Queen's Journal, Volume 146, Issue 22

the

Queen’s University

Queen’s still relying on monkeys for research

journal

Vol. 146, Issue 22

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Since 1873

Facing significant revenue loss, the AMS restructures

The Journal obtains correspondences detailing non-human primate use in research, transportation H annah S tafl Features Editor If Air Canada wasn’t going to fly the monkeys, Queen’s would find another way.

In 2012, the University faced a problem: Air Canada had stopped shipping non-human primates used for research.

While closely guarded, Queen’s animal research program had to continue receiving these animals. It would get its monkeys, either through competing airlines or trucking.

Air Canada’s decision followed calls from animal rights organizations, and the policies other airlines that ended research animal transportation, including Delta, Virgin, and Northwest.

Meanwhile, Queen’s University and the Public Health Agency of Canada were among the few voices to protest the airline’s change.

In letters from Queen’s University to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) in 2011, which were obtained by The Journal via a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FIPPA) request, then-Vice-Principal (Research) Steven Liss wrote to the CTA it was “unacceptable that Air Canada would make this request.”

In the letters, he argued the changes by Air Canada would “result in unnecessary stress, distress, and discomfort to the animals in transit which may potentially cause lifethreatening conditions.”

Rather than shifting to non-animal research methods, the letters indicated Air Canada’s actions would force Queen’s to reroute the animals “from Shanghai to Beijing, a much colder city in the winter with increased risk of cold exposure.”

Alternatively, the animals could also be “rerouted up to 5,000 km by truck through the U.S.”

READ THE ENTIRE FEATURE ON PAGE 6

Incoming AMS executive team observes emergency assembly on Feb. 7.

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

Municipal, Academic Affairs Commission combined following changes R aechel H uizinga Assistant News Editor Ontario’s student unions are cutting operation costs after the Ford government announced major changes to university finances last month.

Announcing its new structure on Monday, the AMS wasn’t immune.

“We needed to focus on things that were going directly to students,” Society President Miguel Martinez said in an interview with The Journal regarding the changes. “We focused on perception surveys, we focused on cost mitigation followed by the financial impact to the AMS and ensuring we can still be financially sustainable.”

The President will now oversee the Secretary of Internal Affairs, a position Martinez said was modeled after what used to be known as the Commission of Internal Affairs.

This new position will be responsible for the elections team, the Assembly speaker and scribe, and the judicial committee and affairs office.

“This also allows the judicial affairs office to remain more at an arm’s length from the executive while falling into a portfolio that reports to the executive,

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the board of directors, and Assembly,” Martinez said.

He added this will allow more autonomy for the judicial affairs office.

The Vice-President (University Affairs) will now head three commissions—social issues, campus activities, and external advocacy—as well as the clubs office. The Commission of External Advocacy will include the housing resource centre and community service agents, combining the municipal and academic affairs commissions.

Martinez cited this as one of the Society’s biggest changes.

“One of the things that we’ve seen over the last few years is there’s a great deal of overlap between the two commissions,” he said. “By reducing a significant amount of the committees that used to be under both of these commissions, that maybe weren’t pointing directly to students, we can focus on keeping as [many] of those relationships with the city and with the province the same while reducing our personnel costs.”

According to Martinez, this overlap between committees and programming is one of the areas the Society looked at while making the restructuring decisions.

“Unfortunately, we’re not in a place to double services or double programming if they’re already being provided elsewhere,” he said.

He maintained the Society wants

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

“to keep as many employment opportunities” as possible and day-to-day programming won’t be heavily affected.

“However, programming throughout the school year is likely to be more affected,” he said.

Martinez cited the Society’s Feb. 7 emergency Assembly as one of the ways the Board of Directors was informed about which areas of the Society hold social value for students.

He said several students at large sent their thoughts and questions to Mikela Page, chair of the board of directors, following the Assembly. He added, however, only Sagal Sharma, Arts and Science Undergraduate Society president, sent a report to Page detailing her concerns and recommendations to the Board.

At the Assembly, Martinez repeatedly stated the Society would make some mistakes during the restructuring process.

He told The Journal he stands by those statements.

“Mistakes are definitely a possibility with the Board and with our current executive team,” he said before adding the Society is “comfortable and confident” with its decisions.

“Unfortunately, if mistakes did happen it’s not something we’re going to see for another year,” he said. “There’s always a chance to revisit decisions and undo what’s been done.”

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Thursday, February 14, 2019

ACSA team following visit from High Commissioner of Jamaica to Canada Janice Miller.

PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY ASANTEWA NKUAH

Celebrating the excellence of Robert Sutherland Black History Month celebrates achievement, determination and representation in light of systemic barriers Claudia Rupnik Assistant News Editor

ACSA was established in the 1990s to support individuals of African and Caribbean descent during their transition to Kingston and provide a home throughout their time at Queen’s.

They raise awareness about issues facing people of colour on campus, such as institutional barriers and social discrimination based on race and ethnicity.

For Black History Month, ACSA has hosted a dance workshop, two community discussions, and a presentation from the Jamaican High Commissioner to Canada.

“Our BHM programming emphasizes creativity and personal stories in order to communicate what excellence means for the African diaspora,”

Every day, students walk by Robert Sutherland Hall on their way to class, but few are aware of the building’s historic legacy.

The African and Caribbean Students’ “The historical is often Association (ACSA) wants to remedy that met with this ‘So disconnect. This year, the Kingston-wide what? We’re in the theme for Black History Month (BHM) present now’ attitude is “Black Excellence: Within the Present that’s both dismissive and Towards the Future,” and Robert Sutherland is highlighted at the centre of and dangerous.” the discussion.

Born in Jamaica, Sutherland was the —Asantewa Nkuah, ACSA Education Officer first university graduate and lawyer of colour in British North America.

He graduated from Queen’s in 1852, Nkuah said. and again in 1855 with a law degree.

The Government of Canada first During his time at the institution, he won recognized Black History Month in 14 academic prizes and served as the 1995, after Jean Augustine, the first Black treasurer of the Dialectic Society, the Canadian woman elected to Parliament, AMS predecessor. introduced a motion that February be Sutherland’s contribution to the designated in honour of the historical university didn’t end there. Upon his contributions of Black Canadians. The death in Toronto in 1878, he left his motion passed unanimously in the House entire estate to Queen’s because “he of Commons. had always been treated as a “When you see young Black people gentleman [here],” according to the celebrating Black History Month, Queen’s Encyclopedia. the discussions that occur and the stories Queen’s was facing financial ruin at we choose to tell, I think it serves as the time and used his donation to launch a reminder that uncovering our history a critical fundraising campaign that is an ongoing process for a stopped the institution’s impending lot of us.” Nkuah said. “It sale to the University of Toronto. While shows that we remain affected by the his donation continues to play a key past because it has mapped out our present role in Queen’s continued existence, reality and will shape how we approach Sutherland’s hidden history and the future.” generosity remain largely unknown However, Nkuah noticed many across campus. students at Queen’s don’t understand the “It’s the celebration of black connection between history and the current achievement, determination, and state of Canadian society. representation overcoming systemic “The historical is often met with this, barriers,” said Asantewa Nkuah, Artsci ’19, ‘So what? We’re in the present now,’ ACSA’s Education Officer in an email to attitude that’s both dismissive and The Journal. dangerous. History is especially important

ACSA members at various Black History Month events.

for the African diaspora because our cultures and identities have been forged by it. A lot of people remain unaware of this truth, especially in hegemonic spaces like Queen’s,” Nkuah said.

BHM is particularly important in these spaces because it provides a different perspective on Canadian history, in comparison to the limited scope of the curriculum taught in classrooms.

“Canada has a huge problem with whitewashing its history,” Nkuah said.

Black students face a number of institutional and social barriers at Queen’s beyond underrepresentation in the curriculum. Nkuah pointed out there are few courses related to Afro-Caribbean culture available and only a small group of Black faculty and staff. Moreover, “basic elements of identity—food items, haircare, and cultural music—are difficult to find in Kingston.

The lack of cultural representation on campus leads to greater academic and personal challenges while studying at Queen’s—no sense of belonging is established.

“We go through the same hurdles other students do to get here and when we arrive, there’s still this feeling we shouldn’t be here. That speaks to a wider colonial legacy. More needs to be done by Queen’s to show they’re aware of their Black student demographic and are interested in making us feel safe and like we belong,” Nkuah said.

Each year, ACSA co-organizes BHM celebrations on campus with the Queen’s Black Academic Society (QBAS). Collaboration is a vital means of “maintaining close relationships within the diaspora,” Nkuah said.

Alongside ACSA’s program offers,

QBAS is running the #IamRobertSutherland campaign throughout the month. Each week they honour a Black Canadian who’s made a significant contribution to Canadian society through a Facebook post, including Sutherland and Josiah Henson.

Sutherland’s legacy at the University

“When you see young Black people celebrating Black History Month, the discussions that occur and the stories we choose to tell, I think it serves as a reminder that uncovering our history is an ongoing process for a lot of us.”

—Asantewa Nkuah

was commemorated recently when in 2009, Queen’s Board of Trustees approved a student-initiated motion to honour Sutherland’s legacy by naming a building after him—131 years after his contribution to the institution. This acknowledgement was long overdue, and ACSA is focusing their Black History Month efforts on ensuring the contributions and histories of Black Canadians are fully recognized.

“By personally identifying with Robert Sutherland, the [original] student of colour,” Nkuah said. “I think we, as Black university students, are encouraged to take pride in our positionality and remember that long before [us] there were people who struggled the same way we do.”

Thursday, February 14, 2019

The survey is available until April 30.

News

JOURNAL FILE PHOTO

queensjournal.ca • 3

Five Days for Homelessness will take place from March 3 to 8.

SUPPLIED BY QPID

QPID sleeps rough for Study aims for province-wide data on homelessness awareness Club to camp out on LGBTQ2S+ students Union Street for local academic success.

Despite this growing body of American research, there’s no significant information available concerning the experiences and well-being of LGBTQ2S+ students at Canadian universities, with the majority of studies pertaining to individual schools.

Claudia Rupnik “These studies often drive change on Assistant News Editor individual campuses, but they tend not to have impacts at a provincial policy level Thriving on Campus is a province-wide or in terms of informing the curriculum study aimed at understanding the offered in social work and other fields experiences of LGBTQ2S+ university that work with LGBTQ2S+ students,” students in Ontario.

Woodford said.

This is the first large-scale study on This study hopes to bridge the the subject in the country, designed to gap and provide institutions with focus on advancing inclusion, health and evidence-based suggestions for wellbeing, and academic success. Associate policies and services that will Professor Michael Woodford, of Wilfrid better support the acceptance, Laurier University’s Faculty of Social Work, well-being, and academic development is heading the study’s research team. of LGBTQ2S+ students.

The team has partnered with other “Without an accurate picture of students’ groups working with university students, experiences and wellbeing, how do we know the Ontario Undergraduate Student what students’ needs are? What factors Alliance and the LGBTQ2S+ community. might be contributing to them flourishing They’ve received funding from the Social on campus, or doing poorly?” Woodford said.

