Queen's Journal, Volume 146, Issue 13

1873

the journal

Queen’s University Since 1873

Vol. 146 Issue 13 Nov. 9, 2018

FEATURE

Head Judicial Officer Fired After Investigating AMS President • Tyrrell feared for employment while investigating a complaint against Martinez

Society exec Martinez denies inquiry’s role in firing I ain S herriff -S cott News Editor

• Martinez allegedly interfered multiple times in Judicial Affairs investigation

After investigating the conduct of AMS President, Miguel Martinez, the Society’s head judicial officer was fired on Tuesday morning.

Two weeks before his departure, Brandon Tyrrell, the former AMS judicial affairs manager, was investigating a complaint against Martinez stemming from his conduct at Queen’s Model Parliament (QMP) in January of 2018.

The complaint alleged Martinez’s sanction agreement with the University Conduct Office gave him preferential treatment.

According to a Judicial Affairs Office written disclosure made to The Journal, Martinez allegedly interfered multiple times during the course of Tyrrell’s investigation, causing it to stall.

In an interview on Nov. 8, Martinez denied interfering with Tyrrell’s investigation in “any way that policy doesn’t allow me to.”

• Judicial Affairs Office taken over by Watters, Woolhouse in the interim • Woolhouse, Martinez cast doubt on complaint

See Martinez on page 5

Martinez speaks at special assembly on Feb. 18, 2018.

PHOTO BY IAIN SHERRIFF-SCOTT

Patrick Deane named principal Deane to leave McMaster will join Queen’s July 2019 R aechel H uizinga Assistant News Editor A version of this story first appeared online on Nov. 6.

After a nine-month search, the University announced its appointment of McMaster President, Patrick Deane, as Queen’s next principal and vice-chancellor on Monday morning.

Deane, who’s served as McMaster president since 2010, will assume his role at Queen’s on July 1, 2019.

“When I think about Queen’s, my mind always goes to its standing as a national institution,” Deane told a crowded room in Stauffer Library. “Queen’s is an important part of the fabric of our country.”

Several University and AMS representatives were present at Monday’s announcement, along with Mayor Bryan Paterson and Kingston & the Islands MP, Mark Gerrettsen.

Rector Alex da Silva and Board of Trustees

Chair, Donald Raymond—both members of the search committee—took the stage to welcome Deane as the Principal-designate.

“As a student myself, I spoke about my thoughts on the many things that make Queen’s University so special. From our hard-to-beat student learning experience to our incredible ground-breaking research,” da Silva said.

“I think it’s safe to say we were looking for someone who understood everything that contributes to that special Queen’s magic.”

As Queen’s vice-principal (academics) from 2005-2010, Deane is a familiar face at Queen’s.

“Students who leave the space are bound to it, it seems forever, through some kind of force that is very unusual in our country,” Deane said. “I look forward to building on that.”

Deane said he plans to increase Queen’s research capacity and broaden the student experience by connecting it to the community.

He similarly hopes to improve diversity within the University.

“We must be at the cutting edge in terms of the promotion of respect for differences and diversity in our country,” he said.

When Deane took questions from the press, he told The Journal about his priorities going into the role.

“I have a sense that we’re going to

need to continue to build the quality of the student experience here, drive up research productivity, and strengthen the University’s position as a research institution,” he said.

“Especially, there is the ongoing question of ensuring this is a diverse community and building on the work that’s been done already in that direction.”

“I think the last of those things is a priority, regardless of how you situate the others, but it will take a little while at the start.”

Speaking from his work experience at universities across Canada, including Western University and the University of Toronto, Deane told The Journal he’s particularly interested in preparing students for the labour market.

“Universities need to be thoughtful about how they equip students to be successful,” he said. “There are traditional ways of thinking about degree programs, and then I think there are new ways in which we should be thinking about them.”

“You want to make sure [students] are really, really well equipped to deal with all the changes in the workforce.”

When Queen’s began the process of hiring a new principal, the University issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) before contracting a headhunting firm.

According to the Proposal, the University was looking for a firm that helped other

schools hire “qualified women, visible minorities, persons with disability and persons of Indigenous [sic] descent for senior roles.”

The University hired Perrett Laver last February, which spent $93,000 on international advertising, research, and travel costs for interviews. uSee Deane Q&A on page 8

Patrick Deane.

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

EDITORIALS

OPINIONS

ARTS

SPORTS

LIFEST YLE

Uber recordings violate privacy and comfort

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Recalling positive experiences with Patrick Deane

Graffiti raises awareness for sustainability

MacDougall sisters’ loyalty guarantees long-term success

Testing limits at the New York Marathon

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Friday, November 9, 2018

In conversation with Queen’s next principal Patrick Deane talks vision for campus, plans for new role

I’m there.

How will you navigate university-city relations, given they’re especially important in Kingston?

Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor After a nine-month search, the University announced its appointment of McMaster President Patrick Deane as Queen’s next principal and vice-chancellor on Monday morning.

On Wednesday, The Journal spoke with Deane about his priorities for the role.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Why did you want to apply for the role of principal at Queen’s?

Queen’s is an important Canadian university and it has a very individual culture and profile in the university community, so of course it was very attractive in that respect. I was vice-principal (academic) nine years ago [at Queen’s] and thoroughly enjoyed my time there with the faculty and with the students. The idea of leading the university into its next stage was very attractive to me, as well as the importance of the institution, the quality of the institution, and my familiarity with it.

How do you feel about being appointed to your new role?

It’s actually hard to put my mind on anything else right now, because when you’re going through the process of being considered for these things, you have to imagine yourself in the role, but when it actually becomes real it’s extremely exciting. I’m eager to get thinking about how I can benefit the university.

How will your years as McMaster’s president prepare you to be Queen’s next principal?

The good thing is I’m moving from one research-intensive Ontario university to another, so I’ve had extensive experience. Having done this job at McMaster now for nearly nine years, I’m intimately familiar with the government circumstances in Ontario and

Patrick Deane speaks in Stauffer Library on Monday afternoon.

some of the challenges these institutions face. I’ll be able to bring all that experience with me to Queen’s and I’ll certainly be able to hit the ground running.

What kind of challenges do universities like Queen’s face?

If you look at any of the research-intensive universities, [they’re] trying to do two things.

On the one hand, they have a tradition of high-quality education for undergraduates and graduates.

You might call it the most important aspect of their mission.

But they also do see a critical part of their mission in terms of research. Doing those two things simultaneously in a university isn’t necessarily difficult—because obviously if undergrads are being taught by a professor who is at the cutting edge of her field—that brings benefit to you.

But in terms of managing the funding of the university and the material resources necessary, it can be quite challenging to [build] strength in both respects.

How will you ensure the work that’s been done for equity and inclusion at Queen’s will continue?

I think equity, diversity, and inclusion has to remain a priority for the university. It’s not something that needs to be done on the side while everyone’s going about their business. It’s essential

Principal Daniel Woolf speaks at Monday’s announcement.

to the business of the university. It would be a top priority for me. It has been in my time at McMaster and will be at Queen’s as well. The university is stronger the more diverse and inclusive it is.

The recommendations of the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity and Inclusion report, the two new [vice-principal] appointments recently, I think those are two really important appointments the university has made of very strong people. I think the presence of those two traditions in the senior leadership will certainly help to move it forward in the areas of diversity and inclusion.

What is your vision of Queen’s in five years?

Queen’s is a university that is famous for the quality of its student experience, and it also has a very strong research and intellectual tradition. It has a unique niche in the Canadian world of public affairs. We’ve had a long-standing history of being able to influence government in positive directions through the thoughtful research and the education of people who go work in government.

My hope would be that in five years the university will be stronger in both of those respects.

It will be once again a major force for change in Canadian society and, over all of those things, it will have achieved very

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

significant progress towards diversity and inclusion.

What do you think your biggest challenge will be in your new role as principal?

I know because I’ve moved universities several times, it always takes a little time to learn something of the local culture and pick up on the recent history. The issues that are live and important in the university at the moment. I know Queen’s very well and that will certainly give me an advantage as I start, but you know I need to be careful not to assume the university I knew nine years ago is unchanged. I think it’s an obvious thing that the initial challenge is to get up to speed, to learn what is really important about the state of Queen’s right now in order to work out how I can be most useful.

What kind of issues do you think are important to students at Queen’s?

I do know, for example, that the equity and diversity question has been very much a preoccupation with the students for a number of years. I know in my meetings with student leaders that it continues to be the case. I hear there are some other issues like the JDUC referendum. It’s early for me to say because Monday was my first time back on campus. I’ll look forward to learning more about that in great detail when

Well, I know this was an issue that I was very centrally involved in when I was vice-principal, and develop[ed] a very good relationship with the city and found ways to ensure that there was a productive dialogue going on between the university, the students, and Kingston. I asked about this specifically on Monday when I was there. I had some opportunities to talk about that and I believe that relationship has gotten better. There have been very good efforts made by the mayor to build a good relationship with the students and the university, and also the other way around.

There’s no simple way to ensure that those relations are good and productive, but you do have to be very focused on them in a city the size of Kingston with a university in it. Obviously, there are going to be challenges and I think the important thing is to maintain a productive dialogue with the city and with the community about their concerns, and the university and the students’ concerns.

What’s your favourite movie?

Oh, my favourite movie. Well, it’s a really weird one. Nobody knows it, but it’s called Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday. It’s the French film that was the model for the Mr. Bean’s movie, Mr. Bean’s [Holiday].

You’d enjoy it. It’s a funny movie.

It’s a lot like Mr. Bean in the sense that Monsieur Hulot is almost inaudible. There is dialogue, but you never quite hear it. It’s comedy.

I’m guessing you’re a fan of Mr. Bean as well?

I am. I’m fond of Mr. Bean [laughs].

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

I’m really delighted about the appointment. It’s wonderful to come back to Queen’s. I had just very, very warm relationships with the students at Queen’s when I was there and I’m only too delighted to be coming back and reconnecting.

Members of the Queen’s community listen to Deane’s remarks.

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARBURTON

News

Friday, November 9, 2018

queensjournal.ca • 3

Queen’s students grab gold medal for synthetic biology research Engineering team wins gold for luminescent biosensor project

Institute of Technology (MIT) hosts the event, where student teams across the globe compete to solve current challenges facing the international community. This year’s competition hosted over 300 teams, representing more Madison Bendall than 40 different countries.

Assistant News Editor It provided participants with a kit of biological parts at The Queen’s Genetically the beginning of the summer, Engineered Machine (QGEM) requiring them to present their team won gold for their work in final project to a panel of judges synthetic biology through research and industry experts later on infant hormone detection that year.

Oct. 28.

At the competition, the QGEM Participating at the team presented a model designed International Genetically to detect and diagnose hormonal Engineered Machine (iGEM) imbalances in infants using a Competition held in Boston, they luminescent biosensor. were one of five Ontario university In collaboration with the teams to compete. They were the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation province’s only group to receive a Team (QBiD), the group developed QGEM members stand with their winning research project. gold medal, and one of four to win a pacifier that is able to detect gold nationwide. salivary cortisol in infants, and device using bioluminescence and and measurement of an infant’s Each year, the Massachusetts transfer the levels to a mobile Bluetooth technology. salivary glands.

In the project, QBiD was Krauss said the biosensor responsible for the overall design isn’t perfect, but the thought and of the pacifier, while QGEM effort dedicated to its construction worked on creating a biosensor for caught the eye of the panel. the device.

