Openwide v.17.2

OPENWIDE THE FIMS’ A LTERNATIVE ST UDE NT PUBLICATI ON

OPENWIDEZINE.com

VOLUME 17, ISSUE 2

Table of Contents.

4-5

Fighting for Air; The Environmental Racism of Chemical Valley and Aamjiwnaang Cleanup required.

6-7 LET’S GET IT RIGHT: HE IS A RAPIST WHO CAN SWIM

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Privilege is real and its name is Brock.

Organizing Equality Student Coalition: Who We Are Helping define language you thought you understood

9-11 12-13 Exchange in FIMS 14-15 Dear Ivey

The Bittersweet goodbye to MTP: An Open Letter What happened?

An international appreciation for FIMS

Searching for light in a building of corporate greed and classmate ignorance

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Beam Me Up: Tech Imagination and Representative Fandom in Star Trek

While celebrating its 50th birthday, we reflect on what the final frontier has taught Earthlings about tech and fandom

18 19 Blac Chyna vs. the Kardashian Kweendom 20-21 Zine Canada

RIP BRANGELINA: A Saga Reaches Its End The end of the supercouple and why #TeamAniston is getting savage

Chyna pulls the pettiest move of 2016 all while taking back the Black female narrative

It’s hard coming up with fake news these days

22-23 OPENWIDE Halloween Guide A how-to guide for those who can’t use common sense and empathy when planning their costumes

Erica Wallis

Editor’s Note

Editor in Chief

When you read this issue, you might notice a theme. Or at least, I definitely did. As articles for the issue kept coming in, whether they were about environmental meltdown on Canada’s reserves, critiquing corporate practices around the globe, or fighting for the student voice in the FIMS faculty, we kept reading about the need to stand together.

Any social movement needs solidarity to be effective, but this need seems to be particularly pressing these days. The most divisive American election in history is now days away, and by the time this issue actually makes it to print, I have no doubt that a whole host of new stories will be circulating that drive people even farther apart on issues that fundamentally affect the future.

For many people, including myself, it seems increasingly difficult to have conversations with people who operate with fundamentally different ideologies. But this is the problem: we have to have these conversations.

We need to engage with each other, and hear opinions with different viewpoints than our own, because it’s the only way we can attempt to understand other people. There is a reason that people support radical ideology like the brand Donald Trump offers, for example. But why is that? How could we hope to understand if we don’t even listen?

Openwide can have an undeniably liberal take on events, and so can FIMS as a faculty. I’d encourage you therefore, to not only engage with the conversations taking place within these pages, but with publications that offer a different take on the political spectrum. Don’t surround yourself with what you want to hear. Solidarity begins when we can have conversations with each other, and that happens only when we can respect ourselves and our ideological adversaries.

Jenna Murphy Managing editor

Aidan warlow World Editor

Bianca Huang

Arts & Entertainment editor

Ksenia Kolodka western life editor

Rachel Kelly Creative editor

Veronica Cheung Graphics editor

Sarah Lovering Asst. Graphics

jhana ellard web editor sara murphy asst. graphics + Web

Above all, stay critical, stay engaged, and stay kind.

Tracy xie

-Erica

Head of promotions graphics

Ariana Magliocco Head of promotions marketing

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Disclaimer: “The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. Its contents do not reflect the opinion of the University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario (“USC”).

The USC assumes no responsibility or liability for any error, inaccuracy, omission or comment contained in this publication or for any use that may be made of such information by the reader.”

Hannah Alberga Promotions

Elizabeth Ellis Promotions

Jocelyn Bick Photography

Marie Kamukuny Photography

FIGHTING FOR AIR: //BRIENNA FRENCH

On August 21st, I had the opportunity to join a tour through Sarnia’s Chemical Valley and Aamjiwnaang, dubbed the ‘Toxic Tour’. This tour gave insight into the environmental and health impacts, environmental racism, and legal battle surrounding the actions of the 63 high emitting facilities bordering the reserve, Aamjiwnaang.

Countless environmental incidents have occurred in Chemical Valley, including benzene leaks, and chemical spills into nearby wetlands and rivers. These incidents poison the air, water, earth, and organisms that live within the vicinity of Chemical Valley, including Aamjiwnaang.

On the way to our first stop, the tour guide pointed out a patch of grass, where 86 pipelines lay intertwining amongst each other, just beneath the earth’s surface. Some of these pipelines are well over 100 years old, and have yet to be replaced. As a result, multiple pipelines have started leaking, including one carrying the toxin benzene which leaked for ten years before efforts were made to stop the leakage. One of benzene’s many problems is its ability to spread through air, water, and dirt. Once it spread around the other pipelines, the complete cleanup of the chemical became virtually impossible. There is currently no legislation in Ontario requiring companies to create a spill response or action plan, and minor spills, depending on the threshold of the chemicals, do not need to be reported to the Ministry of Environment. Also, if a pipeline leaks beyond the property of the chemical, oftentimes depending on the magnitude of the spill, companies are required to clean up the spill once, without further check-ups.

“There is currently no legislation in Ontario requiring companies to create a spill response or action plan, and minor spills, depending on the threshold of the chemicals, do not need to be reported to the Ministry of Environment.”

Many of these corporations take little consideration of environmental consequences when making decisions. The amount of chemicals that have been dumped into the surrounding fresh water is astronomical. For example, Dow Chemical, an oil and gas mining corporation that moved out of the area in 2009, spilled 11,000 liters of dry cleaning chemicals into the St. Clair River. This chemical spill is just one example out of countless incidents in the area. This causes a domino effect, harming other organisms in the ecosystem.

Wildlife within the general area of Chemical Valley suffers because of these leaks and the poor legislation in place. Also, this negatively impacts the health of the people in the area, which is why members of the Aamjiwnaang reserve have been entrenched in a long standing legal battle to solve this problem.