Sciences and Humanities Research To understand the disparities in Council Partnership Engage Grant and the university experience, the survey examines Tri-Council Research Support Fund. topics such as positive mental health and “If campuses are to support and promote social belonging, and also seeks to address students’ mental health and academic how identities shape student experiences success, we need to know how their and wellbeing on campus. For example, the experiences and other aspects of the survey explores the correlation between climate might affect their wellbeing,” discrimination and an individual’s “diverse Woodford wrote in an email to The Journal. identities, such as Indigenous identity, The team identified all policies, resources, race/ethnicity, (dis)ability, religion, body size, and services available at Ontario universities, gender, sexuality, and gender expression.” before launching an online survey to gather “We know very little about intersectional experiential information from current identities among LGBTQ2S+ students,” LGBTQ2S+ students.

Woodford said. “Service providers—on and They plan to conduct follow-up off campus—policymakers, administrators, interviews and publish fact sheets from the and advocates need robust research so survey in fall of 2019. They will also provide that programs, services, and policies can participating schools with a summary of be tailored to students’ diverse needs results for each institution. and strengths.”

“These reports will give each school the The participation of students at Queen’s snapshot needed to start conversations is important to the overall success of the about how they can enhance their efforts to survey, according to Woodford, as it’s the promote LGBTQ2S+ students’ inclusion and only way for the study to get a full picture of wellbeing,” Woodford said. They’ll also host the situation in Kingston. regional and provincial webinars to present In collaboration with the Academic key findings and strategies for addressing Affairs Commission and OUSA, the AMS diverse needs on campus starting in has been promoting the survey through winter of 2020. social media, including a link their The study builds on research Woodford Feb. 7 newsletter. conducted in the US during his time as The survey is available for completion a faculty member at the University of online until April 30.

Michigan. These American studies found “These kinds of changes in the long LGBTQ2S+ students face both threats to run will hopefully make campuses more their physical safety and social accepting of LGBTQ2S+ students and help discrimination on university them flourish and succeed on campus,” campuses, which impacts personal and Woodford said.

Laurier research team launches large-scale survey assessing

youth shelter Sydney Ko Staff Writer

Queen’s Project’s on International Development (QPID) will be hosting their annual Five Days for Homeless on March 3 to 8.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of homelessness in Canada and raise funds for the Kingston Youth Shelter.

Thirty universities across Canada participate in the event, which raised a total of $2 million in the past years, program coordinator Matthew Plut told The Journal.

A group of up to 50 Queen’s students will camp out in front of Union Street wearing orange t-shirts, and while they camp, will aim to raise awareness of the cause.

Five Days for Homeless will accept cash donations, with funds going to the Kingston Youth Shelter. Aside from providing temporary shelters for teens, the shelter also provides mediation services for vulnerable families.

Similarly, the funds will also go toward installing an industrial kitchen in the shelter. Teens who stay at the shelter can take advantage of the installation and develop cooking skills that can later help them transition into adulthood.

However, the organization has received concerns over its perceived emulation of homelessness.

The event will take place at Stauffer Library.

“There aren’t a lot of issues this year, but some of the issues that were dealt with is taking a soft and easy way in copying homeless[ness] and benefitting from it,” Plut said.

“This cause is more closely related to mental illness and family breakdowns.

We understand that what we’re doing is more about spreading awareness and getting the campus to talk more about youth homelessness.”

He added the causes and sources of homelessness are far more complicated to show than just sleeping outside. The event seeks to inspire conversation.

“I think [when] a lot of people think of donating [to] causes like homelessness, they think the issue is fairly hopeless,” Plut said, adding the organization has worked closely with the Kingston Youth Shelter throughout the year to gain a deeper understanding of the issue locally.

“We got to talk to the program coordinator, and she tells us all these amazing stories of how kids who pass the program end up doing really well in life,” Plut said. “[T]he kids who end up in the program aren’t any different from kids who goes to Queen’s, they just had a few [difficulties] and some bad luck, so they end up in a tough situation.”

Plut explained that with the support and structure of the shelter, teens can settle into apartments and find work. In some cases, they donate back to the shelter.

“This donation provides the structure and a form of investment in the future of these kids. It’s not money that’s being burnt or spent on a one-time thing.

It provides a broad structure for these kids to move out of the shelter,” Plut said.

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

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Thursday, February 14, 2019

This story first appeared online on Feb. 12.

She said doing so encourages respect and an appreciation for diversity.

Miller’s speech was followed by a question and answer period. ACSA President Nirosha Balakumar, ArtSci ’19, asked Miller what value exists in creating spaces for students to celebrate their identities and cultures at university.

Miller said students need to feel accepted in their academic environments and need the

rachel aiken

Assistant News Editor This past weekend, the High Commissioner of Jamaica to Canada paid a visit to Queen’s campus.

On Feb. 9, the African Caribbean Student’s Association (ACSA) hosted the High Commissioner, Janice Miller, at the University Club as part of Black History Month.

“I consider it a rare privilege to be able to share some perspectives with you during this auspicious month of February,” Miller said to the audience. “A time dedicated to celebrating and commemorating the long, rich, and distinguished contributions of persons of African descent to the building and shaping of Canada.”

In her talk, Miller noted Queen’s own history supporting its first Black graduate, Robert Sutherland, as inspiration for continued inclusion efforts. She High Commissioner of Jamaica to Canada, Janice Miller. wants to encourage the welcoming attitudes towards Sutherland to continue and increase.

“I also encourage the African Caribbean Students’ Association, in spite of your own constraints, to continue your valuable work in promoting Africa and the Caribbean in Queen’s and beyond its confines,” Miller said.

“Your work as an association is important to the students of this university.”

Miller’s presentation was themed “Moving Beyond both nations—Jamaicans have embodied in its national motto: Boundaries” and shared her made a significant impact on out of many, one people. perspective on Jamaican Canadian society and there are “One of the strengths of diplomacy with Canada. She currently over 340,000 Jamaicans modern-day Jamaica is the recognized the country as an in Canada. very robust expression of self, important and long-standing Miller said t h e held by a majority of, if not all, partner of Jamaica with over 56 “people-to-people” contact Jamaicans,” Miller said. “By this, years of diplomatic relations. between Jamaica and Canada was I mean the sense of pride and According to Miller, 380,000 the most important aspect of the patriotism that comes of being part Canadians travel to Jamaica countries’ relationship. of a national identity that’s been each year, making Canada the She also sees the partnership forged on an understanding of our country’s second largest touring between Jamaica and its diaspora unique roots, in particular, those body. She also pointed to the as one of the examples of a of African ancestors.” cultural exchange occurring in borderless Jamaica, a value that’s Miller further called the

“[February is] a time dedicated to celebrating and commemorating the long, rich, and distinguished contributions of persons of African descent to the building and shaping of Canada.”

PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON

ACSA hosts High Commissioner of Jamaica ‘Moving Beyond Boundaries’ speaker mindful of Black History Month

audience’s attention to the theme of the Canadian government’s Black History Month campaign—Black Canadian Youth: Boundless, Rooted, and Proud.

She said this theme encourages youth to transcend the barriers that face Black Canadians and speaks to an appreciation of a person’s origin—or “grounding.”

According to Miller, part of the grounding process involves the recording and teaching of diverse histories.

—Janice Miller, High Commissioner of Jamaica to Canada

ability to say “we can identify,” She added that as a student she was told university was a microcosm of the outside world.

“If you’re at university and you can’t make your voice heard, at this stage of your life, when will you make it heard?” Miller asked.

“You have to be able to effect change now, because that’s the world outside that you are going to have to interact with.”

Balakumar said the association was honoured to have hosted Miller.

“This is a very powerful woman of colour in politics and I think it’s beautiful that we’re celebrating her during Black History Month,” Balakumar told The Journal in an interview.

“Her presence shows a lot of other students we do make it to these places, we can make it to these places, and things are being done to ensure that our culture and diaspora is being celebrated.”

Thursday, February 14, 2019

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Former minister calls on Ford government to release sexual violence survey results Province cites privacy concerns over delayed release Raechel Huizinga Assistant News Editor On Tuesday, former Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Mitzie Hunter called on the Ford government to immediately release the Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey results.

“The government has been making incendiary and false statements about student unions,” she wrote in a statement.

“Meanwhile, it has been hiding a report that will shed light on sexual violence on university campuses.”

Over 160,000 post-secondary students in Ontario participated in the survey last February, making it the largest survey sent to colleges and universities in the province to date.

The survey’s results were promised to institutions in the fall of 2018.

As previously reported by The Journal, Queen’s has not received its results.

University of Toronto’s student newspaper, The Varsity, has also reported its institution has yet to receive the survey’s findings.

The delayed publication of the survey’s results isn’t the only problem facing institutions, according to Hunter.

She stated because of the Student Choice Initiative and government funding cuts to post-secondary institutions, universities and colleges won’t have money to act on the results once they’re released.

“There will be limited money at best to combat sexual violence on campus,”

she wrote. “This is a report that should have been released months ago,” and the current Minister’s “excuses so far have no credibility.”

Stephanie Rea, director of communications for the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU), wrote the delay is due to privacy concerns, in an email to The Journal.

“The survey vendor is continuing the process of compiling the data in a way that protects participant privacy,” Rea wrote. “Initial projections underestimated the time this work would take.”

Under Hunter, the Liberal government contracted CCI Research to compile and analyze the survey’s results. The company referred The Journal to the current ministry for comment.

Rea added the Ministry won’t release any data that could put survey participants at risk and will only release the report when they’re “satisfied the data fully protects participant privacy.”

“It’s disappointing the former minister of this file doesn’t understand the necessity of protecting the identity of victims of sexual violence on campus,” Rea wrote.

The Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey website, however, states a student’s name, student ID and email address will never be saved with [their] survey responses. The Ministry didn’t respond to questions about how protecting participant privacy—whether a survivor or not—specifically creates a delay.

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Queen’s is joining the UC3 in the University Climate Coalition.

GRAPHIC BY JULIA BALAKRISHNAN

Queen’s signs onto University Climate Coalition Prof says move is ‘30 years too late,’ while University continues fossil investment Rachel Aiken Assistant News Editor Queen’s has joined the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), ratifying a commitment to take action against climate change.

On Feb. 4, the University announced its new membership to the UC3—a group of 19 North American research institutions committed to reducing their carbon footprint and encouraging local climate change solutions.

Each member of the coalition must host a climate change forum within their first year of membership. The forum should bring community leaders, businesses, and elected representatives together with stakeholders and advocates to discuss potential local climate change solutions.

Queen’s is planning to host the forum during Sustainability Week in October of 2019.

“We look forward to collaborating with our UC3 partners as we continue striving to reduce our environmental footprint,” Donna Janiec, vice-principal (finance and administration), told The Gazette.

Ariel Salzmann, a fossil fuel divestment activist and a professor in the history department, told The Journal in an interview the university’s newest commitment is “30 years too late.”

“At this point we don’t just need gradual change we need some really dramatic actions—and divestment is at the centre of it,” she said. “They’re on a timetable that’s completely out of sync with the realities that the scientists are telling us.”

