The Carillon Volume 62, Issue 17

the carillon the staff

editor-in-chief editor@carillonregina.com

john loeppky

executive director business@carillonregina.com

jacob nelson

production manager production@carillonregina.com

jeremy davis

advertising manager advertising@carillonregina.com

ty cote

technical editor frank nordstrom carillontechnical@carillonregina.com multimedia/Graphics editors

multimedia@carillonregina.com graphics@carillonregina.com copy editor copyeditor@carillonregina.com

hannah senicar

news editor news@carillonregina.com

sara birrell

a&c editor aandc@carillonregina.com

ethan butterfield

sports editor sports@carillonregina.com

tyler meadows

op-ed editor op-ed@carillonregina.com

taylor balfour

distribution manager distribution@carillonregina.com

kyle anderson

staff writer

elisabeth sahlmueller

staff writer

marty grande - sherbert

news writer

ben schneider

a&c writer

holly worby

sports writer

brian palaschuck

web writer

contributors

Hammad Ali

Vol. 62

kate thiessen sarah carrier morgan ortman

julia peterson

board of directors Erickka Patmore, Lindsay Holitzki, Maddie Ouelette, Dustin Smith. John Loeppky, and Jacob Nelson

the paper

227 Riddell Center University of Regina - 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, Canada S4S 0A2 www.carillonregina.com Ph: (306) 586 8867 Printed by Star Press Inc, Wainwright, AB The Carillon welcomes contributions.

Opinions expressed in the pages of the Carillon are expressly those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. Opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in the Carillon are those of the advertisers, and not necessarily of The Carillon Newspaper Inc. or its staff.

The Carillon is published no less than 11 times each semester during the fall and winter semesters and periodically throughout the summer. The Carillon is published by the Carillon Newspaper Inc., a non-profit organization. land acknowledgement The carillon is written on treaty four territory. As such, the staff recognize that we are living, working, and telling stories on and of Indigenous lands. We recognize that we are on the traditional homelands of the Nakota, Lakota, and Dakota peoples, along with the homeland of the Métis nation. The carillon understands that it is pointless to acknowledge the land on which we work without speaking to our commitment to telling stories and prioritizing voices that further the return of the land to its place sacred place in the cultures of those that live here. the manifesto In keeping with our reckless, devil-may-care image, our office has absolutely no concrete information on the Carillon’s formative years readily available. What follows is the story that’s been passed down from editor to editor for over forty years.

In the late 1950s, the University of Regina planned the construction of several new buildings on the campus grounds. One of these proposed buildlings was a beltower on the academic green. If you look out on the academic green today, the first thing you’ll notice is that it has absolutely nothing resembling a belltower.

The University never got a belltower, but what it did get was the Carillon, a newspaper that serves as a symbolic bell tower on campus, a loud and clear voice belonging to each and every student.

The People’s Friend; the Tyrant’s Foe

The University of Regina Students’ Newspaper Since 1962 January 30 - February 5, 2020 | Volume 62, Issue 17 | carillonregina.com

news

RPIRG

cover

The campus keeps saying that they are committed to caring about marginalized groups, but time and time again they prove themselves wrong. That truth reared its head last week as the campus community debriefed from the Woodrow Loyd Lecture debacle. Our cover reflects that disconnect.

news

P.4

RPIRG elections are on the horizon.

Krystal Lewis, RPIRG’s executive director, talks about the five open positions.

Student Unions in Peril

arts

P.5

Ryerson University’s student union is facing a crisis. The university has terminated its agreement with the union on the heels of a scandel involving their executive.

op-ed

sports

Clint Malarchuk

Clint Malarchuk talks with Ethan Butterfield about his experience with PTSD post his NHL career.

graphics

photos

cover................................ morgan ortman news..................................... RPIRG logo news.......................... umar khan via flickr a&c................................. ethan butterfield sports........... university of regina athletics op-ed........................ wikimedia commons

Hockey

P.12

The women’s hockey team is heading for the playoffs following a strong season.

Wet’suwet’en

P.15

The Canadian goverment continues its age old tradition of stealing indigenous peoples’ land.

P.7

Morgan Ortman Morgan Invites us to apprciate her travels.

News

3

Editor: sara birrell news@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 30 - February 5, 2020

We need a seat at the table

Nipîkiskwânân provides healing, and expects atonement, after the Woodrow Lloyd lecture

marty grande-shebert staff writer On Thursday, Jan. 24, at First Nations University of Canada, following a morning smudge walk that took place around the entire campus, an event was held in response to the events surrounding the Woodrow Lloyd lecture series.

The lecture, as covered in a previous piece, was cancelled after the guest speaker, George Elliott Clarke, stepped down amidst public protest because of the nature of his proposed talk and his working relationship with the murderer of Pamela George. The event on Thursday was called “We Speak” or “Nipîkiskwânân,” and was organized and led by a newly-formed group called Matriarchs on Duty, composed of twenty-five “community activists, educators, academics, leadership and family members of the [Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2-Spirit, or] MMIWG2S,” according to a statememnet Matriarchs on Duty, which formed as a result of conversations about the Woodrow Lloyd lecture, highlights concerns about the way the public reaction was handled by University administration. Central to the conversation is the story of Pamela George and the ongoing epidemic of MMWIG2S. Matriarchs on Duty “hope[s] to bring better awareness to MMIWG2S to the City of Regina and the sensitivities surrounding this subject,” as described by member Chasity Delorme on the Facebook event page. She continues, “[o]ur goal is to bring a wider awareness to the community and provide healing opportunities to those affected by [the lecture].”

Nipîkiskwânân held this spirit of healing throughout the evening by providing counsel-

ors and elders at the event, paying attention to the sensitivity of the subjects discussed. Pamela George’s family was in attendance, including both her mother and her daughter, Chelsey George, who is also a member of Matriarchs on Duty. Those in the audience who had counseling ability or expertise were also asked to indicate themselves, and the audience was encouraged to seek out these people if they felt overwhelmed. There was trauma in the room; many of the Matriarchs on Duty wore shirts bearing Pamela George’s face, with a slogan on the back: “WE WILL NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR THE JUSTICE YOU NEVER RECEIVED.” Opening speaker Dodie Lerat Ferguson expressed that for those who had been close to Pamela George, the lecture controversy bringing up the details of her death was like “having a scar ripped off again” after years of healing.

The evening ran long with many speakers, including Chasity Delorme, Dodie Ferguson, Randy Lundy, Jessica Gordon of Idle No More and Chelsey George – all from Matriarchs on Duty – as well as keynote speakers Dr. Jolee Sasakamoose and Wes George. There were performances in honor of MMWIG2S from Buffalo Lodge Drum Group, jingle dancers, and honor songs.

Vianne Timmons also made a public statement and appearance, followed by one from the resident Elder at the U of R, . The Carillon could not cover the smudge walk earlier that morning, but received word from an attendee at the evening event that no university administration had made an appearance there. URSU, however, did attend.

Matriarchs on Duty established an environment that cared for the audience by providing

emotional support, but the importance of healing was held just as highly as the importance of accountability for the University of Regina. Although the Carillon is unaware of the exact timeline of events in the administration, the event seemed to reference two main harmful actions by the University, besides the trauma in the room: first, the executive committee of the Woodrow Lloyd lecture were not heeding the communicated concerns of the Indigenous Advisory’s Circle (IAC) at the U of R when they stood by their invitation to Clarke. Clarke did withdraw from the talk, but this appeared to be his own decision. After that, the university neglected to apologize for the distress caused to the community, and instead focused on “academic freedom” in their public statement. The first to give a keynote lecture that evening, Dr. Jolee Sasakamoose, is an associate professor at the U of R in Educational Psychology and Counselling, and comes from the M’Chigeeng First Nation in Ontario. She began by saying this was “one of the most important talks she [had] ever done,” and emphasized the severity of the situation, noting that she was on a year’s leave from public speaking at the time due to a grieving period of her own, but that she had made an exception.

Dr. Sasakamoose directly outlined the university’s harmful actions above, and was firm about both healing and responsibility in her lecture: “The people in this room . . . want to come here for healing, and they want to move forward . . . these are the people who are here because they are willing to take the message home that we are here to heal. But if you at the University of Regina fail to respond, again and again, they deserve to take that message back

home as well. This is a story . . . about settler privilege and patriarchy . . . who gets to speak, where they get to speak . . . who gets heard? Who gets protected in the system – rather than who should we protect, or should have been protected?” Sasakamoose added that the reason the event took place at First Nations University, in a room where the persistent echo made these speeches difficult to fully record and transcribe, was because Matriarchs on Duty could not get a room on the main campus.

At one point, Dr. Sasakamoose asked everyone in the audience to stand if they had ever been “hurt by actions or inactions taken by the University of Regina.” Of the substantial crowd in the room at that time, well over half of the people there stood, and Dr. Sasakamoose indicated herself as included in that group.

She wanted a physical representation of “the pain in the room [that] night,” and it was in fact striking. Addressing an elephant in the room, that the head of HR, Kelly Kummerfield at the university is a relative of Pamela George’s murderer, she said: “even if she stays there – just talk to us. Ask us how we feel working under those conditions.” Randy Lundy followed with a similar note of disappointment: “[o]ddly enough [the university administration] haven’t taken the opportunity to issue a public apology to the broader community, in the same way that they publicly defended their actions.”

Vianne Timmons’ statement followed. In it, she went over her perspective of the events surrounding the lecture and explained the decisions she made.

“When I came back from my holiday . . . I asked staff to talk to the speaker and ask him to withdraw. That happened,” she said.

