Volume 83, Issue 3

EDITOR

Desirée Nikfardjam news.editor@thefulcrum.ca

U of O professor reignites debate about appropriate use of the ‘N-word’

Students felt “completely turned off” and “extremely uncomfortable”

On Sept. 20, the Fulcrum reported on the start of arbitration be tween the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO) and Verushka Lieutenant-Duval, and the University of Ottawa (U of O). The arbiter will evalu ate two grievances filed in relation to Lieutenant-Du val’s suspension by the U of O resulting from the professor’s use of the ‘N-word’ in September 2020.

The same day the piece was published, the Fulcrum received an email from a student who claimed another discus sion about the use of the ‘N-word’ was instigated by a professor in a sec ond-year political science course on Sept. 19.

“The class was having a discussion about the assigned reading that was about Socrates, the philosopher, and his moral reasoning on justice. Then suddenly the professor brought up the n-word

by saying ‘like the n-word situation… that’s right I’m gonna talk about it.’ He brought it up as a way to justify all ideas and words to be allowed in a class room,” said the student, who asked to remain anonymous, as they are still a student within the faculty. They will be re ferred to as L.D. through out the remainder of this article.

While the racial slur itself was never used, L.D. said the discussion made them feel “extreme ly uncomfortable” and “unsafe,” which prompted L.D. and other students to disagree with the profes sor.

“A few students actively engaged in dis course with him about disagreeing with his state ments, including me. Tell ing him that he doesn’t have the right to say the word, and regardless of in tent, the word is inherent ly unjust and will always be harmful, and he continued to disagree,” L.D. added.

Another stu dent, who identifies as Black, and also requested

to remain anonymous for reasons similar to L.D., decided to leave partway through the discussion, and later made changes to her course schedule as a result of the experience.

“I left class ear ly with an understand ing that we would not be learning anything that day,” she said. “The igno rance that was demon strated in that class made many people think about dropping out of the class. I myself dropped … because I could not be in a learning environment that was ac tively hostile to Black peo ple.”

In an interview with the Fulcrum, profes sor Jean-Rodrigue Paré said he intended the dis cussion to focus on the assigned readings about freedom of expression.

“The discussion was about Socrates, and how Socrates was silenced by the Greek city of Athens for his position. And then, I used John Stuart Mill’s argument, saying that the freedom to express one’s ideas should be unlimited, because we never know if

we are silencing someone. We never know if we are silencing the next Socra tes.”

Paré said during the discussion, he also cited Scottish philosopher David Hume’s argument that “ideas, concepts, the ories, words, and objects do not hold their own moral value in [and of] themselves.”

“I felt this unease in the classroom … And then I said, ‘Oh, I get it. You’re thinking about the ‘N-word’.’ Then somebody asked me the question, ‘So do you believe that the ‘N-word’ can be used with good intentions?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, because this is absolutely what I be lieve.’”

The following day, professor Jean-Ro drigue Paré sent an email to students from POL 2107, further elaborating on his statements.

“The argument I was making last night is the following: all words, including the N-word, may be used for just or unjust purposes. What will define the justice or injustice of

OSAP funding cuts: students feel the impact of 2019 changes

such use, is the intent of the person who spoke it. It has nothing to do with the word itself, and therefore it is useless to combat the intent by censoring it.”

In Nov. 2021, the U of O released a report by the Committee on Aca demic Freedom, including recommendations for how to create a common un derstanding of academic freedom and freedom of expression at the universi ty.

The Committee wrote that it was “against the exclusion of words, works or ideas in the con text of respectful academic presentations and discus sions whose educational goal is to promote the dis semination of knowledge,” and within its recommen dations, said that students should be given advance notice or content warn ings before sensitive or potentially harmful topics are broached in class dis cussions.

The full report is available to read on the University’s website.

Since 2019, the Ontario’s Progressive Con servative government has received criticism for mod ifying some Ontario Stu dent Assistance Program (OSAP) eligibility criteria and funding regulations.

Now, low-in come students only re ceive 10 per cent of their funding as loans, and the six-month interest-free grace period after gradu ation has been eliminated.

In addition, dependent students whose parents earn more than $140,000 annually are no longer el igible to receive grants.

To offset some of these changes, the Ford government reduced tu ition fees by 10 per cent and froze the cost of tui tion for two years — which has now been extended through 2023.

Nonetheless, students at the University of Ottawa have taken to Reddit to voice their dis pleasure at receiving less

OSAP funding compared to previous years, and to express feelings of anxi ety over their precarious financial situations.

“OSAP funding was cut by Ford, most peo ple got less than they nor mally would have. Mine doesn’t cover my tuition either. I’m barely affording rent and bills at this point because I had to pay a lot of my tuition out of pock et,” wrote one student on Reddit.

While he still lives at home with his

parents, Alp Tatar — a second-year student com pleting a double degree in electrical engineering and computing technology at the U of O — can relate to the financial stress of his online peers.

“My parents [earn] somewhere be tween $100,000 and $150,000 as they’re both engineers. However, this money isn’t a lot after all the mortgages, taxes, my sisters with learning dis abilities’ needs, tutors, etc. Previously the OSAP

last gave my parents more wiggle room to set money aside … However, due to their initial high income, my OSAP got cut.”

Like many oth ers, Tatar became ineli gible for grants through OSAP due to his parents’ income. Now, he works two part-time jobs outside of school to help repay his loans.

“No grants were given to me, only loans. I work at Loblaws as an on line pick-up desk clerk and deliverer. I also work as a

“Anyone else’s OSAP funding so low compared to other years?”

Yannick Mutombo

Yannick Mutombo

coding teacher for my lo cal mosque,” he added.

Though he is glad to have the opportunity to reduce the financial bur den on his parents, Tatar expressed some discon tent at the circumstances.

“I love my par ents and they mean the world to me … it really sucks and I sort of feel like I got launched into adult hood in a sense. I was do ing the coding workshops for kids as a hobby as I love teaching and initially refused payment for do ing it … but because of the [OSAP] cuts it really threw

my life and family under. I had to run back with my tail tucked in September to teach coding and ask for money for this teach ing term.”

When Maryam Atoyebi applied to OSAP to pay for a course in pub lic relations and communi cations at Seneca College from January to August 2022, she was surprised that her funding wasn’t enough to cover both her tuition and the cost of her textbooks.

“My tuition for the course was supposed to be a little over $5,400.

I received $3,200 from my first payout and $1,500 for the second. I had to place several calls and show documentation to prove why I couldn’t pay the dif ference. They eventually paid the difference and I got just very little left over to buy textbooks.”

In response to the 2022 Ontario budget — which includes a $1 billion cut to OSAP and post-secondary education financial assistance com pared to what was avail able in 2018-2019 — the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario stated

it “strongly condemns the unsettling and negli gent trend of eroding PSE through underfunding,” and that “it is time to in vest in students and public institutions.”

U of O alumnus launches free tool to help renters connect with verified landlords

Cios Verify was created with the hopes of streamlining the rental process for both landlords and tenants alike

Alongside co-founder Victor Peter, CEO Terry Wang launched Cios Verify on Oct. 6 — a free tool to help renters, particularly those who don’t have the credit his tory or experience that many more-practiced renters would, get pre-ap proved by landlords for rentals in their communi ty. Their mission: to help make the renting process easier for everyone.