“It leads me to suspect or wonder whether this isn’t an effort to take the ball away from the students—student demands which are much clearer and really address in very direct terms the urgent situation we face,” she said.

Salzmann has commented on Queen’s divestment in the past. During the University’s last consideration of divestment in 2015, she offered testimony

on the necessity of divestment and showed support for the Queen’s Backing Action on Climate Change (QBACC) divestment campaign.

In September of 2015, QBACC submitted a proposal for the divestment of non-pension investments to university administration. Ultimately, the Principal’s Advisory Committee recommended against divestment.

The Advisory Report stated that as of January of 2015, the University held $54 million of funds relevant to fossil fuel divestment, representing 7.2 per cent of the Pooled Investment Fund and 4.8 per cent of the Pooled Endowment Fund.

It recommended the University not divest because the petitioner’s basis of social injury wasn’t compelling and the committee didn’t believe divestment would be effective in reducing the risks of climate change.

Salzmann believes the Advisory Committee didn’t adequately consider the ethical and sociological questions

“At this point we don’t just need gradual change we need some really dramatic actions—and divestment is at the centre of it.”

—Ariel Salzmann, History Professor

of fossil fuel investment.

“We should be educating. We should be using our infrastructure to educate and to make sure that our students have the environmental ABCs that are appropriate for the 21st century,” she said. “The whole university should be a model for the rest of the community for sustainability at every level.”

When The Journal asked whether joining the U3 would affect Queen’s investments, Janiec responded with a written statement: “We do not believe that the University’s Responsible Investing Policy and Procedures is contrary to our sustainability objectives.”

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Features

Non-human primates are often used to model humans in scientific research.

Continued from front ...

According to Liss, the non-human primates are extremely important in biomedical research. They still had to be used, regardless of their route to Kingston. The letters make clear “nonhuman primates are maintained under conditions of excellent care with high regard to their physical and psychological health.”

They also argue “nonhuman primates have been used to seek cures and treatments for a plethora of diseases that affect all human beings.” Among the listed diseases are Alzheimer’s, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. Currently, animal subjects are used because of their potential to find cures in humans, according to Queen’s veterinarian Andrew Winterborn.

Winterborn said while the University focuses on following the three R’s of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement, it’s not possible for all animal research to be eliminated. As such, the University is working around the transportation changes.

To get the animals here, Winterborn said some airlines will still fly directly into Canada, particularly using Air France. He added Queen’s follows guidelines of “transporting animals the shortest distance possible, when they do have to be transported.”

He couldn’t speak directly to the current route Queen’s uses.

Winterborn said all transportation follows several guidelines, including those from the United Nations and the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), prioritizing animal welfare.

The letters The Journal obtained also profess prioritizing animal welfare in transportation and in research. “Research with nonhuman primates is highly regulated in Canada and animals used in research are protected by several national and international laws,” they state.

According to Winterborn, Ontario’s Animals for Research Act outlines this regulation.

In enforcing the act, there can be unannounced facility inspections. Institutions must legally provide access to inspectors, and if they’re not

ILLUSTRATION BY AMELIA RANKINE

The curtain on animal research at Queen’s lifts an inch The Journal obtains correspondences detailing non-human primate use in research, transportation compliant, can be shut down.

All these regulations and laws are built on the idea that the use of animals, including non-human primates, is vital to finding human cures.

Yet, scientists have already found many treatments for Alzheimer’s in animals. The problem is these developments haven’t always translated over to humans.

Winterborn said when proposing new models to the University, researchers must “indicate to the [University Animal Care Committee] why a non-animal model cannot be used.”

He acknowledged animals and humans might not have a one-to-one relationship in terms of animal results working for humans. For animal successes to translate over to humans, it can take several animal models to “put the pieces of the puzzle together.”

Charu Chandrasekera doesn’t think using multiple animals is as effective as working towards non-animal models for research.

Chandrasekera runs the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods (CCAAM) at the University of Windsor. She said animals in research are “getting replaced at a global level” and cited a wider shift towards non-animal models.

“In many countries, they even have legislative mandates, and [strategic] road maps to shift away from animal testing,” Chandrasekera said.

In Windsor, the CCAAM has three main initiatives: “research, academic, and regulatory”. The pillars focus on developing human-based methods of

research, educating a new generation “to think outside the cage,” and creating methods for toxicology testing, used for products like household cleaners.

Animals aren’t the only way to learn more about humans, according to the CCAAM. “You can use many different methods to look at human biology without using animals. It’s a matter of being creative, being innovative,” Chandrasekera said.

Animal research faces its own hurdles. In terms of animal results working in humans, “the translational success rate right now is at an all-time low,” Chandrasekera said.

“Ninety-five per cent of drugs tested—and found to be safe and effective in animals—fail in human clinical trials,” Chandrasekera said.

Of the five per cent that make it to the market, another 50 per cent per cent are withdrawn or receive black-box warnings.

The reason is an over-reliance on animal results, according to Chandrasekera.

While successes certainly have come from using animals to model humans, “scientists have a tendency to glorify these limited successes and completely disregard the colossal failures,” Chandrasekera said.

In terms of failures, Chandrasekera cites animal successes with Alzheimer’s treatment. Mice have been treated time and again, but humans still can’t be.

For Chandrasekera, it’s time to shift away from animals. While they may not be completely replaceable at the moment, researchers still “need to continue in the path forward.”

“I think animals have done their

part, [and] served their purpose,” she said. To her, this change in research is comparable to cars replacing horse-drawn carriages.

Additionally, in 2014, The Kingston Whig-Standard reported on local animal rights advocates criticizing Queen’s, as there’s historically been little information available discussing its animal research practices.

In The Journal’s FIPPA request, the University denied providing “the quantity, species and purpose of all animals used for research testing purposes at Queen’s University.” They cite that this information could “endanger the life or safety of a person or endanger the security of a building or vehicle.”

In recent months, Queen’s has instead released information including the total number of animals used in 2017 research (23,544), the ratio of types of animals used, and the nature of experiments.

According to the data, no experiments are conducted “which cause severe pain near, at, or above the pain tolerance threshold of anaesthetized conscious animals.” These guidelines are

outlined by the CCAC. Based on the CCAC guidelines, the highest pain level experiments which could be conducted at Queen’s include forced radiation sickness, major surgeries under anesthesia or exposure to noxious stimuli with no escape. This level of experimentation makes up 21.8 per cent of Queen’s animal experiments.

Pain tolerance levels aren’t used at the CCAAM in Windsor, which focuses instead on eliminating any animal experiments. It was originally pitched to be at Queen’s, according to Chandrasekera, who runs the centre.

According to University vet Winterborn, “Queen’s was interested in moving forward with trying to develop a centre around the three R’s and alternatives.”

Ultimately, he said Chandrasekera’s team walked away. “[The CCAAM] were in discussion with other institutions, and made the decision to go elsewhere,” Winterborn said.

Chandrasekera instead said Queen’s had wanted a phenome centre, and hadn’t ever been open to a general alternative methods centre in the first place. “Other than walking away, there was nothing else to do,” she said, adding she was nonetheless pleased the centre ended up in Windsor.

For the near future, it looks like Queen’s is still going to rely on its monkeys, while other institutions shift away from animals.

ILLUSTRATION BY AMELIA RANKINE

Thursday, February 14, 2019

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EDITORIALS

The Journal’s Perspective

For Canada, being the ‘nice guy’ isn’t enough

•7

A melia R ankine

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

This story was published online on Feb. 12.

Sometimes the good guy doesn’t finish last.

In the case of The New York Times’ recent opinion piece glorifying Canada as a moral leader of the free world, this certainly rings true.

Described as America’s “boring neighbour,” the piece continuously reaffirms how lucky the U.S. is to have us by their side as a moral compass. Our acceptance of refugees and well-known politeness have painted us as a beacon of compassion.

The trend of labelling Canada boring but virtuous is nothing new. A similar article is published every few months—from CBC to Global News—lulling Canadians into a false sense of security. When we talk about how good we have it, we lose sight of what’s left to improve.

Canada hasn’t always been great. While we may say “please” and “thank you” more than Americans, we’ve historically faced our own host of inequities.

During the Holocaust, Canada was notoriously unwilling to host Jewish refugees. Northern communities remain woefully neglected. We’ve welcomed women from Saudi Arabia into the country, but have maintained an arms deal with a Saudi Arabian government that systematically oppresses women and continues a destructive war in Yemen. Many Indigenous communities still lack drinkable water. The impact of residential schools permeates our culture today.

We have our own suite of problems, both

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domestically and internationally. We’re just better than others at concealing contentious issues pertaining to our government.

After all, politicians with amusing Twitter presences do a lot to mask broader social concerns for a public engaged by social media.

It’s understandable why the author of The Times piece took this incomplete view of Canada—it’s the view of an American peering in at our impressive offerings. We have a prime minister who stands at the airport to welcome refugees with warm coats. Our government takes pride in standing up for “human rights and women’s rights around the world.”

However, we can’t pat ourselves on the back for aiding developing countries when we maintain similar conditions within our own borders. Canada is a well-resourced country, but a large percentage of refugees and immigrants here still live in poverty.

Commentary affirming our successes without acknowledging our vices does Canada no favours. Its façade of evidence-based review prevents us from seeking growth. When Americans congratulate our country for existing within certain highly-publicized ethical boundaries, they’re really looking to us as a hero.

However, elevating Canada as an ideal without acknowledging its problems erases the historic and contemporary hardships endured by so many Canadians. We can’t model good behaviour for our southern neighbours until we reform our own country’s flaws.

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Educating parents key to public health As the anti-vaccination movement sweeps North America and leaves preventable diseases unaddressed, it’s critical parents learn how to protect their children.

Parents’ fears of vaccines are nothing new, but organized opposition against vaccinations is on the rise due to extensive misinformation online.

Before Canada introduced the measles vaccine in 1963, there was a reported average of 53,800 measles cases annually.

In 2015, there were only 195 cases.

Cancer patients, the elderly, and newborns too young to be vaccinated are at risk of contracting diseases from unvaccinated people. If those people are surrounded by vaccinated individuals, diseases can be contained. Preventing outbreaks requires herd immunization, which is when populations are vaccinated at rates of 96 to 99 per cent in cases like the measles, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

As vaccination rates decline, disease outbreaks increase. We can’t let misinformation regress our medical literacy.

A widely-discredited study linking cases of autism with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has influenced a generation of parents. The study has been deemed unethical, with an undisclosed conflict of interest, and the paper that published it officially redacted the findings in 1998.

But the impact of this disproven study persists, compounded by distrust of modern medicine and movements prioritizing “natural” health remedies.

Hearsay has reinforced hysteria, as children exhibit early symptoms of autism

around the same age as their first scheduled immunizations. This perceived correlation can lead to parents believing in the redacted study.

While Canada does provide extensive information about vaccinations, more needs to be done to tackle our suboptimal vaccination rate.