She continued to say that she then had a “three-hour meeting with a number of chiefs, with a number of people on our campus who represent First Nations University. I was thinking of making a public statement, but [the Elder in residence] advised that I do not at this time, that I do a private consultation instead, and that’s what I did.” Timmons said that she met with the Indigenous Advisory’s Circle as well as the George family, who she did, she says, personally issue an apology to. The Elder in residence, Lorna Standingready, confirmed that she facilitated this meeting. Vianne finished her statement by saying that her “focus is on going forward and listening to the community,” and that she personally is “committed, and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”

As Vianne walked from the podium, she was thanked for making an appearance and giving a statement. Emcee Jessica Gordon also added: “You’ve heard a lot of recommendations here tonight . . . and you say you’ll do something, that’s good, but do something, and do it swiftly. Thank you.”

Dr. Sasakamoose in her talk spoke about how she worked professionally to reach “common ground” in colonial institutions, and remarked that she is “tired” of hearing that we need to choose between academia and Indigenization when such professionally developed approaches exist. “We need a seat at the table,” she says, calling attention to the multiple gaps that will be left in administration with an outgoing President and Research Chair. She also thanked Matriarchs on Duty for arranging the event and bringing healing, “because it wasn’t going to happen if you didn’t do this.”

“Dr. Sasakamoose asked everyone in the audience to stand if they had ever been “hurt by actions or inactions taken by the University of Regina.” Of the substantial crowd in the room at that time, well over half of the people there stood,” – Marty Grande-Shebert

Jean Hillabold

The George family mourned the loss of Pamela and the process undertaken by the university’s administration

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 4

news

Board elections on the way for RPIRG Five positions open at student centre

ben schneider news writer Another spring of campus elections will soon be upon the University of Regina and nominations for Regina Public Interest Research Group’s (RPIRG) Board of Directors are now open.

All students who have not opted out of their RPIRG membership are eligible to run.

RPIRG’s Board of Directors operate as the non-profit’s governing body and have a hand in determining the organization’s goals, hiring, and finances. Those on the board attend monthly board meetings and sit on various committees as a part of their responsibilities. The current Board of Directors consists of: Jessica Antonini, Rachel Krywulak-Burton, Isaac Tamlin, Saadia Burki, Chiara Wolfe, Veerasekar PS, Noora Ashrafi, and Nicholas Antonini. All eight board positions are of equal status with no executive in place.

Krystal Lewis, RPIRG’s executive director, says that, as of now, at least five of the eight spots will be opening, potentially more.

Lewis explains that, “Board terms are for two years, and people can serve up to two consecutive terms.

Any current board member who can stay on and serve their second year has until the nomination deadline to notify me if they are staying on. If not, their seat will be open. Anyone who will no longer be a student will also open up a seat. As well, if we have appointed someone to the board mid-term (as we don’t typically hold by-elections), those people will have to formally run in the next available election, so they can formally become elected.”

The acronym everyone spells wrong RPIRG logo

The elections are to take place in March, lining up with most other campus elections.

“While we don’t have the same election rules as URSU (because we are a separate non-profit), we use the same nomination deadline, campaign period dates, and election dates as URSU and are on their same online ballot. Once URSU hires their Chief Returning Officer (CRO), that person will choose the election dates – we are still waiting to [confirm those dates] for this year, but have confirmed the nomination deadline and campaign period. I say nomination deadline because we don’t have a timeframe for nominations to start being accepted, just a deadline to hand them in.”

For those students who may be interested in putting their name forward, it is important to note that no prior experience on a board is necessary. In fact, RPIRG will offer training to their new board members.

Lewis spoke further to the

types of training new board members could expect. “After board elections each year we run a series of training on general board/ nonprofit governance, committee involvement and other roles and responsibilities, full RPIRG orientation and what we are currently involved in, training for doing class talks and other outreach activities, and other things relevant to our mandate such as anti-oppression training. Throughout the term, board members might be involved in hiring and other human resource management, facilitation and event planning, policy development, adjudicating funding applications, representing RPIRG at events, learning different communication skills/ styles and more.

“Each year we allocate some funding for board members to individually or collectively use to build their leadership and governance skills. This can include training on student organizing, learning about

social justice issues that are relevant to students or the campus or wider community (to help inform our work), courses or workshops that will help them in their committee or outreach work, and more. This is to supplement the general training and build a wider range of skill sets on the board.”

“Getting involved in any board or other student organizing, while in university, is of course a great way to pad your resume with volunteer experience, but it also provides lots of valuable transferable skills for nearly anything you might do during or after your studies. There are some basic responsibilities that we ask of our board members because we are a non-profit, but the more you put into the role the more you will get out of it. And because RPIRG has a very wide mandate of promoting social and environmental justice, we engage with a wide range of issues and initiatives that board

members can get involved with, so there is basically something for everyone.”

The nomination deadline is Feb. 28 with a nominee orientation meeting starting at 5:30 that evening. The campaigning period will last two weeks from Mar. 2 – 15, with the official election dates still pending.

RPIRG is also holding a free day-long workshop titled, Winter Power Up – Campaign Planning on Feb. 1. This workshop would be an asset for those considering to run, but is intended for anyone who is interested. From 10:005:00, attendees will learn how to effectively organize and execute a proper campaign. These skills are also transferrable to the likes of event planning, volunteer coordination, and project management. Food and childcare will be provided.

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 5

news

Ryerson and UOttawa’s student unions left in the dust Could it happen here? john loeppky editor-in-chief As first reported by Ryerson’s student outlet, The Eyeopener, Ryerson University’s administration have terminated their agreement with their student union, citing “lost confidence.” The news comes with four of the union’s six executives having left since Dec. 10. Their resignations come after the revelation in 2019, also uncovered by the Eye, that a credit card in the then president’s name had been used to purchase alcohol, food, and club expenses that were not related to his duties. The RSU has since filed a police report with the Toronto Police Service and had been planning to release a forensic audit at their next semi-annual meeting on Feb. 3.

As of publication, the release of the document is still in the cards, though the long-term viability of the organization has been put into serious question.

However, this is not even the first (recent) time that a student union has been stripped of its powers. The University of Ottawa faced a similar issue in 2018 when their undergraduate student union, the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO), had executive members accused of fraud, an accusation they were later cleared of, with an audit declaring that the issue was largely one of conflicts of interest and failures in policy. Contrary to what former campus executives seem to believe, you can’t just hand contracts to your relative. Or, in the U of R’s case, the handling of a legal issue to your friends.

The contract between the U of O campus and SFUO was terminated after a ninety-day period on Dec. 24 (Merry Christmas!).

Since then, a referendum was held in February to decide whether SFUO or a newly formed organization, the University of Ottawa Students’ Union, would be given the right to represent students. The latter won, by a four to one rate, and has since taken the reigns.

All of this typical student union debauchery begs one question: could the same thing happen here? In short: theoretically?

Since the URSU versus recorders debacle (circa 2013), URSU has graciously allowed the Carillon, (read: been forced by sheer will of past editors) to allow this newspaper to record their meetings. While these gatherings have tended to devolve over the last few years into the regular sand-throwing expected of student politicians, there is valuable

Doesn’t look like it’s crumbling to me/ Umair Khan via Flickrr

insight to be had from watching how a non-profit of their scale runs. Since the beginning of the school year, the vast majority of URSU’s meetings have included an in-camera element, meaning private and confidential. Think of it as Roberts’ Rules of Order’s get out of jail free card. Free, unless, like has happened in previous years, a director opens their mouth and lets a journalist in the room know that, to pick an example out of a hat, a vice president has resigned. Yay for openness.

Two executives have resigned this year, we’ve had three elections in a row where the real question was how long would the results take to be ratified, and we’ve been privy to a number of URSU screaming matches over the years. Guess what? That fishbowl is not very good at keeping in the anger.

Maybe the Carillon should have invested in lip reading training, our bad.

To look at the ones with the larger wallets and egos, unlike the majority of other campuses across the countries, the University of Regina holds their Board of Governors meetings secretly, only releasing the minutes long after the

fact and never revealing the time beforehand. The last meeting was Dec. 3 and those minutes are still not available to the public. In the last minutes we have any public record of was held Sept. 17. The meeting lasted roughly two and a half hours and included three in camera sessions. I guess the good news is that URSU has room to triple their secrecy budget.

As previous noted in this newspaper’s pages, the campus’ guide to implementing and acknowledging the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) is not publicly available and, as noted in URSU’s own meeting minutes; the new equity, diversity, and inclusion initiative (EDI) focus sessions turned away students at the door.

This was because, according to multiple accounts, the festivities were only meant for researchers.

In practical speak, the event was only to assuage the general public and convince them that practical work could wait until after millions had been spent on meetings with poor marketing, poor methodology, and poor practical application.

All this leads us to believe

that a split is extremely unlikely.

Problematic decisions aside – and there are a litany of those – the union and campus generally agree on things because the executive has been forced to become spineless – and that’s a lot to say given that the person writing this uses a wheelchair. Rebels against the administration one moment, to posing for photo ops until they are deposed, they resign, or slump back into their traditional role as owl bar nanny, URSU has no vested interest in doing the work of a student union because that would make their dinner parties awkward. A split has never been seriously considered by campus admin and there should be concern on campus that only the few student representatives that the campus has proverbially hogtied into agreeing with them are present at BoG meetings. For what it’s worth (and if anyone wants to follow the University of Calgary’s lead and participate in something other than apathy), the meetings are in the fifth floor board room – think of it as the campus executive’s super expensive porch – and seem to begin between eight and nine in the morning. Handy for

those who want to hold campus to account, they have also been scheduled out until mid-2021: https://www.uregina.ca/president/governance/board-of-governors/minutes.