Through a part nership with fintech pro vider Plaid, Cios — a spin on the Irish word for to rent — Verify matches tenants with local land lords based on their pref erences and proven finan cial budgets for housing. It allows tenants to create and access verified reports by connecting their bank accounts with Cios.

According to Wang, trust is at the heart of the system.

“If people trust ed each other more on that side, we could ex pedite so many of these processes,” said Wang in an interview with the Ful crum. “We want to create more trust on that side, the benefit of both ten ants and for landlords.”

Cios Verify works by having prospective ten ants connect their bank or financial institutions.

Based on your monthly in come, Verify pre-approves tenants and securely shares results with local landlords and rental own ers.

By using finan cial statements instead of solely employment his tory, Cios Verify hopes to make it easier for those who earn their income through non-traditional means of freelancing, con tracting, and self-employ ment to find rental prop

erties in their area.

Wang hopes the new tool will help stream line the rental process, and help tenants and landlords alike sleep easier knowing it has been verified by the service.

“All this data is out there, it’s available, right? Why are we filling out these forms? And why are we going through these processes? And why are we making landlords and tenants spend hours on this stuff?” Wang ex plained. “Rental applica tions… really, the thing is, you spend hours on them

and at the end of the day, they’re not really they’re not actually very effec tive.”

Currently, Wang estimates the process for approval and matching tenants with landlords through Cios Verify will take roughly 30 days. Long term, they hope to bring this down to within a week.

“Within the next year, we want to shorten that data, but then five days, ideally within one,” said wang. “What we’ll be able to do with this verifi cation product, hopefully,

is save a lot of that middle paperwork step.”

Wang graduated from the Telfer School of Management at the U of O in 2021 with a Bachelor of Commerce, and part nered with the U of O’s Startup Garage, started Cios alongside CTO Peter in early 2022.

For now, the Ver ify service is available in English nationwide, and the co-founders hope to have French support avail able sometime in the near future.

Hailey Otten

Cios Verify is partnered with the U of O through the Entrepreneurship Hub’s Startup Garage. Image: Cios Verify/Provided.

Students at the U of O have expressed feelings of anxiety over their precarious financial situations. Image: Charles Deluvio/Unsplash.

ARTS EDITOR Victoria Drybrough arts@thefulcrum.ca

Fictionalized lives: Hollywood’s obsession with biopics

Critics found Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe biopic to be exploitative of the late Hollywood star

Content Warning: This ar ticle deals with sexual as sault, sexual violence, and suicide.

A biopic (short for biographical picture) is a movie that dramatiz es the life of a historical or current public figure. In them, an actor (or some times multiple actors por traying different ages) fills the role of the main char acter — the fictionalized real human being.

It’s worth men tioning a biopic can, but often does not, involve the participation of a still-liv ing subject to ensure ac curacy. Family members and friends of deceased subjects have just as often shown their support as they have shunned biopic projects.

Biopics were popularized as a genre in the 1930s, after studios began making biographi cal films about public fig ures at the beginning of the 20th century. Studios were tempted by the op portunity to create a film about a real person whose story was already part of the cultural lexicon.

As the genre be came more modern in the mid-1950s, biopics mainly took a “warts-and-all” ap proach; they showcased both the attractive and unattractive sides of their subject.

Knowing that, it would make sense for a biopic’s goal to be to re count the true story of its subject’s life. But that isn’t necessarily always the in tention of the writer or director.

An article from Masterclass outlining the characteristics of biopics stated, “Filmmakers of

ten take creative liberties with the narrative of the subject’s life … to heighten the drama and make for a more compelling film. In some cases, a biopic may use surface-level facts about a person as a frame work for a narrative that is somewhat fictional.”

When it comes to making things up for the big screen, how far is too far?

Recently, Ana de Armas took on the role of Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) in Blonde (2022). The nearly three-hour mov ie showed scenes of the darkest parts of Monroe’s life as she was exploited by the film industry and the men within it.

The movie faced criticism from critics and audiences alike. Reviewers asked why a film studio

ages that drew crowds in the first place — only this time, it’s trendily femi nist.”

Director An drew Dominik created Blonde based on Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 novel of the same name. Both have fiercely defended the work in interviews, and on Twitter. To the British Film Institute, Dominik ex plained the film as fulfill ing his desire to tell a sto ry “about how childhood drama shapes an adult’s perception of the world.”

And about the graphic scenes, Dominik said, “I’m not concerned with being tasteful,” while Oates recommends to anyone uncomfortable with viewing sexual ex ploitation on-screen “just [to] not see it.”

The focus on the subject’s suffering

“sees biographies of men and women as essentially different genres.”

Beyond (and in cluding) the explicit scenes of the film, viewers are left wondering which aspects of it were true. One review explains how the movie “touches on a series of actual, factual events as a road map, from her mov ies to her marriages. But ultimately, it’s a fantasia of fame, which increasingly becomes a hellscape.”

Contrary to the earlier idea that the mov ie exists to recreate Mon roe’s sexual exploitation for the camera, the above review suggests these graphic scenes might ex ist “to show the extent to which the Hollywood machinery commodified her”, giving them a more substantive purpose in the film.

actual persons or events is intended.” IMDb calls it “a fictionalized chronicle of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe,” while simultane ously classifying the film as a biography.

Such disclaimers originate from lawsuits for defamation against film studios in the early days of biopics.

By disclaiming the work as fiction, writers and directors are allowed those ‘creative liberties’ to add fictional scenes among the factual events of a biopic to make the film more entertaining for audiences. Disturbingly, in Blonde, many of the add ed or unfounded scenes are the more controversial ones, including some de picting sexual assault and attempted murder.

The problem with the added contro versial scenes, as another of Blonde‘s critics thinks, is “many of the fictitious events in the movie will, in collective memory, turn into reality.” Monroe’s real life was difficult as it was, from her childhood to her death by suicide at 36, without added trauma for dramatic flair.

would decide to recreate Monroe’s lived trauma on-screen. An opinion piece from the Guardian offers one reason: “You can see the incentives for filmmakers. Make a biopic ‘commenting’ on a sex ually exploited celebrity, like Monroe or Anderson, and you get to recreate the same sexualized im

isn’t unique to Blonde. Author Dennis Bingham explained in his book on biopics, Whose Lives Are They Anyway?, that while biopics with men as sub jects tend to be celebra tory, those with women as subjects “are weighted down by myths of suf fering, victimization, and failure.” Bingham said he

While Blonde uses Monroe’s name, stars an actor who bears her resemblance, and close ly follows the chronolo gy of her life, the movie disclaims any similarity. A block of text following the credits said “the char acters and events depict ed in this program are fictitious. No depiction of

At the root of it, the intention — not au thenticity — of a biopic is one of its most important elements. Dominik decid ed to re-tell the story of Marilyn Monroe as the victim, which fell short for many viewers who are tired of hearing the same story of exploitation and victimization of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

A talented writ er and director, Dominik could have made a good movie, and he could have done so without using Marilyn Monroe’s name and story.

Victoria Drybrough

Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde (2022). Photo: Blonde/Plan B Entertainment.

Want to learn more about Diwali?