This situation is a case of environmental racism. The corporations in Chemical Valley, such as Imperial Oil, Shell, and Enbridge, commit many environmental infractions with their hazardous spills and emissions in accordance with Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, and the government recognizes how detrimental these chemicals are to human health. This was evident when they relocated a

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THE ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM OF CHEMICAL VALLEY AND AAMJIWNAANG French settler town, Blue Water, because of the danger, and yet the aboriginal reserve has had little response to their plight. They have been lobbying the government for years to strengthen environmental protection, and after unsatisfactory response, have advanced to legal proceedings against the government.

“The corporations in Chemical Valley, such as Imperial Oil, Shell, and Enbridge, commit many environmental infractions with their hazardous spills and emissions in accordance with Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, and the government recognizes how detrimental these chemicals are to human health.”

The corporations responsible for Chemical Valley have used many tactics in an attempt to normalize their actions to the People of Aamjiwnaang. They’ve gone so far as to distribute fridge magnets to families in the community listing the procedures to follow in the event of a chemical leak, and how to decipher the meanings behind different sirens.

In attempt to paint a picture of life near Chemical Valley in our minds, our tour guide recited her personal stories having grown up normalized to the standards of living she has been subjected to. Her childhood memories included being afraid of swimming in bodies of water, because she had been consistently taught to fear the streams on the reserve. Residents are told to eat a maximum of one locally caught fish per month, as a precaution against consuming a harmful amount of toxins. The forested swamp at the mouth of the reserve does not freeze over during winter months when temperatures fall below zero, as a result of the chemical content of the water.

As these chemicals continue to cycle through the ecosystem, more plants grow with toxins incorporated throughout them. This prevents the use of many natural resources by the People, including plants such as the four sacred medicines, tobacco, sweet grass, sage and cedar. There is no evidence to show the long-term effects of being surrounded by these toxins on human health, as the reserve has not been provided with adequate resources to track this. However, the effect these emissions have on health is suggested through the birthrate of having two girls born for every boy. While there is no proven correlation between emissions and the birth rate, this is the only known community with a birth rate of this ratio and it is suggested that certain metals are linked to male miscarriages.

Despite lobbying efforts and calls for action through the community, the Ontario government has not responded to calls for help. The importance of solidarity can’t be overlooked and we must take a stand with regards to these issues of human rights and environmental crimes.

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LET’S GET IT RIGHT: HE IS A RAPIST WHO CAN SWIM //Arjun Singh Trigger Warning: This article contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors.

Reading about the Brock Turner case was an infuriating and painful experience for many of us.

There were new reports everyday and we heard from past victims about their sexual assault experiences across campuses. We also got to read the victim impact statement by the victim “Emily Doe,” a very emotional testimony. Studying Brock Turner’s trial reveals a great many contradictions in the American justice system, and points to the power of privilege in society overall. This article aims to look at five issues and biases that exist and ultimately benefitted Brock Turner and resulted in a very lenient sentence.

Race: White Privilege Brock Turner is a white male. That is the ideal position to be in in America. When the case became public, the first images released of Brock were his headshots from Stanford as a student and swimmer. If Brock Turner was black, the first images to be released would have been mugshots. The media agencies and reporters had to request authorities multiple times to get Turner’s mugshots and only got them 18 MONTHS after the arrest. The American criminal justice system is designed to protect offenders like Turner. Turner’s past 2014 alcohol possession transgressions were not mentioned until much later in the case. Instead,they discussed his potential and talent as a swimmer. If Brock Turner was a black male, the first details to be 6 //v.17.2

uttered would be his prior arrests, rough upbringing and childhood, sketchy friends, unstable family life, mental health issues etc. Brock Turner’s race privilege provided him defensive opportunities and the principle, “Innocent, until proven guilty” was applied to his benefit.

Gender: Male Privilege Sexual assault survivors are not taken seriously in the criminal justice system. A defence attorney aims to invalidate their experience. Sexual assault cases focus on the personal life of the survivor, not the accused.

The survivor of Brock Turner’s assault was asked questions like, “ Did you drink in college?” “Did you party at frats? “Are you serious with your boyfriend?” “ Are you sexually active with him?” “Do you have a history of cheating?” “Do you remember any more from that night?” The process of victim blaming is in no way unique to America. In Canada, a judge asked a survivor, “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” as a question to “understand” the nature of the assault. He insensitively blamed the survivor for being raped. The legal system’s aim is to skew the narrative’s focus to the survivor and blame them for the situation they were in. No matter what someone is wearing, whether they chose to consume alcohol or not, and no matter what that person’s sexual history is you will never possess the right to assault them.

Socio-economic status: Class Privilege Although the exact financial status of Turner’s parents is unknown, it is safe to assume the Turners are welloff. He went to an elite institution and was a member of a prestigious swimming team and could dole out the bucks for an upscale defence attorney. His class status positioned Turner as a non-threatening, aspiring Olympian who made a dumb mistake that

“His class status positioned Turner as a non-threatening, aspiring Olympian who made a dumb mistake that should not be punished harshly. ” should not be punished harshly. If Turner went to a public institution or community college and was not white, he would have been portrayed differently and would not have had the chance to hire an attorney but be assigned a public defender whose job it is to work plea bargains regardless of actual guilt.

The Failed Justice System The criminal justice system commonly fails to protect sexual assault survivors. Brock could have gone to jail for up to 14 years. The prosecution asked for six years.

