fraser.

The party also finished second in seven other ridings, including a 35-vote loss in Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin. Bateman said the People’s Alliance’s success can be linked to the hard work of Austin.

“I think they benefited from two campaigns by two old-line parties which were unimaginative, and I think intentionally avoiding some important issues in the province,” he said.

The Alliance has drawn criticism, particularly from a number of Acadian and language rights groups, for its

Graphic by Cameron Lane

position on eliminating duality. Austin maintains that he is not anti-French, just opposed to the current way bilingualism is being implemented in New Brunswick.

He has described his party’s stance as “common sense” and said he would eliminate the official languages commissioner.

Bateman said while the party is a “faint echo” of the old Confederation of Regions party, active in the 1980s and early 1990s, it represents more than that.

“It’s kind of a populist formation, it’s a group of people concerned about the fate of rural New Brunswick,” Bateman said.

The Greens also had a successful night. The party picked up an additional two seats in the legislature and saw their leader be comfortably re-elected on Monday night.

In the riding of Kent North, Kevin Arsenault defeated Liberal candidate Emery Comeau by over eight percentage points. Arsenault is a farmer and Acadian ac-

*Pending recount by Elections NB

Green Party Leader David Coon celebrates after being re-elected in Fredericton South on Sept. 24.

Photo by Book Sadprasid

tivist who is well known in the region.

“This guy’s authentic, he’s a farmer,” Bateman said.

“He’s got dirt under his fingernails.”

Green candidate Megan Mitton edged out Bernard LeBlanc in a tight race in Memramcook-Tantramar by only 11 votes. A recount is required when the difference between leading candidates is less than 25 votes.

Shortly after the polls closed, leader David Coon had a comfortable 56 per cent lead over Liberal candidate Susan Holt in his riding of Fredericton South.

Coon is the first second-term Green MLA in the province’s history. He was the first member of his party to sit in the provincial legislature—and only the fourth in the country. Coon received just over 30 per cent of the vote in a tight five-way race in 2014.

He told The Brunswickan in an election night interview that “the walls have crumbled” for Green Party exposure after serving in the legislature the last four years.

Coon did not commit to work with either party, but has been entering talks with Higgs and Gallant around confidence agreements. He will not make anything public until October when recounts are final.

“Well we’ll have to see what the math looks like, but certainly I’m not going to be able to—will not be able to work with any party that commited to take the rights

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away from Acadians and other Francophones in the province or from Indigenous people for that matter, or who won’t take climate change seriously,” he said.

“That’s not going to happen.”

In contrast to the Greens and People’s Alliance, the NDP dropped substantially in the standings compared to 2014. The party picked up just over 19,000 votes for 5 per cent of the popular vote this year—an eight percentage point dip from the previous provincial election.

Paul Howe, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick, said support for smaller parties typically drops down at election time. This year’s provincial election defied his expectations.

“It’s partly issue-driven, it’s partly general discontent with the political system,” he said.

JP Lewis, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, said there were indications in 2014 of a possible third party breakthrough.

What went wrong for the Liberals?

After having won a majority government in 2014, the Liberals, led by Premier Brian Gallant, led in the polls throughout the campaign. With all voting stations reporting, the Liberals received 37.8 per cent of the votes compared with the PC share of 31.9 per cent. Howev-

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Liberal Premier Brian Gallant speaks with reporters during a campaign stop in Fredericton on Saturday, Sept. 22.

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Photo by Isabelle Leger

er, with 21 seats to the Progressive Conservatives’ 22, this did not translate to victory in the legislature.

That’s a situation political scientists call an inefficient vote.

Brunswickers are frustrated with the major political parties that have a hold on the province. According to him, arguments for electoral reform might play out due to the results.

The Liberals won by large margins in nearly every riding across northern New Brunswick, but failed to draw votes from other regions, particularly the southwest of the province.

The morning after the election, Gallant was asked by reporters about electoral reform. He said any changes would involve consultation with the public, possibly through a referendum.