Here’s a rundown of the world’s brightest holiday

Diwali (also called Deepavali) is a hol iday that is celebrated by over one billion Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain people around the world. It is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Guyana, Mauri tius, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Di wali is also a major holiday in countries with signifi cant South Asian and Hin du populations, such as in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Each religion and culture that celebrates Di wali uses it to commemo rate different events, how ever, it always symbolizes “the triumph of light over darkness,” and good over evil.

In Hinduism, Di wali marks Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after fourteen years, and his vic tory over the demon king Ravana. After Ravana kid napped Ram’s wife, Sita, and brought her to Lanka,

Ram journeyed across In dia to rescue Sita, resulting in an epic battle that end ed with Ram killing Ravana and effectively ending the demon’s rule over Earth (this battle is commem orated during another holiday, Dussehra). Ram and Sita travelled home to Ayodhya on a moonless night, where their com munity welcomed them home by lighting clay oil lamps called diyas. The celebration of this event is called Diwali — a deriva tion of the Sanskrit word deepavali, meaning “row of lighted lamps.” It is also sometimes referred to as the Festival of Lights.

Diwali lasts five days, with specific celebra tions for each day. The first day, Dhanteras, celebrates the Goddess Lakshmi’s and God Dhanvantari’s emer gence from the ocean of milk. On this day, people clean and decorate their homes. It is considered an auspicious day, and many people purchase gold and silver.

The second day, Chhoti Diwali (meaning

‘little Diwali’), is an im portant time for mak ing or purchasing mithai (sweets) and festive foods.

The third day, Lakshmi Puja, is when prayers are offered to the Goddess Lakshmi, who is welcomed into the home to bring prosperity and good fortune. It is the main day of the festival, and is celebrated with de licious meals, sweets, gifts, decorations, and tradition al clothing.

Bali Pratipada, the fourth day, celebrates Vishnu’s defeat of Bali and a game of dice between husband and wife, Parvati and Shiva. The day is im portant for married cou ples, and usually includes gifts and feasts.

The fifth and final day is Bhai Dooj (meaning ‘brother’s day’). It’s when sisters give their broth ers blessings, food, and gifts to acknowledge their brother’s duty to protect them. Brothers often offer gifts to their sisters as well.

The festival of light is known for being a time of bright and colour

ful celebrations. Many families decorate their homes with rangoli, an art form that uses coloured rice, sand, and flowers to create intricate patterns, such as mandalas, faces of deities, flowers, and ani mals. Rangoli isn’t just for decorative purposes — it’s also one of the ways that people celebrating Diwali welcome the Gods or God desses into their homes. During the eve nings and nights of Diwali, families light diyas, hang lights and lanterns, light sparklers, and even use fireworks. These great displays of light commem orate Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya, and brighten one of the darkest nights of the year, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

A major aspect of Diwali is the food. The specific dishes differ ac cording to culture and re

The Fulcrum’s favourite Halloween movies: Scream (1996)

It’s October — let’s talk horror and Halloween

Scream (1996) is universal. Scream is a trea sure for the young, old, wide-eyed, and highbrow alike. I believe this movie could unite a nation. It is, easily, a must on my Hal loween watch list. I like to take this month as a chance to catch up on hor ror movies I haven’t seen yet. But, Scream always makes its way onto the list. In my mind, watching this movie is akin to light ing the Jack O’ Lantern: essential, uplifting, and timeless.

For those who haven’t yet had the glo rious chance to watch it,

Scream follows a group of teenage friends in 1990s California, as a masked killer slashes into their town. Our heroine, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), grieves the recent death of her mother while trying to ensure she doesn’t meet a similar fate.

From the elec trifying opening scene,

Scream makes its per sonality clear. This movie is funny, subversive, and grounded in a way the horror genre had never seen before. To this day, there hasn’t been another film which balances its iro ny and horror so perfectly. You will laugh. You will roll your eyes. But, most im portantly, you will also feel

the fun anxiety that any respectable scary movie should induce.

Sidney Prescott is as inexperienced with outrunning killers as most of her fellow heroines. She puts her trust in the wrong places, time after time. Nonetheless, she is unde niably one of the greatest final girls of all time.

Sidney has ex perienced tragedy which shaped her even before the Ghostface killer steps onto the scene. She’s young, yet perceptive. She makes mistakes but, when the moment comes, she steps up to her attackers with authority. Sidney’s courage and combative ness make her so easy to

ligion, but they are usually vegetarian. Snacks and foods are typically made from chickpeas (chan na), lentils (dhal), spinach (bhaji), pumpkin (kaddoo), and potatoes (alloo), such as samosas, roti, various curries, and mango achar, to name a few.

The mithai include laddu (a sweetened ball), hal wa, barfi (a variation on fudge), gulab jamun (fried dough balls), and kheer (rice pudding). They are usually made with con densed milk, nuts, carda mom, and saffron.

This year, Diwali will last from Oct. 22 to Oct. 26, with the main day of cel ebration, or Lakshmi Puja, taking place on Oct. 24.

Happy Diwali! (Shubh Di wali!)

root for — I would literally trust her with my life. Ultimately, what I love most about Scream is the characters. I adore so many horror movies whose casts, especially side characters, are sin gularly uninteresting. Of tentimes, they don’t even need to have depth to be effective. But Scream goes the extra mile to make ev eryone entertaining. It’s incredibly well-written, which makes it delightful to watch even between the action scenes.

If you’re in need of a spooky movie this Halloween season, make Scream your first stop. I promise you won’t regret it.

Erin Peter

Kanny Diane

A must-watch for spooky season. Image: Kai Holub/Fulcrum.

Rangoli is a decorative art made from coloured rice, sand, and flowers. Image: Yawan Sahu/Unsplash.

Talking cliques and playing an authentic Aaron Samuels with Mean Girls’ Adante Carter

Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (2004) is a muchloved story of high school, friends, and frenemies, partly based on a com bination of Fey’s high school experiences and the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. Since the film’s release and roaring suc cess, Fey has worked with producers and actors alike to adapt Mean Girls for the stage, with new music, new jokes, and social me dia. After spending two years on Broadway, Mean Girls is coming to Canada, produced by Broadway Across Canada. The production will spend a week in Ottawa before

going to Toronto for an other five weeks. Opening night in Ottawa is Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the National Arts Centre.

The Fulcrum sat down with Adante Carter, who plays Aaron Samuels, ahead of the cast’s arrival in Ottawa. For Carter, a South Dakota native, this will be his first time per forming in Canada.

Carter grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota — a small town roughly 20 minutes away from Mount Rushmore, he explained. There, he was involved in the town’s “vibrant arts community,” getting into theatre via gymnastics and a production of Beauty and the Beast, in which he played the role of a tum bling rug. After years of being involved in home

town and high school pro ductions, Carter went on to major in musical the atre at the American Musi cal and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles.

Being a Mean Girls fan growing up, Car ter found his high school experience to be nothing like Mean Girls. “I got to high school, and it was nothing like high school… there were no Plastics, for tunately, in my school.”

While Carter never belonged to a single clique, he said the “cross sections of people in high school” is “very similar to what we do because of the opening number, the big welcome to North Shore number, where the char acter Damian is introduc ing Cady in the lunchroom, all the different cliques.”

Playing Aaron Samuels is similar. “I find that in Aaron, he’s kind of known across North Shore from all cliques and groups. And my approach to the character is that he’s just friends with any one, he doesn’t really have any true enemies. And whether that be a good quality or bad quality with Regina, he’s really attract ed to people that are their most authentic selves.”