In addition to winning gold “Senate repeals 1918 ‘colour bar’ on Black medical students,” The team worked to produce at the iGEM competition, QGEM published Nov. 2, 2018 engineered protein biological also made the top five for sensors to detect and measure the contributions in the categories A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the language quantity of hormones present in of Best Poster, Best Presentation, of the ban as a “colour bar.” It is in fact a “colour ban,” not bar. The saliva, and use it as a tool for the Best Entrepreneurship, Best article also mischaracterized Thomas’ involvement with the repeal, diagnosis of hormone disorders.

Product Design, and Best stating he brought the motion to senate. Thomas presented it as an “The project came from the Diagnostics project. item and did not make the motion. Principal Woolf placed the idea that we could non-invasively Krauss said work on motion on the Senate agenda. collect indicators of biomarkers, the project doesn’t stop at and the saliva would be a useful the competition.

The Journal regrets the error. indicator of the child’s health,” “We met with members of QGEM Director Elisha Krauss told Autism Ontario over the summer, “Senate recap,” Nov. 2, 2018 The Journal. and we spoke to them about The device’s small size was the device and we asked them if A previous version of this article misattributed Kanonhsyonne designed to be compatible with they saw us having a quantitative Janice Hil’s comments to Lisa Doxtater. Doxtater is not a senator a pacifier, which Krauss outlined measurement of their children’s and was not present at Senate. as the key element to allow for wellbeing in any way that would the quick, non-invasive collection benefit them.”

The Journal regrets the error.

CORRECTIONS

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After hearing about the function and benefits of the device, Krauss said parents of children with autism were “blown away.”

“Most of the time children with autism disorder are non-communicative. [The parents] are unable to express how they are doing, and they don’t have an indicator as to what may be bothering their child,” Krauss said.

“So this was, in their eyes a way to communicate with their children to understand their child’s wellbeing if we can develop it in an accessible way.”

He added the success of the QGEM team couldn’t have happened without the support of the university.

“The team is so thankful for all the resources provided by the University, and hope that the QGEM team in the future continue to flourish.”

News

4 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 9, 2018

In conversation with new associate vice-principals about diversity Kanonhsyonne (Janice Hill) shares how her role as director was elevated to vice-principal Rachel Aiken Assistant News Editor Following the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Report the university has created the position of associate viceprincipal of Indigenous Initiatives.

Kanonhsyonne ( Janice Hill), previously the director of Indigenous unitiatives, has been selected to fill the position, effective as of Nov. 1.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

walking along the same path.

What is your background in Indigenous initiatives?

My whole career has been in the field of education and it’s been in Indigenous educations.

I believe education is the key for all of us—for Indigenous people moving forward, but also for the development of better relationships between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people.

I have a passion for a revitalization and promotion of Indigenous languages and I’ve worked in that area for a long time, forty years maybe. I think it comes from when I was growing up. I didn’t learn a lot about my traditional culture

from my family. Once I did, education could help them I became very confident in who achieve their needs.

I was, who I am as a Mohawk In 1988, I was hired on a woman. It made it important to 10-day contract to help develop me that this information was the survey tools and to help available to young people coming begin to develop relationships behind me. with Indigenous communities. I ended up staying 10 years at How did you start in your field the faculty of education, working of Indigenous education for the development in the at Queen’s? beginning of the Aboriginal Teacher Education program I was invited to a symposium and then staying on in support to talk about how Queen’s of that. I, then, was the could address the educational community liaison for a long needs of Indigenous people, time, but I also facilitated primarily in Ontario, but looking student-teacher candidate really locally at what Queen’s placements in communities. could do. As a result of that symposium, a steering committee What is your vision for Queen’s [had to] survey Indigenous in terms of Indigenous people [about] what their needs inclusivity on campus? were and how the faculty of

How do you feel about your appointment?

I’m a little overwhelmed it happened quite quickly actually. I’m very appreciative that my position has been elevated because I believe it’s an indication of the University, principal, and provost’s ongoing commitment to Indigenous initiatives.

I’m actually thrilled to be starting this journey with [Simpson].

I’ve known her for many years and our work has intersected a lot, so it will be good to have a colleague you know Stephanie Simpson (Left) Kanonhsyonne (Right)

Stephanie Simpson shares her goals for the future of diversity on campus Madison Bendall Assistant News Editor

Effective as of Nov. 1, Stephanie Simpson was appointed the associate vice-principal in human rights, equity, and inclusion.

Simpson worked in the Human Rights Office at Queen’s since 1996.

In 2018, she was named executive director (human rights and equity offices) and university advisor on equity and human rights.

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

How do you feel about your appointment?

I think that, like many others in the community, I’m feeling like it’s a welcome change and in fact it’s overdue. This comes out of a recommendation that folks made 18 months ago through the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI) process, and it’s nice to see all of this finally come to

fruition. I [and] many people didn’t see this coming.

When the recommendation was made that I’d be the person appointed to the role, it was a welcoming surprise. I think this is a great move for the community and I’m glad that people came to the point where it was time to put this in place.

What is your background in human rights and equity?

Like a lot of people, I did not train to be a human rights and equity specialist. I came to this fairly organically. Throughout my time at Queens as an undergraduate, I was actively seeking to be involved within the human rights and equity community. I was a member of African & Caribbean Students’ Association (ACSA), the Black History Collective, as well as the Queen’s South Africa Solidarity group, so I was pretty engaged in student life around some activist themes.

I’d come to Queen’s to pursue history and English as a concurrent education degree.

After graduating, this came up as a part-time contract position with the human rights office at the University. I’d been very fortunate to be mentored in the human rights area over 22 years by the previous director.

How did you start in human rights at Queen’s?

I came in completely unexpected. I had a background in community engagement when it came to human rights and social justice issues, but it wasn’t my intended profession—really just before I was to do my teaching year in con-ed a part-time position came up.

I was actually working in this office while I was finishing my con-ed degree, and then I was just offered more and more opportunities. I ended up having to make a decision between pursuing opportunities within the teaching profession or stay with human rights.

What did you accomplish in the Human Rights office during your tenure?

I’d say the development of relationships with strong stakeholders amongst campus, such that we were able to work together to create a more welcoming community. I think we’ve managed as a team to demonstrate we’re here to help, we’re here to spread awareness, we are here to advise and encourage practices and activities that are in the best interest of all communities.

ILLUSTRATION BY IAIN SHERRIFF-SCOTT

How will elevating your role to associate vice-principal change what you are able to accomplish?

The PICRDI report sets out what it is that they envision that an AVP would be able to do and really, they talk about this person being able to influence change and to, on a more concrete level, implement many of the recommendations they have been made in various reports. Beyond that, I see the role of the AVP being one of a facilitator, someone who is able to more strongly able to empower groups within the community.

Many have fought long and hard to make this an equitable campus, and fought long and hard to achieve this kind of goal.

A lot of the work that we have been doing with equity and human rights will continue, but I believe that in the future I will be around more places on campus that encourage diversity and have more opportunities to meet with departments and work with senior administration.

What is your vision for Queen’s?

I would love to see Queen’s become a leader in equity, human rights, and inclusion.

I believe we need to set our hopes high, and I don’t

One of my main priorities has always been to increase the visibility of Indigenous presence on campus. Even after eight years of work, we’re still not very visible on campus.

But I also feel the need for there to be Indigenous faculty in the areas of critical thought, like politics [and] philosophy. There’s been two new hires in gender studies, which is wonderful.

Increasing presence and visibility through, not only material culture, but also more people on campus, I think that’s one of my long-term goals, it always has been.

We started the indigenous studies minor, so that was another accomplishment.

I think we do [graduates] a disservice if they leave this university without knowing about the history of Indigenous people in Canada.

We are the foundation of this country—our people existed here before Canada existed. I think that, as world citizens, we need to know the history of this country, especially as we’re representing this university and this country as we go out into the world.

I‘ve always been taught you need to remember things, not dwell on them, but to ensure they never happen again.

Those are some of my higher aspirations ... that we continue to do that work and that people leave here with a fulsome understanding of our history—our shared history.

Because, as everyone says, we’re all treaty people. We’re all part of this moving forward. want Queen’s merely doing the minimum it can to ensure human rights and equity obligations are being met.

I believe Queen’s can become a leader in this field and, when I look at what we might achieve five years or more down the road, realistically 10 or 20 years down the road, I’d like Queen’s to be known for its diversity—for its intentional engagement of that diversity in areas like research, campus life, and teaching, and learning.

How do you plan to accomplish this?

I’ll continue to work closely with the University Council on Anti-Racism and Equity (UCARE) [and similar groups], and I’ll work closely with the deputy provost of academic operations and inclusion, Dr. Teri Shearer, to continue to strategize and develop plans in terms of moving forward.

Many plans are already in motion.

There’s a great deal that have come out of the provost office, in terms of establishing groups like UCARE as well as auctioning recommendations in the TRC report. journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

Friday, november 9, 2018

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Features

•5

IN-DEPTH STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY

AMS, Tyrrell dispute interference in investigation Continued from front ...

On Oct. 21, the Judicial Affairs Office disclosed its concerns to Alex da Silva, the rector, Mikayla Paige, the chair of the AMS Board of Directors, and The Journal.

When contacted, da Silva declined to comment. Paige also didn’t comment in time for publication.

In the disclosure, Tyrrell wrote he was hopeful the details of his investigation would be placed in good hands before he was “arbitrarily dismissed” from his role “out of a reluctance to cease the investigation into Martinez’s behaviour.”

In an interview a week before his dismissal, Tyrrell said he feared for his job as a result of pursuing the investigation of the complaint against Martinez.

Martinez denied the investigation played any role in Tyrrell’s termination.

On Oct. 25, Tyrrell closed his investigation into the complaint about Martinez, citing an inability to proceed based on the president’s alleged interference.

On Nov. 6, Munro Watters, AMS vice-president (university affairs), informed Tyrrell he was dismissed in a meeting. He was given pay in lieu of two weeks’ notice and asked to leave immediately. Tyrrell didn’t receive a reason for his dismissal when he inquired.

“They wanted to sever any possible action,” Tyrrell told The Journal after his dismissal. “I think the fear there was, if I were given two weeks, then there would be sufficient time for me to take action to fight against [the firing].”

Following Tyrrell’s dismissal, Watters announced she and Bronwyn Woolhouse, the AMS secretary, would assume Tyrrell’s responsibilities while another manager was chosen.

While Watters had been aware of the investigation into her co-executive since Oct. 23, she didn’t recuse herself from overseeing the Judicial Affairs Office.

While it’s not a violation of policy, Tyrrell said an executive member taking over the Judicial Affairs Office is a “huge concern for the legitimacy of the AMS judicial system.”

The investigation

The complaint sparking the Judicial Affairs investigation resulted from Martinez’s alleged conduct at QMP in January of 2018—before his appointment as president-elect.

During Tyrrell’s investigation, the Judicial Affairs Office discovered Martinez was sanctioned under Part G of the Queen’s Student Code of Conduct, for allegedly “grabbing a Student Constable’s wrist” during an event at QMP. Student Constables filed two separate complaints against Martinez that weekend, though one was later dropped.

In an interview, Martinez addressed the allegations with The Journal.

“While I never admitted to grabbing a Student Constable’s wrist, I did mention in that brief that I’d been sanctioned for grabbing a Student Constable’s wrist,” he said.