The next meeting is March 10.

“All of this typical student union debauchery begs one question: could the same thing happen here?

In short: theoretically.” – John Loeppky

January 30 - February 5, 2020

news

carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 6

Regina transit has a long way to go Missing the bus (and the point)

sara birrell news editor

[Editor’s note: the day this article was submitted for publication, my bus was 18 minutes late.]

From proposed fare increases in Chile that sparked the largest mass demonstrations in that nation’s history to the hyper-policing of fare-evaders in cities like New York and Winnipeg, all across the world, public transit has been, and continues to be, a site of struggle for the poor and working class. While the idea of public transit seems innocuous, it’s a critical pressure point in the fight for a fairer, more equitable society. The right to move safely and freely in one’s community is a right as fundamental as the right to freedom of speech and assembly.

And just as important as what public transit means for the individual lives of its users, the battle for safe, reliable, affordable transportation for the masses is inextricably tied to the larger battles for climate justice, social justice, employment security, and more.

A community’s stance on public transit is a reflection of their stance on these broader issues, which is why the sorry state of Regina’s transit system doesn’t bode well for this city’s social report card over all.

“It consumes a large part of my life,” said Carla Harris, a transit user. Harris, who is disabled, said that on days when the weather makes it impossible for her to make the 35-minute walk to work, she instead has to spend three hours riding transit so she can work a six-hour shift.

“I have to leave my house at 7 in the morning to get to my shift at 9 a.m.,” she said.

Still, she counts herself lucky that she’s able to use regular transit. For those who have mobility issues and rely on Paratransit, the situation is even bleaker. Paratransit users must call ahead to schedule their ride, but Harris said that still doesn’t ensure that they’ll get where they’re going on time, or be able to leave when they want to. “Paratransit will say, ‘actually we’ll drop you off an hour prior and pick you up an hour before [the event] ends’” Harris said.

“That kind of thing happens really commonly.”

Ward 3 councillor Andrew Stevens, who said he uses the bus as a means of transportation about 40 to 60 per cent of the time, agrees that there are improvements that are needed, but he also points to progress that has already been made. “It’s remarkably better than it was in 2012,” Stevens said. “Rumour is former mayors didn’t give a shit about busses. It was like a charity.”

But he knows that there’s more that needs to be done.

“We built a city around the automobile,” he said. “And we continue to build a city around the automobile. We’re building new neighbourhoods without bus routes.”

Desirae Bernreuther, a representative from the city, wouldn’t acknowledge the challenges faced by riders, but she did point to improvements that have been made over the past few years. “The Regina fleet is one of the newest in Canada,” she said of the busses that run every half hour or hour.

She added that new Paratransit services, as well as service to the airport and Westerra will begin running in April 2020.

But new busses don’t ensure that routes are on time, nor do they mean that routes are running more frequently. Harris said that this isn’t just inconvenient, it’s dangerous. “When we have -40 weather, you can’t take the risk of waiting 45 minutes after a shift,” she said, adding that many people choose to drive in unsafe vehicles instead of running the risk of freezing or being chronically late.

In response to a question about these dangers, Bernreuther wrote, “All bus operators have access to assistance including a Transit road supervisor, Police or EMS via two-way radio. Transit also operates a Safe Bus program that if anybody is in need of assistance, an individual can signal the bus to stop by outstretching their arms with palms facing towards an approaching bus,” something that’s only useful if the bus is already there.

Stevens said that what’s needed is “an incredible paradigm shift, where we start talking about transit as a public service.” He added that for this to happen, there needs to be a very active transit coalition. “One exists,” he said. “But it’s just not a very prominent group.” Instead of voices for public transit – a service that has extraordinary environmental and social impacts – “we’re consumed with parking and building wider roads for more cars.”

Harris agreed that the culture and conversation around public transit needs to change.

“The mentality is ‘every single person should drive in their vehicle alone, but busses shouldn’t run unless they’re 100 per cent full.’”

“We want an accessible city,” Stevens said. “Maybe we need to set benchmarks and goals for how long we should have to wait for busses at certain times. Maybe we should start looking at [different] models.”

Harris said that in order for there to be necessary changes, Regina transit users need to get their voices heard.

“I spent how many years never complaining about transit, thinking ‘oh, I don’t want to be a bother’ until I started to realize that they won’t have the intention if they don’t believe we exist. So as users, let’s show them that we exist.”

“They’re responsible for listening to their residents.”

Morgan Ortman

The wheels on the bus are late, late, late all through the town

Arts & Culture

7

Editor: ethan butterfield aandc@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 30 - February 5, 2020

More Joy Regina – Clint Malarchuk interview Mental health advocate and former NHLer to speak at event

ethan Butterfield a&c editor Content Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide and mental health concerns More Joy Regina made its way back to the Conexus Arts Centre on Jan. 29. The event, which is based around mental health awareness, focuses on significant issues such as depression, anxiety, and self-care. More Joy founder, Cristalee Froese, started her journey to joy through her novel of the same name. After the powerful responses that her book garnered, the More Joy Movement came about which, outlining a more dynamic way to life your best life.

More Joy Regina brought in guest speakers to talk about their own mental health issues, helping to bridge the gap between attendees.

The event is part of URSU’s Sexual Health Mentall Wellness week from Jan. 28-31.

The event featured not just guest speakers, but also activity centres and mental health resources. I was able to talk with former NHL player/coach and suicide survivor Clint Malarchuk before the event. Clint discussed his mental health, the event, his book, and his career.

Ethan Butterfield

Local event sparks conversations about mental health

Just for some perspective, you played for the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabers, you did some coaching jobs as well. What was all that like for you?

Oh well, I mean it was my life. You know, it [was] what I did.

As a player and then, gracefully, I got to go into coaching, directly from being a player, so I was pretty blessed in that way. You know, very grateful that I was able to find that route. Then I coached from the day I retired, which was around ‘94, ‘95, ‘til 2014. So, I was pretty fortunate.

be a guest speaker at the More Joy Regina event?

Recently, you released a book and in the opening there’s a very powerful introduction which talks about and visualizes your struggle with suicide. Why that opening?

Have you spoken at other public events or just More Joy Regina?

I would say, because it tells people how deep and dark I was, and struggling in silence. And it tells people that might read that first part and go “Oh my god, that is me.” So, mostly it’s for the people that are still struggling in that darkness, in silence.

What made you want to

[Laughter] Probably ‘cause of my history. They found me and I found them, and it worked. It was a good connection. I think my story resonates with that type of event. Not only that but my wife is going to be speaking with me as well. And, for the people that can’t relate to Clint Malarchuk, they might be able to relate to the spouse like, Joanie, my wife that went through all that. You know, ‘cause it doesn’t just affect the one person, it affects everybody.

Oh no, this is something I do regularly. In fact, the day before we check in, I’m in Saskatoon.

Now, for those who don’t know, you had another incident where you almost died while playing for Buffalo.

Would you be able to discuss that moment?

Well, we don’t know- well now we do, but back then we

didn’t know what trauma could do to a person. And, we didn’t even have the words PTSD back then, and for me it was just getting back in there as quick as I could.

You know, being brought up the way I was, on horses and what not, you get bucked off, you get right back in. You get right back on that horse. So, for me, that was my mentality. The only shame in that is, hard to say this but I had no counselling, none was offered, and I didn’t think of it either.

So, it’s all fair, I’m not blaming, there’s no blame, but then when Richard Zednik cut his jugular in the same city, in Buffalo about 10 or 12 years ago now, they had counselling for him. Anybody who was directly involved in that incident. So, I’m really pleased that we’ve come that far with the mental illness side of things.

So, there was no hesitation from you, right back on the ice?

Well I thought it was the right thing to do, you know, the only right way to go. Like I said, you get bucked off the horse you get right back on it. That fear doesn’t set in, and as soon as my stitch-

“ . . . we didn’t even have the words PTSD back then . . .” – Clint Malarchuk

es came out, I was right back in there. As damaging as that might have been to me emotionally in a lot of ways, in a lot of ways it was my journey to get help. Get the right doctors, medication, therapy.

So, am I correct in assuming that, because of these issues, that’s why you go out to these events?

Oh, absolutely. My best gratification of anything, I do have to keep my balance with medication, working out, endorphin release, counselling. But yeah, to be a service, to tell my message to people, especially as a former athlete. You got that big Superman cape on us, you know, we’re supposed to be tough and everything.

Then, for people to hear my story, it’s not about tough you are, it’s not a weakness, it’s a sickness and it can be cured.

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |

arts & culture

8

Grain Magazine looking for submissions Queer Writers Issue is fast approaching

taylor balfour op-ed editor Grain, a Saskatchewan-based literary magazine published by the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, has opened up submissions for their Queer Writers Issue. The issue is intended to be released later this year – in Summer 2020 – but Grain is accepting submissions until Feb. 29.

But, what exactly is the Queer Writers Issue? What does it mean? What does it accomplish? Does it follow a certain theme I need to adhere to when I submit? Luckily for you, I’m here to answer those questions.

Grain magazine is accepting previously unpublished work such as poetry, fiction and literary nonfiction (up to 3,500 words), other forms of writing if approved by Grain’s editors, and visual art.

Grain also notes that “all contributors, regardless of genre, are paid $50 per page to a maximum of $250, plus two copies of the issue in which their work appears.”

Artists who submit visual work to be published that is accepted will be paid the same rate, but to a maximum of $500.

