The Carillon Volume 16, Issue 14

the carillon the staff

editor-in-chief editor@carillonregina.com

holly funk

business manager business@carillonregina.com

jacob nelson

production manager production@carillonregina.com

morgan ortman

advertising manager advertising@carillonregina.com

ty cote

technical editor tech@carillonregina.com

shae sackman

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

safal gangwani rooky jedege aurel dumont

news editor news@carillonregina.com

sara birrell

a&c editor aandc@carillonregina.com

hannah eiserman

sports and health editor sports@carillonregina.com

katie mutschler

op-ed editor op-ed@carillonregina.com

sarah nakonechny

distribution manager distribution@carillonregina.com staff writer

vacant hammad ali

staff writer

gillian massie

news writer

syd mcwilliams

a&c writer

jorah bright

sports writer

victoria baht

web writer

vacant

contributors william spencer and ala eisa board of directors holly funk, lindsay holitzki, joseph holoein,, dustin smith, jacob nelson and honourary members hammad ali, cassandra byblow, morgan ortman

vol. 64

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 sixty 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 13th - 19th, 2022 | Volume 64, Issue 14 | carillonregina.com

news

Welcome to our first issue of 2022!

This week we (predictably) have several takes on how the New Year and its resolutions should be maintained, alongside articles on sea shanties, Regina city council bests and worsts, using sports psychology in your day-to-day, and many more.

We’re also welcoming Katherine Mutschler as our new Sports & Health Editor this week, and Safal Gangwani as our new Multimedia Editor. With those positions filled we no longer have staff positions open in content-creation areas, but are always seeking both written and graphic contributions. If you’d like to create work and see it published please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Remote again

news

p.3

After promising a fully online semester, the Omicron variant sees students learning remotely once again. For two weeks, at least, anyways...

arts

Best of City Hall 2021

arts

p.5

The happenings at City Hall are integral to how we live our every day lives, but are often overlooked. Sara Birrell gives us the rundown of everything noteworthy that’s happened this year.

Shanties

p.7

Sea shanties took social media platforms by storm last year. A&C Editor Hannah Eiserman digs into exactly why they’re so popular with help from (potentially) a real Saskatchewan pirate.

op-ed

sports

Holly Funk Edtor-in-Chief

photos

cover..................................safal gangwani news.................................morgan ortman news......................................rooky jedege a&c....................................................nylut a&c.....................................stephen brown sports.....................................victoria baht op-ed.........................wikipedia commons

Nylut directory

p.8

A new personal services directory, Nylut, is here for the BIPOC and queers of Regina and Toronto! Hammad Ali covers how they ensure you’re referred to the best possible place for you.

Oxygen Yoga

p.11

Oxygen Yoga and Fitness is a Regina studio offering remote and in-person classes, so you can Downward Dog wherever you please.

Resolutions

p.15

If setting resolutions has never really worked for you, tune into William Spencer’s take on retaining the idea while abandoning the tradition.

news

3

editor: sara birrell news@carillonregina.com the carillon | jan 13 - 19, 2022

Omicron concerns halt return to campus Many residents already moved in

gillian massie staff writer A smooth return to campus has been halted by rising cases of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant. On December 21, the University of Regina announced that the first two weeks of the Winter 2022 term will pivot to online delivery. The semester start was delayed from January 5 to January 8 to allow instructors, who had prepared for face-to-face courses, to adjust to the temporary online shift.

In an address to the University of Regina, President Jeff Keshen announced that this action was necessary, but that the university still hopes to return to “near-normal operations” for the remainder of the term. “We ask for your patience as we work through the

Morgan Ortman

Whatever you say, Bettina.

ogy student majoring in Human Kinetics, is entering the second term of his third year and had already moved into his dormitory when the shift to online learning was made. “It was tough to read the email,” said Boisvert. “I had already moved my things into my room and had just returned home for Christmas. When I saw the email, my heart dropped.”

Boisvert has not been back on campus since the pandemic first began in March of 2020. For financial reasons, he chose to live at home where there was more accessibility to fitness facilities.

Boisvert is now concerned about what online learning could look like in residence if the temporary shift becomes permanent.

“I’m not a student that

experience with online learning was like his, he explains how he feels like he “missed out” on “pivotal” experiences that could have taken place in-person during his second year and the Fall semester of 2021.

Despite concerns about the shift to online learning while living in on campus, Boisvert said he feel safe with “little to no concern” about the Omicron variant because of policies Housing Services have implemented to keep students and staff safe. In an emailed statement from Bettina Welsh, Director of Student Affairs Operations, she explained the administration’s decision to implement a vaccine mandate: “The University along with Housing Services implemented a

a step back will be beneficial for campus,” said Tait. She also explained that the URSU is aiming to help guide students through uncertainty while the transitional period occurs.

“As that two-week online learning announcement was made hundreds of international students arrived from other countries. They’ve moved across the world and it’s uncertain about what’s going to happen,” she said.