When the Judicial Affairs Office interviewed the complainant, the person alleged “genuine harm” stemming from Martinez’s actions at QMP. Martinez’s violation—which would normally result in a ban from all events sanctioned by student constables—was processed by the University’s Conduct Office, which reached an agreement with the president-elect.

According to Tyrrell’s disclosure to The Journal, while Martinez was sanctioned by the Conduct Office, the case manager also ruled that Martinez’s executive status

requires him to enter and exit AMS pub services from “time to time.”

Martinez’s name wasn’t placed on the official list of banned patrons, but his case manager was obligated to inform student constables whenever he’d be entering AMS pub services. Student constables were informed Martinez would be performing service checks in AMS pub services, which would be limited to 15 minutes.

In the disclosure, the Judicial Affairs Office alleged mandating student constables to enforce Martinez’s service checks meant the University’s Conduct Office infringed on student constables’ “ability to fulfill their duties set out in Part 10 of the [AMS] Constitution,” which includes ensuring the safety of patrons and event staff.

In an interview with The Journal, Martinez disputed the agreement was in violation of the AMS Constitution. “My presence there does not put the patrons or event staff safety at threat, nor does it put any section of the constitution at threat,” he said. “I would argue that both event staff and patrons would argue the same.”

Tyrrell also alleged the agreement between Martinez and the Conduct Office allowed Martinez to be treated differently than any other student who’d been

only an individual with previous knowledge of the Judicial Affairs Office could have requested them.

“I think the goal behind the person who submitted the [FOI] request to my office, was to have the underlying motives for putting together the PIP system come to light,” Tyrrell said. He added the documents could have been used to discredit the PIP system as a whole, if disclosed.

In an interview, Martinez denied all knowledge of why the FOI request was sent and said he had “nothing to do with” the request.

As the Judicial Affairs Office is a branch of the AMS, which is a private corporation, Tyrrell had no obligation to answer the request.

On Oct. 18, Bronwyn Woolhouse, the AMS secretary, contacted Tyrrell to allege he was in a conflict of interest in conducting his investigation.

AMS Judicial Policies and Procedures mandate that when a conflict of interest is declared, the Secretary is charged with reviewing the materials of an investigation to determine if a conflict of interest exists.

If a conflict is found to exist, the secretary takes over the investigation.

According to a hand-written amendment

From left to right: Munro Watters, Miguel Martinez.

banned from pub services in the face of a sanction.

Martinez denied Tyrrell’s accusation, saying, “I would strongly suggest that me attending an event for 15 minutes to make sure everyone is doing all right, and then going home, because I can no longer be a part of that event, is not personal gain.”

The University disputes the representation of its staff in Tyrrell’s disclosure, saying it was “factually wrong” in a statement to The Journal.

“We have every confidence in the Student Conduct Office, which operates with professionalism and with the utmost integrity,” the statement read.

Alleged interference

In the Judicial Affairs Office disclosure sent to The Journal, it’s alleged Martinez took steps to undermine or interfere with the Judicial Affairs investigation into his conduct.

On Oct. 16, the day after Martinez sat down with Tyrrell for an official interview as part of the investigation, the Judicial Affairs Office received a Freedom of Information request (FOI).

The complaint being investigated by Judicial Affairs was conducted under the AMS Policy Infringement Protocol (PIP)—a separate judicial system that deals specifically with employees of the Society, rather than the broader Non-Academic Misconduct (NAM) system.

The FOI requested specific files located on the AMS file server. According to Tyrrell, the documents requested were so specific

PHOTO BY IAIN SHERRIFF-SCOTT

to the disclosure, Woolhouse told Tyrrell she’d brought forward the allegation of conflict of interest as a result of “consistent pressing” to do so by Martinez.

As a result, Tyrrell refused to disclose the contents of his investigation to Woolhouse, fearing it would be compromised.

In an interview on Nov. 7, Woolhouse softened her previous statement that she was pressed by Martinez to take over Tyrrell’s investigation, on the basis of a conflict of interest.

“The pressure I felt came from my internal feelings regarding my position and my professional relationship and was definitely exacerbated by my interactions with [Martinez], which were not malicious in nature,” she said.

On Nov. 8, Martinez said in an interview he initiated the alleged conflict of interest inquiry by Woolhouse, claiming Tyrrell had a personal and professional bias against him—something which Tyrrell denies.

Martinez contested pressing the Secretary to take over the investigation.

“I would argue I never really pressed the secretary, and if the secretary ever did feel pressed, then I apologize for that. It was never my intention,” he said.

In his disclosure, Tyrrell also alleged that Martinez requested Seema Sidhu, the chair of the AMS Judicial Committee, to recuse herself if Tyrrell referred the case to her for a hearing.

When reached for comment on Nov. 6, Sidhu did not respond in time for publication.

Martinez said he spoke with Sidhu while the investigation was ongoing, but added

he “never once” asked her to recuse herself.

“She offered to [recuse] herself because [of] her personal friendship with me,” he said.

The complaint

In an interview on Nov. 7, Woolhouse attempted to cast doubt on the validity of the complaint against Martinez, claiming she “wouldn’t be surprised” if it had been fabricated.

“In my eyes, and the eyes of people who I’ve discussed this with, and reviewed the facts, it seems to me that it’s been driven

by Brandon.”

In an interview on Nov. 8, Martinez too also questioned whether a complaint had actually been made.

The Journal was able to independently verify the existence of both the complaint and the complainant.

Tyrrell’s dismissal

In a statement provided to The Journal, Munro Watters said Tyrrell violated his employment contract and the Agency Agreement between the AMS and the University, which provides authority to the Society’s Non-Academic Misconduct system.

According to Watters’ statement, she began reviewing the Agency Agreement with the University on Nov. 2 to assess whether Tyrrell’s disclosure to The Journal violated the agreement.

“I identified that a confidential disclosure of this nature violated the Agency Agreement as well as the employment contract of the individual in question,” Watters wrote in a statement. “A violation of the Agency Agreement could result in the University revoking the AMS’ involvement in the NAM system as a peer-based administrator.”

According to Tyrrell, Martinez’s case was being investigated under the AMS Policy Infringement Protocol (PIP) system—not NAM. “The PIP system is independent of the university’s NAM system, and there are therefore no obligations set out under the Agency Agreement pertaining to the facilitation of Mr. Martinez’s case,” Tyrrell wrote in a statement on Nov. 8.

“Further, all information gathered during Mr. Martinez’s PIP investigation was obtained independently from the NAM Intake Office and the University.”

On Nov. 6, Watters informed the University of the alleged confidentiality breach and the corresponding dismissal of Tyrrell.

In response, Tyrrell wrote, “not only was there no contractual breach under the Agency Agreement, but the Agency Agreement also does not stipulate that the AMS must inform the University of the employee who was terminated as a result of the alleged breach.”

Tyrrell also wrote that, while his employment contract had a confidentiality clause, the Judicial Policy and Procedures has a “notwithstanding clause” which allows, “in certain scenarios, the AMS Judicial System may be compelled to break confidentiality.”

Those scenarios include “the acquisition of information which leads to an understanding that harm will take place to an individual or group in the future ... [and in such] scenarios, the Judicial Affairs Office ... would be compelled to contact the proper authorities.”

Tyrrell claimed his disclosure was justified under the Judicial Policy and Procedures notwithstanding clause.

When asked if there should be extra protections from future dismissal of Judicial Affairs managers, Tyrrell agreed. When asked the same question, Martinez declined.

6 • queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 9, 2018

EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

Secret Uber recordings risk passenger privacy While dashboard cameras are installed in cars to protect safety, they’re not there to infringe on privacy.

On Oct. 29, an off-hours conversation between seven Ottawa Senators players in Phoenix was captured and published by an Uber dashboard camera. In the five-minute video, the hockey players ridiculed an assistant coach and derided the team’s performance. It spread quickly, forcing the players involved to apologize despite their lack of knowledge about or consent to the video.

Their apology was warranted, but its reason wasn’t.

Every person privately discusses issues with their employer at some point in their lives. Their fame doesn’t legitimate the sharing of their private conversations.

Uber emphasized the recording violated their policy and Arizona law. Its release is troubling—it questions individuals’ freedom in private places in our surveillance-heavy society.

Dashboard recordings are critical to safety in cases of threats, harassment, or accidents. They protect drivers and passengers from altercations and can serve as evidence in courts of

law. Their acceptance, however, doesn’t warrant their publication.

While Uber drivers deserve respect and control in their vehicles, they shouldn’t violate passengers’ trust in non-dangerous cases. We shouldn’t question whether we’re able to speak freely in places we believe to be private.

Their apology was warranted, but its reason wasn’t.

Although the athletes in question were embarrassed, the incident didn’t cause permanent damage. However, if these videos publicly proliferate, the stakes may get higher for other riders. The problem isn’t that the video was recorded. It’s that no system governed access to it.

Just as service providers from restaurants to hotels offer surveillance of customers without abusing their power when no wrong’s been done, ride-sharing companies should do the same.

If dashboard videos aren’t used for protective purposes, they should be controlled by trusted

THE QUEEN’S JOURNAL

Uber authorities.

Drivers are people with their own motivations, for better or worse. The ability to abuse their dashboard footage sets a dangerous precedent for drivers with potentially impure intentions. These limitless possibilities need immediate resolution for the sake of ridesharing users.

The potential abuse of power in a private, vulnerable space can’t continue. Even innocent passengers’ fear of surveillance might change how they behave in Ubers, and it’d make them uncomfortable.

Whether Uber silences the audio of dashboard footage or actively takes control of its use, action must be taken.

Public outrage about this lapse in trust is positive—it encourages corporations and governments to battle the negative repercussions of our society ’s technological advancement.

Anger mobilizes change. In the wake of this Senators scandal, Uber should re-evaluate their privacy policy in the face of ever-growing technology as it threatens rider security.

You should respect your Uber driver—you shouldn’t fear their capacity to make you vulnerable.

Editorials Editor Opinions Editor Arts Editor Assistant Arts Editor Sports Editor

Volume 146 Issue 13 www.queensjournal.ca @queensjournal

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ILLUSTRATION BY ZIER ZHOU Meredith Wilson-Smith

Sophia Spencer

Sophia Spencer

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

Arts students should be prepared for employment, not excluded Students pursuing liberal arts degrees face more criticism than their peers in other disciplines because of their major’s perceived irrelevance in the job market.

It’s up to faculties to adapt to these heightened and fluctuating expectations.

As workplaces value interpersonal ability, students who spend the bulk of their degrees writing essays are disadvantaged upon graduation.

When an engineering student completes their first-year project, the equations they used might not apply to their work after graduation. Rather, their mandatory teamwork and critical thinking are clearly linked to the workplace.

It sets engineering students apart from arts students in their preparation for the real world.

Being able to close read The Iliad in first-year English isn’t necessarily shown to be applicable to an arts student’s future.

This strict academic perspective on learning disadvantages arts students.

It fails to provide them with any explicit connection between classroom skills and the professional world.

A student taught with an exclusively academic outlook has a harder time applying their knowledge to future workplace expectations.

A calculus course isn’t more valuable in the workforce than a literature class.

However, faculties such as Engineering and Commerce place the skills they teach students—like communication and leadership—in the context of possible career paths.

This isn’t to say writing a cohesive essay is easy, but in the context of a changing job market, mastering it as a skill alone doesn’t suffice or Contributing Staff Staff Writers and Photographers

Brigid Goulem

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appeal to employers.