Judge Aaron Persky happened to be more concerned about the sentence’s “severe impact” on Turner and his swimming career. He asserted that Turner is a not a danger to others even though he is a convicted rapist. This ruling came after the very emotional and heartfelt 7000 words victim impact statement read by the survivor in court. This case and the Canadian case of Justice Robin Camp are only two of many examples where the justice system has failed survivors and has not adequately punished the rapist.

openWIDE// WORLD

Rape culture There is a major problem in our society where terms like “Boys will be boys” is an acceptable defence for those who commit sexual violence against women.

Recently, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stated that he engaged in “locker room banter” when a tape of him talking about his star status and ability to do whatever he wants to women surfaced.

Even at Western, we had the incident where some students put up a disturbing poster that normalizes rape; “No means yes, yes means anal.” Brock’s father Dan Turner talked about his rapist son’s cooking skills and fondness for steak. He also said, “That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.” This is rape culture.

It is time to educate our sons to respect women and understand the absolute necessity of consent. Let’s not tell our daughters to not go out alone after dark, be careful about what they decide to wear, not drink at all. Let’s instead tell our sons to not take women

“It is time to educate our sons to respect women and understand the absolute necessity of consent.” behind dumpsters and violate them when they are unable to give consent. Let’s teach our sons that locker room talk should not be about assaulting women. Let’s teach our sons that “boys will be boys” is an invalid excuse. Maybe once we do that, rape culture will cease to exist.

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openWIDE// WESTERN LIFE

Organizing Equality Student Coalition: WE ARE //THE OESC TEAM WHO Organizing Equality Student Coalition is a manifestation of the upcoming Organizing Equality Conference (March 23) hosted by FIMS. The coalition has been set up to follow four pillars: promoting discussion, facilitating education, building collaboration and advocating on behalf of students.

We aim to introduce language (jargon) that the academy deems suitable to legitimize lived experiences. Jargon is very useful because it condenses long ideas about the world into words, allowing the conversation to flow easily. That said, jargon can inevitably exclude people from conversations without a comprehensive understanding of the issues. What does it mean when we refer to the “patriarchal white supremacist state”? Or simply what does “whiteness” refer to? Is it colour? Is it politics? OESC is dedicated to working with students to unpack jargon that may be inaccessible and discuss ideas that refer to our collective lived experiences.

Collectively, we are born and descended from multiple generations of immigrants to Canada, from various regions in South and East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. We speak many languages and have many strengths and skills. This committee is uniting various causes underneath one umbrella without the limitations of respective groups. We hope our initiatives empower students to participate in intersectional solidarity movements and continue your journeys as proactive allies.

In Solidarity, OESC

: /OrganizingEquality

GLOSSARY

: /OrganizingEqual

oestudentcoalition@uwo.ca

ANTI-RACISM

Anti-racism is the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, and attitudes, so that power is redistributed and shared equitably. Anti-racism examines the power imbalances between racialized people and non-racialized/white people. These imbalances play out in the form of unearned privileges that white people benefit from and racialized people do not. Some people may say they prefer the term ‘diversity.’ However, mainstream understandings of ‘diversity’ often work in favour of maintaining racism and systemic racism because they fail to critique imbalances of power among ‘diverse’ individuals and groups. The primary failure of the idea of ‘diversity’ is that it is premised on the false (and for the mainstream, comfortable) idea that equality already exists, as does equal access to the means of communication, participation in the economy, and so on.

INTERSECTIONALITY

Traditionally, oppression was understood as occurring in an ordered fashion that was separate and not linked to each other. Intersectionality recognizes that sometimes multiple forms of oppression occur at once, without order, and sometimes in reference to other forms of oppression. For example, the sexism women of colour face is often littered with racist references creating a situation in which gender and race intersect. If we refuse to recognize the intersections of multiple oppressions, our understanding of daily and systemic issues becomes unclear. Further, when social justice work is not intersectional, it becomes exclusionary, effectively partnering with systems of oppression.

MARGINALIZATION

Marginalization means deliberately putting a group of people in a lower position in society, which causes them to have less influence, power, and voice. The most marginalized tend to be oppressed by race, class, gender/sexual identity, or their bodily abilities. For example, the lack of working automatic doors, ramps, elevators, and proper snow removal means Western University is marginalizing disabled people by not facilitating an accessible campus. Marginalization systematically blocks entire communities from accessing various rights, opportunities and resources, and denies them participation in decision making processes, leading to dependence on the economic and political majority.

SAFER SPACES

We are all very different from each other, but sometimes those differences are also the source of our oppression. By declaring a space to be “safe(r)” we are declaring that those who suffer from oppression will not be forced to deal with undignified violence whether through language or physical bodily harm. The process of making a space safe requires participants to reflect on how their language might be harmful, rally against harm being committed, and actively listen to the voices of the oppressed. Unless safety is consistently secured for oppressed folk, productive dialogue across barriers will not be successful within spaces that are occupied by power and privilege.

The bittersweet goodbye to mtp: An Open Letter //connor Malbeuf

openWIDE// WESTERN LIFE

DEAR PAST&PRESENT MTP STUDENTS, I hate to say this. I really do. But the future of the Media, Theory and Production (MTP) program looks unpromising. Now, this is not me giving up at all. As the current MTP Liaison for the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) students’ council I spent seven weeks fighting for this program.

But this is not about me, it about the silenced students of a well-functioning program and the administration who let down an entire student body.

communication studies doesn’t communicate with their students. Talk about ironic.

With over 50 emails back-and-forth with students, five students’ council meetings, two public statements, three meetings with administration, over 40 conversations with current students and five phone calls with notable alumni, this is me, admitting the reality; MTP cannot be saved.

Well according to the FIMS admin, it turns out that the Undergraduate Faculty Council can internally choose whether or not to recruit students into the MTP program. This is separate from the senate vote at the end of October to discontinue the program or not. This is yet another decision made with no students present, or MTP students for that matter.