This issue, however, is profound. The meaning behind it is influential and matters in the

long run. Creative endeavours like these – ones that demonstrate representation using the actual voices of queer students and young adults – are what make a profound difference in the lives of queer Canadians.

In a 2016 study done by Stats Canada, they uncovered that “police‑reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation rose 25% from the previous year, accounting for 13% of all hate crimes reported to the police during that year” and that sexual orientation-based hate crimes “were more likely to be violent (71 per cent) and were more likely to result in injuries to the victim (44 per cent).”

This study also reported that “most (82 per cent) of the victims were male” and that almost half of the victims, equally out to 43 per cent “were under the age of 25.” Even worse, StatsCanada also reports that “police-reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation rose 16 per cent in 2017.”

But, what does all of this have to do with Grain’s Queer Writers issue? Well, the very act of representation, of opening the floor to inclusion and respect, is what can open the door to a more understanding future for queer students

and young adults.

Natasha Negovanlis, one of the stars of Carmilla, a web-series in video-blog style of character Laura Hollis documenting her first year at university. The show documents the main character’s gradual progression into falling in love with her roommate, Carmilla Karnstein, played by Negovanlis.

In an article for This.org, Negovanlis says: “For me, it’s not about red carpets and the illusion of glamour. It’s about feeling the warm energy a room full of fans gives off, and meeting parents who say to me, ‘Thanks for telling my kid they’re worthy.’ It’s the lives and perspectives that have been changed forever.”

This is why meaningful queer representation written and distributed by queer writers and creators is so important.

It’s so essential that in 2019 the government of Canada announced that they were opening a “Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics.” According to their website, “this initiative will help citizens make informed decisions and will support city planners, business owners and policy-makers at all levels.”

Grain’s Queer Writers Issue expands far more than just supplying writers with a means to

Courtesy of Grain Magazine

A previous issue of SWG’s publication

share their work. Grain is giving marginalized writers a voice and is allowing them to be heard. It’s providing them with an outlet to express, create, and be them-

selves.

It’s giving them a safe space to exist, and that’s even more beautiful than the gorgeous work their issue will be sharing with the world.

Grammys Review Billie Eilish wins big

ethan butterfield a&c editor

Ah, the Grammys, the award show so nice that I stopped paying attention to it years ago. Not because of the state of music nowadays mind you, there were a lot of contenders that I was rooting for this year (weirdly enough), but more so because the bands that I listen to (anyone remember Skillet?) are so far from Grammy fame that putting them in the same category feels like giving pity marks to that one student who the prof doesn’t really want to have in their lecture again.

Poor and over-extended analogy aside, the contenders for this year’s music awards nonsense were pretty decent. Billie Eilish has been taking the world by storm and so, too, took her fair share of Grammys. Eilish not only won Best New Artist, but also took home Record of the Year, along with Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Eilish is the first artist to accomplish the four-sweep win since 1981, which is unbelievable in its own right.

My personal favourite award came from the Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance Award, where it was awarded to none other than the men, the myths, the legends, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus for “Old Town Road!” Yes, a song so catchy that I’m constantly humming the tune to myself as I write this article.

Honestly though, I can’t think of better performers to take home

Wikimedia Commons

Lizzo won big that night

the award. That song was literally everywhere.

Next, we take a look at superstar sensation Lizzo, who had the most nominations heading into the event. This was an artist that I was recently introduced to (remember, I still listen to 2000s hard rock) and, all in all, I can see the appeal. Well, when I say see the appeal, what I mean is that I listen to “Good as Hell” on repeat because it’s just a little too fire (do the youth still say that?). That aside, Lizzo managed to pick up

the win for Best Solo Pop Performance.

Moving right along, we find ourselves in my category, rock n’ roll. To start things off, Best Rock Album went to Cage the Elephant for Social Cues, which was a bit of a disappointment because this is a category that featured the Rival Sons and Bring Me the Horizon, and somehow Cage the Elephant won . . . for Best Rock Album. Anyway. Gary Clark Jr. won for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance with “This

Land,” which makes sense. It’s a hell of a tune. Then, finally, in the Best Metal Performance category, Tool won for their song, “7empest”. Normally I’d give more praise there, but this is a category that Tenacious D won at one point, so it’s all but dead to me.

So, without diving any deeper into the event, was this Grammy ceremony a wash? Well, that would require me to have had seen other ceremonies to compare it to. But taking a shot in the dark, it was good. There was some his-

tory made, some favourites won and some favourites lost. In short, at the end of the day, we can put this alongside all the other award shows out there because none of it matters anyway. An award is an award. It’s all about the impact you make along the way.

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |

arts & culture

9

The Daughters of the Palatine Hill Three interesting women, one great story

elisabeth sahlmueller staff writer Phyllis T. Smith’s second historical fiction novel, The Daughters of the Palatine Hill, is a captivating story of love, loss, sacrifice, loyalty, passion and freedom.

Set in Rome during the time of Emperor Caesar Augustus’ rule, Smith’s novel centres around the lives of its three female protagonists: Julia, the only true child of Emperor Augustus Caesar, Livia Drusilla, his ever faithful wife and (Cleopatra) Selene, the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony.

Narrated through the alternating chapter perspectives of these three women, The Daughters of the Palatine Hill gives a unique voice to three interesting women from ancient history who have frequently been ignored and even extremely misogynistically portrayed within the historical record.

As the only daughter of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, Julia has a great deal of luxury and privilege. However, as she gets older she quickly realizes that this position comes with very limited freedom and control over her life.

At fourteen, she is married to her cousin Marcellus and even though their marriage eventually develops into a romantic relationship, it unfortunately ends much too early. Unable to remain a

young widow, another marriage is arranged for Julia, this time to Aggrippa, a much older military general and close friend of her father’s. Although Augustus considers this match a good idea, it leaves Julia unhappy because it is not based on love.

As time goes on, Julia gets tired of having to prioritize the state’s interests over her own and this anger and frustration motivates her to live her life how she wants, including turning to other men to obtain the love and passion she desperately desires.

Even though Julia eventually discovers a man whom she truly and passionately loves, unfortunately this relationship is strongly disapproved of by her father, who fears that this union will present a serious threat to his own power. As a result, Julia is forced to choose between the romantic love she’s always wanted and obedience to her father, resulting in a decision that brings tough consequences for all involved.

Despite being married to the man whose actions led to both the defeat and death of her beloved father, Livia surprisingly harbours no thoughts of vengeance against her husband Augustus. Instead, she has impressively adapted to her situation in life becoming the ideal Roman wife, characterized by her demonstration of modesty, faithfulness and loyalty. Addition-

ally, Livia is passionately in love with Augustus, worrying about him when he is away fighting, caring for him when he is ill and counting down the time until they are reunited.

Although Livia could easily abuse her power by giving bad governance advice, she doesn’t.

Instead, all of her advice is motivated by the goal of maintaining Agustus’ rule and the peace of the empire, in order to prevent another disastrous civil war. Unfortunately, sometimes she is so focused on ensuring the empire’s best interests that she fails to consider other people’s feelings and accept that certain people, like her own son, are not well suited to be in power.

Following Augustus’ defeat of her parents, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, nine-year-old Selene is brought to Rome as a prisoner in chains, where she is raised, first

by Augustus’ sister Octavia, then his wife Livia, within his family complex. Initially Cleopatra considers vengeance, angered and saddened by the loss of her parents, brothers and home. She is also frightened by the fact that at any time, Augustus has the power to reverse his earlier benevolence and have her killed, like her younger brothers were. However, her determination to follow her mother’s command to “live” and the influence of her surprising

friendship with Livia makes her more willing to adapt. Instead of focusing on getting revenge, she instead puts her effort into ensuring her survival.

Later on, Selene is fortunate to leave Rome and govern Mauretania, a small African Kingdom, alongside Juba, the man whom she loves. However, she is never completely free from Rome’s control, since multiple aspects of governing Mauretania require Rome’s support. Additionally, even though Selene has gotten rid of her feelings for vengeance against Augustus, an opportunity for revenge later resurfaces, forcing Selene to choose between love for her family and loyalty to the Roman Empire.

The best aspect about The Daughters of the Palatine Hill is its unique character representations. While Smith maintained historical accuracy, she also excellently provided a more realistic view of not only what Julia, Livia, and Selene’s lives may have been like; but also how they may have felt about certain situations and events. This alternate perspective is demonstrated the best with Julia.

Most historical records depict Julia negatively, as a spoiled disobedient child and a wild, promiscuous “slut” because she went against her father’s wishes and had numerous sexual partners.

Even though Smith maintained these aspects of Julia’s life, at the same time, she decided to deter from the existing extremely misogynistic male perspective of Julia, by placing a greater emphasis on Julia’s own feelings. As a result, Julia quickly becomes a character whom readers sympathize with, especially since it is hard not to feel angry about how she is treated as a pawn rather than a daughter, by her father.

Despite Julia’s great portrayal in this novel, I was not impressed by how Selene was depicted. I have read quite a lot about her and found it hard to believe that she would have given up her thoughts of vengeance so quickly and easily. I also felt that her inclusion as character diminished significantly within the novels’ second part. Selene was a very interesting woman from ancient history and it would have been better if the novel had included more about her governance and life with Juba and children in Mauretania. However, this is just a personal opinion and does not at all decrease the overall enjoyment of Smith’s novel.

Phyllis T. Smith’s, The Daughters of the Palatine is a thrilling novel which I highly recommend to anyone who wants a great and exciting read.