English students considering careers outside academic pursuits often find themselves seeking out opportunities like The Journal or Queen’s Pre-Law Society. These extra-curriculars prove the skills arts students have can translate into profitable employment.

But this is an independent pursuit—the education they pay for doesn’t provide them with these opportunities.

The onus is on liberal arts students to be proactive, whereas in other faculties it’s embedded in the fabric of their expectations. Arts courses don’t prepare students for life after university, and they should.

The perceived lack of real-world application for arts degrees could be easily changed by the ArtSci faculty embracing a more tangible approach to the way students demonstrate their learning.

A faculty-specific day where ArtSci alumni in established professions—lawyers, journalists or politicians—network with students would be a strong first step to mitigating this.

A more realistic view of how students apply their liberal arts educations would allow them to leverage their critical analysis abilities into a tangible professional advantage. It’s up to the faculty and University administration to adapt to this evolving culture.

Ultimately, these types of changes could minimize the stigma toward liberal arts degrees—highlighting their relevance and improving students’ confidence when pursuing their academic passions.

Sophia is The Journal’s Opinions Editor. She’s a second-year English major.

Contributions from all members of the Queen’s and Kingston community are welcome. The Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions.

The Queen’s Journal is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University, Kingston.

Editorial opinions expressed in The Journal are the sole responsibility of The Queen’s Journal Editorial Board, and are not necessarily those of the University, the AMS or their officers.

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queensjournal.ca

OPINIONS

Your Perspective

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

Patrick Deane speaking at Stauffer Library on Monday.

In support of Patrick Deane Alexi White.

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY ALEXI WHITE

Alexi White & Kingsley Chak ArtSci '08

As former student leaders who worked with incoming Principal Patrick Deane during his time as Vice-Principal (Academic), we can say with full confidence that his appointment represents an opportunity for Queen’s to rediscover and nurture its unique undergraduate learning experience.

What students need in a principal goes beyond their financial and sector knowledge, or their capacity to bring in endless donations. The principal should be someone who listens to students—showing empathy, respect, and humility—and who values diversity and inclusion, in addition to understanding the academic experience at Queen’s and where it’s lacking.

More importantly, the principal should utilize the special role Queen’s students play in constructing a broader learning environment. In the most recent Maclean’s Student Satisfaction Survey and the National Survey of Student Engagement, Queen’s is distinguished by extracurricular activities and the overall campus experience.

In our experience, Patrick always listened.

Regardless of the issue, he valued student

•7

Two Queen’s alumni share their positive experience with the Principal-designate input and made sure his door was open.

While we didn’t always agree, Patrick kept an open mind and conducted himself with warmth and respect, embracing the unique and critical role that students play in university governance at Queen’s.

When Homecoming parties on Aberdeen Street drew national media attention, he resisted calls for a harsh university response, opting instead to work collaboratively with the AMS, the City of Kingston, and the police to address the issue over a number of years.

“We support the AMS in their approach to keep the street safe,” he told The Journal at the time.

Patrick also supported a more diverse and inclusive Queen’s community. He was open about the culture of whiteness at Queen’s that harms both individuals and “the intellectual good of the institution.”

Always open to new perspectives, he actively participated in events on campus such the accessibility-themed Deaf for a Day. When it came to academics, Patrick worked with student leaders in an attempt to spread new approaches to teaching and learning that would better serve students.

Shortly after leaving to become President

of McMaster University, Patrick wrote about the need for a “radical re-conceptualizing of the teaching and learning process” and called on all universities to “lift ourselves above the instructor-instructed dialectic” and “imagine a wider, possibly infinite, range of models for learning.”

In comparison, the current Queen’s Strategic Framework lacks aspirations of this magnitude. Its focus on more “experiential and entrepreneurial learning” is welcome, but it leaves out so much of what’s needed to transform the student learning experience.

It also neglects to reference the broader learning environment as Queen’s greatest strength and most distinct feature, or the role of students in university governance—shaping the past and the future of Queen’s.

Due in part to student advocacy, previous Queen’s strategic plans have aimed to capitalize on this strength.

For example, the 2006 plan, Engaging the World, released while Patrick was Vice-President (Academic), explicitly recognized the contribution that students make to university governance,

“I don’t know anything about him or where he comes from, but I love change!”

“I would appreciate a more diverse candidate considering we’re swithcing to another white male.”

Kingsley Chak.

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY KINGSLEY CHAK

highlighting “the Queen’s legacy of student engagement as expressed through the oldest student government in the country, the large number of student-led clubs and services […] and other co-curricular learning experiences for students.”

Patrick Deane saw the broader learning environment as central to the fabric of Queen’s and the success of its students. His return ensures this idea will thrive.

It’s our belief that he’ll reinvigorate critical reflection and change at the university, nurturing the role that students play in facilitating the best parts of the Queen’s experience.

However, it’s ultimately up to students to seek and earn a stronger role in this next chapter. With Patrick at the helm, we are envious of the opportunity you have. Take it.

Alexi White was AMS Academic Affairs Commissioner in 2007-08 and OUSA Executive Director from 2009-11. Kingsley Chak was AMS President in 2007-08 and former student representative on the Queen’s Board of Trustees.

Talking heads

... voices around campus

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARBURTON

What are your thoughts on the incoming principal, Patrick Deane?

Jacob Ritchie, CompSci ‘21

Zaina Baig, ArtSci ‘19

“I don’t even know how they change principals. I’m disconnected.”

Maria Xu, ArtSci ‘19

Arts

BAND PROFILE

Rich Aucoin tours for charity Halifax singer to visit Blu Martini on Friday Student poets compete at CUPSI POETRY

Queen’s team for the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational.

Queen’s slam poetry event prepares students for next step Brittany Giliforte Assistant Arts Editor On Nov. 19, students will vie for the chance to compete in an international slam poetry.

Queen’s University’s College Union Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) team will be hosting their final qualifying round of slam poetry at The Grad Club to pick the lucky five who will travel to compete in the U.S. in April.

PLAY REVIEW

For two years now, Queen’s has been one of two Canadian Universities—the other being Ryerson—to participate in the international slam poetry event, CUPSI. Queen’s students Jillian Pineau and Kobe Holas organized the preliminary qualifying rounds that led to this final event. These rounds are opportunities to raise funds to cover trip costs, but the audience will ultimately choose the finalists.

Handpicked at random, several people from the audience judge the performances on a scale of one to 10.

This rankings’ competitive energy creates a rowdy environment, but also tends to bring audience members together in conversation.

As the audience listens, poets can

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CUPSI

prompt everything from responses to cheering and yelling throughout the performance.

“They’re emotionally charged and personal stories, but people in the audience can hear a poem and say, ‘Wow, I’m not alone in this,’” said Billie Kearns, one of CUPSI’s competing poets.

She has seen the effects of slam poetry on a number of audiences, having been involved in CUPSI since 2016.

“It’s eye-opening,” Kearns said.

People share their stories with a room full of strangers, and never know who it will resonate with.

Pineau, Holas, and Kearns said they often write about friends and family, their own lives, and sometimes experiment with different formats of storytelling.

The anxiety of speaking on stage in front of hundreds of people and reading some of their most personal stories has helped them grow as poets.

“After CUPSI I got a lot better at performing this poem called ‘Things I Want to Write About’ and doing it here is a lot more fun now. It’s very polished and people always laugh at all the right moments. It’s my favourite poem to do now,” Holas told The Journal.

In CUPSI, the subject matter is up to the poets, but length is monitored. If they exceed three minutes, the judges deduct from their score, and their whole performance suffers.

Aside from the time constraint, all competing poets can’t use any form of hate speech. The CUPSI environment is meant to be one of support and welcoming, hate speech isn’t tolerated.

Historically, these spoken word forums have always been open spaces and everyone is given a few minutes onstage to share their story.

In keeping with this tradition, Pineau and Holas work hard to foster a welcoming and supporting environment for both returning poets and newcomers.

After all, they know how intimidating it can be.

“It’s definitely enjoyable and an eye opening experience,” Pineau said. “[It’s] really nerve wracking. Especially considering we’re one of the only schools from Canada, there’s a big push to represent.”

The pressure, however, is well worth the worry.

“Poetry slams really create a nice community, even if it’s just for a couple of hours. It’s a place of belonging, so whether you’re competing or watching or organizing, it’s a really rewarding experience.”

Dan School production Birds takes flight at Theological Hall Greek classic reimagined for the modern age Claudia Rupnik Staff Writer Two-thousand years later, Birds still has something to sing about.

It was on display Wednesday night.

“A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word!” sang the Dan School of Drama and Music’s cast of Birds on Nov. 7, at the play’s opening | night in the Rotunda Theatre at Theological Hall.

Written by Aristophanes, an Ancient Greek playwright, the original version of Birds was first performed in 414 BCE. The story follows two Athenian citizens in their pursuit to develop a new society among the wild birds in the north. The story reveals the deeply human difficulty of creating an ideal kingdom, while avoiding a descent into tyranny and corruption.

Aristophanes set the play within the context of his own society. However, the political themes transcend time and place.

The show’s director, Craig Walker, director of the Dan School of Drama and Music, believed it was important to uphold the “Aristophanic principle that satire should begin at home,” and so the version presented by the Dan School is a modern take on the Ancient

Greek play.

Set in Eastern Ontario, this version follows two Queen’s students on their journey into the wilderness north of Kingston to start a new civilization among the provincial birds.

Jennifer Wise, a theatre historian, playwright, and former professor at the University of Victoria, was responsible for translating the classic story into a modern tale.

By re-telling the story in a 21st century context specific to Queen’s, she’s made the comedy accessible to a new generation. The audience welcomed the script’s campus-specific humour—including references to the Daughter Drop-Off debacle and a joke about Smith’s MBA program—and relevant political and pop culture references.

Beyond the script, the show took advantage of the Rotunda’s intimate space to create an immersive experience, wherein the cast engaged with the audience on a near personal level. The show optimized this setting through a well-designed set, immaculate costumes and a choreography that saw cast members in every corner of the room.

Birds onstage at the Rotunda Theatre.

Furthermore, the costumes were critical to the success of the modern adaption.

Depicted as two Athenian citizens in the original version of Birds, Costume Designer Laura Dionne succeeded in reimagining protagonists Peisetairos and Euelpides as stereotypical male students at Queen’s.

Peisetairos was outfitted in a tricolour Rugby Sweater and a bucket hat, and Euelpides wore a plaid button down with a black vest embroidered with a red Queen’s logo and a backwards Queen’s baseball cap.

To complete the look, both characters sported khaki-coloured cargo shorts and slides.

While costumes were a strong point of the show across the board, the masks used to represent the ensemble of local birds deserve recognition. Designed by Clelia Scala, each bird wore a unique, textured headpiece that painstakingly

PHOTO BY CLAUDIA RUPNIK

differentiated between species—a range that included a cardinal, a blue jay and a pair of owls, among others.

The musicians were also each outfitted with a bird mask.

With the help of their eye-catching costumes, the ensemble of birds dominated the show. Their command of the stage with larger than life personas and expressive movement , brought new life to a millenia-old production.

The birds made regular efforts to engage with the enthusiastic crowd, referencing the audience in their dialogue and fixing thegaze of their masks on individual members during dance sequences.

Birds closed with a full cast rendition of “Surfin Bird” by The Trashmen, reaffirming that the Dan School of Drama has succeeded in their modern-twist on Aristophanes’ classic comedy.