Ontario requires all children to be vaccinated to attend school, but parents and guardians may cite “conscience or religious belief” to excuse their kids from this rule. That’s how I passed through the entire education system vaccine-free.

Recently, Ontario implemented an initiative that ensures parents receive a Vaccine Education Certificate before they excuse children from mandatory vaccines. This makes sure they can make informed decisions before they risk the lives of their children and other members of their community.

Parents who abstain from vaccinations may be trying to do what they think is best, but their choices must be guided by fact—not fiction.

Education is essential to promote trust in preventative medicine. Immunization science should be worked into public education early on. Widespread awareness campaigns must reach parents before misinformation can.

It’s time for parents to understand the consequences of their vaccination choices.

They need to be educated before they further risk public health.

Amelia is The Journal’s Video Editor. She’s a third-year Fine Art major.

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Thursday, February 14, 2019

OPINIONS Jonah Prousky, Comm ‘19 This article first appeared online on Feb. 11.

B

ell Canada recently raised over $7 million for domestic mental health initiatives through its “Bell Let’s Talk” campaign. Almost every person I follow on social media—from friends at Queen’s to Ellen DeGeneres—commended the telecommunication giant for its remarkable act of giving.

But perhaps we ought to look more critically at the people signing that $7 million cheque before we attach ourselves to it on social media.

When we engage with campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk, we are condoning—or at the very least ignoring—the effects corporatization has on social issues.

These forces aren’t necessarily positive or negative, but they must be acknowledged as part of the motivation spurring the Let’s Talk campaign. Bell covers the cost of their mental health campaign because of the marketing value it generates.

There’s an argument to be made the social benefit of a corporate mental health campaign should be compensated. But the legal makeup of corporations like Bell means they can’t act selflessly.

Bell’s Board of Directors is under fiduciary responsibility to the firm’s shareholders to maximize profits.

Regardless of how empathetic Bell’s managing team is toward mental health, the value their campaign yields obliges them to run it each year. Should the campaign grow less profitable, it’d eventually become obsolete.

When weighing the brand value of this campaign against other, high-profile marketing stunts, Bell appears much less altruistic.

Compared to a Super Bowl commercial, for instance, Bell Let’s Talk is a bargain.

According to CNBC, the cost to run a 30 second Super Bowl ad this year was $5.25 million, with an estimated viewership of around 100 million.

At $7.2 million CAD ($5,550,202 U.S.) for 145 million views, Let’s Talk generates far more exposure relative to its cost.

Assuming Super Bowl ad time is comparable, each person who engaged with the Let’s Talk campaign gave Bell attention and value.

That said, I’m not convinced a single judgement can be made on the ethics of all corporate advocacy. But our collective willingness to take part in this campaign without first vetting it through analysis or public discourse is concerning.

We’ve condoned the use of corporate advocacy in the past and the results were problematic.

One particularly contentious example

Your Perspective

leads to poorer mental health.

Corporate influences affect the cognition and behavior of consumers, and it could muddle public discourse and decision-making on social issues.

Consider, for example, how corporate influences have affected environmental advocacy.

It’s not unusual for some environmental groups to take millions of dollars in funding from oil and gas firms, which creates an unfortunate link between the viability of Big Green and the success of Big Oil. This connection invariably finds its place in the marketing strategies of Canada’s largest energy corporations.

The result of this phenomenon is a less informed public. Dosed with thousands of skewed advertisements, we often disassociate energy firms—or exonerate them completely—from the climate crisis.

While I don’t believe Bell’s business is situated in the same ethical realm as fast food or crude oil, public relation campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk can mislead the public and prevent or soften public regulation of parent companies.

This is especially important since the campaign has garnered criticism from some Bell employees, who feel the company’s culture is hardly conducive to mental wellness for employees and consumers alike.

“It seems Bell needs all the help it can get in burnishing its sorry reputation for customer service,” Jamie Swift, Canadian journalist and adjunct lecturer at the Smith School of Business, PHOTO BY TESSA WARBURTON Prousky urges students to think critically about corporate advocacy. told The Journal via email. “According to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, Bell leads all its competitors in the angrycustomer department—33 per cent of all the complaints the Commission receives concern Bell.”

Bell is as apathetic toward mental health as many of its campaign’s followers. When we fail to vet corporations for their exploitative behavior, the consequences can be grave.

Despite the corporate factors at play, I still think the state of mental health in Canada is better off with an additional $7 million in funding. of branded advocacy came from a At worst, this campaign is a totally But we must remember that partnership between KFC and the Susan insincere marketing scheme. At best, corporations like Bell aren’t our G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. By it’s connected KFC to a slew of friends—they’re legal entities with selling pink buckets of fried chicken and benevolent brand connotations that are corporate mandates that prioritize profits. donating a small portion of its sales, KFC uncharacteristic of the company’s core When we forget this for a day, was able to donate $8.5 million to fight business values. even subconsciously, the social causes breast cancer in 2010.

Bell might be similarly undeserving of we care most about become Critics were quick to point out that the reputation created by its corporate more vulnerable. obesity, which to a large extent is fueled advocacy. Some argue that increased by the rise of fast food, can increase the screen time, which is precisely the Jonah Prousky is a fourth year risk of developing breast cancer. behaviour Bell’s business thrives on, Commerce student.

Let’s talk about Bell’s corporate advocacy Looking behind the veil of the telecom giant’s multimillion dollar campaign

Talking heads ...

What are your plans for Reading Week?

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARBURTON

“Getting over bronchitis.”

Claire Zhou, Comm ’21

“Going skiing with my family in Mt. Tremblant.”

Helena Hyams, ArtSci ’20

“Going to New York City to see plays for a day.”

Talia Wolfe, ArtSci ’20

“Staying in Kingston.”

Megha Badwal, ConEd ’22

Thursday, February 14, 2019

queensjournal.ca

•9

Arts

ShoShana Kish in the music video for AK-47.

PREVIEW

SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE

Festival envisions Indigenous resurgence Isabel Bader Centre events capture diversity of artwork

Brigid Goulem Arts Editor Attendees at the Ka’tarohkwi Indigenous Arts Festival will see artwork free of restrictions.

The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts is hosting the festival throughout February and March. It’ll feature Indigenous performance artists, films, and musicians, celebrating their work and innovation in Canada.

The festival is being held alongside the Soundings exhibit currently on display at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.

“We are excited to share this diverse array of performances by acclaimed Indigenous artists working across theatre, dance, music, film and performance art,” said Soundings curator, Dylan Robinson, in a Queen’s media release.

The festival, which crosses all disciplines, is an exciting opportunity for the Isabel and the Agnes to work alongside some of the

top artists in Canada—as well as to work collaboratively together.

“Dylan has the most amazing ability to identify, just top artists,” Isabel Director Tricia Baldwin said. “There’s a lot of social justice involved right now with Indigenous arts, but he sees Indigenous arts as a statement of a really diverse community’s cultures. We’ve invested a lot in the world premieres of some of these works.”

One work that Baldwin is particularly excited about is the “Biidaaban: First Light VR,” by Anishinaabe artist Lisa Jackson and 3D artist Matthew Borrett.

The project looks at a radically different future Toronto. In this re-envisioning, the city has been reclaimed by nature and people must consider how they fit into this new landscape.

For Baldwin, the dystopian tomorrow trope has been flipped on its head to show a better future—a theme throughout the works.

“We’re actually seeing this really positive,

COMMENTARY

Canada’s exploitation of Indigenous Art PHOTO BY ELLEN NAGY

Heidi Senungetuk demonstrates the wealth of talented Indigenous artists in Canada.

Canadian embassy casting American art as Indigenous is wrong Brittany Giliforte Assistant Arts Editor Canadian international relations are taking precedence over Indigenous artists’ representation—and it’s a bad look for reconciliation.

A recent article from The Walrus commented on Canada’s relationship with Indigenous art and artists—claiming it’s exploitative for means of forging international relations.

In the article, the Canadian Embassy

in Paris showcased Maria Hupfield, a Wasauksing First Nations performance artist. Despite her American citizenship, her work was chosen to represent Canadian art.

The Walrus argues that mixing art and politics turns the former into a commodity, problematically informing future curators’ decisions of what to exhibit.

Using non-Canadian artists to further relations with other countries through the art they present internationally creates a false picture of our country and the art we produce.

This shouldn’t be an issue considering how many talented Indigenous artists are working in Canada today. Kingston alone attracts enough Indigenous artists

creative statement of who [Indigenous people] are. Rather than, ‘this is the community that went through the residential school system,’ what’s great about this festival is that it’s actually celebrating people’s culture. It’s a very positive celebration, but it’s not holding back any punches when it comes to the past, and past treatment,” Baldwin said.

Associate Vice-Principal (Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation) Kanonhysonne (Janice Hill) thinks that the festival and exhibit offer people a chance to look more honestly at Indigenous cultures in Canada.

“My understanding from recent research is there are still a lot of Canadians, and a lot of young Canadians, or people who live in Canada, who don’t really understand the current and present realities of Indigenous people and that we exist here today and in many forms,” Hill said.

For non-Indigenous viewers and

audiences, she believes it’s important that they approach the artwork with an open mind to gain an understanding. She emphasized the artwork was a chance for artists to express their truth to be shared with others.

For Indigenous viewers, Hill hopes that the exhibit and festival can be a chance for people to reconnect and reclaim their culture. “[Reconciliation] is about a reclamation of our ways of knowing and being and our languages and our place in the world,” Hill said.

“Art is a way to bridge that—it’s a way to give Indigenous people access to knowledge they may not have formerly had access to, and it’s a way to give the non-indigenous population access to the same knowledge and maybecreate a better understanding of how we got to be where we are right now.”

to hold the Ka’Tarohkwi Indigenous Arts Festival.

With so many Indigenous artists to choose from in Canada, there’s no excuse for choosing to display the work of an American in a Canadian embassy—especially during a time when our government is claiming to be working towards reconciliation.

Hupfield’s performance piece “feels liberated,” but for the cultural centre to continue accepting of Indigenous pieces, The Walrus argues that Hupfield’s performance must be seen positively and as an indisputable success.

“There are limits to emancipation, imposed by terms written into contracts for works on loan and the unwritten etiquette of power,” the article states, implying that there are predetermined standards of acceptable artwork that can and cannot be invited into the embassy.

The Canadian embassy—while being a more logical setting to showcase Canadian artists’ work—is a strange choice for an American’s work. Essentially, it’s robbing Indigenous Canadian artists of the opportunity to perform.

In an effort to uphold Canada’s international image as a culturally rich country, the embassy is incorrectly citing Indigenous peoples in Canada’s cultural output while simultaneously denying them space.

Allotting space and attention to

Hupfield in a Canadian space disregards reconciliation efforts. Rather than furthering the conversation on how to mend the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settlers, this action takes one step in the wrong direction.

Hupfield in particular was a poor choice.

Her work refuses to be confined to a limited category and challenges the reduction of Indigenous art to a simple genre. Choosing an artist who resists these classifications is a careless decision if the embassy hoped to export self-identified Indigenous art.