“You have to adapt to life as it comes . . . in order to live at all. Nothing in life is just as it should be.” – Phyllis T. Smith

Pixabay

Pages, and pages, and pages

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |

arts & culture

10

What’s up, gamers? Let’s feel gender euphoria How inclusivity helps trans gamers see their present and future selves

marty grande-sherbert staff writer A developer called Crema recently released an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game on Jan. 21 called TemTem – a Pokemon-type “creature collection game,” as they call it, where you capture and train monsters – which caused an explosive reaction among some. The reason for the controversy? TemTem is one of the first games, perhaps the first MMORPG, which allows the player to choose the pronouns they use in-game. TemTem characters are not “male” or “female,” but simply choose “she/ her,” “they/them” or “he/him” at the character creation stage.

There were several complaints on Steam because of this design choice, arguing that the game highlighted the creator’s “political agenda” behind TemTem. One comment sums up the negative reactions: “I will not expose my children to LGBQT propaganda pronouns.”

The reaction is not surprising, nor is it what I want to focus on at this moment in game history. There will always be people who think that inclusivity is “too

Kickstarter website screenshot

political,” that the acknowledgment of another experience is a denial of their own. All I’ll say is that I’m waiting for cisgender people to realize that they do, in fact, also have personal pronouns.

Please figure this out faster.

What I want to focus on instead in the wake of TemTem’s development is how this is part of a longer story about the relationship between trans people and video games. Despite the assumption that gender in games is arbitrary, that it shouldn’t matter what gender options there are (it isn’t real, after all), some trans people actually have video games in part to thank for finding themselves.

You may have heard about gender dysphoria – the uncomfortable disconnect a person feels when they’re aware that their gender doesn’t align with their body or appearance – but not as many people know that there is such a thing as gender euphoria as well.

Gender euphoria is just the opposite: a sense of relief and happiness that a person feels when they experience something that aligns

with their gender identity. And for many trans kids, video games were the first contexts in which they ever experienced gender euphoria, because of the freedom of identity that comes in a game world. You can experience gender euphoria “second-hand” in a video game – and in many cases, even though they don’t know why, trans kids play video games a lot.

I’m a nonbinary person, and I love games – but I love them most when I feel like I’m playing them, and not somebody else. When Sims 4 introduced the ability to “customize gender” for individual Sims, this was one of the times I really felt like I could be a player in the same way everyone else could. Simulation games are the best examples to point to when talking about how trans inclusion is necessary for game design, because there are huge sections of a fanbase that can’t see themselves in the game until these changes exist. For years, I was always dissatisfied with some aspect of my Sim self because I had to choose between a “male” or “female” character. In the Sims 4, though,

I’m actually able to create an accurate, positive image of myself.

For some trans people, especially for those who don’t have access to any kind of transition, this is a desperately needed affirmation.

(Sims 4 still doesn’t have any way for sims to change their pronouns or use “they/them,” though.

Games are living documents and can always use new changes!)

I asked trans friends and peers on Twitter about this phenomenon and was met with a lot of similar sentiments. Some said that they remembered always wanting to play as what was to them at the time the “opposite” gender, in a Pokemon game, for example. Others said playing as androgynous characters like Link from the Legend of Zelda made them feel far more comfortable than they did in any other game, and still others said how excited they got when they were able to change the proportions or voice of their character how they wanted. Whether it’s to accurately depict ourselves, or to create an image of ourselves that aligns more closely with us than our

current appearance does, games give trans people the tools to build self-confidence when even looking in the mirror is difficult.

People can pearl-clutch about pronouns in TemTem all they want. Trans gamers are still going to exist, have a lot of fun, and find and love ourselves at every age. In hobbies, we “follow our bliss,” and in identity, we “follow our euphoria.” I hope that playing TemTem and all other trans-inclusive games will begin and sustain steps for trans people out of depression and into self-love.

“I’m a nonbinary person, and I love games – but I love them most when I feel like I’m playing them, and not somebody else.” – Marty Grande-Sherbert

Sports

11

Editor: tyler meadows sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 30 - February 5, 2020

Men’s hockey continues playoff push with sweep Connor Chaulk led the team with three points and shootout winner brian palaschuk sports writer In what has been one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory, the Cougars men’s hockey team has jumped into playoff position after sitting dead last in Canada West with just two wins coming into Christmas break.

Since then, the team has been on a tear, going 6-1-1 and improving their record to 8-13-3. However, in spite of the Cougars’ improvement, the playoff competition has been heating up. Coming into the Jan. 24 weekend against Manitoba, the Cougars sat two points behind the UBC Thunderbirds and the Bisons in seventh place.

This means that the weekend presented the opportunity not only to gain on UBC, but to catch up to Manitoba, which is one the Cougars sunk their teeth into.

On Friday night they had a huge shootout win, coming back from a deficit of three goals and then coming back again to force the overtime. Four different Cougars scored to force overtime, including team leader Connor Chaulk who notes how important the game was to the team.

“Friday night we got off to a tough start, and I think in past years with the character we had we would have just sunk our ship there, but the way we came back and the way we rallied together as a group to win that game 5-4 was huge for us. It really shows what kind of group we’ve got in there.”

Chaulk also scored a beauty in the shootout to decide the game. Coming down with speed, the cagey forward faked right and then ripped a hard shot right over the blocker of Manitoba goalie Tyler Brown.

“I had a really good chance in the third; me and Dupereault had a two on zero and we didn’t bury it, so I had to redeem myself a little bit. It was awesome, any time to get the game winning goal or a shootout goal it’s an exciting feeling” Last week against Mount Royal, the Cougars played great on Friday but came out slow on Saturday and got burnt. For Chaulk, this was something they wanted to avoid in Manitoba.

“We used that Mount Royal game as a steppingstone, knowing it wasn’t going to be easy coming in Saturday on the road.”

With that approach, the Cougars sure made it look easy on Saturday. The Nagel, Chaulk,

University of Regina Athletics

Cougars continue to stack up wins

and Platt line came out flying with a goal early in the first and the powerplay added two more to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead. Halfway through the second it was 5-0 and the Cougars held on to win it 6-3. With this weekend in the rear view mirror, the playoffs are dead ahead, and with UBC breathing down their neck, the Cougars season is not one hundred per cent in their control.

“Obviously, it’s in the back of your mind all the time. You’re doing a little bit of scoreboard watching, but at the end of the day it’s in our hands now. We look at Manitoba, they’re only two points up at us and we hold the tiebreaker so we look at that as a spot we can jump into if we can string a couple more wins together.”

UBC plays last-ranked Lethbridge next week, while the Cougars take on the juggernaut University of Alberta.

“We know we are facing the two top teams in the league in back to back weeks but we’re a different team than the times we played them before Christmas, and we are looking forward to the

challenge here.”

The Cougars are a different team to be sure, but what has made the biggest difference?

“Obviously the addition of Nagel has been huge for the team and for myself personally, he’s brought an element that we’ve been missing, but even before Christmas we were playing really good hockey. I think now coming into the new year we wanted to rewrite the script. The team hasn’t made the playoffs in the past seven years, but this is a new group of guys in here and we are ready to change that tradition and we want to get back in the playoffs.”

The Cougars of 2020 are a different team than the Cougars of 2019, but Connor Chaulk also looks like a different player. He has reached another level since the injection of Nagel into the roster and now leads the team with 17 points. For the second-year centre, the change has been part elbow grease and part puck-luck.

“Obviously capitalizing is huge, I was getting chances before Christmas and wasn’t able to finish or line mates have been unable to finish. Things have just

been changing a little bit with the addition of Nagel, we are generating double the amount we were generating before Christmas.

That chemistry has almost been instant between us. On the other side, Bryce Platt has been playing really well and the chemistry between us three seems to click.”

With the All-Star Weekend in the NHL this weekend, it prompts the idea of a U Sports all-star game. The league already names all-stars, but what does Chaulk think about getting them together for a game and skills competition like in the NHL? “Oh yeah, I think that would be great actually. Even if there were three divisions, I think that would be a pretty cool setup for sure. I think if it’s in the right place it could draw a real crowd.

That’d be awesome to establish something like that.”

All-Star break aside, the Cougars are in the fight of their lives to end their seven-year playoff drought. The Golden Bears have dropped just five games this season, but the Cougars might need to make it six to stay in playoff position. Chaulk thinks his team is

up to the test.

“They are first place in the league. I am really looking forward to the challenge, it gives us an idea of where we stand. I think they know it’s going to be a challenge; they’re not just going to come in here and walk all over us.”

The new look Cougars will battle for their season at the Co-operators Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

“We know we are facing the two top teams in the league in back to back weeks but were a different team than the times we played them before Christmas, and we are looking forward to the challenge here.” – Connor Chaulk

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 12

sports

Women’s hockey team playoff-bound The Cougars solidify their playoff position with a split brian palaschuk sports writer As the University of Regina’s women’s hockey team continued their post-Christmas drive, I caught up with the orchestrator behind their late season charge: head coach Sarah Hodges.

The weekend brought some exciting games to the Co-operators Centre. Both Friday and Saturday were hard-fought bouts, but the Cougars picked up just a single 3-0 win on Friday, while they fell to the Bisons 2-1 on Saturday. Elise Endicott led the team with two goals, while captain Jaycee Magwood added another two assists, and Jane Kish extended her shutout record to seven. For Hodges, it was a bit of a mixed bag.

“I think we actually played better on Saturday than Friday.

Our league is really close so we would have liked to have six points, but I think it was a good wake up call for us as well.”

“We might have taken them a little bit more lightly than we have the last few weekends so that bit us a little bit, but I think we’ve been happy with how the team has been playing.”