Arts

FEATURE

Dumpster graffiti raises awareness about climate change Project creator talks the art of sustainability PHOTOS BY CHRIS YAO

The grafitti art outside Douglas library.

Arts in Brief Queen’s prof Kim Renders remembered at Mayor’s Arts Awards Professor Kim Renders was honoured on Monday evening during the annual Mayor’s Arts Awards.

The event took place at City Hall on Nov. 5 and recognized “the achievements and contributions of individual artists and arts organizations to the cultural vitality of Kingston, and in doing so, inspire and encourage others,” according to their website.

There are three categories—the Creator Award, which recognizes living artists, art collectives, or arts organization; the Arts Champion Award, which recognizes a living person or organization who contributes to the Kingston arts community in a non-artistic capacity; and the Limestone Arts Legacy Award recognizes past individuals who contributed to the vitality of the arts community, and who inspired others to do the same.

Queen’s professor Kim Renders, who passed away over the summer, was among the honourees. She was the recipient of the Limestone Arts Legacy Award.

Renders was a nationally respected actor, director, and writer. A professor at the Dan School of Music and Drama, Renders’ accomplishments go well beyond her resume.

“The potential was for her to create the community theatre scene and to involve people who were marginalized in some ways, who didn’t have a voice, and gave them a platform to get on stage and tell their stories,” her husband Robert Lindsay said in the Mayor’s Arts Award Profile video.

Renders’ earned admiration on campus for her art, activism, and her support for students. “[Renders] was your ultimate champion, she was everybody’s champion,” said musician and friend Meghan Hamilton in the awards video.

—Brigid Goulem, Arts Editor

claudia rupnik

Staff Writer

Student artists have found one way to raise awareness about climate change on campus, and it’s trash.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, and environmental activists are working diligently to ensure that this topic remains relevant.

As of Oct. 1, four student artists have taken their activism and made street art, displayed in the exhibition located on University Avenue, between Ontario Hall and Douglas Library.

“Climate change is important. Period. It’s an actual fact. It’s happening,” said Andreea Bosorogon, the sustainability and issues co-chair for the Kingston chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology, one of the groups behind the project.

The organization hosted the Dumpster Art Contest in conjunction with the Queen’s Sustainability Office as a capstone initiative of Sustainability Week, which took place earlier this term.

The Society hopes this will be an annual contest, allowing the message of sustainability to be reinterpreted each year by different student-artists and reigniting the discussion.

The idea for the project came from Bosorogon, who wanted to use visual art in the initiative as an atypical approach to awareness campaigns on campus.

“I thought it would be cool to bring imagery to campus,” she said. “By introducing imagery there would be a stronger effect on the community.

An academic journal will always be there, but a picture is worth a thousand words.”

This medium also allowed the organization to make environmental activism more accessible to people with different skill sets.

“Arts students are often marginalized [on campus], but not because they aren’t interested. Their passion is visual arts.

We tried to incorporate that, to make the Queen’s community more inclusive,” Bosorogon said.

The Society for Conservation Biology made a panel of judges to select the winning submissions amongst numerous applications.

Bosorogon was one of the judges on the panel. “We wanted an equal opportunity for each of the participants. [The process of] judging artwork is trying to make it as objective as you can.”

As a result of the large scale of the project, two sketches of the design were required in each submission. Design submissions were ranked according to how successfully they reflected the theme of sustainability and related to Queen’s and the greater Kingston community. Artists were given complete freedom of artistic expression within this pursuit.

In the end, four artists were selected to paint their work on the dumpsters: Maya Stricker, Gabriella Sali, Kaitlyn McAllister, and Alex Rickman.

“No artwork is the same. Each one has a unique message. That leaves the opportunity for a lot of people to connect with whichever one they resonate most with. Everyone has their favourite, because we are different people,” Bosorogon said.

The artists had just under a week to bring their vision to life on campus, with all materials provided by the Sustainability Office. The results are not currently being used for waste management, but will soon be placed around campus and reintegrated into the system.

The Society for Conservation Biology hopes that this project will start a critical discussion about climate change, sustainability, and waste management at Queen’s.

“The student body is the next generation coming in [to positions of power]. We are full of ideas,” Bosorogon said.

She emphasized the importance of awareness and encourages people to read news and research papers, attend the various guest talks on campus, and to take classes that focus on the topic.

“Once you’re informed, the decisions are going to come accordingly. No one

needs to tell you what to do because you’re already going to know what you have to do,” she said.

Maya Stricker, whose design won the top prize, drew inspiration from Indigenous cultures for her art.

“I made this art with the hope that someone will see it and be reminded that there are things which surpass the values of money,” Stricker said.

Her dumpster depicts a female powwow dancer on the front, a sunset and sunrise on the sides, and the planet Earth on the back, alongside a quote from David Suzuki reading, “Aboriginals are fighting for us all.” Caitlin Ying painted

“I made this art with the hope that someone will see it and be reminded that there are things which surpass the values of money. ”

—Maya Stricker

the calligraphy featured in her design.

“The process of designing and painting the dumpster art was really a lot of fun, but it was a bit tricky fitting the painting hours into my schedule and planning around the prevalent rainy days. Overall, the painting environment was a big challenge, but I enjoyed seeing my vision come to life,” Stricker said.

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn McAllister took her design in a different direction.

Her dumpster showcases Batman and Superman in a dystopian society, wearing green costumes in place of their traditional attire to symbolize the environment. She reinterpreted the iconic Bat-signal by swapping out the image of a bat with the symbol for recycling to suggest “reduce, reuse, and recycle” as a means of combatting climate change.

“Painting has always been a hobby of mine, so to do it for a prevalent cause such as this was really cool,” McAllister said.

10 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 9, 2018

Sports

CROSS COUNTRY

Gaels eye podium on home soil Women’s team entering as favourites, men aiming for podium at nationals Matt Scace Sports Editor

CROSS COUNTRY

Sisters sprint through Canada Branna (left) and Brogan MacDougall (right) swept the first two places at this year’s OUA championships.

MacDougall sisters’ loyalty to Queen’s a testament to long-term opportunities for university runners Matt Scace Sports Editor

Last fall, Brogan MacDougall had her choice of school at her fingertips—all she had to do was give the nod.

Her prerequisites spoke for themselves: national junior cross country champion, OFSAA record-holder in the 3,000 metres, and a bronze medalist at the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games.

Yet, with offers from Princeton and Michigan on the table, she chose Queen’s. In fact, it was never a discussion of going anywhere else for the now soon-to-be 18-year-old and Kingston native.

“She didn’t put herself out there and in terms of contacting coaches and therefore wasn’t that heavily recruited,” cross country Head Coach Steve Boyd told The Journal. “I think a lot of schools thought that she’s too good to bother recruiting because if she wanted to come, she’d just say it.”

Her decision to sign with Queen’s as one of the most sought-after cross country recruits in North America was unprecedented. While it quietly spoke to the strength of the school’s program, it also highlighted the value of staying in Canada for post-secondary athletics.

The message was clear: this

wasn’t a sacrifice.

Brogan had also recently witnessed her sister, Branna, transfer to Queen’s after spending a year at the University of Iowa.

In four months, Branna sustained a sacral fracture, stress fracture in her femur, and IT Band tightness.

Brogan’s recruitment process was a contrast to her sister’s decision to cross the border, though; Branna never considered coming to Queen’s when she was in grade 12.

“The intention was never to have [Branna] in the picture,” Boyd said. “We never necessarily wanted her here because we looked at what was best for her.”

At the time, they both agreed it was the best decision for her both in the short and long-term.

“I thought that would be the best choice for me because I wanted to have a long-term career,” Branna said of her initial mindset, which shifted when she realized she wanted to leave Iowa.

“After being injured I wanted to come back to coach who knew me and got me to a new level before. I wanted to have that again. I knew I would get that.”

When it was Brogan’s turn to pick schools, one of the most critical factors was her desire for continuity after being coached

by Boyd throughout her junior

career. Boyd said the MacDougall sisters are “unusual athletes who like things to be the same.”

However, Boyd also said there are differences in how coaches approach their programs in the United States. Of particular note is the lack of flexibility; NCAA athletes are generally required to run in every race.

“One of the first questions I ask an athlete when they’re considering going to the NCAA is, ‘Could you run a race that you were not prepared to run?’”

Boyd said. Under his system, the coach often allows his athletes to pick their races with the exception of the OUA and U Sports Championships.

For example, this year’s OUA Championships was Branna’s first race of the season due to a lengthened recovery from injury. She secured second place behind Brogan.

“That’s what we do—we look after our athletes,” Boyd said. “We give them that kind of flexibility.

We ask and they help us build a program that’s going to help us recruit other athletes and create a real centre of excellence.”

Now, the MacDougall sisters are taking Canadian university running by storm.

Last year, Branna won the OUA Championships and placed third

• 2018 OUA MVP • 2018 OUA Rookie of the Year • 2017 OFSAA record-holder in 3,000 metres • 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games bronze medalist

• 2017 OUA MVP • 2018 U Sports Bronze Medalist • 2016 U20 Canadian 5,000 metre record-holder • 2016 participant in U-20 World Cross Country Championships

BROGAN MACDOUGALL LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

BRANNA MACDOUGALL LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

SUPPLIED BY SHAWN MACDONALD

at the U Sports Championships.

This year, in her rookie season, Brogan has won all three of her races including an NCAA competition at Lehigh University and the OUA Championships. Boyd said there’s “no doubt in [his] |mind” that Brogan would currently be top-five in the NCAA had she chosen that route.

Their time at Queen’s will be one chapter in their long careers, which likely have Olympic-sized opportunities awaiting them. Both have entertained the idea of pursuing the marathon, according to Boyd.

“We’ve talked about shooting for the highest levels, making Olympic teams,” he said.

With that in mind, the sense of continuity extends further than their junior and university careers—perhaps into their early 30s. Boyd is the founder of the local running club Physi-Kult, which has served Olympic-level athletes and will, barring any changes, be the MacDougall’s home when they graduate from Queen’s.

“They know what they’re going to be doing in five years,” Boyd said of the sisters. This, among a number of the other factors, is how he’s retaining Canadian athletes and persuading them to stay in the country.

Boyd isn’t against the NCAA though—his daughter, Cleo Boyd, ran for the University of Virginia.

He said it just “takes the right kind of athlete.” But his central belief remains steady: north or south of the border, opportunity for success isn’t far.

“They’re going to run just as well here as they would’ve there,” Boyd said of the MacDougall sisters. “They’ll probably do better.”

Going into this weekend’s U Sports National Championships, cross country head coach Steve Boyd said it’s no secret: they can win everything.

“If anybody beats us, more power to them because we have a really good team,” he said of his women’s squad. Of his men’s side, he added: “If all the stars align, we could steal things.”

With the wo m e n’ s team coming off a first-place team finish at the OUA Championships two weeks ago and the men running to a surprise silver medal, the Gaels are set to host the national championships on home soil this Saturday at Fort Henry. It’s the first time Queen’s has hosted the championships since 2009, but the opportunity is higher than it’s ever been.

Despite the women’s team experiencing significant turnover after losing veterans Claire Sumner, Shannen McMurray, Claudia Belanger, Molly Steer, and Amy Stephenson last season, the Gaels are overwhelming favourites heading into the race.

First-year and OUA MVP Brogan MacDougall will make her U Sports debut, alongside her sister, third-year sister Branna, where they’ll both be looking to individually land on the podium.