The President of the FIMS student council is usually present on Undergraduate Faculty Council meetings, but was not at the time of this vote. That means that no student representation was in on the decision. It also puts into question the senate’s true purpose. If the program cut was struck down in senate, it would not affect anything as FIMS admin has already voted to not allow enrollment for students in the upcoming year. Where is the fairness in that? If anything, the senate vote should precede the enrollment vote from the Undergraduate Faculty Council.

The reason for the harsh dismissal of the program is because it was a closed door operation for so many years. The FIMS admin have claimed that the conversation about the dissatisfaction with the program has been going on for 13 years, yet the program is not even 15 years old. They claim that a majority of students were asked about their experience in the program from year-to-year.

However, the students surveyed were drop-outs from the program. This means that there was a vast amount of students with a more positive outlook on MTP that did not get a chance to voice their experience. Also, the past three MTP Liaison’s and FIMS students’ council president’s claim they did not have any knowledge of this conversation even taking place. It is either a clear lack of communication or these conversations were not really happening. You are probably wondering why a faculty that teaches

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Now, because the subject of the program’s discontinuation was behind closed doors, council and I missed our time frame to reclaim the program.

The FIMS administration took all MTP information off the recruitment website before the program was officially dropped. How can they do that you ask?

The FIMS Students’ Council released a motion in early October stating their concerns with the decision about MTP’s discontinuation. The motion and other articles ignited a serious issue of injustice within the FIMS community allowing students to voice their opinion on social media. However, despite

openWIDE// WESTERN LIFE

hundreds of students commenting and sharing their stories about the benefits of the program, no one from the admin commented or even listened. I find it so disheartening to see so many people truthfully fighting for something they love and to see nothing done. This whole MTP discontinuation process highlights the overarching communication issue from our own administration.

First-Year MTP students were emailed on October 11th regarding the program cut. It is too bad the email was sent six weeks after it being public knowledge. The email states that the program has had ongoing “administrative and pedagogical challenges.” That seems to be a fancy way of saying that they are not effectively communicating with Fanshawe College. When did an administrative issue become a student issue? They also claim one of the reasonings behind the discontinuation is due to the “changing media landscape.” But by removing the diploma aspect out of the program it eliminates an abundance of opportunities for jobs in the broadcasting industry. I urge you to check any Rogers Media, Corus Entertainment, or Bell Media job posting online in radio, TV, graphic design or journalism. Most of them, if not all, will emphasize the benefit of a diploma. Even Ryerson graduates of the Media Production program are doing a postgrad to get more hands-on experience because the degree was not enough. FIMS admin is in the talks regarding a new production based program solely at Western.

However, I personally do not feel that a four-year degree production program with minimal facilities and equipment is nearly as beneficial as the current set-up of MTP.

I feel lost. I feel beaten. I am saddened that the administration into which we all pay did not truly reach out to students. So many meetings went without student input and so many decisions left MTP students silenced. For those still in the program, I urge you to value what you are getting, because no one will get the education MTP students are gaining. We are extremely lucky to be in the position we are in. Take advantage of your years in the MTP program, as it truly is an indispensable education.

A grade twelve student who found MTP through LinkedIn messaged me on Facebook inquiring about the program saying how dynamic and interesting it looked. She asked, “How do you like your program?”

I answered, “The program is a wild ride, but I love it.”

She then followed by asking “I cannot seem to find it on the University application site, do you know why it is not there?” I hesitated, not knowing what to say then finally telling the truth: “the program is being cut – I wish it wasn’t, but it is. I am sorry.” How upsetting is that?

Ultimately, a program was cut under the radar with a lack of student input and our admin hoped people would not react. The best thing students can do is voice their opinions. Through talking to current students, alumni, and professors, it is clear how many people benefited from MTP. It is a true shame that others will not be able to experience that. #LongLiveMTP

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Exchange in FIMS //Hannah Alberga I could scout Shirley Luy from the far distance at end of the Spoke line up. Her tanned complexion stands out in comparison to students who spend most of their year in freezing temperatures. When she saw me, her permanent smile widened. We sat down like old friends in desperate need of catching up.

Luy is from Brisbane, Australia and on exchange at Western University this semester. As a student new to FIMS, her perspective on the faculty is refreshing and takes the viewpoint of an outsider, with a view of the inside (similar to a panopticon).

She opened up about what it has been like as an exchange student studying at Western, specifically in FIMS. We started off by talking about her professors. Luy was stunned by the immense experience our professors have in the industries about which they instruct us. She explained to me that at her home school, Queensland, the teachers largely stick to the standard lecture style of teaching. However, she also admitted that at Western, the third year three-hour classes are too much to absorb at one time. Here, the professors aren’t just teaching theory – they have real life experience in their fields, which gives the class a hands on approach. FIMS professors love what they teach and they want you to love it too.

“They come alive when they talk about their subject,” Luy commented. They aren’t teaching anything out of a textbook. She tried to find a word to describe FIMS professors, but the only one that came to mind was “quirky”.

It wasn’t the exact word she wanted to use, but I knew exactly what she meant. FIMS professors are different to profs you’ll have in other faculties. They have unique interests, out of the box jobs, and they want to tell you all about them. At least one time per class, a FIMS professor will tell a personal story about an uncanny experience they’ve had. The word “passionate” was repeated countless times in our interview, specifically when we spoke about FIMS professors.

Luy was surprised by how open students are to discuss their personal opinions with the entire class. In FIMS we often take for granted the open discussion style of lectures and tutorials. Luy commented on the creativity she has observed in FIMS students. “They know how to think outside the box, which I’m still learning,” she admitted.

Overall, Luy was most impressed by the opportunities outside of the classroom available to Western students.