Tait also expressed concern about international students who will have to quarantine for two weeks, only to end up taking classes in the confinements of their own room. URSU has held student halls throughout the previous semesters to listen to concerns students have.

and pantry. URSU Thrifts also provides second-hand clothing to keep students warm during the winter. All URSU’s services are applicable to all students, not just those living in residence.

While URSU is providing social programming support, Housing Services is keeping COVID-19 restrictions tight to keep transmission rates low. Protocols that exist within residence were made with careful decision to keep students and staff safe. Welsh explained through email that international students are allowed to quarantine within residence if they were selected for testing upon arrival into Canada. They must quarantine upon arrival for two weeks in a monitored, isolated block, away from the student population.

“

What is defined as an emergency can be broad because it’s important to recognize that not every student is living at home with their parents working, not working a part time job or just taking classes. So, the emergency bursary criteria really recognizes the diverse needs of our students.

– Hannah Tait

numerous details associated with this transition,” said Keshen.

“I appreciate and understand that a temporary shift to remote teaching and working will mean additional work for all members of our community. That said, we have done this before, and have learned a great deal about remote teaching and learning during the previous waves of the pandemic.”

News of the temporary shift to online learning comes as a worry to some students. Students who live on campus for the Winter 2022 term had the opportunity to move into their dormitories earlier to reduce transmission of the Omicron variant. Official movein times for residence began on December 15, six days before the shift to online learning was determined.

Landen Boisvert, a Kinesiol-

thrives doing online,” he said.

“I love that atmosphere that the university gives off. So, when I got stuck at home, it made me feel like I wasn’t accomplishing as much as I could have been in in-person classes.”

Boisvert expressed his concerns that the entire semester may end up being delivered remotely if the Omicron variant continues to spread. He said that if classes were to return to online for the remainder of the semester, he would continue his classes from his home town. “Everything in residence is somewhat expensive,” he said. “Saving money, and not taking out any more money on my loan is beneficial in the long run.”

While Boisvert said that he understood that not everyone’s

vaccine mandate for those who were choosing to reside on campus. Students were also allowed the opportunity to submit a medical exemption for the University to review as we understood there may be some situations in which students could not be vaccinated. This vaccination protocol has been widely accepted by both students and staff and has contributed to an increased level of health safety when on the University campus.”

Hannah Tait, President of the University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU), explains that she believes the two-week transitional period will be beneficial in returning to campus.

“It was a bit of relief because seeing the rising case numbers, and all of the uncertainty taking

Tait said there are many ways that URSU is providing students with extra stability throughout these unprecedented times.

Emergency bursaries for students are available for application on the URSU website. “What is defined as an emergency can be broad because it’s important to recognize that not every student is living at home with their parents working, not working a part time job or just taking classes. So, the emergency bursary criteria really recognizes the diverse needs of our students,” said Tait.

URSU is providing rapid tests for students at their front desk, which is located on second floor of Riddell Centre. Other services like URSU Cares provide students with food security through the community fridge

Sanitation measures have been enforced in high touch areas to be cleaned with Oxivir disinfectant at minimum twice a day, although since COVID-19 is an airborne pathogen, sanitizing surfaces is not an effective means of protection. Housekeeping and custodial staff must wear masks and gloves for the protection of themselves and others. All students, staff, and faculty are required to wear masks in public areas which include elevators and stairwells.

“We are very proud of the services we continue to provide to our students and we continue to implement all decisions made by the University leadership in order to provide a safe living and working environment for our students and staff,” said Welsh.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 4

news

COVID is the virus, but capitalism is making us sick Capitalist countries fail

syd mcwilliams news writer In December of 2019, the Wuhan government first reported COVID-19 to the rest of the world. Before that point, it was reported as a cluster of pneumonia cases, and any other information about what was happening was hard to come by. As the story developed, many believed it wasn’t a big deal, and there was no possible way it would become a problem outside of China. Fast forward to March 2020, and the world as everyone knew it ended.

Across the planet everything shut down, and a collective breath was held as governments, scientists, and the general population scrambled for answers and direction. If you paid any attention to the news back then, you would have noticed that every country had a different response to the virus, and some were more successful with combating case numbers and keeping people safe and healthy than others. Throughout the pandemic it has become clear that health is an economic and political issue, and government and business often have more to say about who lives and dies than the doctors in the hospital.

At the moment, it is hard to say with absolute certainty the direct impact capitalist economies have had on the spread of COVID-19. It will take years of research to put hard numbers on paper, but some things are obvious even to the casual observer.