The refereeing was questionable on Saturday, with a number of borderline calls. The most notable of these was on the second

Manitoba goal where it looked like three Manitoba players were piled on Kish in her crease, but the whistle wasn’t blown and there was no goalie interference call.

“We thought that there should have been a whistle on the play, so we have to accept it and keep going. You just have to move on and respond better,” said Hodges.

Despite the loss, the team is on a remarkable run, winning seven of their last eight and completely turning their season around from last place to playoff bound. To what does Hodges attribute that success?

“I think the biggest thig is that there was an attitude shift at Christmas. We took stock of what’s important and decided that the team winning is more important than ice time. They’ve started to play as a team and played really well.”

Some of these players who have stepped into their roles are the rookies, who Hodges notes have made a big difference.

“I think they’ve all done really well; Paige Hubbard is playing a ton and she’s putting the puck in the net for us. We’ve had three rookies playing D, and when they’re in they are very heavily depended on. It’s a really good class which is exciting.”

University of Regina Athletics

Cougars get a split in a controversial Saturday game

Of course, when you are talking about impact players during the run, the first name that comes to mind is goaltender Kish. Her seven shutouts this season lead Canada West and mark a Cougars record. For Hodges, goaltending has been a game changer.

“Our league is so close that one bad goal can make the difference between winning and losing

so it really is important to have someone back there that’s steady and consistent. She’s doing her job and she’s doing it very well. If you don’t have that you don’t win many games in this league.”

Now that the team is playoff-bound, what is the next step for the Cougars?

“I think the team’s goal was to have a home playoff weekend so we are in that position right

now but we will need to have two more solid weekends to make that a reality so hopefully we can get that done in the next couple weeks.”

The Cougars will be back in action in Edmonton Jan. 31 against the league-leading Pandas and will then return home to face the rival Huskies Feb. 7.

Women’s volleyball rebuilding in 2020 The standings look ugly, but the Cougars have shown signs of life

brian palaschuk sports writer The Cougars women’s volleyball team has had the most dramatic downturn of any campus team in the 2019-2020 season. In 20182019, the Cougars dominated the regular season; they went 16-8 and carried that momentum all the way to the Canada West quarterfinals where they lost in a 3-2 heartbreaker to the UBC Thunderbirds. Along the way the team earned many accolades, Taylor Ungar set a Cougar record in digs, Satomi Tagowa won Cougar Female Athlete of the Year, and coach Melanie Sanford won Canada West Coach of the Year after leading the Cougars to a strong regular season finish.

In 2019-2020, the team looks like a ghost of last year’s dominant roster. With just three weeks left in the season, the team sits 2-16 at the bottom of the Canada West table. They are far from playoff position for 2020 which, for a team that was pushing for a deep playoff run just a year ago, seems disastrous. So, what has happened with the Cougars volleyball team in 2020?

First, the team has graduated some of their key pieces from last season. Alongside libero Ungar, the team also said goodbye to outside hitter Ashlee Sandiford, who led the team in service aces and attack attempts. The team also

lost all-time season assist leader Tagowa. Together, that means that the majority of the Cougars core was swapped out for the 2019-2020 season.

With a new core comes some rebuilding time, especially with a young group. The Cougars now have just one graduating player, outside hitter Diana Lumbala. Instead, Cougars have six first and second-years. While not many of these new players are starting yet, there are new faces making strides in the lineup. New libero Sierra Parris-Kruger has filled the void left by Ungar admirably, averaging 3.94 blocks per set, just short of Ungar’s 4.51. Brit Davis has also been a welcome addition, she is second on the team in digs, kills, and points in 2019-2020. However, as a team, they are not quite there yet.

The biggest difference between the 2018-2019 Cougars is their attacking percentage. While the Cougars have continued to out-attack other teams, generating 2161 attacks to their opponents’ 2082, their hitting percentage is just 0.118, compared to their opponent’s average of 0.211. This means that while the Cougars are getting their chances, they are converting on them at only half the rate of their opponents. However, there has been improvement in this area, which can be seen in their close loss to the University of Saskatchewan

University of Regina Athletics

The tough year continues for the volleyball team

this past weekend. In those two games, the Cougars actually outhit the Huskies in both games, and on Saturday the Cougars hit 0.184, which is far above their season average. This improvement indicates that the players are beginning to step into their roles and find some success, despite what the results on the scoreboard may show. Coach Sanford

has proven many times that she can get the most out of a roster and, with the right additions and improvements in the offseason, the Cougars will be looking to get back into contention in 2021.

The Cougars final home games are Feb. 7 and 8.

January 30 - February 5, 2020

sports

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |

13

Superbowl Preview I’m just here so I don’t get fined

ethan butterfield a&c editor In the immortal words of UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, “It’s time!” Once again the Super Bowl has rolled around and once again I’m writing a predictions article for who is going to come out on top. Funnily enough, this is my third Super Bowl predictions article writing for the Carillon, with the previous two actually coming true. The first was the match-up between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 where, on a whim, I picked the Broncos to upset (still my proudest moment as an unverified sports writer).

The second was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, where the Eagles ended up winning it all.

Now, the championship game features two teams that I’m more or less disinterested in. On the AFC side, we have the Kansas City Chiefs, and on the NFC side, we have the San Francisco 49ers.

Both teams have shown a dominating offense and a steady defence With Kansas City, the sheer

PXhere

Who you got for the big game?

willpower and gameday presence of quarterback Patrick Mahomes (who’s been in the NFL for only three seasons) may be enough for the team to raise the Lombardi trophy over their head. However, the 49er’s have, quite simply, been dominant as a team throughout the entirety of the season. Here’s a few quick stats about the team in case you were wondering; the 49ers have are over 1,000 yards in offense when compared to combined opponents, they have almost 20 touchdowns over combined opponents, and they have around a dozen sacks more than opponents combined.

This being said though, Kansas City shouldn’t be overlooked. Much like Deshaun Watson or Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes has the unreal ability to make plays on the fly and come back from a deficit that should be a game ender (here’s looking at you, Houston). On top of that, Kelce is a beast at the tight end position. Putting up over 1,000 yards receiving and gaining 12.7 yards per reception, the 49ers will definitely have their hands full.

Of course, the state of the 49ers defence should also be taken into account. Richard Sherman, the man, the myth, the legend. Often on the more criticized end of the spectrum, Sherman is one of the very best when it comes to the cornerback position. Don’t believe me? Listen to Sherman himself speak on why he shows up.

In a recent interview ( on KNBR on YouTube), Sherman went off to say that “I show up year in and year out, whether it’s 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, unless I tear my Achilles, I’m doing my job at a high level. I’m tired of hearing the excuses; ‘Oh my god, they’re playing zone’, ‘Oh my god, it was this guy’, ‘Oh my god, the receiver slipped’, why don’t other people got [sic] those outs?”

Sherman aside, the 49ers defensive line has been a force to be reckoned with. Putting the brakes on a dangerous 10 - 6 Vikings team and a 13 - 3 Packers squad led by Aaron Rodgers hunting for that second, ever elusive Super Bowl ring. Of course, Kansas City is no pushover either,

as they managed to slow down a terrifying Derrick Henry from the Titans (despite their issues with the run game in the regular season).

So, looking at players and squads as a whole, who is going to win the big one? Honestly, I’d go with the San Francisco 49ers.

All in all, they’re just the more complete squadron, they look like a complete unit, not like a team that relies on one player to make the big plays (which to Kansas City’s credit has gotten them this far). If this game went to overtime, I wouldn’t be at all shocked, but it’s going to be the 49ers that come out on top. At least, that’s the prediction.

And if I’m wrong? Well, bragging about being 2-0 for Super Bowl picks for so long, despite being the honestly miserable achievement that it is, had to end at some point. But, if I’m right, I get to be insufferable for another year. Just to Carillon staff exclusively. Sorry, not sorry. Anyway, win or lose, everything will be revealed when Feb. 2 arrives. And, hey, whoever does win, it doesn’t

really matter as long as we all had fun in the end. Right? Well, that’s what we tell ourselves.

“Now, the championship game features two teams that I’m more or less disinterested in, but still manage to find something to root for regardless.” – Ethan Butterfield

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon | 14

sports

Peter Watts Memorial Grant Organization founds sponsporship for first-year journos elisabeth sahlmueller staff writer Two weeks ago U Sports (formerly CIS), the national brand of university sports, announced the launch of the Peter Watts Memorial Grant (PWMG) to honour the well-known and incredibly skilled sports journalist and broadcaster Peter Watts, who died last year at the age of sixty-eight. Valued at $3,000, this new grant will not only provide significant financial help for the lucky university student recipient, entering the field of journalism, media studies or communications, but will also be an excellent way to honour Peter Watts and the impact he had within Canadian sports journalism.

Peter Watts’ involvement in sports journalism and broadcasting began while he was still a student attending Queen’s University. In 1971, he played a leading role in the establishment of CFRC, a student-led radio station for Queen’s University which still exists, almost fifty years later. In 1977, shortly after graduating, he joined CBC Sports in Edmonton.

During his time there, he had the privilege of covering major news sports stories, such as the Edmonton Eskimos Grey Cup wins (1978-1982), Wayne Gretzky’s arrival to the Edmonton Oilers, as well as that team’s Stanley Cup wins. He also reported on major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games in 1978 and again in Brisbane, four years later.

In 1984, Watts became one of the original anchors of TSN Sports Desk, in its very first year. During his time with TSN, he covered many exciting stories and sporting events, including the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 games in Calgary.