Luy asked me, “Is the campus newspaper funded by Western?” I nodded yes. She was astonished at the “sophistication” of student run publications like Openwide and The Gazette, and was impressed by how much the university cared to make opportunities available for students to express themselves. Luy was thrilled that students took their free time to contribute to different facets of the school. “It’s a really important part of Western identity,” Luy concluded.

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Dear Ivey, //Anonymous

Today, I think I reached a breaking point; I have truly realized how close-minded so many business classes can be. To sit in an eighty-minute class scheduled to discuss a shoe company’s exploitative outsourcing methods and have a professor leave only twenty-five minutes for the case made me furious. That case could have been discussed for hours upon hours more than its designated time frame. Twenty-five minutes seemed like a sad joke. But according to my professor, it’s only a small case, so it doesn’t really matter.

“A small case.”

Really? A case about a corporation’s excessive use of sweatshops and their failure to see the wrong in that hardly seems like a small case to me. The class that was covering this case is one of the only mandatory classes for Ivey students. It is meant to teach students about managing the inconsistencies between the pursuit of profit and the public interest. Of all the courses at Ivey, shouldn’t this be the one class where issues like unethical labour practices can actually be talked about beyond shareholder value and profit? This is the course that should teach students about the duty that corporations have to society. But today, it failed to do that.

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I don’t mean to get caught up with the diction here. It wasn’t the word “small” that upset me; it wasn’t even the professor who was teaching that class. In fact, he is one of the few people who actually recognizes the bigger picture. What upset me was the normalcy of thinking of these huge social issues as minor cases, as issues that don’t need to be worried about too much.

The shoe company’s greed for more money at the expense of the people who make their products is mind-boggling to me and deserves to be analyzed for more than twenty-five minutes. An in-depth discussion is especially important considering that the main arguments cited in the company’s defense came from a blatantly false and poorly researched report.

This report’s proven inaccuracies were not mentioned in the case or in our assignment instructions. I did my own research to realize the inaccuracies, but other students may not have realized the distortion of information. These distortions shape students’ understanding of the situation and if students believe everything in those cases, they may think that problems like sweatshops aren’t as bad as people like me make them out to be.

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My favourite point from my fellow classmates during this class was that at least by outsourcing manufacturing to developing countries, we are giving them jobs. This argument is like saying “Here, let me give you a pile of shit. At least I’m feeding you.” Meanwhile, wealthy Western corporations exploit factory workers in countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam left and right while those same corporations sit down to 5 star meals every night. Why aren’t 4 star meals good enough?

At least this way, that pile of shit becomes a bowl of nutrients to help foster strength and growth.

Corporations make so much money and yet they are still trying to cut costs – at the expense of the worker – in any way they can. Higher wages or better working conditions are simply too much to ask. Why is it too much to ask? It’s because all of those people in power, those who control these giant corporations went to schools where “shareholder value” is religion and to go against that is blasphemy.

Despite all of this, Ivey actually does make the occasional attempt to show that there is more to business than shareholder value. Unfortunately, these attempts have proven to be ineffective and ignored.

Last week, Ivey brought in a world-renowned business law professor from Cornell. I was pleasantly surprised. She talked about how the notion that corporations’ only role is to increase shareholder value is flawed, that this only promotes short-term growth and not long-term impact. Companies think “why invest in making the world better if it hurts our quarterly reports?”

Nothing else matters other than those quarterly reports.

I didn’t agree with everything else she said, but that’s okay. Disagreement can be good but ignorance is not and ignorance is what I saw in that giant auditorium. I sat in a sea of other Ivey students whose level of disrespect was unbearable.

The number of phones I saw being used to text friends or in some cases, play Tetris, were uncountable, and the volume of conversations I heard were overwhelming and rude. Here is someone who is posing an alternative view to Ivey’s way of thinking and no one listens. The people who are supposed to be “tomorrow’s

leaders” won’t even consider that successful business can exist even when profit isn’t placed above everything else.

Don’t get me wrong, not every aspect of Ivey infuriates me. There is a class about social enterprise. There are some professors who bring these issues I have discussed into their classrooms. There are even a handful of students who criticize Ivey as much as I do for these same reasons. But it isn’t enough because there’s only one social enterprise class, only one or two professors who teach about these issues, and the students who criticize Ivey are vastly outnumbered by those who don’t. These things are treated like the “token other side.” They may exist in Ivey, but they have little influence.

I am frustrated with Ivey but I still go to school every day even when the thought of it makes my heart race and my hands shake. I know that in order to fix the problems I see in the world, I need to understand them first, even if it means learning about balance sheets, competitive risks, and returns on investment.

If I ignore that side of the argument, then I am just as bad. But if I can understand the language that business schools teach in, then maybe I can influence them to change.

Something in me snapped today – maybe that’s a good thing – but I think it needs to happen to more people.

There are an astounding number of complicated problems in the world and sometimes thinking about them, plus all the unknown problems I have yet to discover, makes me want to pretend they don’t exist.

But then I go to class and realize there are already too many people doing that. With every graduating class, another flock of “leaders” go out into the world with a close-minded perspective that they learned from Ivey.

Are we happy with what that mentality means for the world? I’m not. I want that mindset to change. It needs to change.

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openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic television series of the American cultural landscape, and the science fiction genre as a whole.

Originally airing in 1966, Star Trek has gone on to spawn a number of sequels and spin-off series as well as a series of movies that are still being released today, Star Trek: The Original Series is a cultural institution.

The effects of this institution are still being felt today.

Beyond the revival of the television series, Star Trek has had lasting implications in people’s conceptions of technology and its development as well as crafting a narrative universe that enabled people to engage with their world and the people around them in a new light and with new understanding. The technology of Star Trek in particular, holds a certain interest to me.