If the Canadian embassy is displaying work advertised for its Indigeneity and relevance to Canadian culture, an American artist who tries to distance her work from Indigenous categorization may not be the best choice.

In a country with so many talented Indigenous artists, this choice is insulting and undermining.

It seems to be a safe choice to display apolitical artwork in an international environment—saving Canada from potential controversy that more direct political statements may cause.

No matter how many Indigenous art shows and exhibitions the Canadian government facilitates, it’ll never make up for the pain and suffering caused in many Indigenous communities.

Small actions like overlooking Indigenous Canadian artists to showcase in international spaces is disrespectful and further neglects discriminated communities.

Arts

10 •queensjournal.ca

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Brittany Giliforte Assistant Arts Editor Crime updates via social media make for a thoroughly informed community—and a Queen’s student’s documentary aims to take it further.

Set to air at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Cam Barry’s documentary The Thin Blue [On]line profiles Kingston police and their social media presence.

Barry, ArtSci ’19, started his documentary as a school project but it quickly turned into a passion project with connections to his upbringing.

“My dad’s in policing so I had that emotional connection to it.

Coming to Kingston I noticed that one difference between my dad’s police service and the Kingston police service is that they have an extraordinary social media presence,” Barry told The Journal in an interview.

Wanting to differentiate himself from other film students, Barry intentionally chose a subject that didn’t directly cover Queen’s campus.

“I knew I wanted to break out of the Queen’s community and do a story on something else,” Barry said. “A lot of students use that as a crutch, doing a story on something at Queen’s because it’s easy to go—as a student—to another Queen’s area.”

Still from Cam Barry’s documentary.

INTERVIEW

woman’s symbol, and then at the end when it says man, just cross it out. And then draw a tiny dick. And then cross that out.”

“That was a test. That shouldn’t be there. That was a micro-aggression. And then put asterisk. And then go to the asterisk, and it’s just an infinity symbol,” she said in the special.

While her spelling is suspect, her stance on gender is clear: it doesn’t have to be a binary and people definitely don’t need to freak out about it.

When Smith brings her wisdom and insight to Kingston on March 4, she’s sure to show audiences that she’s a smart, kick-ass *w man. *∞

Student film to screen at Kingston Canadian Film Festival Favouring a more challenging approach, his project spiralled into something far bigger than he anticipated. After following all of the Kingston Police department’s social

media accounts, Barry began his research.

He connected with one officer, Fil Wisniak, after Wisniak reached out to compliment Barry’s photo

DeAnne Smith talks her ‘sneakiest’ stand-up Comedian discusses her approach to inclusive humour DeAnne Smith in Comedians of the World.

DeAnne Smith started out just like every other comedian—realizing she wasn’t funny.

“You think you’re funny and then sign up for an open mic and find out you’re not funny,” she said in an interview with The Journal.

“I went and I felt all the ways that people do when it’s their first open-mic night—the lights were too bright, I forgot my joke—but from there I couldn’t stop doing it.”

While she no longer forgets the jokes and is more accustomed to the lighting, Smith’s love of comedy hasn’t waned.

She’s planning to prove that to Kingston when she plays the Octave Theatre on March 4.

The stop will be one of the last on a tour that’s taken Smith across North America, and as far as Australia.

myself and represent another option,” she said.

In the show, she describes herself as agender, and says that rather than man or woman, her preferred gender identities are either trans-masculine house mouse or gentleman elf.

However, Smith also respects the limitations of the English language and knows that reviews such as these tend to use gender pronouns.

“If you’re a reviewer you can call me a woman, I won’t be offended,” she said, though she did offer specificities as to how she prefers it be spelled.

“I would just ask that you spell it a certain way, we’ll start off with the ‘W’ and then the ‘O’ should be a little

SUPPLIED BY CAM BARRY

Documentary explores Kingston crime and social media

COMEDY

Brigid Goulem Arts Editor

of a Kingston cop on a motorcycle.

Using this new inside connection, Barry’s Twitter DM requesting contact info eventually turned into an interview with the inspector in charge of the Kingston Police media department and their entire media officer team, as well as the chance to go on three ride-alongs.

“I liked the challenge of it and wanted to see if it was do-able. I thought it was a story I could tell and that it would help my career moving forward,” Barry said.

Barry’s film has already been viewed at the Durham Region International Film Festival, and is set to appear in two more: the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and the Belleville D ow n tow n Doc Fe s t , both in the first weekend of March.

For the Durham Region International Film Festival airing of his documentary, Barry wasn’t able to attend as it was scheduled during Queen’s Homecoming.

When Barry isn’t working on his film thesis, he works on the television show, Canadian Tradition, a hunting and fishing outdoor adventure show.

He’s the show’s director of photography and is set to sign a contract to work on the entirety of their next season, the 11th in the show’s history.

“I got to do some cool things at the tail-end of season 10 like go to Alberta and film three episodes there, and spend a lot of time in Ontario hunting white-tail and ducks in the late season in December,” Barry said.

He’s also working from his apartment to cut episodes together—all while being a fourth-year film student.

To go to Alberta, Barry had to “do a lot of begging,” but in the end, his film profs couldn’t deny that this was an incredible opportunity for him to get experience in the industry.

With his Kingston police social media documentary, Canadian Tradition photography and episode cutting, and his thesis documentary on the way, Barry’s making strides to achieve his dream of a career in film.

As Barry himself said, “All the stars aligned.”

The tour rounds out a landmark year for the comedian.

She recently released her special “Gentleman Elf” on Netflix for their COMEDIANS of the World series.

Smith had been working toward a special, and she was excited to join a project that highlights voices from all around the world.

The act in the special takes on gender and sexuality with non-threatening, welcoming humour. It indicates Smith is part of a new era of comedy that’s inclusive and uplifts the voices of marginalised people. For her, that comes naturally.

“I’ve always done kind of explicitly feminist, anti-oppressive type comedy. But I’ve always had to find a way to do that in the sneakiest way possible,” Smith said.

It was this kind of humour that went viral in 2017. Her clip “Straight men, step up your game,” has over two million views on YouTube.

SCREENSHOTS FROM COMEDIANS OF THE WORLD

In the clip, she warns straight men that women are getting tired of them. She knows this because her girlfriend—who only dated men before their relationship—was “easy to impress,” because the men in her life had been so inadequate as partners.

“I’m not talking to all of the men. I’m just talking to those of you who are feeling particularly defensive,” she says in the clip, highlighting how those who refuse to recognize their own flaws are the problem.

These themes of inequality, sexuality, and patriarchy make their way into “Gentleman Elf,” but Smith pays special attention to gender in the set.

“We’re in a cultural moment, we’re all kind of talking about gender and it feels like a bunch of people are kind of losing their heads about it—being threatened or not understanding it.

It was important to me to represent

Thursday, February 14, 2019

queensjournal.ca

Sports SIDELINE COMMENTARY

Determining the weight of words in sport Fifteen players and two coaches received suspensions for a brawl in a ockey game on Feb. 2.

How a brawl in a U Sports hockey game questions disciplinary action in varsity sport Matt Scace & Maggie Gowland Sports Editors When it comes to extreme circumstances, there’s never a correct answer.

Extreme circumstances are exactly what the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) officials have faced over the past two weeks after 15 men’s hockey players and two head coaches were involved in a bench-wide hockey brawl on Feb. 2.

The brawl was incited by comments from Acadia Axemen men’s hockey player Rodney Southam, 22, telling St. FX X-Men forward Sam Studnicka, 24, that he looked “like a fu— rapist.” St. FX player Regan

MEN’S HOCKEY

Spears initiated the fight after Studnicka and Southam were paired up for a face-off at centre ice after the comments were made.

The incident has since garnered intensive media coverage.

Videos of up to four minutes long show players from both teams fighting, with gloves and sticks strewn over the ice as referees and other players try to end the altercation. Both teams’ coaches can also be seen screaming profanities at one another.

The fallout of the brawl begs the question of how to differentiate friendly trash-talking from hate speech: how can a university’s governing body discipline the type of indefensible behaviour that occurred in the AUS? Each coach received a 10-game suspension following the incident. Six Axemen and nine X-Men players were handed automatic suspensions, with supplementary discipline added after further review. The suspensions currently total 39 games, and will carry into the 2019-20 season if necessary.

Studnicka received a two-game

Gaels squeeze past Concordia in first game of playoffs Team wins 3-2, take early series lead Matt Scace Sports Editor A team’s season is defined by their peak performance—and most importantly, when they reach it.

The men’s hockey team peaked at the perfect time on Wednesday night in their opening first round playoff game against the Concordia Stingers, winning 3-2. The victory put the Gaels up 1-0 in the best-of-three series as they head to Montreal for game two on Friday.

“I thought that was our best performance this year,” Head Coach Brett Gibson told The Journal following the game.

After the two teams split their season series 1-1—with both games decided by a single goal—Queen’s and Concordia picked up right where they left off Wednesday at the Memorial Centre.

In the first period, Concordia broke out to score the game’s first goal within four minutes of the frame ending. It was a physical start for both teams, with

players landing hard hits early. Queen’s had difficulty setting up in the Stingers’ end, as Concordia outshot the Gaels 12-9 in the opening period.

“I thought we were nervous to start the game, but I loved our response after going down a goal,” Gibson said.

In the second, the Gaels got on the board off a point shot from second-year defenseman Will Brown—the first of his career with Queen’s—which was sealed with a fist bump from captain and all-time defenseman points leader, Spencer Abraham.

Nine minutes later, Concordia capitalized on a slashing penalty by Queen’s forward Mason Kohn, putting the Stingers back up 2-1. Queen’s dusted themselves off quickly, getting another contribution from their defense—a point shot from Abraham made its way past a scrum of players in front of the net, bringing the score to 2-2 going into the final period.

In the third, Queen’s gained the advantage after Concordia was called for a suspect tripping call. Ten seconds into the power play, Gaels’ leading scorer Slater Doggett put home his 11th goal in as many games, giving Queen’s a 3-2 lead and, effectively, the series advantage.

PHOTO BY MATT SCACE

suspension without any additions. Southam initially received two, with five additional, adding to a total of seven games.

The AUS men’s ice hockey regulations list the consequences of game misconduct penalties—but with gross misconducts such as this, penalties are subject to AUS disciplinary review.

The situation gets muddier from here.

In the OUA, Ontario’s equivalent to the AUS, gross misconducts are automatically subjected to review. “Making a travesty of a game”—ambiguously labelled as a gross misconduct—can lead to a three-game suspension.

At Queen’s, the Student Code of Conduct is upheld by the Non-Academic Misconduct (NAM) system, which extends over the Athletics & Recreation (A&R) department.

They outline a code of conduct for student athletes, as well as a list of sanctions and procedures for misconducts. When these rules are broken, individuals are subject to disciplinary review under A&R, who have the option to assess the case through the university’s NAM system.

Universities are, historically, removed from disciplinary action. But with comments that cross over the athletic sphere and into the personal, they can cause harm to more people than its target.

These athletes didn’t just participate in a fight: St. FX reacted defensively to a comment more harmful to Studnicka as a person than an athlete.