Authenticity and being one’s most au thentic self was a recur ring subject during the interview. His approach to bringing the role of Aaron Samuels to life, he said, was by “bringing my most authentic self back into high school … and I feel like I’m doing a great service to the character by just being the authentic me.”

Finally, the Ful crum asked Carter about how Mean Girls was adapted to be true to 2022. The musical features social media playing a ma jor role in the lives of high school students, in a way it didn’t in 2004.

“So even more so now that there are lay ers that social media is an awesome tool, but it can also be just super de structive into the lives of teenagers. And, you know, it’s the new way to gossip and pass notes. And I feel like that really elevates the stakes of being in high school.”

In the musical’s case, Carter said, “I think it’s a great marriage of this classic script in this clas sic formula that we have Mean Girls that we know and love, but adding that added layer of ‘wow, this is happening.’ You know, the way that they’ve inte grated those moments re ally exacerbates the prob lems of Regina George, the Plastics in North Shore and the toxicity of social me dia, and how impactful it is on students’ lives in our show.”

In the end, the musical is a comedy with a deeper message that shows audiences how im portant it is for everyone to be their most authentic selves.

You can find Adante Carter on stage at the National Arts Centre from Oct. 18 to Oct. 23, or on Instagram at @adante carter.

Adante Carter is Aaron Samuels in Broadway Across Canada’s Mean Girls

Victoria Drybrough

Adante Carter (Aaron Samuels) and English Bernhardt (Cady Heron). Image: Jenny Anderson/Provided.

SPORTS EDITOR Brandon Adibe sports@thefulcrum.ca

Win it all: Gee-Gees 2022-23 basketball preview

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are shooting for the top this season

Jasmine McKnight

The U Sports basketball season is just around the corner.

As always, the University of Ottawa ros ters are chalked full of tal ent, and will be looking to contend for both Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and U Sports champion ships.

After dominant regular season showings, both the men’s and wom en’s teams fell in tight OUA East semi-final matchups, absolutely heartbreaking for the Gee-Gees.

The next level

Despite a 19-4 overall record, being ranked third nationally, and having a champion ship-caliber roster, the U of O men’s basketball team suffered an early exit in the OUA East semi-fi nals.

A tragic 59-55 loss at the hands of the Queen’s Gaels marked the end of the road for the 2021-22 Gee-Gees squad.

Without the op portunity to play in the na tional championship tour nament, the team has had a lot of time to prepare for the 2022-23 U Sports bas ketball season.

Time has not gone to waste, as both individual players and the team as a whole have tak en steps to hit the next level and avoid another tragic post-season defeat.

Though an im portant trio of seniors left

the team after last season, Gees stars, Guillaume Pe pin and Josh Inkumsah spent the summer playing professional basketball in the Canadian Elite Basket ball League (CEBL) for the Ottawa BlackJacks, and are sure to fill the absence of graduating players.

Joining them in representing the Black Jacks was U of O head coach, James Derouin. Derouin’s time as interim head coach for BlackJacks allowed him to work with professional players, and ultimately, his experience in the CEBL will surely in fluence the way he moves forward in his 12th season leading the Gee-Gees.

Through presea son matchups, we’ve been able to get a sneak peek of what the squad is looking like.

“Based on de fence and transition and shooting threes, we’re looking like a more athlet ic type of team this year,” Pepin explained.

It’s been clear that point guard Dragan Stajic has become more comfortable in his role on the team, while another youngster on the squad, Cole Newton, has been consistently finding the basket after a season un der his belt.

Between New ton and Pepin, there is no lack of scoring power for the Gee-Gees.

“If we get to the level we want to be at, there is no reason we won’t win an OUA champi onship and national cham

pionship,” Pepin said.

All the right pieces

Dropping the OUA East semi-final game to crosstown rivals, the Carleton Ravens, was absolutely not how the Gee-Gees wanted to end an otherwise successful, 2021-22 season.

The women’s basketball team has al ways had star power, but this time around, the depth is undeniable.

Brigitte Lefe bvre-Okankwu is back yet again, and there’s no doubt she will continue building on her long list of accomplishments, includ ing reaching 1000 regular season points and 500 career rebounds last sea son. Not to mention her U Sports acknowledge ments.

Not only does she dominate in the post, but Lefebvre-Okankwu has become a reliable shooter around the court.

She isn’t the only shooter for the Gee-Gees. Savannah Provo can be counted on to put down three-pointers no matter the situation, and her con tributions get the team and the fans fired up.

At the point, Natsuki Szczokin has been nothing less than reliable, playing the most minutes and putting up the sec ond-most points on the team last season. Szczokin always does her job, and if she stays on this upwards trajectory, the team is in a very good place.

It doesn’t end there; Nadine Katumbayi immediately proved her self as a rookie last year, putting up great numbers in the assists, steals, and points categories.

“As a team, our ultimate goal is to win it all,” Katumbayi said. “I think we have a talented team and if we work hard enough we can get there.”

Individually, Ka tumbayi is a young player on the squad, but she still contributes heavily to the team.

“I just want to play the sport I love, get better, and help the team with the talents and gifts God gave me,” Katumbayi said.

Recently named head coach, Rose-Anne Joly has a lot to work with, and the point is that no matter who you’re watch ing on this Gee-Gees line up, they’ll put on a great display of athleticism and talent.

Predictions

Warning: these could be hot takes.

Truthfully, I’ve seen a number of incredi bly talented U of O basket ball teams in the past five years. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen any of these teams reach the champi onship game, and I’ve had my own heart broken by early playoff exits.

So, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any doubt.

That said, I’ve witnessed some incred

ible moments. Regular season comebacks, unbe lievable plays, wild Capital Hoops Classic wins, and I’ve definitely admired these teams, especially as they’ve grown into what they are now.

It’s safe to say that both teams will have winning regular season re cords, and I imagine both with spend the year in the U Sports top 10. I have complete faith that they will make it to the OUA East finals this year — whether or not they win still feels up in the air.

As a too-early championship prediction, I have a feeling the wom en’s team is going to make a huge run, and I genuine ly could see this version of the Gee-Gees bringing home a championship ti tle.

As for the men, I think it’ll be a tougher path due to the loss of key players. I won’t say it’s im possible, but when step ping back and looking at other teams in the league, it’s hard to imagine the current team dethroning the likes of the Ravens or Gaels.

I’d love to see them prove me wrong.

The season tips off on Nov. 4 in Montpetit Hall, where the teams wel come McMaster at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively.

Do yourself a favour and cheer on the Gee-Gees, because it’s go ing to be one hell of a sea son.

SCIENCES

U of O researcher examines effects of nanoplastics and flame retardants on zebrafish development and energy metabolism

Plastic Beach

The conversation around plastic pollution is not an uncommon one. Slowly, governments are adopting measures to ban single use plastics, grocery stores are switching to paper bags, and you would be lucky to find a plastic straw at any dining establishment now adays.

To better under stand the effects nanoplas tics and other contami nants like flame retardants may exhibit on either the environment, the Fulcrum spoke with U of O profes sor Jan Mennigen. Along side his honours students Raphael Chakal and Tyler Eng as well as intra- and extramural collaborators, Mennigen recently pub lished a multidisciplinary study titled “Metabolic Consequences of Develop mental Exposure to Poly styrene Nanoplastics, the Flame Retardant BDE-47 and Their Combination in Zebrafish.”