Watts was also involved with “various [other] media outlets, [including] CKLC, CKWS . . . and Chorus Radio Calgary.”

According to TSN and Global articles about his death. Near the end of his career he also became a regular host of the Alberta Morning News, broadcasted on 770 CHR, as well as 630 CHED. While there he reported on a variety of topics, such as sports, national disasters and politics.

In addition to having a successful work career, Watts was also a strong advocate and supporter of university level sports and student-athletes. This is demonstrated by the coverage he provided to amateur sporting events over the course of his time at TSN. Watts not only reported on, but also hosted live coverage for numerous inter-university Athletic

U Sports Logo via Wikimedia Commons

In loving memory of Peter Watts

Union (known now as U Sports), games.” For Watts, it was important to not only tell, but also give attention to the sporting events which were often ignored within mainstream media. According to Mark Milliere, senior vice-president and general manager of TSN, Watts “was especially passionate about amateur athletes and [was always eager for] the opportunity to tell their stories” (according to an online TSN article). Watts was also a member of the organizing committee for the BLG awards, which honoured the talent and performance of university student athletes in various university sporting events and competitions.

When asked how this memorial grant came to be, Watt’s sister, Linda, stated that it grew out of a desire to preserve Peter’s legacy. “It was Peter’s nature to help/teach others.” Throughout the course of Watts’ successful forty-year career, as indicated by many individuals who knew and worked with him, Watts always demonstrated a sincere willingness to help individuals new to the field of journalism and broadcasting. “By establishing this

grant, we are hopefully preserving his legacy . . . [and helping] as many students as we can both now and in the coming years.”

Beginning this upcoming fall, September 2020, the PWMG will be awarded to a first-year student entering a Canadian university in the subject of journalism, media studies or communications.

According to Linda, first-year students were chosen as the recipient group because the idea was to give individuals “a boost start to their career in a field that Peter loved.”

As emphasized on the promotional flyer published by U SPORTS, the intention with this memorial grant is for it to be awarded annually for the next six years.

When asked about the process involved with setting up this grant, John Bowers, the U Sports director of marketing and communications explained that it was not quick, or easy. “U Sports was approached about this grant by . . . Linda and Paul, [as well as] past colleagues and friends of Peter’s.”

From there, multiple “discussions and conference calls have taken place to ensure [that] this grant is

set up and communicated as per each parties’ expectations.”

Despite the role U SPORTS has had in promoting the grant, it was the Peter Watts Memorial Media Foundation who originally thought of and made the grant possible. This foundation was created by Peter’s brother Paul, sister Linda, as well as “Lisa Bowers, a TSN coworker and Don Metzi, Peter’s camera man [of] many years,” according to John Bowers.

The $18,000 involved in the six-year commitment of the PWMG “was raised from [a] crowd funding campaign upon Peter’s passing with significant contributions from TSN and Calgary Sports and Entertainment.”

Applications for the PWMG are currently being accepted from now until March 31 and can be emailed to PWmemorialgrant@ usports.ca.

Within their application, students must include all of the following: a copy of their resume, a short (1000-word max) essay explaining why this subject field is important for them to pursue and an example of their writing.

After the deadline, all of the applications will be reviewed by a

“selection panel . . . comprised of veteran industry professionals who worked with Peter over the last forty years,” with the award recipient being contacted at a later date.

Watts is remembered as a genuine individual with a strong work ethic, “revered for his professionalism, journalistic integrity and passion for his craft” (as indicated on an online Global News article). He became a well-respected individual, not only by coworkers, “many of whom’, as Linda stated, “considered him their mentor,” but also by people all over Canada. By bringing media attention to university levels sports, he significantly and positively influenced both the present and future of university sports.

Although Peter Watts will surely be missed, this memorial grant excellently ensures that his legacy will live on and never be forgotten.

“By establishing this grant, we are hopefully preserving his legacy… [and helping] as many students as we can both now and in the coming years.” – Linda Watts

Op-ed

15

Editor: taylor balfour op-ed@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 30 - F3ebruary 5, 2020

Reconciliation means not stealing land

Wikimedia Commons

For weeks now, the standoff between the people of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation and the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been flooding news organizations around the country due to recent changes in the treatment of the protestors by the RCMP. Normally when writing about these types of stories, I like to offer a recap of what has taken place so far, what it means, and where we go from here. Unfortunately, I feel as though I’ve recapped stories like this far too many times in the past four years I’ve been working here at the Carillon. This story is hauntingly similar, and that’s the problem.

The people of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation have been protesting the proposed plan for Coastal GasLink to build a pipeline on their territory. According to Smithers Interior News, a news organization based in B.C., the pipeline project is “a 670-kilometre pipeline set to run from northeastern B.C. to LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat.”

And, just like I said before, I feel as though I’ve written about stories just like this numerous times during my time here at the Carillon: the government attempting to take control of land that isn’t theirs. As a country, this is ingrained in our history.

This behaviour is beyond repetitive. But, when I looked into my news articles fur-

ther, I realized just how right I was.

Exactly a year ago, I wrote an article entitled “Wet’suwet’en solidarity protest” for our news section detailing this exact situation. In said article, I wrote that the proposed pipeline passes through Wet’suwet’en land, and that the land has “never been formally handed over to the government via treaties or other means.”

I hate that a year later I’m stating all of this again. I so desperately want to say that things have improved – that the government has backed down and is allowing the Wet’suwet’en to decide what they want to have happen on their own land – but I can’t.

In fact, the only thing I can say is that things have gotten worse. A week ago twelve Wet’suwet’en supporters were arrested by the Victoria Police Department despite the protest being peaceful.

These actions are not reconciliation, and this is where a majority of my anger sits.

When I was writing my news article a year ago, I tried my best to keep things objective. I didn’t want to inject my opinion into a serious story. Instead, I tried to supply all the facts from every side, hopefully letting the readers establish a view for themselves. I did this with every news article I wrote. I could only hope that everyone

who read my stories knew the side that I sat on.

But now, this is one of the perks of my current job: I don’t need to bite my tongue anymore. I can inject my opinion into everything I write, so I’m going to.

It’s absolutely laughable that the Canadian government preaches about reconciliation while doing things like this. It’s disgraceful, it’s atrocious, and it is everything that we, as a country, should stand against.

Indigenous Corporate Training made a blog post on their website about “what reconciliation is and is not.” On their list, they said reconciliation is not “a single gesture, action, or statement, a box to be ticked” or “about the loss of rights for non-Indigenous Canadians.”

It is “[recognizing and supporting] the deep connections Indigenous Peoples have to the land, building relationships, humility,” and “a commitment to taking a role and assuming responsibility in working towards a better future for every Canadian.”

The Canadian government needs to take notes.

When people point to Canada and claim that we have a racism problem, this is what they mean. They mean that we are attempting to take land from its rightful owners just because we believe we deserve it more than they do. That’s their home.

That’s their life that you’re trying to slap a pipeline through.

It’s disgraceful that as a country we still believe that making money and closing a business deal is more important than protecting the homes of the rightful owners of the land. It would be a national scandal if the government attempted this with any other group, so why is it not more of a scandal now?

Because Canada has a racism problem. Because Canada still believes it can steal the homes and plow through the neighbourhoods of Indigenous communities just because they feel as though they are entitled to it. Because Canada, to this day, doesn’t see First Nation and Indigenous communities as equals.

I’m sick of it, and you all should be too.

taylor balfour op-ed editor

“I feel as though I’ve written about stories exactly like this numerous times during my time here at the Carillon. When I looked into it further, I realized I was right.” – Taylor Balfour

January 30 - February 5, 2020

op-ed

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |

16

I’m working class – and you probably are too

Pxfuel

From the Saskatoon Co-op strike at the beginning of 2019 to the ongoing lock-out of Unifor 594 members, the past year in Saskatchewan has seen workers across the province hit the picket lines by the thousands. Their grievances have run the gamut from wage freezes to two-tiered wage structures to threats to pensions.

These failures at the bargaining table – and any strike or lockout, regardless of the final outcome, is a bargaining failure – have shone a spotlight on the struggle facing workers in the province. And they also raise some important questions: who is a worker, and who belongs to the working class?

In the years that followed World War II, the middle class became aspirational in a way that it had never been before. Although class mobility had been increasing incrementally after the Industrial Revolution, it was the post-war years that made a middle-class life something truly attainable for people whose families had long been working class.

Wages for labourers rose to the point that people like my grandparents – who grew up in poverty and worked in manual labour and health care – could buy property and set aside enough money for a proper retirement. They were members of the

mythical middle class.

But this myth of hard work lifting people from the working class into the middle class has not been for the benefit of the working people. It has been for the benefit of the ruling classes, who have had great success in driving a wedge between members of the working class, convincing us that those of us who work at a desk are different from those of us who work with their hands who are different from those of us who work as nurses and teachers and bus drivers.

By convincing workers – those who work for wages or salaries (this includes all workers except those in self-regulating or specialized professions such as lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, and engineers) rather than living off of the profits of investments or inheritances or land ownership (this means landlords, but not farmers, unless those farmers own the land but do not work it themselves) – that some workers are different from others, the ruling class has busted our union.

In order to form a cohesive labour movement, to have the kinds of job actions that bring results not just for one particular union or local, but for broad swathes of society, we need to have a cohesive class consciousness. That is, I, as a student and a

journalist, need to recognize that I belong to the same class as you, a cashier, and as your brother, a public servant, and as your mom, a teacher, and as my friend Paul, a barista.

It is not how much we earn from our wages and our salaries that determines our class, but rather that we work for wages and salaries at all.