“We’re going to take the individual title, I think Brogan’s going to win,” Boyd said at a pre-race press conference on Wednesday. “It’s going to be hard for anyone to knock us off.”

Returning for Queen’s on Saturday will be fifth-year Taylor Sills, who missed the provincial championships due to personal commitments.

She’s arguably Queen’s third or fourth-best runner with rookie Makenna Fitzgerald, who finished fourth at the OUA Championships. Among them are rookies Kara Blair and Laura Yantha, who finished seventh and 20th respectively at the race.

Continued on page 12

Friday, November 9, 2018

queensjournal.ca

• 11

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Gaels bounced early in OUA Final Four Queen’s loses successive games, narrowly misses U Sports qualification Andrew Schjerning Staff Writer Two losses against the province’s top teams at the OUA Final Four left the women’s soccer team with a frustrating end to their 2018-19 season last weekend.

A record of 8-3-5 was enough to secure second place in the OUA East standings for the Gaels, yet a string of unfortunate injuries left the team unable to overcome both Western and McMaster in the final rounds of the playoffs.

Queen’s lost to the Western Mustangs in the semi-finals 3-2 in extra time on Friday, and dropped the OUA bronze medal game to McMaster 3-0 the following Saturday.

“It was a combination of things, but the biggest was a lack of depth,” Head Coach Dave McDowell said. “Once we got some injuries, it was hard to replace those players on the field. To be fair to the players, some got thrown into situations that they just weren’t ready for.”

The coach noted, however, how

Maggie Gowland Assistant Sports Editor

This season, Queen’s rowing’s harbored an unwavering confidence—their results at the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) last weekend were proof.

The Gaels capped their impressive 2018-19 campaign with seven medals at the championships, held in St. Catherine’s. Four of their medals were gold.

Fourth-year Nick Grubic said the Gaels’ season was one of the best in program history. “It might be the most medals Queen’s has ever gotten,” he told The Journal in an interview. “Over the last decade, it’s been the best nationals we’ve had.”

The championship regatta began on Saturday, where athletes raced timed trials to qualify for finals on Sunday.

“I think everyone went in confident,” Grubic said in reference to the Gaels’ showing at the OUA Championships the weekend prior, where they landed 11 total medals.

Each timed trial race was 1,900 metres, as opposed to the full two-kilometre course because time trials are done without any competition. Grubic claimed this was a disadvantage for Queen’s.

“If you go into a race knowing you’re going to come first, and you’re in the heats, you don’t have to go [as] hard,” Grubic said. “In a timed trial, you don’t know, because there’s

the Gaels’ injuries may serve his less experienced players well in the future.

“A lot of really young players got some really good time, a lot of really good experience, and gave contributions that were probably a year or two ahead of where we thought they would be,” McDowell said.

Queen’s experienced a heartbreak to the Mustangs, losing by a tight score of 3-2 in a game that went late into extra time. On Sunday, the Gaels had a shot to grab OUA bronze and a berth in the U Sports Championships, but came up short 3-0 against a disciplined McMaster team.

While disappointed with the Gaels’ postseason exit, McDowell gave full credit to their talented opponents.

“It was disappointing. If you asked me before [the games],

Women’s soccer finished their season with a 8-3-5 record. there was always the assumption we would win one of those games and be there [at U Sports],” he said. “Both [McMaster] and Western were good teams […] to be fair, any team that you play against in the final four are going to be good.”

Still, despite their lackluster performance in the playoffs, McDowell remained proud of his squad’s regular season finish.

“Just to have a young team come together so quickly and have so many contributions from the entire squad was great. I

ROWING

think the development of players throughout the year was noticeable,” he said. “I know all our players improved a great deal.”

McDowell alluded to the talented veterans on his side for their contributions this season, specifically the four Gaels given OUA all-star nods — Jenny Wolever, Lidia Bradau, Jaime Foot, and Alicia Levy.

“Obviously the play of some of our top players, our four all-stars who were very deserving of that, was important in helping

Rowers collect seven medals at national regatta Gaels earn four golds, one silver, two bronze at national championships nobody beside you.”

Putting in extra effort to ensure their place in the finals, Saturday’s strong qualifying times previewed Sunday’s banner day for the Gaels. When the finals came around, Grubic said each team member hopped into their boat confident.

“Everyone went in assuming they were going to have a spot on the podium,” Grubic said. “If their goal wasn’t first, it was coming second and third.”

Their assumptions proved to be true.

Fourth-year Gavin Stone, the OUA Male Athlete of the Year,

Gavin Stone won the men’s heavyweight single at the CURC.

won the men’s heavyweight single, earning a gold medal.

Meanwhile, fellow fourth-years Grubic and Alex Bernst came first in the men’s lightweight double. Bernst won silver in his individual competition in the lightweight single.

Additionally, the men’s

SUPPLIED BY MICHAEL BRYENTON

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

us win games.”

Despite some uncertainity surrounding the return of some key players, next season looks promising for Queen’s. McDowell expects his incoming group of players to be more than capable of meeting the program’s expectations, set in recent years.

The Gaels have reached the OUA Final Four in each of the past four seasons.

“We know we’ll lose Alicia [Levy] and Sarah Nixon [to graduation]…we’re not sure if Jenny [Wolever] is coming back […] but we’ve signed a fair number of recruits for next year, and we’re expecting a lot from them. We’re super excited about next year’s class.” lightweight coxed four won gold, comprised of Grubic, Bernst, Evan Notley, Dan Stret, and Michael Wightman.

“We [knew] we were probably going to be near the top,” Grubic said.

The men’s heavyweight pair, comprised of Michael Bryenton and Tyler Gay, finished sixth overall.

Rowers from the women’s team earned three medals in their four races.

In the heavyweight single, Louise Munro won gold, while Katherine Walker came third in the women’s lightweight single for a bronze medal.

The women’s pair, raced by Paige Adams and Cassidy Deane, earned a bronze medal.

Meanwhile, the lightweight double, raced by Jane Carlton and Greta Chase, narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish.

With the CURC finished, six Gaels flew to Burnaby, B.C. earlier this week to race in the National Rowing Championships Nov. 8 to 11.

While the season reaches its end, the rest of the Gaels will settle into some well-deserved time off before their training picks up again next semester. Many senior rowers intend to return for a fifth season with the program.

Notably, Stone will be taking the winter semester off to return to B.C. to train with the hopes of earning a spot on the senior national team.

After such a successful season, Queen’s rowing continues to prove themselves as a force in the OUA.

12 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 9, 2018

WOMEN’S RUGBY

Gaels end season at U Sports championships Queen’s go 1-2 at national championships in Nova Scotia, finish sixth in the country

Women’s rugby finished their season ranked sixth in Canada.

Maggie Gowland Assistant Sports Editor After winning only one of three matches, the women’s rugby team closed their season with a sixth-place finish at the U Sports national championships.

On Thursday, the opening day of the competition, Queen’s dropped their first round match to eventual champions, the St. Francis Xavier X-Women. Despite Queen’s beating the X-Women twice in

SUPPLIED BY SHAWN MACDONALD

exhibition games earlier this season, they came up short 42-21.

Second-year Head Coach Dan Valley described St. FX—tournament champions, their fifth title in nine years—to have had a “close to a perfect game” against his team.

“When we beat [St. FX] in October, they knew coming into this tournament that if they ever saw us again, their job was to starve us of possession and keep the ball—they knew we were dangerous if we had it,” Valley said.

‘Third time’s the charm’

Continued from page 10 If the women win on Saturday, it’ll be their first U Sports banner in program history. After two consecutive years of silver medal finishes, Boyd’s confident the third time’s the charm.

“We won’t count our chickens until they’re hatched but … I feel better about this group than any other group we’ve had,” he said.

Meanwhile, the men’s team is coming off a surprise silver medal finish at OUA’s, where they beat the previously nationally-ranked first Guelph Gryphons and fell just behind McMaster.

Throughout the season, Boyd touted his men’s squad as the deepest he’s seen since he took up the head coaching job in 2010.

“These guys are dark horses, they’re underdogs—they’ve been underrated the

whole year,” he said.

Led by second-year Mitch De Lange, Boyd hopes he can land one athlete in the top 10 with the rest of their team spread each approximately 20 seconds behind.

“We could have a super tight pack,” he said. “That’s what’s really exciting for us.”

A home course will also serve as an advantage for the Gaels. The Fort Henry Hills, which has hosted all of Canada’s major cross country championships with the exception of OFSAA, is a deceivingly difficult course—the first 600 metres has a net 30 metres of incline despite it’s flat appearance. It’s where Queen’s has trained all season, from easy runs to workouts.

“I don’t think there’s a rock or blade of grass they don’t know,” Boyd said. “They know how they’re supposed to feel at every section of the course.”

On Saturday, the women will run at 1 p.m. and the men will race at 2 p.m.

Brogan MacDougall finished frst at the OUA championships.

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

“On our side of things, you can boil it back down to four or five decisions that led us to not scoring, and [St. FX] did a really nice job coming back to the idea of capitalizing on opportunities that other teams present.”

In the consolation semi-final, the Gaels played the Calgary Dinos—a familiar opponent after the latter beat Queen’s in last season’s semi-final 41-5. This year, though, the Gaels got the better of Calgary and won 29-10.

After scoring all 29 of their points by halftime, the Gaels spent the second half playing defensively, giving up two tries in

“I don’t think there’s a doubt

in anyone’s mind that we have it in us to genuinely be the best program in the country.”

—Head Coach Dan Valley

the last 35 minutes.

Valley said his team’s first half performance was the most complete half they put together all year.

“We were very well disciplined at the point of contact, we were very aggressive and very gritty … and that’s the style of rugby that we are working towards playing,” he said, adding his players went into the game hoping to make a statement.

“The ask was never for us to go in and be perfect,” Valley said of how he told his team to approach their consolation match.

“Our ask wasn’t to have people say,

‘Wow, that Queen’s tem is the most skilled of the two teams on the field.’ It was to have people say, ‘Wow, that Queen’s team is the hardest of the two teams on the field—the most physically ready for a fight.’”

To close off the weekend, the Gaels played one last match against the Victoria Vikes on Sunday morning. The Vikes came out on top and finished Queen’s season 24-15.

According to Valley, the Gaels let their fundamentals slip away in the game.

“I thought we played well enough to win, but I don’t think we played anywhere close to the standard of rugby that we’re capable of playing,” he said.

Reflecting on the tournament, Valley said his team knew what type of quality they were up against.

“We were walking into a tournament with the best programs in the country. When you get into an environment like that, it’s not about being perfect, but [about] capitalizing on the mistakes that other programs make.”

With the season drawn to a close, the Gaels have a few weeks off before they begin their offseason training.

The team’s focus will shift to the weight room in hopes of improving and opening next season strong. The Gaels know they can compete with the best in the country—now it’s about maintaining their momentum for next year’s national championships.

“We’ve seen what the best of the country have to offer, and I don’t think there’s a doubt in anyone’s mind that we have it in us to genuinely be the best program in the country,” Valley said. “[N]ow, we reload, we reflect, and we put ourselves in a position to go get it.”

Friday, November 9, 2018

queensjournal.ca

Lifestyle

Allie Fenwick Contributor Although Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born achieved widespread praise for its heart-wrenching story and talented cast, its reaction risks glossing over the conspicuous presence of toxic relationships.

The film follows two characters—Ally, a talented singer and musician, and Jackson, a country-rock music star—as they navigate their love for each other while dealing with the burdens of excessive fame and addiction.