What are polystyrene nanoplastics (PS) and flame retardants (BDE47)?

According to Mennigen, “Polystyrene is just one group of differ ent plastics that we study, there are also other plas tics such as polyethylenes, but the common denomi nator is that they’re bro ken down and then trans ported to virtually all life on earth which may then be affected by these.”

He continued, “The further breakdown of these plastics into ei ther microplastics or nanoplastics becomes im

portant, because they’re now found ubiquitously and as you can imagine in our marine ecosystems, which also changes how they’re distributed in the environment, how they may affect organisms and their toxic properties.”

Flame retar dants, also referred to as BDE-47, are types of long-lasting inert com pounds — inert meaning chemically non-reactive, which would be their de sired effect in order to pro duce chemically non-reac tive upholstery.

These persistent chemicals are often ob served in the context of toxicology because of their appearance in water systems. There are also rising concerns of bioac cumulation, as Mennigen explained larger plastics such as single-use plastics are ingested, which is a cause for concern. Howev er, perhaps more concern ing are the smaller plastic particles could be entering the cells of the organisms more passively and readily by either water intake or gill filtration pathways.

Another inter esting aspect to consider is the interaction between both nanoplastics and flame retardants, and if one could act as a vehicle for another and thus mag nify the effects compared to the independent effects of each compound.

How are these com pounds broken down?

In terms of chemical breakdown, con sider the great pacific gar bage patch which is rapid ly accumulating more and

more plastic. As the plas tics float on the surface of the ocean, Mennigen explained that the break down of these plastics into smaller molecules is caused by weathering pro cesses.

Earlier issues within the field were the difficulties in estimating how many smaller break down particles existed and how to mimic what’s oc curring in the environment in a lab setting.

To answer this question, Mennigen re sponded, “For BDE-47, we have really good indi cation of environmentally relevant levels because it’s a legacy contaminant, and as the name indicates, they’ve been around for a long time. They end up mostly on the Stockholm Convention list because they’re very recalcitrant, they don’t degrade well, [and] we know they’re toxic. As a result, we have a really good monitoring program and we know these types of concentra tions quite reliably from great lakes studies.”

For the plastics and especially the smaller particles at the time Men nigen began their research by using a range, start ing with the lower end of what was believed which was 2.5 parts per million to 25 parts per million. As it turns out in previous ly studied polar regions there are different types of plastics, polystyrenes, polyethylenes available which do fall into that range.

“Now technol ogy has advanced to the extent that we can analyti cally quantify it in terms of

replicability, so that is one aspect of how we chose these types of exposure concentrations. One thing that we didn’t consider, and that is a bit of a tech nical limitation as well and is important for when we make these inferences about what really happens in the environment is the shape of the particle as well,” said Mennigen.

Most common ly, researchers use poly styrene because they’re readily and commercial ly available. In addition, they can be fluorescently labelled, which is con venient for Mennigen to see if they were ingested, where they ended up and if they were found in the intestinal tract. However, since these particles are spherical and round and are not different in terms of their breakdown. They don’t represent the en vironment as accurately because it is not a homo geneous mixture in terms of breakdown products. The environ ment is varied, and per haps there exist break down products that are more rugged which could change their behaviour compared to the commer cially available polysty rene.

The shift to zebrafish

According to Mennigen, there’s been a shift occurring within the toxicological sciences to move away from animal use, since zebrafish em bryos are not regulated in early life stages but can still be considered an in tegrated organism. In line with animal ethics, they

are a more attractive mod el to substitute with some more higher-end organ isms. Due to their small size, well-known genome, and the fact that they are a vertebrate aquatic spe cies, researchers can use them to test hypotheses regarding both ecotoxi cological health, wildlife health, and potentially hu man health.

Advancement in technology allows re searchers to measure at much finer scales things like oxygen consumption, which is linked to ener gy balance, or even feed intake in larvae with the use of fluorescent assays. Mennigen also referenced metabolic assays, where researchers can look at how much energy is stored in the forms of neutral lip ids or adipose tissue.

“Since these es says are now quite readily available, we can use them comprehensively in this early model to get a good picture of the overall indi ces of organismal energy balance and to see what the consequences are of the exposure to both nanoplastics and BDE-47,” he explained.

What were the results?

As indicated in their study, there were two questions they were looking to determine: the first is if the acute devel opmental exposure to PS or environmental levels of BDE-47 alone disrupts larval energy metabolism and secondly, if their mix ture will exacerbate meta bolic disruption.

Starting with nanoplastics, “the findings

SCIENCES

Emma Williams science@thefulcrum.ca

Emma Williams

were essentially showing that zebrafish use more oxygen when exposed, which is in line with poten tial higher energy use may be for detoxification. We also found that they tried to compensate for higher energy use by increasing dietary intake. Mecha nistically we’re unsure if it’s linked to the physical blocking the absorption of the intestine, we suspect it is because we could also detect these plastics or these nanoplastics in the intestinal tract using fluo rescent labelling.”

For BDE-47, it was less pronounced. They were also exposed to a lower concentra tion, so very realistic concentration. So it’s an order of magnitude low er meaning, parts per trillion rather than parts per billion, which are the plastic concentrations. Thus, they found similar effects on oxygen uptake which would indicate that it’s an energetically costly process to be exposed to

BDE-47, however, less of a response in other parame ters comparatively.

In terms of their combined effect, Men nigen said, “We found these parameters were essentially exacerbated. Therefore, we saw higher oxygen consumption and increased compensation via food intake meaning, they upped the food in take even more. Together, they were the only group to elicit metabolite chang es.”

Most interest ingly, researchers saw that there were less lipid reserves in the zebrafish. Meaning, less nutrient lip ids were stored and they dug into the energy re serves like yolk sacks that they have early on to be used as energy for devel opment, indicating there are additive effects in this early life stage.

Although re searchers did not find any overt consequences in terms of crude measure ments in growth either in

Williams: The methane bomb

OUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT

In the spirit of Halloween, the Fulcrum has been searching for something truly terrify ing to discuss this week. Perhaps a lively discourse on Henry James’ haunting short story The Turn of The Screw? Or better yet, Bram Stoker’s sensational, blood-soaked and incred ibly influential 1897 vam pire novel Dracula.

For some, a clas sic gothic tale could really do the trick — but what about something that pre dates Dracula? Something older than the dinosaurs, and even came before our primitive Eukaryotes?

They’re invisible

to our naked eyes and are birthed in the bellies of demons (humans, cows, and pigs, mainly) and re quire hellish conditions to thrive (environments free of oxygen). What could they be? Methanogens, of course!

What are methanogens?

Put simply, methanogens are a di verse member of anaero bic microbes (organisms) that are found in anaer obic environments, such as the guts of animals, sludge, swamps, sewage and more. According to a 2018 study, there are currently seven orders of methanogens that belong to the archaea domain.

length or weight due to the fact that this study was conducted in the short term. This opens up addi tional important questions regarding long-term devel

the increased amounts found in the organism. Thus, speaking to the types of synergistic effects that we can see biolog ically. Moving forward,

taminant at a time. There are legacy contaminants that are old, and they can be maybe re-mobilized by these newer contaminants at a larger scale like nano

opmental effects and con sequences.