As such, disciplining athletes outside a “Maybe we caught a break, but we capitalized on that break on the power play,” Gibson said of how his team finished the game.

The Gaels shut the door on Concordia in the final eight minutes—goaltender Justin Fazio stopped all 17 shots that came his way in the period.

“I loved it,” Gibson said of his team’s overall performance. “Our motto these playoffs is one shift, one period, one game, and I thought they stayed in the moment.”

The Gaels’ ability to bounce back from adversity was the defining characteristic of the game, according to Gibson.

“That’s what you need: it’s resiliency in the playoffs. It’s one team in front of you, and you only have to focus on one team,” he said.

Gibson’s game plan for Wednesday’s game was to make sure each of his lines played a Concordia line that could highlight their strengths—something he took exceptional care in executing.

“In the playoffs, it’s all about matchups,” he said. “I felt I coached harder than I do in the regular season, because it’s a game of inches.”

With a 1-0 series lead, the Gaels have a chance to move into the OUA quarterfinals with a win in Montreal on Friday night.

• 11

multi-game suspension is a situation the according athletic bodies and universities should consider. Systems like NAM have the ability to dole out punishments outside of the rink for problems exceeding athletic misconduct.

But the next question we have to ask is: How exactly do you discipline athletes for their words?

No players were reported to be seriously injured as a result of the brawl. Though Studnicka and Southam both released statements declaring a level of emotional hurt, players involved weren’t concussed or injured. Despite the altercation, the consequential physical damages were minimal. In short, the suspension length for each player involved was highly subjective.

In a specific situation like this, there are bound to be gaps in policy, and to no fault of the OUA or AUS. The problem then, it seems, is cultural.

It’s unfair to make a blanket statement on the culture of hockey. But according to reports, similar cases of verbal abuse have followed Studnicka for much of his career.

The OUA can formally suspend players for trash talking, discriminatory slurs, and as mentioned, “making a travesty of the game.”

Most athletes would argue that if leagues were to crack down on trash talking, droves of players would spend games on the sidelines. But situations like this call to question what is deemed “trash talking.”

In this case, it’s hate speech.

If these instances are normalized as a form of trash-talking, this needs to be addressed by regulators of the sport.

Language that carries such impact shouldn’t be shrugged aside because it’s heard on the ice.

The coverage that’s come from the situation in the Maritimes is encouraging.

With the strong media coverage and statements from both sides, the sport’s been able to address underlying conduct issues that have followed a player—and likely others.

With the spotlight on university hockey, the conversation must continue after media coverage ends to enforce the difference between healthy competition and damaging behaviour.

The issue at hand has ultimately amplified a problem that remains blurry for referees and governing bodies. It’s something that can’t be decided with the blow of a whistle.

But with a proper investigation, players should know the implications of using destructive language. It’s bigger than acknowledging there’s an issue; it’s about holding athletes accountable for their words.

If the situation in the AUS shows us anything, it’s that hockey has room to grow.

A series victory would put them up against either the OUA second-seed Carleton Ravens (18-5-5) or UQTR Patriotes (14-11-3). Gibson said the Gaels will be looking to end the series as fast as they can.

“If you can end playoff series quick, it’s an advantage. You get to rest and prepare,” Gibson said, alluding to how his players will handle the next two days. “It’s just rest and reset.”

PHOTO BY MATT SCACE

Sports

12 •queensjournal.ca

SWIMMING

SQUASH

Women’s squash win fifth straight OUA title Gaels go undefeated to defend provincial title, men place second Matt Scace Sports Editor Few teams at Queen’s understand dominance better than the women’s squash team.

This past weekend, the Gaels defended their OUA banner for the fifth consecutive year, sweeping the tournament competition 42-0.

The men’s team finished with a silver medal behind the Western Mustangs, who claimed their 36th championship in a row.

First-year Sydney Maxwell was named OUA women’s MVP and Rookie of the Year after winning all six of her matches. Having won the Jester’s University League Crossover tournament three weeks earlier, the Gaels went into the tournament as its top seed.

“I wouldn’t say there was pressure,” Maxwell said. “We felt pretty confident going in.”

In six fixtures against the opposing six teams, the Gaels won each of its matchups, unwilling to lose a single match.

Queen’s swept Western in the finals, dropping just a single game. At final count, the Gaels won 126 games and lost four.

Maxwell, the cornerstone to the Gaels’ success, attributed the team’s overall chemistry to helping her on the court in her first OUA championship.

“In some of my matches I put the pressure on myself,” she said.

“It’s as much of a team sport as it is individual. I think some of [my matches] I’d go up and I’d lose the next [game], so it’d get a little scary, but the coaches and teammates would calm me down.”

Along with the team’s four other top players, Maxwell played

The women’s squash team.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

six matches over the course of the three-day tournament. After winning her first ma on Friday, she fought through three matches on Saturday and two more on Sunday. “ Eve r yo n e wa s so exhausted,” Maxwell said. “You’re not just playing, you’re watching everyone’s matches. You start at 9 a.m. and you’ll play, then watch the whole team until you play at 1 p.m. again.”

The women’s squash program, now owning a half decade worth of championships, has quickly developed into an OUA dynasty.

Maxwell said the team’s success has blossomed because they’ve recruited experienced talent across Ontario—which ultimately comes back to the strength the program has been able to show.

“I chose Queen’s because I knew they had a strong program,” Maxwell said, adding that as a recruit, reputation matters. “[It] makes a difference.”

In addition, Queen’s squad is one of the few in Ontario that has players who’ve competed at the junior level prior to arriving at Queen’s. She said the team’s history of in-match experience is what sets them apart from other programs in the OUA. “They have experience, and they want to play more. I think that was the case [this year]. We have a really deep lineup,” she said.

Looking to win a sixth consecutive banner in 2019-20, Maxwell said the Gaels are on track to maintain their competitiveness in the OUA—as well as their spirit of the game.

“Everyone on the team loves to play, it’s not just about the winning.”

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY SYDNEY MAXWELL

Queen’s picks up three medals at OUA Championships Two Gaels qualify for nationals

The women’s swimming team finished eighth overall and the men’s sixth.

Maggie Gowland Assistant Sports Editor The Queen’s swimming team didn’t quite blow their competition out of the water this weekend—but they came close.

At the swimming OUA Championships this past weekend, hosted by Brock University in St. Catherine’s, Ont., the Gaels saw steady improvement over previous seasons’ performances.

After securing eighth place finishes in 2016-17 and 2017-18, the men’s team finished sixth while the women landed in eighth for the second consecutive year.

Currently, the Queen’s swimming roster has 20 women and 11 men—18 women and all 11 men competed at the OUA Championships.

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who claimed first place, have owned the top of the men’s leaderboard for the past 15 years, and the women’s for the past five.

Fifth-year Steven Lee, who won two silver medals over the weekend, told The Journal that the talent gap between surrounding universities was smaller this year than in previous seasons.

“Normally, there’s a bigger difference between us and the team that’s one spot ahead of us,” he said. “This year, on the men’s side, we were only about 20 points [behind], which would be one first-place finish away from moving into fifth.”

In his five years at Queen’s, Lee said this year’s iteration was the most positive experience he’s had.

“In terms of the team atmosphere, we had the best feel that we’ve had,” Lee said.

“Everybody loved each other.

[There was] lots of cheering.”

In the men’s division, medals were also won by first-year Victor Uemera, who took home a bronze in the 200m individual medley, and Lee, with a pair of silvers in the 50m and 100m breaststroke races. Uemera and Lee’s medals individually qualified them for the U Sports

Championships, which take place in just over a week.

Lee also earned an OUA medal in his second year—he’s raced the past four at Queen’s—but said that he’s consistently come a spot off the podium in his races since.

“It’s really nice to sneak in and get a medal this time,” he said.

“There were two guys in the OUA who are very fast who graduated last year [and], with them gone, my fourth place moved into second.”

Lee also raced in the 200m breaststroke, but secured just a fourth-place finish.

On the women’s side, first-year Madison Otsuki qualified for U Sports in the 50m backstroke. She didn’t earn herself a spot on the podium, but her heat was fast enough to qualify for the national championships next week.

Lee said last year’s roster had few graduating students, allowing the program to build on its previous performances along with a crop of strong recruits—Otsuki and Uemera included.

“Everyone already had a good

PHOTO BY STEPHEN LEITHWOOD

base,” he said. “We definitely helped each other out, worked a lot together, and attendance was better this year than before.”

Historically, part of the problem for Queen’s swimming has stemmed from their recruiting, according to Lee. The swimming team is a varsity club—not a varsity team—meaning they receive a lower amount of funding.

As captain, Lee’s assisted first-hand with bringing prospective members to the team, but has struggled in such pursuits.

“Unfortunately, when we talk about joining the Queen’s swim team, [recruits] do research and find out we’re a club,” Lee explained. “They kind of jump to the assumption that we’re not very competitive because of that.”

Clearly, that’s not the case.

“We still go to U Sports, we still work just as hard, we still go to the pool seven days a week,” Lee said.

Lee, Uemera, and Otsuki will represent Queen’s at the U Sports Championships Feb. 21 to 23 hosted by the University of British Columbia.

INFORMATION FOR ALL STUDENTS IMPACTED

BY SEXUAL VIOLENCE GET HELP, GIVE HELP queensu.ca/sexualviolencesupport Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Coordinator, Barb Lotan bjl7@queensu.ca

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Lifestyle

queensjournal.ca

• 13

STUDENT LIFE

Missed connections at Queen’s The Journal helps students reconnect with potential soulmates

Ally Mastantuono Assistant Lifestyle Editor When walking down University Avenue or grabbing a snack at the ARC, it’s easy to pass someone who catches your eye. Working up the nerve to ask them out, on the other hand, can be a daunting task.

This Valentine’s Day, The Journal wants to help students connect with the ones that got away. If you think you’re the special someone mentioned in one of these anonymous stories and want to contact the writer, email journal_lifestyle@ams.queensu.ca.

My missed connection is with a fellow Mamma Mia! fan at a house party.

We got into a long discussion about the sequel and its merits, which just so happens to be one of my favourite drunk conversation topics. I wholeheartedly believe that the “Dancing Queen” scene with boats is a cinematic masterpiece.

We sat in the upstairs hall of the house party for what must have been a half hour. We withstood drunk people puking in the nearby bathroom and a group of guys turning off lights downstairs to “save the planet.”

We chatted until my housemate, who thought I was dead in a ditch somewhere, discovered me sitting with him. I wonder if we have anything in common besides our undying love for Meryl Streep. Perhaps we’ll meet again and find out.

Back in September, I was making pasta salad for a potluck and went to Metro to buy the ingredients. I was able to find everything I needed except for feta cheese.

I walked up and down the dairy aisle but had no luck.

I ended up asking an employee where I could find the cheese but he wasn’t sure where to find it either. Luckily, a nice lady overheard my question and said, “Sorry for listening in, but you can find the feta cheese across from the deli.”

We had a nice short exchange and then she left.

I never saw her again. It’s tragic.