The original series, across its 3 seasons, technology that was fantastical in its utility but nonetheless made sense to viewers at the time. The communicator, an early imagining of the first cellular phones, the phasers, non-lethal weapons favoured by the crew of the Enterprise, and the transporter, with its ability to bend space and move people great distances, all hold a certain place in conceptualizing how our technology continues to develop in the future. Star Trek has in no small part, influenced the way that people think and 16 //v.17.2

//Sean Thompson

dream about what a possible future could look like; and production has begun on those dreams. All around the world, and through a variety of means, people are working towards making those science fiction dreams become a scientific reality. An example of this is the QualComm Tricorder XPrize, a contest where a $1 Million prize has been offered to anyone who can best replicate the Tricorder. The Tricorder is a medical device in Star Trek that allows the user to scan a person to discover maladies, administer medication, and recommend treatment. As of this writing, the top entries in this contest have entered into public for consumption and testing.

The far horizon of science fiction that Star Trek presented when it was first airing is inching closer and closer. The tricorder is not the only fictional technology that has found a parallel in the real world. NASA claimed that it is aiming to achieve interstellar travel and space exploration by the end of this century. The development of artificial intelligence (AI), which admittedly plays a larger role in Star Trek: The Next Generation with its android character Data, is mirrored by our own movement towards AI. IBM’s Watson technology, a computer system that has the ability to learn and think to answer user questions and

sort unstructured data, certainly seems to be moving in the direction of completely autonomous artificial intelligence.

Each of these technologies, while wonderful to think about incorporating into our daily lives in order to move us closer to technological utopia, are not without their issues. No technology is inherently beneficial without its drawbacks, and this would be poor FIMS writing if I did not at least address some of these concerns. Beginning with the Tricorder, someone is ultimately producing this possibly lifesaving technology to be sold as a commodity; using its status as an item in cultural memory in order to exploit that memory for profit. As we move towards interstellar travel, a question arises; this is a question that Star Trek itself asks in a number of episodes and stories: whether or not humanity has any right to the cosmos. We see the effects of our own imperialism and colonialism from the 18th and 19th century.

Parcelling up solar systems to be sold to corporations that are able to continually exploit and drain a planet of its resources and move on to the next target is an extension of the way many corporations view our current planet. In Star Trek, the United Federation of Planets has a Prime Directive, which means that no matter what, they are to be observers in the cosmos and should never interfere with a planet. The characters of Star Trek interpret this in their own way, Captain Kirk of The Original Series is famous for his desire to intervene if he perceives an injustice.

However I would argue that if humanity is on a path towards the stars and beyond, then I think we could benefit from a perspective similar to the Prime Directive. We have no right to impose our will onto the rest of the universe.

Star Trek had an integral role in shaping the way people thought about technology for many years to come, but it also played a part in shaping alternative ways of thinking. It is important to recognize how Star Trek opened up the dream of science fiction and space exploration to so many people. In The Original Series, characters like Lt. Uhura, Captain Sulu, and Ensign Chekov, welcomed a new demographic into the fold of fandom. For one of the first times in history, people were able to look at the television and see not only people that looked like they did, but were a valued and successful member of an elite team. Lt. Uhura, played

by Nichelle Nichols, was one of the first examples of positive representation of black women on television.

openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

She was a role model to people who otherwise would have found none on television at the time.

Lt. Uthura was not portrayed in a subservient role, she was a master of her station, and as such was an inspiration. Beyond just the character’s proficiency, in an episode airing in 1968, Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura share a kiss which is widely regarded as the first interracial on-screen kiss; this was not by any means an accident. The episode was reportedly to be shot both with the kiss and without, so that the network could decide if they wanted to keep it or not.

However, Shatner and Nichols made that decision for the network when they purposefully made mistakes on every take that did not include the kiss, forcing the network’s hand.

Cpt. Sulu, as a Japanese man, shares a similar space. He was a positive representation of AsianAmerican people in a time when veterans from the Second World War were still alive. Going beyond just the memory of WW2, the show was airing and in syndication during the Vietnam War as well. When it would have been easy to make him a caricature in order to demonize the enemy that they were fighting against, Star Trek was above that kind of pandering to racism. Ensign Chekov is also an interesting character because he is Russian in a series that aired during the height of the Cold War, and also deals directly with Cold War themes. Star Trek grappled with the problem of interventionism that plagued American foreign policy and eventually landed the United States in a war in Vietnam. Again, Chekov was not a Russian stereotype played up for popular appeal, but a valued member of the team whose identity was present but not mocked. I believe that these representations are part of the reason why the show attracted such a large and dedicated following from its fans. People who were previously denied entry into engaging with fandom found refuge on the Enterprise.

The legacy of Star Trek in the 50 years since its initial airing is difficult to pin down. It was and is still is one of the most foundational science fiction texts in our cultural canon and the way it examined our relationship with technology, ourselves, and each other, informs the way we think about these aspects of our lives. I believe that the self-reflection the series offers is its true legacy. Star Trek inspired a tradition of close analysis and taking nothing for granted. As a FIMS student, I hold these values close to me and believe that Star Trek, and other great media alike, had an integral role in fostering these values. v.17.2// 17

rip brangelina

A Saga Reaches Its End //Arjun Singh BRANGELINA EXIST NO MORE. That’s right. Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt. The two have been together since 2005 and got married in 2014 and are now ending things. For those of you who didn’t know all about it, LET ME TELL YOU. This was Brad Pitt’s second marriage while the third one for Angelina Jolie. Brad Pitt was previously married to Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie to Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Lee Miller. This split came across as a blow for many Brangelina fans and people who “shipped” them for life. Many #TeamAniston supporters decided to mark the occasion by sharing memes of Aniston celebrating the split and putting the point, “Karma is well and alive” across social media. Other hollywood celebrities also emphasized the family’s need for privacy and that there are six children whose lives have been changed significantly by the divorce. Similar to any common familial separation, the Brangelina split should be respected. Here is my take on this.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie met in 2004 when they were shooting for Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005). Angelina was single at the time starting out her work as a humanitarian and adopting many children while Brad Pitt was still with Jennifer Aniston. The news broke out in 2005 that Angelina and Brad were seeing each other, and around this time Jennifer filed for divorce. Media blamed Angelina for the divorce and claimed that she wouldn’t date, or be with a married man as her father did with her mother. Anyways, Jennifer and Brad separated and a few months later, Angelina and Brad were happening. Meanwhile, members of #TeamAniston still blame Angelina for that divorce.