Since the film’s release, critics and social media users alike have praised Jackson and Ally’s romance. However, Jackson’s abusive behaviour and Ally’s continual forgiveness expose the downfalls in their relationship.

Ally’s rises to fame as Jackson begins his fall from the limelight. While Jackson continues to express discontent with Ally’s success, she continues to forgive and support him time and again.

Jackson is emotionally and physically unavailable due to his drug and alcohol addiction, yet Ally repeatedly excuses his destructive and unhealthy behaviour patterns.

Jackson is emotionally and physically unavailable ... yet Ally repeatedly excuses his destructive and unhealthy behaviour patterns.

A Star is Born makes it look like Ally puts up with Jackson because of true love.

The audience is sucked in by Ally and Jackson’s twist-of-fate beginnings and mesmerizing chemistry, making it hard to see why she supports him at the expense of her own success and happiness.

• 13

Critics are hailing A Star is Born's central romance.

POP CULTURE

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

A Star is Born romanticizes toxic relationships Film overlooks troubling elements of romance Ally continually tries to save Jackson, despite his general unwillingness to change and multiple attempts to sabotage her career—this is especially prevalent

POINT-COUNTERPOINT

Is there value in openly discussing our grades?

when he almost succeeds by going on a drunken rant at an awards show The couple’s love appears so striking and pure that it’s hard to notice their relationship’s unhealthy dynamic.

Without doubt, Jackson is fighting

his own demons—but as a result, Ally’s continuous sacrifices are overshadowed by his heartbreaking downfall and struggles.

A Star is Born teaches us Ally is in the business of saving Jackson. She cancels her tour to take care of him and then lies to him to save his ego.

With Jackson’s career falling to pieces, she sacrifices a massive milestone to make him feel better, even though he was never happy with her achievements in the first place.

This film puts forth an idealized yet dangerous vision of what relationships look like. It suggests women should stay in relationships even after facing rampant abuse because it’s true love.

This film puts forth an idealized yet dangerous vision of what authentic love looks like.

It also presents the notion that love has to be high-risk in order to be passionate. The stakes of Jackson and Ally’s relationship are high because he’s a recovering addict and she’s a rising superstar constantly in the public’s eye. Their relationship puts their careers, emotions, and lives on the line.

Even though A Star is Born is a remake of a story from the 1930s, it’s still the responsibility of its creator—in this case, Bradley Cooper—to be held accountable for the toxic relationship it presents.

Debating the benefits and drawbacks of sharing marks Yes Students being open about marks might seem like a recipe for disappointment and self-deprecation, but open dialogue can serve to help gauge your progress, alleviate doubt, and create a sense of solidarity.

When I walk out of a midterm feeling dejected, there’s nothing like getting a text saying, “Dude, was that brutal or what?”

When scenarios like these happen, it gives me a feeling of comradery with my classmates. Instead of being a singular, struggling student, I become part of a larger whole.

Knowing other people’s marks offers support and understanding when there otherwise wouldn’t be, and it’s made possible by people being forthright and honest about academic struggles and successes.

Even if this ends up having the opposite effect—if your peers did better than you—it still has value.

Comparing your performance to others highlights your effort and skills against those around you. This kind of self-reflection can be hard and emotionally taxing, but if done right, it can lead to improvement,

learning, and indication towards future success.

SOLUS provides grade distributions to every Queen’s student—not so they can rank bird courses, but because there’s real, instrumental value in seeing how you measure up to your peers.

That said, there are benefits and drawbacks to comparing your grades to others. But if the process starts with a desire to see whether you’re fulfilling your full academic potential, it’s something that should be encouraged.

—Cade Cowan, Contributor

No

Comparing grades creates competition between you and other students—and it’s rarely left me feeling good about my latest test mark. In my experience, being open about grades has never been constructive or healthy.

Everyone has different definitions of what constitutes a good grade. For someone struggling to pass a course, earning a grade of 60 per cent is a major achievement. For another person who is more proficient

Students debate whether there's benefit in sharing grades.

in the same subject, an 85 might be a dissapointment.

In cases such as these, comparing grades can diminish someone's sense of accomplishment for a grade they worked hard for.

Hearing others complain their higher grades weren’t good enough can significantly lower one’s confidence. Hearing others performed better than I did on assignments or tests often leaves me kicking myself for not studying a little bit harder. It creates pressure to perform better on my next assessment.

While a bit of stress for motivation can be helpful, there’s a difference between working to achieve your personal best and feeling pressured to keep up with others.

This discrepancy can eventually take a

GRAPHIC BY NOUR MAZLOUM

toll on your mental health. Even if a mark is objectively good, constantly comparing your marks is exhausting. Someone will always have a higher mark than you, and it often leaves you often unsatisfied with your academic performance.

In cases where I’ve compared grades with others and found that I performed better, I don’t feel good after sharing this information, either. Hearing that someone else did better can lower your confidence, and I feel guilty knowing I could’ve inflicted that feeling on someone else.

Rather than trying to be better than others, I avoid sharing grades and focus on reaching my personal goals based on my own standards and abilities.

—Chiara Gottheil, Contributor

LIFESTYLE

14 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 9, 2018

QUEEN'S STAFF

Professors' Picks: Memorable teaching slip-ups Queen’s professors share their biggest teaching blunders Ally Mastantuono Assistant Lifesyle Editor As midterm season comes to a close, some of us will be patting ourselves on the back for a job well done—but others may beat themselves up for a bad test or overlooked mistake.

In times like these, it can be nice to hear that even our school’s leading academics aren’t perfect all the time.

The Journal asked Queen’s professors to share their most memorable teaching slip-ups. We hope these stories remind you that we’re all human—whether you’re taking a midterm or administering one. ***

“So math professors write a lot of tests: over the last 20 years, I’ve probably written over 200 of them. One of the time-saving tricks you learn early is to start with last year’s version and edit it.

This isn’t to re-use the questions, but rather so you remember all the boilerplate: course name, the test date, and all the pesky page formatting that took you an hour to get just right. For the questions themselves, I usually pride myself on new tests being completely different each year.

That’s why in a calculus class I felt confident telling students that studying from previous tests wouldn’t help them that much, because their test would be unique. And it was. It’s just a shame that my lovely new ‘Test5.pdf ’ and last year’s ‘Test5.pdf’ looked so similar when I click-and-dragged the wrong one

to the printer. I never caught that the date on the cover was off by a year.

I guess sometimes studying from last year’s test can be the perfect study strategy.”

—Professor Alan Ableson, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

“I came to Queen’s in 1994 after lecturing at Western, Dalhousie, and Bishop’s. All of those universities had the same timetable: if a course had the 4:00 p.m. slot, then all lectures began at that hour. Queen’s has a different system, and it took a while to get used to it.

In my second year, I had the ever-popular 2:30 p.m. Monday and 4 p.m. Thursday combination.

As the clock approached 5:20 one Thursday, I mistakenly thought I had thirty minutes left. It became hard to concentrate when students began to trickle out.

In those days of smaller classes, students who had to leave early would usually tell you in advance. So imagine my reaction as one student after another left in mid-lecture.

When half the class had vanished, a brave student told me that I had gone over time. I stopped immediately, but I brooded over the error for days.

I can’t pretend the experience made me a better teacher, but it did inspire this advice for all lecturers: no one will mind if you finish slightly early.”

—Professor Tracy Ware, English Department

“Five or six years ago, I was

Professors recall stories of exam mix-ups and cringe-worthy exchanges.

teaching a fourth-year class on elections. For the first time, I was experimenting with doing a final exam in the course to incentivize attendance and doing the readings.

Final exams are all centrally administered, and you have to input the details in a special exam request system early in the semester.

When the preliminary exam schedule came out, my course wasn’t on the list. Internally, I got all snippy, and thought, ‘Well, somebody really dropped the ball.’ Turns out it was me. I had forgotten to book the exam and immediately broke into a cold, panicked sweat.

I felt like a major loser, like I’d failed to do one of the central parts of my job (I had). As has been my experience throughout my time at Queen’s, I was saved by the care and flexibility of staff.

My department’s main administrative assistant quickly got on the phone with the person who runs the Exams Office—Deborah Smith, because

she deserves to be known—and a solution was offered. I was so grateful, not least because the students in the course never even knew about my mistake.

I try to remember this slip-up of mine when students make their own mistakes, like mixing up exam times. A little kindness and flexibility can make all the difference. I know, because I’ve been on the receiving end many times at Queen’s!”

—Professor Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, Department of Political Studies

“Many years ago I was teaching a course on 16th century poetry, which focused for several weeks on erotic poetry: sonnet sequences, epyllia—there was a lot of it around, and it’s important to the culture.

One student was clearly uncomfortable with the material, and worked up her nerve to ask in class, ‘Is all 16th century literature about sex?’ Without thinking, I

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

replied, ‘No, a lot of it is about God, but it’s really boring.’

As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could grab them and pull them back, but the damage was done. I learned that day never to allow myself to go for a glib reply, however tempting. Always approach every topic as if it’s really difficult or sensitive for somebody, because it very well might be. And if somebody has the courage to question what you’re doing, for heaven’s sake answer respectfully.

I still cringe when I think about this.”

—Professor Scott-Morgan Straker, English Department

“English Professor: Thank you, Evan.

Student: It's David.

English Professor: Goddamn medial V." —Professor Christopher Fanning, English Department

THE LAZY ECONOMIST

What you need to know about stock shorting Why it's the opposite of regular investing Hannah Stafl Features Editor If all you took away from the movie The Big Short was an image of Margot Robbie in a bathtub, you're not alone.

Although the film did a great job of breaking down the Great Recession of 2008, it can still be hard to understand the complexities of that financial crisis. At the centre of it, there's the concept of shorting—specifically in the housing market.

You don't need to understand the recession or even the housing bubble to get a grasp of shorting.

Shorting, in its simplest terms, means betting against the market. Like regular investors, short sellers work with financial

securities, often in the form of stocks.

In the game of investing, the golden rule is to buy low, sell high.

Buy your stocks for a low price and sell them when the value of the share goes up—this can be over the course of a day or even years.

Regular investors will buy at a lower price in hopes the stock’s value will increase. If it does, they can then sell their stock at a higher rate to make a greater return. The profit is the difference between the prices they bought the stock and what they sold it at.

The same rule applies for shorting, but in the opposite way: sell high, buy low. It's for this reason shorting is called “betting against the market”—you bet that your stock will drop in value, not go up.

A short seller will borrow stocks from a financial broker, like an asset manager. They’ll then sell these borrowed stocks at their current market price and keep the

remaining income.

Next, they return the borrowed stocks to the broker they borrowed from. If all goes according to plan—the stock tanks and drops in value—the short seller will wait and buy back the same stocks at a newer and decreased price.

Their profit is how much they sold the shares for originally minus the cost to buy them back.

A good time to short would be when a seller can predict a company will depreciate in value. A short seller's dream is to catch a company they're betting against right before it goes bankrupt. The stocks cost can be bought back for next to nothing.

If we tie this information back into The Big Short, hopefully it now makes sense why Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt chose to short the housing market—they saw the swift downfall of an inflated market as their shot, and they took it.

LIFESTYLE

Friday, November 9, 2018

queensjournal.ca

• 15

QJ POLITICS

E-voting is critical for young voters The recent municipal election proves online voting is effective and necessary

GRAPHIC BY ALLY MASTANTUONO

Claudia Rupnik Staff Writer

The recent municipal election on Oct. 22 saw the increased use of online voting platforms in townships across the province—a move as popular as it is necessary.