As previously mentioned, there might be physical interaction between nanoplastics and BDE-47 and in the pres ence of more BDE that absorbs into the nanoplas tics, and is transported via ingestion, could explain

researchers are hoping to measure how much phys ical interaction there is between the zebrafish and the water columns.

“It’s important not only to understand potential interaction be cause we’re always in a sea of contaminants and it’s never just one con

plastics, that make them maybe more accessible for these organisms and enrich them and bioaccu mulate them further,” said Mennigen.

For those inter ested in learning more about Mennigen’s re search you can visit his website here.

These meth ane-producing archaea methanogens are charac terized by their ability to conserve energy for ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthesis by producing methane gas. As a result, they are largely responsi ble for the main reaction affecting the production of methane gas on this plan et.

What is methanogenesis?

For background, microbial growth is only one part of a larger con cept known as metabo lism, which can be broken down into the building up (anabolism) and the break ing down (catabolism) of complex molecules. These

processes occur through a series of reactions known as metabolic pathways.

It’s important to note that anabolism, the set of reactions respon sible for biosynthesis or the building up of com plex molecules, is fuelled by catabolic pathways. Meaning molecular ener gy stored in the bonds of complex molecules can be released in the breakdown of these compounds to drive anabolic pathways. Another way in which scientists have clas sified metabolism is by the flow of energy or electrons from a donor to an accep tor. Most methanogens can use CO2 as a terminal electron acceptor in an aerobic respiration, reduc

ing it to CH4 with H2 as an electron donor. Only a very few other substrates, chiefly acetate, are directly con verted to CH4 by metha nogens. To convert most organic compounds to CH4, methanogens must team up with partner or ganisms called syntrophs that function to supply them with precursors for methanogenesis.

How does permafrost play into this?

Consider the Arc tic regions, where the soil is frozen as permafrost. Stored within is an enor mous mass of 1,400 to 1,600 billion metric tonnes of organic carbon. This is

Emma Williams

Plastic Pollution. Image: Naja Bertolt Jensen/Unsplash.

due to the fact that over millions of years, organic plant and animal matter would’ve been trapped and stored within the lay ers of the frozen soil.

As this perma frost thaws, the liquid wa

ter would convert frozen grasslands into wetlands, swamps, and bogs, which are major habitats for ar chaea that produce meth ane. In addition, the thaw ing of permafrost would release all that stored car

bon for methanogens to metabolize and use to pro duce methane resulting in epic feasting on carbon by these microbes. The result would be similar to that of a doomsday event — hence the name methane

time bomb. To add fuel to this so-called ‘fire,’ methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with a warming poten tial 20 times more power ful than CO2. Therefore, if Arctic warming continues

at its present pace, much more permafrost carbon could be converted into methane, significantly ac celerating global climate change.

Retrogressive thaw slump formed after permafrost melt. Image: Antoni Lewkowicz/Provided.

OPINIONS

Point/Counterpoint: The great Starbucks debate

IS STARBUCKS OVERRATED?

There’s a press ing question that contin ues to fuel debate among my friends — is Starbucks overrated? Two members of the Fulcrum’s Editori al Board have decided to tackle both sides of this controversial discussion.

I find Starbucks overrat ed, and I don’t care who knows it.

Sure, there will always be something en joyable about ordering a drink at a café — regard less of the location. You get to decide your order, and it’s made by someone more capable than you and your suspiciously old Keurig. Is the drink bet ter than what you make at home? Not always. But sometimes it is, and that’s enough to make the whole experience worthwhile.

Starbucks, how ever, has become an ex ception to this. Recently, I have been let down by my friends from Seattle way more than I have been sat isfied.

I begin with an easy target — the prices. I recognize that nowhere in their branding does Starbucks refer to them self as cheap. However, I would argue that some of their prices can border on excessive. To be a con sistently good franchise, I need to be able to rely on service. Relying on Star bucks is difficult when my girlfriend makes me pay $5.45 for a grande salted caramel cream cold brew every time. Even the $2.75 for a grande blonde roast makes me cringe whenev er I buy it.

Starbucks’ high

price point would be jus tified if their drinks were worth it. I won’t call their coffee bad, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t overrat ed considering the price. Is a coffee from Starbucks really better than a Tim Hortons coffee that’s al most half the price? I’m not convinced. And sure their specialty drinks taste good, but the idea of pay ing almost 6 dollars for any drink that doesn’t have te quila in it doesn’t sit right with me.

Also, why does Starbucks pride themself on “that first sip feeling” when 80% of the time, that first sip tells me that my order has been messed up? This isn’t necessarily a gripe about the employees of Starbucks — I actually find their upbeat energy to be wonderful. Howev er, it would be a shame if I didn’t mention that my expensive Starbucks or ders have been messed up an unfortunate amount of times.

Whenever this does happen though, I should note that the em ployees are usually quick to apologize and happy to correct the order. Still, though, having to return a drink is always annoying, especially if you’re on the go.

There’s also something too complex about Starbucks. To even order a drink, you must be partially versed in Italian; what sizes do tall, grande, and venti even refer to? Each of these titles could refer to a large, but instead only one does. As an infre quent Starbucks custom er, I frequently question whether or not I even se lected the proper size for my order. And if I acciden tally commit the fatal flaw

of calling a grande a me dium, I feel like everyone in the restaurant will stop what they’re doing and laugh at me. People might call this unreasonable, but I call having a confusing Italian-size guide to be even more unreasonable.

I have a problem, though: I will probably never fully stop going to Starbucks. Despite their price, and despite their cheaper competitors and their complex sizing sys tem, I will continue to give them my money. There is no question in my mind that Starbucks is overrat ed. And I have no doubt that every time I order from Starbucks, I will con tinually ask myself, “was this a sound financial deci sion?” But this is the exact reason why Starbucks is overrated — we acknowl edge its faults, but are complacent despite them.

–Matthew McConkey, opinions editor

Starbucks is a reliable and affordable luxury.

People call Star bucks overpriced and overrated — I call it an affordable luxury. I don’t have the money to drink specialty coffee from cute cafes every day, nor can I wait ten minutes for my morning cup to be ready. Starbucks is reliable like fast food, but also offers unique drinks and custom izations to your coffee.

Sure, Starbucks can be relatively expen sive compared to other franchises, but I can’t re sist the famous seasonal drinks like their pumpkin spice lattes and pepper mint mochas. While I’m walking outside in -30 de gree weather, what keeps

OPINIONS EDITOR

Matthew McConkey opinions@thefulcrum.ca

me going is the ginger bread latte that I know will warm me up. Since everything on their menu tastes good, I never run out of options. It offers the perfect balance between fast-food and gourmet cof fee, and it’s usually only a few blocks from wherever I am.

I always feel safe in Starbucks because I know good and reliable customer service is their defining characteristic. I’m always greeted with a “good morning,” and if I change my drink last min ute, I don’t hear a gruntled sigh from any employee.

I’ve worked many customer service jobs in my life, and I know how hard it is to be in a good mood all the time — especially when deal ing with difficult custom ers. And that just makes it all the more impressive when Starbucks employ ees don’t completely lose their mind after a custom er asks for 15 drink modifi cations.