In the 11 years Brangelina have been together, they have had 3 biological kids in addition to “said #” adopted kids/children. The super couple of Brangelina sold the first photos of their biological offspring to magazines for a lot of money to donate to their humanitarian foundation. Around the time of their marriage in 2014, Angelina became a director and started making movies. She directed a movie called By the Sea (2015) which was about a troubled couple on a vacation in Paris. The film was shot after Brad and Angelina got married, but according to sources (TMZ, Vogue) this shoot was no honeymoon. It is super weird for a recently married couple to create a film about a dysfunctional, saddened couple. Also, the crew on set claim that cracks in their relationship were evident during the shoot. They weren’t interacting as much and took weekend trips alone. There are also rumours that they both have different career paths and aspirations; Brad Pitt wants to continue making movies while Angelina Jolie hopes to retire and make her humanitarian work a full-time priority, and maybe move into politics (Angelina Jolie for Senate 2020 anyone?). Other news reports claim that Angelina is not a big fan of Brad’s parenting style (namely his love for marijuana). Some claim that Brad is a violent parent and has anger problems. The reliability of these sources is unreliable and should not be given much credit.

Let’s talk about people’s responses to this “Hollywood crisis”. Many brought up Jennifer Aniston’s supposed happiness and how she got her revenge. Here is the problem with this: as much as I love seeing Friends memes all over the Internet and on my Twitter timeline, can we just stop assuming women are happy to see each other fail and fall apart? Girl on girl hate is not cool and is a problem. Jennifer Aniston has went on to do great for herself. She looks gorgeous and has an even better-looking husband now (in my opinion, although Brad is BAE always). Why do we expect that Jennifer has not moved on and is somehow dancing on the Hollywood sign after hearing this news? If Jennifer and Angelina were two men, we wouldn’t have been talking about them this way. Funny story: I know many women who are genuinely happy for each other and feel for each other when something goes wrong. Now I don’t expect Jennifer and Angelina to be besties and going on lunches together, but I do believe they hope for the best for each other and have no ill feelings. PEOPLE MOVE ON, OKAY? For those who state Angelina Jolie deserved this, please explain yourself. What has she done to you that you are celebrating her pain on social media? Getting out of a relationship or marriage can be extremely painful and is a hard decision people have to make. You may think she can’t act to save her life or her humanitarian work is for show but been happy or stating someone deserves an upheaval of this kind in their life is rude and wrong.

BE BETTER THAN THAT PERSON!!!

openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

LOL

//SAMAH ALI

BLACK CHYNA VS. THE KARDASHIAN KWEENDOM The Kardashians are the Jackson family of our time. Bold statement, but their empire surpasses any family dynamic we’ve seen in the past half century. The only thing differentiating them from the Motown musical family is their inability to sing – and their race of course.

Kris Jenner built a Queendom out of nothing and while their business ventures are their only accredited work, the bulk of their success and accolades can be narrowed down to the popular programme watched every Sunday, whether it’s a marathon or new episode, of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (KUWTK).

Needless to say we all know who they are, but true fans of the family can be essentialized to middle class women striving to mirror their glamorous lifestyles. Narrowing the audience down more, there is a disproportionate viewer base among white women compared to women of colour. This is for obvious reasons.

Kardashian women are notorious for travelling to lavish and ‘exotic’ destinations, getting a taste of that culture, and then appropriating it with no credit. Closer to home, a great deal of Black women refuse to acknowledge nor support their ventures because of their appropriation of black culture: major examples being Kylie Jenner claiming the invention of weaves, hairstyles modelled after historically black protective styles, and their outrageous behinds that they swear are real. And with multiple publications crediting the latest trendy look to the women instead of the originating culture it’s understandable why some people do not engage with their work.

Cue Angela Renée White, also known as Blac Chyna, who’s infamously known for pulling the pettiest move in 2016 by getting engaged and pregnant with Robert Kardashian Jr., the only boy in the family. Known for her rocky past with the Kardashian clan, Chyna’s involvement with Rob appeared skeptical at first since her ex-husband Tyga left her and their son King for the youngest of the bunch, Kylie. A juicy beginning to an excellent reality television show, Chyna’s loyalty and love was mutual with Rob as the ghost brother was brought back into the spotlight with dramatic weight loss, a product of Chyna’s mentoring and his new fitness journey.

Of course, the only way to profit off this new element of the Kardashian family is a show and, unintentionally, Rob & Chyna sparked a new viewer base with a demographic the Kardashians could never tap into: Black women.

The presence of Blac Chyna takes back the Black female narrative in an empire composed of white and half-Armenian women profiting off Black female bodies and black culture.

Building an empire of her own, Chyna brings Black women back into the shows offering a blunt perspective with fresh, melaninrich faces. She changes the dialogue of glam and unintentionally pushes the petty limelight back to the Kardashian girls, flipping the archetypal leech-like Black woman narrative onto the culture vulture sisters.