Of O n t a r i o’ s 444 municipalities, 194 allowed voters to cast ballots via the internet, with 80 per cent of those municipalities relying solely on the system of e-voting.

Polls for the municipal election were open from Oct. 13 to the time voting closed, at

Tegwyn Hughes Copy Editor

which point the results were available instantly.

Online voting makes the ballot box more accessible to the voter, allowing citizens to participate in the election from any location at any time—so long as they have their voter identification pin and access to internet.

As a university student that doesn’t live near their town of permanent residence, I appreciated being able to participate in the municipal election without travelling across the province or appointing a voting proxy.

As of 2018, online voting has only been used for municipal elections and there are no plans to expand it provincially or federally.

But this technology needs to become a universally available means of casting ballots in all future elections to ensure that students pursuing post-secondary degrees have reasonable access to polling stations.

technology needs [T]his to become a universally available means of casting ballots ... to ensure that students pursuing post-secondary degrees have reasonable access to polling stations.

In Canada, voting structure is controlled by the Canada Elections Act. The act doesn’t explicitly address online voting, though section 18.1 does acknowledge the possibility of transition to an alternative voting process.

The Elections Act specifically states the chief electoral officer is permitted to “carry out studies … respecting alternative voting processes, and may devise and test an alternative voting process for future use.”

This section was further amended in 2014 to include that “such a process may not be

used for an official vote … in the case of an alternative electronic voting process, without the prior approval of the Senate and the House of Commons.”

In 2009, the Toronto Star reported that Elections Canada was seeking parliamentary approval to test e-voting in a by-election before 2013. The motion was backed by a survey that suggested online voting be the platform of preference for Canadian voters. The trial wasn’t widely backed by political candidates and never materialized.

The future of online voting in Canada now depends on the actions of Stéphane Perrault, who began his 10-year term as Chief Electoral Officer this past June.

Regardless of the structure of the coming federal election—October of 2019—it’s critical that eligible young voters cast a ballot. There’s plenty of

This story was published online on Nov. 6, 2018.

This weekend was full of drama surrounding Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson’s fresh breakup.

Davidson jokingly proposed to musical guest Maggie Rogers in a preview for a new episode of Saturday Night Live and Grande responded in now-deleted tweets, saying, “for somebody who claims to hate relevancy [you] sure love clinging to it huh.”

She followed that tweet up with a now-iconic life motto: “thank u, next.”

The phrase caught on, and on Saturday night Grande dropped an unannounced single, bearing the tweeted phrase as its title, to the world’s surprise and excitement.

“Thank u, next” is catchy and heartfelt. More importantly, it doesn’t sink to the level of pettiness and sarcasm Davidson has displayed in recent comments about the matter.

Instead, Grande’s song is an ode to forgiveness and self-love.

Grande starts the song by briefly mentioning her last relationships with celebrities Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Mac Miller, and Pete Davidson. She sings, “Even almost got married / And for Pete, I'm so thankful.” Grande goes on to explain, “I've loved and I've lost / But that's not what I see / So, look what I got / Look what you taught me.”

The artist’s single isn’t intended to tear down Davidson or wallow in self-pity, it’s about learning from past relationships and growing as a result. The chorus repeats the line, “I’m so

Ariana Grande's new single is an ode to self-love.

POP CULTURE

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” embodies forgiveness and self-love Singer rises above recent break-up drama in surprise new single f—ing grateful for my ex” to fully emphasize this point.

It doesn’t place the blame on Davidson, or any of Grande’s past boyfriends, for their relationships ending. She takes a mature approach to dating and shows not every breakup needs to be rife with drama.

Not only does Grande tell us she’s grown from each of her relationships, but she also celebrates how she’s prioritizing herself now. Later in the song, the artist confesses, “Plus, I met someone else / We havin' better discussions […] her name is Ari / And I'm so good with that”.

These lines communicate a universal message: you aren’t your relationships. You can learn from other people and find love but, at the end of the day, you should be your own top priority. You’ll always have a relationship with yourself, as Grande seeks to remind us.

time for new voters to get informed on the state of Canadian politics and international affairs, and become familiar with the platform and leader of each political party.

With its accessibility, online ballots would accommodate and reward voters.

With its accessibility, online ballots would accommodate and reward voters.

While online voting practices bring the ballot box to the voter, they’re unlikely to be available for the next federal election.

Voting is a crucial task for every Canadian citizen. For the time being, post-secondary students need to embrace traditional voting processes, get registered, band bring their vote to the ballot box.

Some may raise an issue with the fact that Grande released her single half an hour before Saturday Night Live aired this weekend, but I think this was her strategy to take control of her breakup’s narrative. TMZ reported Davidson wrote a skit for the show satirizing his ended engagement with Grande, which was later cut. Whether or not this is true, he’s been continuously looselipped about their relationship in the past.

I can see how Grande would want to share her thoughts before Davidson had the chance to say something potentially inflammatory about her on live television.

The singer even informed fans over Twitter that her exes heard “thank u, next” before it was released, proving the single wasn’t recorded as a jab at her past boyfriends.

What Grande’s song has shown us is that she’s ready to move on.

The singer’s chosen not to be defined by her relationships, but instead by growth. She leaves for her Sweetener Tour in March, has teased an upcoming album on the heels of her May 2018 release, Sweetener, and continues to appear on talk shows and attend other engagements.

Ariana Grande is moving forward, and she doesn’t have time to be sad about her past. In “thank u, next,” she lets us know this loud and clear: “I've got so much love / Got so much patience / I've learned from the pain / I turned out amazing.”

Whether you’re fresh out of a breakup and looking for something to empower you, want to be inspired by self-love, or simply want a new song to play on repeat, “thank u, next” is guaranteed to satisfy you.

LIFESTYLE

16 •queensjournal.ca

Friday, November 9, 2018

POSTSCRIPT

Discovering my limits at the New York City Marathon Learning how to push myself to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion

Matt trained for months in preparation of running the New York City Marathon.

Matt Scace Sports Editor Turning the corner onto Lafayette Avenue, I looked at my arm.

It was covered in goosebumps for the sixth time in the last 50 minutes. I’d been counting. Two hours later, the pain had set in and I was incapable of thinking anything so small. At that moment, there were 26.2 miles of the New York Marathon behind and I was crossing the finish line in Central Park.

It was a long time coming—eight months and three hours to be exact—of turning pain into more pain.

The idea of running the New York Marathon came up last February. I’d put my name in the lottery after my mother said she was going to participate for another year—she and my dad had temporarily moved to the city for work. When I got the email that night, I ran around my house yelling to my mom on the phone.

I’d wanted to run a marathon for a long time, but didn’t think it’d happen at 20 years old.

But it was a wait of eight months, and my excitement settled. It was always in the back of my mind, but I frittered July and August away with work over the summer leaving me with over two months to prepare.

I arrived in Kingston on a hot summer day in Frosh Week, and my training cycle began. Four days of the week were for relaxed 10 to 12 kilometre runs, and Friday afternoons were dedicated to the famed long run, which varied from 24 to 32 kilometres depending on the week.

I won’t sugarcoat this with any false motivation: the training wasn’t glamorous.

The long runs were lonely—my playlist ran dry and, as one would expect, not many other people want to spend their afternoon trying to pretend Kingston is a runner’s playground. Sometimes I’d pause the music to let myself think, but after two hours of running alone, even life’s biggest questions get boring.

I was tired a lot. After scheduling my long runs for Friday afternoon, I spent the following nights with my legs up on a wall.

I saw my friends less and pulled back on social drinking. Sometimes I’d play Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” to try to fire myself up again.

The training changed my lifestyle—I felt better than usual. Drinking less alcohol and more water cleared my brain, the constant activity made for beautiful sleeps, and my running shoes became my full-time therapist.

Needless to say, preparing for this marathon was a needed slap in the face. When the time came for my two-week taper—the period before a race where your body gets some much-needed rest and muscles fully recover—I welcomed it with open arms.

Next thing I knew, I was on the Staten Island ferry headed to the start line.

The journey to the start line is long but majestic—it makes your heart pump a little quicker, watching the Manhattan skyline shrink in the sunrise as the inevitability of the race dawns on you. The Statue of Liberty skirts by and leads to a bus ride into

a small town that feels like the middle of nowhere, making me realize how immense this task was.

After standing in line for the porta-potty and reading the race plan I’d written on my left forearm, I was ushered into a packed corral and onto the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge. I peeled off my last layers of throw-away clothes as spectators sang the anthem and played “New York, New York.”

SUPPLIED BY MATT SCACE

Before I could take so much as a deep breath, the starting cannon went off.

I’d been told a lot of things before Sunday’s race. There were two that were true.

The first: nobody cheers for a marathon like New Yorkers. Those goosebumps I mentioned—New York did that. Around every corner was a sea of locals screaming, kids putting their hands out for high-fives, and bands playing on the side of the road.

It was the reason I didn’t pack

headphones with me; I wanted to soak in every moment.

The second: nothing can prepare you for the final 10 kilometres of a marathon.

I ran the first half of the race with that in the back of my mind, but it didn’t show in my times. I ran my fastest half marathon ever and was almost 15 minutes ahead of pace when I hit halfway. It was as if I wasn’t even using my legs. I felt like a god.

And then, I felt like hell.

I hit the Queensboro bridge, where participants commonly start to feel the distance in their legs—otherwise known as the runner’s wall. The crowds disappeared. My watch lost touch with its GPS, and I could finally hear my breathing. It was getting heavier, as were my legs.

I didn’t walk at any point during those moments, but the phrase “respect the distance” started to resonate a little stronger crossing that bridge.

The final 10 kilometres made for the hardest hour of my life. I’ve never felt a pain that strong; my hips struggled to drive my knees forward, my quads screamed, and my feet felt like they had pine needles stabbing them.

When my hearing dwindled and brain dulled, I looked at my wrist. It read, “don’t stop,” all underlined. But it was time to burn the blueprint—I wasn’t ready to come home with the jacket I bought if it wasn’t accompanied with a finishers medal. I took a moment to catch my breath, then caught the eye of someone in the crowd. They looked at me and yelled to get going.

This process repeated once

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TESSA WARBURTON

every kilometre until the final 1000 metres were in sight. I’m not sure I would’ve finished if it weren’t for those moments.

The finish line was a blur. I hobbled forward, trying to soak in the feeling of thousands of people pushing me across the line. I dropped to a knee as I stopped my watch and exited the finisher’s area.

The sweetest moment was seeing my dad and mom, after they finished the race. Running a marathon together had been our dream ever since I’d watched my mom run in the Boston Marathon four years earlier—we gave each other monstrous hugs and spent the next three hours breaking down every kilometre of the race.

While people often run for a reason, be it a cause or a special person, it’s a dreadfully lonely sport. A lot of marathon training is personal. You subscribe to a work ethic and hope the pieces come together on the right day.

But when you’re trying to squeeze your way through a crowd of 50,000 strangers with not a single familiar face on the sidelines, there’s loneliness.

For me, this was a process of seeking limits. I wanted to know, with a sufficient amount of work put in, what I could do. I wanted to find out what my body—and what ultimately turned out to be my mind—could endure. It was a personal experiment to test my capabilities. In that sense, I think it was a success.

My dad told me I was smiling during the last 200 metres. I don’t remember it. Some small part of me thinks I wasn’t smiling through the pain, but at it.