Bateman said the Liberals might have spent too much time attacking Higgs with “dark, foreboding tones” and not enough advertising how they’re doing their best to face the province’s challenges.

“I think it’s something New Brunswickers would be interesting in seeing,” Gallant said.

“It was an antagonistic, defensive sort of campaign which was combined with old-style vote auctioneering,” he said. “It became a little bit hollow after a time, and I think it put off a lot of New Brunswickers.”

It was Gallant the morning after the election, not Higgs, that was first through the doors of the Old Government House in Fredericton to meet with Lieutenant Governor Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau.

Howe said he thinks the party felt confident at the start of the campaign.

Gallant told reporters afterwards that he continues to believe the Liberals are in a strong position to maintain the confidence of the house.

Trying to form a government

“They probably felt they could just try to cruise through the campaign and avoid controversies and be elected,” he said. “It seemed like their vote slipped away from them a bit and caused them to lose the election.”

“I want to be very clear,” he said. “I humbly accept the very strong message New Brunswickers sent last night.”

Lewis said the lack of a clear winner shows that New

The premier said he has permission from Roy-Vien-

neau to continue governing. Under Canada’s system of government, a first minister can remain in office and test the confidence of the legislature first, regardless of election results.

Higgs had his own meeting with the lieutenant governor two days later, offering journalists a different message. The Progressive Conservative leader called on Gallant to “recognize that he had lost the election,” and said Roy Vienneau told him she would call on the Tories if the Liberals are unable to secure confidence.

“He does not have a mandate to govern and he is prolonging the inevitable, and it’s unfortunate that that’s the case,” Higgs said after the meeting. “If he refuses to resign, he should do what is right for New Brunswick and immediately call the legislature back, so the province has a stable and functioning government.”

Both sides are now in political deadlock and attempting pull all the support they can from third parties and across the aisle. Both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives have accused each other of offering incentives to members of the other party to convince them to lend their support.

One possible seat that could change is Shippigan-Lamèque-Miscou, a francophone riding on the Acadian Peninsula, which was previously held by the Liberals but flipped to PC candidate Robert Gauvin.

Gauvin has been a vocal critic of the People’s Alliance stance on linguistic rights.

Speaking with the media on Friday, Gallant said he has begun discussions with Coon and that several members of the Progressive Conservative have come forward with concerns about working with the Alliance.

The legislature will be called back on Oct. 23 or sooner, he said.

“We will see whether all Conservatives support the deal that Blaine Higgs and Kris Austin clearly made behind the scenes,” Gallant told reporters in downtown Fredericton.

Experts say the seat counts leave a much greater challenge for the Liberals as all parties enter the nearly uncharted waters of a minority government. Nearly all agree that the easier path forward is an agreement between the Progressive Conservatives and the People’s Alliance.

The parties that form the government will face a much greater challenge: maintaining confidence and holding New Brunswickers together from different regional and linguistic divides. The final results show a clear, red-blue, northsouth split.

“There’s a bit of a polarization that has developed as a result of this election, and the Liberals seem to have been the magnet for francophones afraid of what’s going on,” Bateman said. “And that’s an interesting dynamic that we’re going to have to deal with in the next several years.”

Bateman said Gauvin will be a minister if Higgs forms the government, and is an extremely important member of the Conservative caucus for francophone representation.

“The People’s Alliance is just going to have to understand, it’s going to have to come to terms with the existence of francophones in New Brunswick,” Bateman said. “They know that intellectually, it’s going to have to become a much more existential reality for them if they want to have any influence.”

The People’s Alliance announced the Friday of election week an agreement to provide stability for a Progressive Conservative government, on a “bill-by-bill” basis, for 18 months. But Higgs responded to the announcement saying there is no deal with his party, and clarifying that the two leaders did not meet.

The Liberals have ruled out a formal agreement with the People’s Alliance over differences in “fundamental values,” and the Green Party’s three seats would leave them one short of a majority.

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