A cheerful em ployee isn’t the only rea son why I like Starbucks. I’m loyal to them, and they reward me for it. Enough stars on the app gets me a free pastry or drink, and they even cover the cost for me on my birthday. It makes me feel… appreci ated.

As somebody who goes from work to

class throughout the day, I can’t always make it to most specialty cafes that close before 4 p.m. I know you’re not supposed to drink coffee in the eve ning, but most university students know that this isn’t a feasible rule to fol low. Although Tim Hor tons and McDonald’s are also open late, they don’t provide the same ambi ance as a Starbucks, since they’re fast-food restau rants before coffeehouses. Simply put, Starbucks is reliable. They fuel my latenight study sessions, and they’re a great place to ei ther study, work, or meet with friends.

Of course, as a Canadian, I still enjoy or dering from one of their biggest competitors, Tim Hortons. On occasion, I’ll run to Tims to get an iced cap and Timbits. But if I had to choose one coffee shop to visit each morn ing, it’s Starbucks. What can I say? It’s an ideal cof feehouse for busy people who still appreciate a de cent cup of coffee.

“To inspire and nurture the human spir it — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” is the Star bucks mission statement, who wouldn’t want to go there?

-Grace Kim-Shin, Staff Writer

Matthew McConkey

Image: Starbucks logo/Starbucks.

Did U of O students “Protect the Panda?”

A STUDENT’S RESPONSE TO THE UNIVERSITY’S HOMECOMING WARNING

Erin Peter

The Panda Game is one of the most beloved homecoming events in Ottawa. The game itself draws in thousands of stu dents — both football fans and not — every year. The annual game between city rivals, the U of O Gee-Gees and the Carleton Universi ty Ravens, is typically cel ebrated with food, drinks, and of course, parties. However, the future of this sixty-year tradition could be in danger following the incidents of last year.

The year was 2021.

The previous 2020 Panda Game had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandem ic, and both teams were looking to bring Pedro back to their schools after the hiatus. The return of the game, coupled with students having missed out on some key univer sity experiences, meant that many students were determined to make the most of their Panda game.

Thousands of students congregated in Sandy Hill to partake in street parties, and sever al people were charged for criminal behaviour, in cluding mischief, unlawful assembly, and rioting. The 2021 Panda Game will in evitably be remembered by most as the time stu dents flipped a car. This prompted local officials to suggest cancelling the 2022 game altogether.

Despite this, the 2022 game did go ahead.

And suffice to say that law enforcement, school officials, and Sandy Hill residents did not want a repeat of the events from the previous year.

In the weeks be fore the highly anticipat ed game, U of O students received warnings from community leaders, emails from the administration, and even Tik Tok ads warn ing students to “protect the panda.” They warned that, if students did not re frain from participating in raucous gatherings, under age alcohol consumption, mischief, and/or damaging

ficials, paramedics, and police officers who stated they had “zero tolerance” for student misbehaviour.

After the GeeGees’ landslide victory, Sandy Hill was abuzz. There were street parties just like in previous years, and police issued dozens of tickets and made sev eral arrests, which has left the Ottawa community questioning whether or not students managed to protect the Panda Game.

It’s important to acknowledge that most of the disruptions that oc curred during homecom ing didn’t actually happen at the Panda Game. The

to partake in a shared ex perience with my commu nity — a true luxury after two years of doing online school in my bedroom. De spite the rivalry, the game is an example of Ottawa’s ability to congregate, have fun, and support the city’s young athletes.

The real problem lies in the night ‘celebra tions,’ which many stu dents take as an opportu nity to partake in drinking, smoking, and partying. It’s these gatherings that cause excessive crowding in Sandy Hill and disrupt the residents.

For many stu dents, partying is a typical

other solution may include having local businesses host discounted night events for students — this could limit the number of street parties.

It should also be noted that while an in creased police presence may limit crowding, it could also cause anxiety among students, especial ly members of visible mi norities.

While the future of the Panda Game is still uncertain, I certainly hope the fun tradition contin ues. Even if next year’s game does get cancelled, fans can be comforted by the fact that the Panda

property, students would not only face legal ramifi cations, but could also lose the Panda Game for good.

In preparation for any disruption from students, TD place and the Sandy Hill area were crawling with security of

Why do I let sports ruin my life?

football game is an op portunity for thousands of students and commu nity members in Ottawa to gather, enjoy an excit ing game, and show their school spirit.

Personally, I find Panda gave me the chance

REFLECTING ON A DECADE OF SPORTS DISAPPOINTMENT

On Sept. 8, my favourite football team,

the Buffalo Bills, won their first game of the season. This win left me with an ecstatic grin from ear-toear. When the game end

ed, my roommate asked me how long this high would last. I told him, “about a week.”

It was true. Any

part of the university expe rience. Students find rea sons to party even without using homecoming as an excuse. This issue could be addressed by educating students about safe ways to party (which did briefly happen at the Game). An

game has a history of re turning after hiatuses — such as the 15-year gap between the 1998 and 2013 games, and the short gap between 2019 and 2021.

time one of my favourite sports teams wins, I’m typically happy about it for a week. Everything is sunshine and butterflies

until the next time one of my teams plays. Unfortu nately, the opposite is also true. Whenever one of my favourite teams loses, I

Matthew McConkey

I find Panda gave me the chance to partake in a shared experience with my community. Image: Kai Holub/Fulcrum.

am truly insufferable to be around.

It’s not just a regular type of frustra tion I feel following a loss. It’s not like the anger you feel when you stub your toe against a wall — that would be more manage able. If anything, it’s more like you’ve stubbed your entire body against a wall, but even then, I’m not sure that truly encapsulates the feeling.

This probably sounds aggressive. Any one reading this is almost certainly thinking, “Wow, this guy has serious anger issues.”

This may be true, but that doesn’t mean it’s

not normal to punch a hole in my wall when the Bills lose in the playoffs. Or that I shouldn’t smash a plate on my floor when Manchester United loses their tenth game of the season… right? Surely this is normal sports-fan be haviour.

In all honesty, a normal sports fan would probably react quite dif ferently to their team losing. I don’t deny that I am an uncommonly pas sionate sports fan. Where a normal sports fan would probably get off their couch after a loss and continue about their day, walls and plates intact, I will fall into a deep rage,

only to be rescued by a win the following week. How did I get this way? Why am I such a crazed, yet passionate sports fan who continues to let sports ruin my week? To answer these ques tions, I should probably mention the three sports franchises I support.

The Buffalo Bills, Manchester United, and the Ottawa Senators are my three favourite teams. I should mention that each of these teams are in the running for the most un fortunate sports franchis es in recent history. They have all had a turbulent last decade — a few wins mixed with a staggering

amount of losses.

Until 2017, Buf falo hadn’t made the post-season for 18 years. Manchester United, a his torically successful fran chise, hasn’t seriously competed for the better part of 10 years, and the Ottawa Senators have been borderline unwatch able since 2017.

Maybe I’ve done it to myself. Perhaps I should just recognize that when my teams are bad, its time to stop paying attention to them. This might help me become a more tolerable person, but where’s the loyalty in that?

To be a real fan,

you need to stick it out. You need to watch and be disappointed when your team gives up a lead with 13 seconds left. You have to do this, because if you don’t, the high points won’t feel as worthwhile. And what’s better than watching one of your fa vourite teams win a cham pionship? (No, seriously — I’m asking because I’ve never experienced it.)