But by convincing us that we can “leave” the working class and become a part of the middle class, simply by having earnings that exceed a certain amount, or by owning a home, or any other marker that is used as a signifier of the middle class, the ruling class has succeeded in tempering our power.

Observing the public discourse about the locked-out refinery workers has been a great example of this cleave. Complaints about the high wages refinery workers make, or about how they shouldn’t complain because at least they have a pension in the first place shows how effective the ruling class’ propaganda has been at pitting workers against each other.

It should not be “well I don’t have this wage, this pension, this benefit, so neither should they, or if they do, they shouldn’t ask for more” it should be “they have this wage, this pension, this benefit, and I

should have too, and I’m going to fight for it, and they should join me in that fight as I will join them in theirs.”

I am a worker, and you probably are too. And the only power we have to make our working lives better, to ensure a retirement, to ensure we don’t spend one third of our lives working, to ensure that we have all the necessaries of life and more – that we have bread, and roses too – is to recognize ourselves in one another.

Picketing workers are not our enemies – no matter how aggravating or inconvenient their job action may be for us. It is not the unions and the workers who are being greedy – it is the owners and the overseers who demand more labour, more profit, more time. It is they who are insatiable, and as long as the working class remains divided, isolated, and even unaware that we are the working class, it is the ruling class who wins. And they have won enough.

sara birrell news editor

“It is not how much we earn from our wages and our salaries that determines our class, but rather that we work for wages and salaries at all.” – Sara Birrell

January 30 - February 5, 2020

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |

op-ed

17

A history of bigotry on television

Wikimedia Commons

When one thinks of fair and balanced news, storytelling, journalism in, one need look no further than the corporate gold standard that is Fox News… This is of course a joke and should in no way, shape or form be taken with hint of seriousness.

Since its launch on Oct. 7 of 1996 (at least that’s what the Wikipedia article said when I looked it up), Fox News has been of, shall we say, questionable quality in relation to the media landscape.

Now, the thing I want to get right out of the way is Fox’s ties with a Republican-based audience. I understand that there’s leftist media and there’s right-wing media. This piece isn’t about how the outlets views tend to focus on one party versus another, it’s more so focusing on how Fox News tends to lean more towards propaganda or scare tactics, rather than facts-based reporting. Again, I understand Fox isn’t the only media institution that does this, but due to their significant pull in numbers (viewership and the like), they’re certainly one of the bigger organizations that continue to go about throwing generalized hail marys.

To start off with one of the lighter issues (if there is such a thing) is Fox’s use of hypocrisy. In 2018, famed horror actress Jamie Lee Curtis was back in the front seat with the release of the newest Halloween

film. In said film, Jamie Lee uses guns as a means of defeating the main villain. However, the way that the Fox News website portrayed such an action meant that Curtis was a hypocrite for advocating for gun control when she herself uses guns in the film.

Obviously, the line between fact and fiction is about as blurry as the line between factbased and belligerent-style reporting when it comes to Fox. During the piece, it was revealed that Fox never reached out to Jamie Lee for comments on the film or to let her clarify her stance (which she did anyway).

Moving from the above to bigger offences committed by the platform (this being in more recent memory), the lack of emphasis that’s been put towards the severity of climate change has been a long-standing issue with Fox News. In fact, in a recent interview that was done with CNN, James Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman of the Fox Corporation) and his wife Kathryn were disappointed with his father’s media outlet empire and how they’ve been covering the climate crisis (now being called a climate emergency by most). This was especially apt timing for the comments considering it was in or around the height of the Australian wildfires. In regards to actual comments that were made, the Murdochs’ spokesperson stated that “Kathryn and James’ views on climate are

well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known.”

Moving away from climate and going deeper into the unethical reporting of Fox News, the mass media corporation became wrapped up in a rather interesting situation. In April of 2018, Sean Hannity (a primetime host of Fox and one of the company’s biggest ratings draws) had made comments defending Michael Cohen (the personal lawyer of Donald Trump) after the FBI raided Mr. Cohen’s office and home. However, it was revealed that Mr. Hannity was actually a client of Michael Cohen’s and that the link was not disclosed in any of the comments made during that time.

Now, these are only a couple of examples of unethical reporting, but believe me when I say that the controversies that surround Fox are not few. In fact, on a much heavier topic (warning of difficult subject matter for the rest of the paragraph), Fox has also been an organization that has an unsettling history with sexual harassment.

Although not the most accurate portrayal because of its Hollywood roots, the new film Bombshell (which follows Grecthen Carlson’s lawsuit of former and now deceased Fox Chairman Roger Alies) presents the issues to a global audience. For a more

in-depth look at Grecthen Carlson’s lawsuit, one can also read the book “Getting Real” which details her time at Fox, as well as “Be Fierce: Stop Harassment”which goes into her personal struggles. Other issues that occurred at the mega-media outlet were Bill O’Reilly’s firing in 2017 and the coverage of the Weinstein scandal .

All in all, for an organization that runs with slogans like “Fair and Balanced” and “Most Watched. Most Trusted”, doesn’t seem to uphold either.

ethan butterfield a&c editor

“For an organization that runs with slogans like ‘Fair and Balanced’ and ‘Most Watched. Most Trusted’, it doesn’t seem to uphold either.” – Ethan Butterfield

January 30 - February 5, 2020

op-ed

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |18

What’s up with the URSU executives?

Since school resumed for the winter term, we have already had two resignations from the URSU executive team. This would already be news, but it is particularly troubling in light of how this brings the number of resignations from the URSU executive team to four in the past 16 months.

One has to start wondering what we are doing that leads people (who ran for these positions less than a year ago) feeling as though they need to step down. One also has to wonder what it means for the student body being represented if the people the student voted for step down without completing their terms.

Not pointing fingers, but it does seem like the mandate of the student body is being compromised, to some extent.

Of course, things come up and priorities change. The real question is whether “things came up” or “unforeseen circumstances” is adequate explanation for what seems to have become a recurring pattern for URSU. Is a position in the URSU executive so stressful that people are burning out before they can complete the duties conferred upon them by the student body? If so, how common is this across student unions around the country? What are they doing about it? If this is not the case, what are we doing that is so different, and how can we ensure this does not keep happening?

Those are the obvious points, but there are other questions as well. Not pleasant ones, but ones that need to be asked.

Is it really just an inability to manage time, or that these executives are burning out, that is prompting them to step down?

How do we, the voters in every election, know that there are no deeper concerns?

More importantly, do future candidates for these positions know all the details about what they are signing up for?

How many candidates are keeping these things in mind when stepping up and asking the student body to elect them?

No one can be forced to stay on the board against their wishes, but is there anything we can do to ensure that future board members and executives are made more aware of the challenges and difficulties so as to minimize the number of untimely, and rather unexplained, resignations?

Running for a position in the student union is exciting. It opens a lot of doors and creates wonderful opportunities. This much is plain to see.

Maybe we need to see some effort when it comes to informing people of the commitment, the challenge, and the (I am sure) thankless hours spent to serve our students. Maybe the next batch of executives who go in to this better informed will find it easier to stick to it for the full term?

hammad ali contributor

URSU logo manipulated by Jeremy Davis

A reflection on resolutions I’ve never been a fan of traditional new year’s resolutions. I think they tend to be overambitious or unrealistic, setting us up for disappointment rather than success. By mid-January, when we’re back at work or school and life is getting busy again, keeping on track for resolutions can become just another chore on an over-stuffed to-do list.

When I was with my family over the winter break, my brother showed me another way of setting priorities that I’ve decided to take with me into the year ahead.

Rather than starting out with a list of things I want to get done, I made a “wouldn’t it be nice if ” list for 2020 – that is, what are the things that would make this year awesome?

Some items on my list are financial goals. I want to make sure I can pay my bills, of course, but I’m also thinking about a few small things I could add that would make my life a little more convenient and less stressful than it was in 2019 – putting a few more dollars in my grocery budget and saving up a small emergency fund. So, when I calculated what exactly I would have to earn every month to make those “nice” things possible, that number went on the list.

I also put down some professional goals – some very plausible, and others more ambitious. Because this is a “wouldn’t it be nice if ” list, I don’t feel as though I will be letting myself down if I don’t accomplish everything on it this year, so I feel empowered to shoot for targets I may not hit. And, when I look over my list, I’m reminded of what I’m aiming for, so I don’t lose sight of my late-December thoughts.

I also used this structure to think about my friendships – how I want to get to know

more people in this city, as well as strengthen my relationships with my friends and mentors far away. I only moved to Regina this fall, and with my loved ones scattered across North America, it can be too easy for the people I care about to become “out of sight, out of mind” when life gets busy.

By making a point to say that staying in touch is an important part of what having a great year looks like for me, I’m hoping to keep it at the forefront of my mind.

And beyond all that, a “wouldn’t it be nice if ” list is fun! Some other thoughts I have on there are writing a children’s book for my niece’s eighth birthday this summer, finding a few new sewing projects, and tackling a few new recipes. Plans and dreams don’t have to be particularly daunting to be nice, after all.

Two weeks into the new year, I can honestly say that deliberately prioritizing the factors that would make my 2020 a great one had already started paying off for me, and I’m looking forward to another 11 months and two weeks of more of the same. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a great, fun, fulfilling year?

julia peterson web writer

Pixabay

graphics

19

Editors: sarah carrier, morgan ortman, kate thiessen graphics@carillonregina.com the carillon | January 30 - February 5, 2020

January 30 - February 5, 2020

graphics

carillonregina.com | The Carillon |20