On Jan. 4, I went to the Royal Ontario Museum to see the Wildlife Photography exhibit alone. None of my friends were available to go with me but I really wanted to see the exhibit before coming back to Queen’s.

I entered the museum, scanned my ticket, and saw him. He was looking at the display cases across the lobby clutching a leather ArtSci jacket. I debated going up to him to say I also go to Queen’s, but decided it was creepy and moved on.

I was 10 minutes into the Asia gallery when I saw him again, alone as well. We both worked our way through the gallery in close proximity before my scheduled entry into the Wildlife exhibit.

About an hour later, I went to see the Ancient Greece exhibit. There he was again. We continued walking through the exhibit until I had to leave to catch my bus.

Whoever you are: You are so cute and I wish I’d said hi!

My buddy and I went out to support our friend at the Focus Film Festival. And by support our friend, I mean we got a little wild. Eventually, we got kicked out.

Before the night’s calamitous conclusion, we met one woman who stood up for us.

Someone was filming my friend, the woman, and me. She said: “I didn’t sign a consent form.”

Not only was it a nice burn, but her eyes were among the most beautiful I’d ever seen. Her love of fun was also a rare thing among adults who’ve lost their zest for life. That night, I didn’t have the chance to talk to her properly but her, my friend, and I got along really well.

I was wearing an old, tacky hat and shades the whole night so she doesn’t even know what I look like. It’d mean the world to me if I could get just one chance to meet her again.

To read more Queen’s missed connections, visit queensjournal.ca/ lifestyle GRAPHIC BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

TV REVIEW

Netflix’s Tidying Up with Marie Kondo makes organization spiritual Jasnit Pabla News Editor “My mission is to spark joy in the world through cleaning.”

These are among the first words guru, author, and internet sensation Marie Kondo says on her new Netflix series, Tidying Up, released Jan. 1, 2019.

Kondo has taken the organizational and minimalist décor world by storm since the release of her 2014 self-help book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. It focuses on organizing your home through a simple, thoughtful method called KonMari, which emphasizes evaluating what possessions we should keep based on the amount of joy they bring us.

The success of her first book and minimalism’s growing

Finding happiness with the KonMari method popularity—which is prevalent in contemporary interior design—have contributed to Kondo’s mainstream appeal. She’s been featured on late-night shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and even hosted a one-on-one organizing session with American comedian Hasan Minhaj, star of Netflix’s Patriot Act. While Kondo has a charming presence onscreen, what she represents through her approach to organization is her most important trait.

Born in Tokyo, she specializes in helping people declutter their homes to create better environments for personal growth.

Her philosophy isn’t built on having less, it’s built on understanding the appeal of

material things.

She recognizes the value of sentimental items—like hand-made crafts—while focusing her attention on insignificant, neglected things in the home, such as old baby clothes. She begins her process by approaching each individual space separately, and decluttering it slowly in steps and by category.

Although Kondo may seem to merely fold items and stuff them into boxes, she forces people to ask whether or not the things they own make them happy.

Material items, according to Kondo, aren’t an evil. Instead, they can fulfil their full potentials by creating happiness for their owners.

Kondo asks simple questions

like, “When was the last time you wore this?” or, “Why is this special to you?” When there isn’t an easy answer, she’s quick to push for the item to be discarded.

This approach is an alternative to today’s consumer society, which fixates on accumulating more and more goods.

[Kondo’s] approach

plays as an antagonist to today’s consumer society, which fixates on accumulating more and more goods.

When using the KonMari method, you ask whether the space you’re inhabiting is positively contributing to your

lifestyle, or is a representation of your cluttered mind. Kondo emphasizes an approach to cleaning which confronts and accepts your economic habits and their impact on your life.

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo depicts how versatile and adaptable the KonMari method is. Ranging from large families to single-person dwellings, Kondo tackles each situation with a light-hearted, envy-inducing grace.

It’s the perfect show to inspire an apartment clean-up with your housemates, or complement an evening picking apart your wardrobe.

Kondo’s genuine nature and philosophy of finding joy in what we own makes tidying and organizing one’s space a thoughtful, spiritual experience.

Lifestyle

14 •queensjournal.ca

Thursday, February 14, 2019

LIFE HACKS

Choosing your Reading Week persona Helping you decide who to be over the break

The hometown hero

Ally Mastantuono Assistant Lifestyle Editor Reading Week is fast approaching, which means most students are caught wondering how to make the most of their well-deserved break.

For some, Queen’s will soon be nothing more than a receding speck in their rearview mirror. Others will spend the week stomping through Kingston’s winter wonderland, enjoying the perks of an almost student-free city.

Whether you’re heading back home or hopping on the next flight to Bermuda, it’s natural to start the week feeling blissfully free but end it questioning whether you’ve used your precious time wisely.

In an effort to help students decide how best to use their nine glorious days without school, The Journal compiled a list of five off-the-clock personas suitable for any extended break.

Whichever one you choose to live, try to remember Reading Week is designed as a breather from school-related stress, despite its taunting name. Don’t beat yourself up over what you do, or don’t do, during your time off.

The hometown hero is the student eager to return home, reunite with family, and visit their high school friends. Since last semester’s two-week holiday break is a distant memory, they’re ready for all the hugs and homemade meals Reading Week has to offer.

This person will happily fill up on corny dad jokes and spend evenings at the nearest Cineplex, bonding with their younger siblings. They’ll frequent the local mall with friends to share tidbits of drama and gorge on cheap delicacies from the food court. If time permits, they might even consider attending their second cousin’s dance show, despite not knowing exactly who their second cousin is.

The hero also plans to condense months of quality time into a week. They won’t be able to do it all, but they deserve a round of applause for trying.

The hibernating bear It’s no secret that, as Queen’s students, eight hours of sleep isn’t always on the agenda. Exams, assignments, and extracurriculars have a knack for keeping us up all night, covered in stress sweat and dreaming about deadlines.

The hibernating bear is the student who devotes the whole break to getting some much-needed rest. During the few hours per day spent awake, they can be found watching Netflix in bed or warming Pop Tarts in the toaster.

As with a real bear, disturbing their slumber comes with life-threatening risks.

they go to show how much fun they’re having.

The rest of us can live vicariously through their travel diaries and envy-inducing tweets. Or we can take comfort in knowing that returning to a cold, snowy Kingston will prove all the more difficult for them.

STUDENT STORIES

The dreamer

The overachiever

Perhaps the rarest of all, the overachiever is the student who spends the majority of their break plodding through coursework. In other words, they take the term “Reading Week” to heart.

The world traveller

The world travellers are the lucky few who spend their week abroad, practicing their backstroke in Florida or exploring the cliffs of Scotland.

Whether splayed out on a beach or sipping champagne on a Parisian balcony, they’ll make sure to post photos wherever

essay everyone else blocks from memory before the end of the first weekend. When Monday after the break hits, they’ll undoubtedly walk into class happy as clams. As much as we’ll hate them the day before a deadline when they’re at home relaxing, they deserve a high five for their hard work.

While some overachievers play catch up, finishing all the tasks they neglected during the first half of the term, others get ahead.

These special few will finish the

The dreamer wants everything during the break. They plan to catch up on all their schoolwork, connect with every single friend and family member, and spend afternoons taking road trips with their dog.

Unfortunately, they often set expectations so high that results seem tragically low. In the end, one of the only things they’ll manage to accomplish is bingeing an entire season of TV with their mom.

Luckily for the dreamer, the optimism that made them hopeful is the same optimism that will soften not being able to achieve every goal. Keep shooting for the stars, dreamers.

PHOTOS BY TESSA WARBURTON

How The Sims taught me the horrors of online shopping

Josh Granovsky Lifestyle Editor

Conning my way out of $300 in virtual furniture

Online shopping has made it my friends took to the game like simpler than ever to seamlessly I did, interior design comprised acquire items you don’t need. most of my Sims experience, and I Luckily for my credit score, I was devastated that the Sims Store learned the dangers of digital had nothing left to offer me. purchases early in life thanks to a But I wasn’t ready to stop. daring encounter with The Sims.

I had my eye on a bright-red My parents didn’t allow me three-person couch since I started get Facebook until eighth grade. playing; it was my favourite Like any kid entering a new, colour and the couch fit perfectly unmonitored environment, between my two virtual side I overused every feature the tables. However, this couch had platform had to offer. I poked all to be purchased with ‘diamonds,’ 70 of my friends hourly, posted also known as real money—which, regularly about my chocolate as a 12-year-old, I had none of. milk intake levels and challenged I clicked on the payment people to any games possible. options out of curiosity and It took me a few months to find saw a new method where the my niche on the site, but a rogue charge would be tacked on to ad eventually led me to my true my phone bill. I’d just gotten a calling: The Sims Social.

BlackBerry knockoff a few months The Sims Social was earlier—and it had such low Facebook’s version of the functionality that it was once famous computer game, The stolen and returned to me Sims, which was a hallmark of with a note that read, “This my childhood. You could create phone is s—t.” a virtual person, interact with I figured my parents your friends, and decorate a wouldn’t notice an extra $2 digital home. It was heaven. charge on my phone bill, so I played the game I entered my number and constantly, eventually using purchased the digital couch. every cent I had of the I couldn’t believe how easy game’s virtual currency the entire process to purchase the was and further entirety of rewarded my Sim their furniture with a ‘diamond’ collection. bed. After the bed, SUPPLIED BY JOSH GRANOVSKY Since none of I bought a fridge,

followed by a swanky lamp and a matching carpet. I didn’t keep track of my purchases but figured they couldn’t have exceeded more than a few dollars.

My dad walked into my bedroom a few weeks later and asked me if I knew what the $300 in extra charges on my phone bill were. Deducing there was no way to explain to him the necessity of buying furniture that doesn’t actually exist, I told him I had no idea.

We called up my phone provider as I waited for my lie to be exposed and my iPod to be confiscated. That’s when I discovered I had a guardian angel.

He was a customer service agent named Tim. Tim explained there was a virus going around called “Super Texts,” where spambots could non-detectably text a phone and charge ridiculous sums.

The concept made no sense, but I welcomed it. Tim ending up removing the charges and giving me a credit for next month’s phone bill to make up for the inconvenience.

While my Sims Social experience has mostly scared me from continued online shopping, it also shaped my formative attitude towards the Internet. In the game, every choice I made felt

low-risk and unimportant, though it obviously produced real-life consequences. Racking up Sim debt taught me to assign value to my online activity, whether I’m buying headphones or commenting on a post.

Despite perhaps bringing me unnecessary stress, thinking my digital actions through steers me away from thoughtlessly using my online freedom without considering its effects. One wrong turn can leave you with hundreds of dollars worth of non-existent couches, and a lot of gratitude for a great man named Tim.

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Lifestyle

Thursday, February 14, 2019

queensjournal.ca

• 15

EXCHANGE DIAIRES

Reflecting on a month of studying abroad Lessons on how to avoid exchange nerves

Eva Stein and Sydney Sheridan, both ArtSci ’20.

Eva Stein Staff Writer The start of a semester abroad is dominated by a mix of excitement and anxiety. Many Queen’s students will soon experience that when they receive their exchange acceptances and become filled with questions about their journeys overseas.