Preluding Rob & Chyna, scenes of the sisters bickering over Rob’s new significant other in KUWTK display the family’s displeasure with welcoming her into their clan and shows their spiteful behaviour towards their newest family member. From Kendall recalling a gifted iPad to Khloe’s jealousy of her nonexistent relationship with her closest sibling, Chyna’s existence shakes up their glamorous Queendom and begs us to ask the question: why are they so mad?

Does the existence of a Black woman threaten their not-soinnovative looks? Does Chyna reflect the ugly side of their actions back to the world?

It’s stirring, makes for great reality television, and offers an hour long segment for Black women to witness the discomfort of white-passing women when they exist in the same space, let alone pose a threat.

It’s a twist unwillingly added to the Kardashian empire encouraging Black women to support the unexpected hero Chyna and push ratings to the forefront. With Rob & Chyna and KUWTK garnering the same amount of interest, it looks like the Kardashian empire welcomed a demographic they would have never expected, all because of a Black woman reclaiming a narrative.

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openWIDE// CREATIVE

ZINE CANADA

SILENTLY WONDERING, “WHY BOTHER?” SINCE 1906

ZINE WRITERS STRUGGLE TO CREATE NEW CONTENT IN 2016 THAT CAN COMPETE WITH REAL WORLD HEADLINES Goal of the year: somehow create news more satirical than this real life mess

The writer’s room of Openwide’s satire staff is in turmoil after yet another unbelievable month in the world of politics. From legitimate politicians decrying Pepe the Frog to killer clowns on the loose, the Openwide writers team is collapsing under the strain of having to compete with legitimate news stories for ludicrous headlines.

Three Openwide writers have been admitted to hospital for medical treatment after repeatedly trying in vain to distinguish between U.S. Presidential Debates and the Saturday Night Live parodies of them. “Donald Trump said ‘bad hombres’ in an actual presidential proceeding” said one writer, furiously shaking his head at the wall. “Or was it Alec Baldwin? I don’t know anymore!” he wailed.

Until the situation is under control, writers have been advised to take a brief compassionate leave from work.

Doctors suggest they disable their electronic devices, invest in noise cancelling headphones, and move to Siberia in order to get away from any mention of Kate McKinnon’s emails. Sorry...Hillary Clinton.

What is going on?

20 //v.17.2

ADMIN MOVES HOMECOMING AGAIN Western students exhausted at the prospect of planning another weekend of binge drinking

WESTERN ADMIN CANCELS CHRISTMAS

New hire Mr. Grinch continues policy of ruining everything and not telling students

EVERY PERSON ARRESTED ON HOMECOMING WAS A WHITE DUDE NAMED CHAD Group of men in drunk tank post Instagram captioned “squad goals”

WESTERN ADMIN GENUINELY SHOCKED TO DISCOVER THAT FIMS STILL EXISTS “We thought we cancelled you.”

openWIDE// CREATIVE

AFTER HALF A SEMESTER OF FIRST YEAR WOMEN’S STUDIES, STUDENT BOYCOTTS FAMILY THANKSGIVING DINNER

Dad cries in room after being blamed for all the problems

OPENWIDE STAFF REGRET STARTING TLDR

“No one reads anything else anymore”

STUDENT WEARING HUNTER BOOTS AND HERSCHEL BACKPACK OFFENDED BY BEING CALLED “BASIC”

VIEWERS CONTINUE TO TUNE INTO ELECTORAL DEBATES

“I like pumpkin spice before it was cool,” says Franny Champion

TRUMP LITERALLY EATS A HUMAN CHILD

STUDENTS FRIEND GIVES HIM VIAGRA INSTEAD OF ADDERALL

“Idk I just want to see how the end of the world plays out” “Look at that stamina,” his supporters declare

HILLARY CLINTON’S “LISTENING FACE” MASK ALREADY MOST POPULAR HALLOWEEN PURCHASE Right behind Harley Quinn’s baseball bat

STRANGER THINGS COURSE ANNOUNCED AT WESTERN Promises to turn your grades upside down

ROYAL FAMILY TAKEN TO TIM HORTONS AND NO ONE GIVES A DAMN

Midterms not proceeding as planned

LOCAL BEACHCOMBER FINDS IPHONE 5 IN THE SAND

Throws it back.

SCANTILY CLAD STRAIGHT WHITE DUDE IN ALLEY LOUDLY PROCLAIMS PRIVILEGE DOES NOT EXIST

“Kathy and Will seem nice,” said one clueless employee.

Also he’s drunk

PENNY OLEKSIAK, BORN IN 2000, HAS ACCOMPLISHED MORE THAN YOU

STUDENT APPLIES FOR LIVER TRANSPLANT AFTER DOING HOMECOMING TWICE

Also you’re failing 7 courses but you’re only taking 5

STATISTICS SHOW 4 OUT OF 5 STUDENTS THINK THEY ARE DOING MOST OF THE WORK IN THE GROUP PROJECT Fifth student could not be reached for comment on any social media

CAMPUS POLICE CLAMP DOWN ON BIKE THIEVES Razor scooters still unprotected; Sexual predators still at large

STUDENT SPOTTED WEARING SWEATPANTS TO CLASS BEFORE THANKSGIVING Admin launches investigation to find how hope was lost so easily

WESTERN STARTS SUPPORT GROUP FOR TURKEY-DUMPED STUDENTS Support group turns into orgy of lonely hearts

Just in time to rally for Halloween

TRUMP BRAINSTORMING SESSION LEAKED TO MEDIA

Topics include ‘insults for women’, ‘insults for minorities’, ‘insults for puppies’

STUDENT FEELS MORE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO UNNAMED GECKO THAN ANY OF HIS PEERS

Creature literally lives in it’s own shit, which is relatable to student

v.17.2// 21