Kai Holub/Fulcrum.

MANAGING EDITOR Sanjida Rashid admin@thefulcrum.ca

BREAKING NEWS: Lanyards banned from campus

Administration claims lanyards create potential dangers and make first years too easily identifiable

Bridget Coady

The O of U administration re leased a statement to students banning the visible wearing of lanyards on school grounds. The email related the decision to a number of what they call, “rage inci dents,” attributed to the “snagging of lan yards on knobs and handles.”

The school claimed the move was a matter of “stu dent safety” follow ing a number of an gered outbursts at the lanyards finding themselves stuck.

One student who’d reached the end of his lanyards rope spoke with the Ful crum regarding the campus-wide ban.

“Once I ditched the lanyard, my life got better,”

shared third-year student, Dean Fard der. “I know ‘big lan yard’ won’t be happy about me saying this, but they’ve inflicted nothing but suffer ing. It may not be the biggest issue in your day, but if things ar en’t going great and you hit a literal snag, it’s enough to make you crumble.”

Other stu dents took to social media to express

confusion and disap pointment with the ban.

“How will people know I’m a first year if I don’t have a lanyard adver tising which building I live in???” wrote one student on their public Instagram sto ry, to their 2,309 fol lowers.

“I need my lanyard hanging off my belt loop,” wrote another student.

“It’s that or a septum piercing, and I’m a wimp.”

The universi ty promised updates on the timing of the ban were to come. The Tomato will up date this article as in formation becomes available.

DEAR

Reddit is third wheeling my relationship

Graphic Designer Kai Holub multimedia@thefulcrum.ca

I (21M) hate that my boyfriend (22M) posts about our relationship on Reddit

Di Daniels

Dear Di,

Why in the world do people think it’s acceptable to post about their relationship to strangers?

I understand it’s an anonymous platform, but I am so sick of my boyfriend using responses he gets on Reddit as supporting evidence in arguments. I don’t care that ‘rubberyrancher142’ doesn’t think my boyfriend is the asshole — I live with him and I can tell you: some times, he is the asshole.

I’ve told him it bothers me and that it’s not helpful to cite anyone with an internet connection and a Reddit account in our arguments, but he continues to post about us from his account. What can I say or do to show him that this is not a good strategy?

Sincerely, (21M)

Dear (21M),

While it may be hard to remember a time before it, the internet is still being integrated into our lives. Past generations have not had to consider the role of internet strangers in their relationships. Platforms like Reddit have transferred the appeal of outsourcing critical thought from one unqualified person onto hundreds of them.

Your boyfriend may believe he is simply consulting a wider pool of voices before delving into an argument with you. Try to communicate what it is about this process that makes you uncomfortable and suggest alternatives. Maybe he could speak with trusted friends who might know you and your relationship, or if the information is too sensitive to share without an internet alter-ego, he could try writing it out the way he would for a Reddit post and only have you read it, instead.

On your end, you may need to approach his concerns with more compassion. He might just feel he needs that second opinion to fully under stand what’s gone wrong, and it’s much easier to ask faceless strangers than it is to talk to someone in his day-to-day life.

Try to keep your arguments on track with a shared desire to reach a mutual understanding of the events. In the end, your relationship should matter most to the two of you, and ‘rubberyrancher142’ probably forgets about your boyfriend’s post as quickly as they scroll to the next.

If your boyfriend can’t let go of the habit and takes these responses as gospel, I suggest you start making accounts to respond to his posts. “Yes you’re the asshole and you should apologize by: *insert chore/sexual favours* here.”

#lifehack.

Sincerely, Di

ARCHIVES

New smoking ban on campus takes effect

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

The University of Ottawa’s new smoking ban extension is being en forced and all signs are in dicating that the new pol icy will be in place by the end of next week, accord ing to U of O’s Environ mental Health and Safety Service.

The bylaw, intro duced by the University of Ottawa at the end of July, bans smoking within nine metres (30 feet) of main entrances, loading zones, and air intakes of main buildings on campus.

The University of Ottawa bylaw came into effect just months before the provincial government announced that it is dis cussing the prospect of initiating a province-wide ban on smoking in public spaces. The U of O Occu pational Health and Safety Officer, Céline Clément, believes that the process of instituting the bylaw on campus has progressed well overall.

“We’re not done

yet, but by the end of the next week all of the main buildings will have proper signage …and ashtrays will be moved away [from the main entrances],” said Clé ment.

“We’re very pleased,” she added.

The implemen tation of the policy has taken several months due to several interpretation problems of the nine-me tre rule.

“This is a long process … we are a group that has to find out what are ‘main entrances’ and what is nine metres away,” explained Clément.

She named the University Centre as one of the complicated areas, because the nine metre boundary ends in the mid dle of the steps down to the lower entrance. The new policy was introduced in response to several com plaints about the smell of smoke inside Tabaret and Morisset halls. The policy was then extended to limit exposure to second-hand smoke throughout the rest of the university campus.

Although there is currently no specifically designated fine or punitive measure for disobeying the ban, Clément assures that the new policy is being en forced by protection offi cers.

“It has happened that people were smok ing within the nine-me tre zone, and Protection [Services were] requested to patrol and to remind people of the bylaws,” she said.

Clément states that introducing a fine for the bylaw is still an option and will be looked into next year.

“We have a few people who have suggest ed to us that we should look into a fine system … the fine system will be ex plored but we don’t know if it is possible to apply it. We have to do a little more research,” said Clément.

Hubert Reiter, director of Protection Ser vices, is satisfied with the response of the campus population to the new po lice and said that between 80 and 90 percent of peo

ple are complying.

“We’re very please with the way this is going, but we’re not going to change anything over night,” said Reiter, who does not foresee problems with the ban enforcement.

“People at the University realize things are done for valid reasons and people understand,” he added.

Currently, the ban is only being applied to what Environment and Health Safety Services deems to be main en trances, which can exclude some areas like the court yard of the Residential Complex. The courtyard is often used as a smoking

area despite the fact that it is within nine-metre of doors and residential win dows.

“It’s not a main door. Unless we have peo ple complaining about it we will not change any thing there,” said Clément.

Clément states that re-evaluation of spe cific areas can be made and he urges people to no tify them of any trouble.

“If there is a problematic area. I invite people to let us know and we will evaluate the situa tion,” said Clément.

THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA IS CONSIDERING IMPLEMENTING PUNITIVE FINES FOR ANYONE WHO SMOKES WITHIN NINE METRES OF ANY ENTRANCE

Hailey Otten & Jasmine McKnight editor@thefulcrum.ca

Live From the Archives. Image: Kai Holub/Fulcrum.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

President

Kalki Nagaratnam

Vice-President

Staff Rep Brendan Keane

Chair & Community Rep Sam Coulavin

Treasurer Claire Liu Student Rep Amit Shanbhoug Fulcrum Alumnus Emma Godmere Staff Rep Keelan Buck

The Fulcrum would like to thank

Erin Peter Kanny Diane for their contributions to this issue.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Noah Bailey social@thefulcrum.ca

Community Rep Mark Asfar Student Rep Erik Chin Executive Director Ludvica Boota

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Jasmine McKnight Hailey Otten editor@thefulcrum.ca

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