I’ve been on exchange at the University of Oslo (UiO) in Norway since January. Here are some details from my experience and those of other Queen’s students currently studying around the world. These stories can hopefully provide answers

SUPPLIED BY EVA STEIN

to some of exchange’s seemingly daunting unknowns.

Arriving abroad

I flew to Oslo alone and was met at the airport by students from UiO, who gave me very clear instructions on how to get to the main train station. Met by more students at the station, a group of us were escorted to pick up our room keys and go to our various residences. The entire process was very straightforward and I never felt like I was floundering in a strange city.

Sydney Sheridan, ArtSci ’20, studying at the University

CULTURAL COMMENTARY

of Edinburgh, initially thought her fears of a difficult move-in process were coming true. When she first moved in, she was given a card with the same room number as someone else and worried she’d lost the single room she’d been promised. However, after discovering she did in fact have her own room, Sydney learned to remain calm and let things play out before jumping to conclusions.

Even if your arrival doesn’t go as planned, don’t panic because there are always ways to improve your predicament.

At the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Evan Latsky, Eng ’20, wasn’t happy with his original living situation. The apartment he was first placed in grouped him with locals, who were uninterested in the kind of tourism Latsky hoped to experience as an exchange student. But by speaking with his university’s administration, he was able to move into a new apartment with other exchange students.

Managing culture shock

As many warned me, culture shock is real. But it’s also manageable and not always jarring.

Ariana Grande bares her soul in thank u, next Popstar’s latest collection is a heart-wrenching rollercoaster ride This story was published online on Feb. 12.

Tegwyn Hughes Copy Editor Ariana Grande’s new album, thank u, next, dropped last Friday

and is full of depth, lyricism, and perfection—to nobody’s surprise.

The album, which features previously-released songs “7 rings,” “imagine,” and the titular “thank u, next,” is an ode to singledom, luxury, and truthfulness.

It’s the perfect counterpart to

Grande’s last album, Sweetener, which had a softer, more romantic tone. Considering the tumultuous six months Grande’s had since her last release, the stark contrast between the records makes sense.

The album starts off with two dreamy tunes, “imagine” and “needy,” before transitioning into standout track “NASA.” “NASA” highlights the singer’s need to have space—pun intended—from her partner. It’s a departure from most pop songs, which are known for focusing on love, lust, and everything in between. In the song’s bridge, Grande sings, “You don’t wanna leave me, but I’m tryna self-discover / Keep me in your orbit and you know you’ll drag me under.”

Grande’s new self-awareness shows she’s departed from her previous album’s idealism. In her previous EP’s title track “sweetener,” she sings, “I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, it’d be so sour.”

Now, Grande is her own source of sweetness.

The middle tracks of thank u, next convey similar feelings of empowerment. Songs like “bloodline,”“bad idea”and “make up” leave behind notions of romance in favour of sexuality and fun without attachment; fifth track “fake smile” shows Grande’s

This is my second time studying abroad, having spent my first year at the Bader International Study Centre (BISC). As a result, I had some idea of what it’s like to show up alone in a foreign country.

I didn’t experience much culture shock at BISC since everyone around me was Canadian. But studying at UiO is a very different experience from Queen’s.

At first, it was strange to be in a city where English isn’t the primary language. However, I’ve discovered all it takes to get over this barrier is the confidence to speak to people in English and not be worried whether or not they’ll understand. Be polite and friendly, and people will be happy to help.

Ofir Rabinoviz, ArtSci ’20, studying at College University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, experienced some cultural differences upon her arrival to Holland, but was pleasantly surprised by how friendly Dutch people were.

Rabinoviz observed many of her classmates can be blunt, which, despite good inentions, might come across as rude. For example, when someone asked a question in Rabinoviz’s class, one student audibly replied, “Google it!” While this initially made her uncomfortable, she realized it isn’t actually offensive in the Netherlands, and now takes less to heart.

Meeting new people

Basic anxieties you haven’t considered since first year, like

Ariana Grande.

commitment to honesty, as she sings, “F—k a fake smile.”

Arguably the most heart-wrenching track on the album, “ghostin,” brings her personal struggles back into focus.

Grande bares her soul in this tribute to rapper Mac Miller, her ex-boyfriend who passed away last year.

The song, in Grande’s words, is about “feeling badly for the person you’re with [because] you love somebody else. [F]eeling badly [because] he can tell he can’t compare.”

Although it hasn’t been confirmed by the singer, the lyrics seem to describe how Grande thought about Miller while she was with comedian Pete Davidson, who she was engaged to until

making friends, will probably creep back in during the start of your exchange. In general, I’d say exchange students are some of the most fun and welcoming people you’ll meet throughout undergrad. Exchange programs attract students who are eager to explore and try new things with new people.

It’s also important to know that your friends may change over your time abroad, and that’s extremely common. It’s hard to be sure who your closest friends will be from the outset—don’t be reluctant to bounce around different friend groups. Give everyone you meet a chance, as you may be surprised by who you gravitate towards.

Staying mentally healthy

Studying abroad is a large step out of your comfort zone, and it can be difficult to keep your emotions balanced. I’ve learned the best way to make yourself comfortable in new surroundings is to take advantage of where you are. Go to exchange events and mingle, and get involved with different programs at your host school. Making friends is key to keeping a positive attitude away from home.

It’s equally important to give yourself time to explore places independently, acclimate to your new home and check in on your emotions. This will help build your confidence while reducing your stress and anxiety.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH GRANOVSKY

October of 2018.

She sings, “Though I wish he were here instead / Don’t want that living in your head / He just comes to visit me / When I’m dreaming every now and then.”

The song has only sparse instrumentals and an ethereal sampling of a slowed-down version of Miller’s own song, “2009,” from his 2018 album Swimming.

To read the rest of this review, visit queensjournal.ca/ lifestyle

Lifestyle

16 •queensjournal.ca

Thursday, February 14, 2019

POSTSCRIPT

Being Black, queer, and hopeful for our future Finding my identity and breaking stereotypes

For Trevell, one of the greatest challenges has been reconciling his Blackness with his sexual orientation.

Trevell Hamilton Contributor

I found it difficult to connect with other men during high school because I didn’t feel masculine enough to fit in, even when we shared similar interests. Nonetheless, I was still able to make some male friends and I’d like to imagine we had fairly decent relationships.

But I faced a significant issue when trying to relate to Black men.

There’s an excessive number of depictions of Black men within the media, our own community, and in neighbouring communities, as individuals who are overly masculine, have a natural capacity to excel at sports— particularly basketball and football—and who dress in a certain manner.

These qualities failed to align with my own personal identity.

Besides being awfully mediocre at certain sports, I wasn’t particularly masculine, and neither was my clothing style. I was the opposite of the caricature.

“

The crux of the issue was many of the Black men I encountered failed to identify themselves outside of this rigid box of masculinity.

”

The crux of the issue was many of the Black men I encountered failed to identify themselves outside of this rigid box of masculinity—dressing a certain way, playing sports, and being sexually dominant.

To them, being a Black male

was synonymous with adhering to this depiction. In many cases, I believed so too. This ultimately led to a myriad of issues concerning my own identity as a Black man and what that meant, if anything at all. But this doesn’t mean I stood on a moral high ground where I superseded the confines of race and the stereotypes that emerge from it.

On the contrary, I constantly felt the effects of my race growing up, but I most prominently felt them when interacting with other Black men. I was unable to connect with most of them, sometimes leading me to imitate their actions and styles of dressing to more easily fit in.

constantly felt the “Ieffects of my race

growing up, but I most prominently felt them when interacting with other Black men.

”

At the same time, I felt I needed to engage in discussions with them about negative media portrayals and the ways they sometimes became real life manifestations of those portrayals.

I didn’t see myself in my Black male peers, but I also failed to see myself anywhere else in the media.

In cases where I saw gay men, they were usually white. When I saw characters with interests similar to mine, like watching anime, writing for fun, and jamming to The Smiths, they were never Black.

I began to believe this stereotype about Black men, and I even began to detest those who fit into it.

Eventually, I realized it was misguided wishing to confront these men about their stereotypical actions. While there were cases where the Black men I interacted with held similarities to the tropes in television and movies, it was also true that there was—and still is—an important distinction to be made between people and portrayals.

Black men are real people within the world who possess multifaceted personalities, identities, backgrounds, and interests. Portrayals only abstract an individual without accounting for the realities of having a lived experience.

And, like every Black man has his own experience, I have mine.

As I explore my own personal identity, I often come to realize that one of the greatest challenges I’ve faced thus far has been trying to reconcile my Blackness with my sexual orientation.

Often, I’m concerned about which identity to give priority to. Sometimes, in conversation, I’ll disclose my sexuality to others, either immediately or progressively without discussing my race. Other times, I speak mostly about my Blackness with little regard to my sexual orientation. I’ve tried to distinguish my Blackness from my sexuality, as if it were possible.

It’s tremendously difficult to recount my experiences as a Black gay male because I regularly failed to account for the unique ways in which both identities intersect. This includes recognizing the ways this intersection has positioned me

within my own community, and the social structures of the world.

But I was approaching these issues in an entirely unproductive manner. I don’t need to grant one identity primacy because distinct parts shaped into one singular form of my identity.

I’m not gay one day and Black another. I am a constant conjunction of both amongst other things, like my seriously unhealthy love for philosophy, that comprise the whole of my identity.

However, on many occasions, I’ve felt excluded from the gay community due to my racial identity. There have also been times I’ve felt excluded from the Black community due to my sexuality. As a result, I regularly found myself bearing feelings of isolation and seclusion.

I’m not the only gay “Black person, and I

won’t be the last. It’s an experience that needs to be accounted for in comprehensive fashion.

”

However, I’m not the only gay Black person, and I won’t be the last. It’s an experience that needs to be accounted for in comprehensive fashion.

We need to create spaces that Black bodies can occupy, but we also need to construct those spaces in ways that permit the existence of marginalized individuals within our own Black community.

Our social position greatly impacts our experience and serves as our starting point. It helps shape the lens we see the world through while informing how the

PHOTO BY CHRIS YAO

world sees us.

Sometimes these lenses keep us from acknowledging the reality of being placed in a different location. Other times, or so I hope, they allow us to recognize that there are subjective experiences people have, experiences which are valid even if we don’t have direct access to them ourselves.

There’s no singular experience, even for those from the same group. Sometimes, our own communities are where the greatest amount of diversity occurs.

Even with our individual identities, most groups still have lots of common ground. We all have goals, and sometimes they differ, or even conflict with each other, but one basic goal we all share is the desire to flourish. We all want to grow and succeed, and we want to see our loved ones do the same.

A roadblock to flourishing is a lack of cohesion. If the Black community is to thrive, we must protect those within our community who are most marginalized, and we must do so immediately.

The only path to success is solidarity, and the only way forward is love and support for our Black brothers, sisters, and everyone in between; love for those who exist within the centre of the fold and love for those who exist along the margins.

Not only must we love those sidelined, we must also bring them to the forefront of our movements and vindicate their realities.