The United States, the capitalist center of the world, basically allowed COVID-19 to run rampant through the country, and they have the case numbers and death count to prove it. Canada hasn’t had any better luck, even with public health care. But countries like Cuba, who have planned economies directly controlled

by the government, have had a relatively low number of cases and low death counts per capita compared to the United States and Canada. It would be easy to blame it on the for-profit health care in the U.S., but the problems capitalism causes for health run so much deeper than that. Many situations that come from capitalism, such as class structure, poor working conditions, pre-existing health conditions from the environment, and lifestyle have all directly contributed to the death counts in countries like the States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and many others. To better understand the implications of economics on health, the Carillon spoke with Robert Chernomas,

biological issue, a lifestyle issue, or a political economic issue, and while biology of course matters, it’s a political economy issue and it didn’t start with COVID. It existed long before COVID in the history of capitalism,” One of the biggest reasons capitalism causes issues in health is because it creates a class system.

There is a vast divide between the very wealthy and the very poor, and those riding the poverty line are generally more at risk of infection because capitalism allows them little control over their lives.

Many did not choose to risk exposure during the initial outbreak of the pandemic, but were forced to continue working in places where transmission rates were high.

back to the community. Instead, the excess gets invested back into those who have economic influence in the form of bank bailouts, tax breaks, or even excessive military spending. When a socialist country has a surplus, for example, in Cuba, that money is redistributed to the community and the advancement of the population, so health care and education are often well-funded even if the country doesn’t have a substantial GDP. It’s a good demonstration of the way the apparent economic health of a country doesn’t necessarily correlate with quality of life for a majority of citizens.

On the other hand, Cuba put their citizens first, and it shows. They launched a massive

“

Health is a political economy issue and it didn’t start with COVID. It existed long before COVID in the history of capitalism.

– Robert Chernomas

an economics professor from the University of Manitoba that researches health economics.

“I would say it’s a tricky thing because healthcare is relevant, but not that relevant because there’s the same issue in Great Britain, which has universal healthcare, and everyone has access to it. But it’s a very inequitable society where conditions are much more likely to be worse for working class people than for upper-class people. But access to healthcare is not that powerful of a dependent variable in determining who’s going to die and not going to die. And the question I ask is to what extent is a health a

Throughout the pandemic many citizens in countries like the US and Canada have not been given a chance to prioritize their health because the government and corporations demand that they continue to work, or go hungry and lose their homes.

Another way capitalist economies contributed to COVID is because capitalist economies are interested in just that: capital. Everything is about competition and keeping big business profitable, and shutting down the industry to protect workers is not in the best interest of profit. Capitalism also doesn’t allow for a financial surplus in society to be relocated

information campaign, not shying away from the virus and its profound threat. 30,000 contract tracers tracked down everyone who came in contact with the virus and put them in isolation units until they could no longer transmit the virus. The government shut down the tourist industry for several months, and enforced strict measures at resorts and airports once they reopened. Masks in public have been mandatory for everyone over six years old, and homeschooling was mandatory until November 2021.

Cuba’s biotechnology industry which employees 23,000 scientists also produced sixty per cent

of Cuba’s medications, 80 per cent of its vaccines, and has fully vaccinated 85.6 per cent of their population. In contrast, Canada’s only government-owned vaccine lab was privatized and sold to a French company in the 1980s, and the vaccine rate is currently sitting at 77.6 per cent.

It’s easy to look at the United States and condemn their response, but Canada has also had a problem controlling COVID and it’s not the first time the country has struggled to manage disease outbreaks. In 2003 when SARS was reported in Toronto, the conservative provincial government prioritized public image and relations over its front-line workers health and actually laid off health care staff and denied many people danger pay. This kind of attitude is seen today in the governments of places like Saskatchewan, where Scott Moe has repeatedly put economic interests ahead of health and allowed the number of COVID patients in hospitals in Saskatchewan to get to unsustainable levels.

It’s a lot to take in, but in summary, capitalism played a significant role in escalating COVID by prioritizing profit over people.

And not to sound glum, but this is only the beginning; as humans explore deeper into untouched territories, we are constantly exposing ourselves to new pathogens and their natural hosts. So, capitalism is not only hindering our ability to combat illness; it’s helping cause it. As more rainforests are cut down for farming or more land is taken up for development, we get exposed to things our bodies don’t know how to fight. It would benefit countries to take a note from Cuba when the next virus ravages the planet, but only time will tell if some governments can learn to put people over profit.

Daniel Schludi via Unsplash

Stick me baby one more time.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 5

news

Regina city council’s best and worst of 2021 Councillors, reporters, and citizens, lend us your ears

sara birrell news editor 2020 (and 2021) was a terrible year for any of us who were conscious, but in Regina, the one saving grace was the election of a new mayor and council. This included five new councillors, four of whom were endorsed by the Regina and District Labour Congress – people who, it was hoped, would support Andrew Stevens, who was, until then, the lone progressive voice in council meetings.

With a new year starting, here’s a best and worst of Regina city council in 2021.

The best of councillors: Dan Leblanc – Repping Ward 6, which includes Heritage, Eastview, and Al Ritchie, Leblanc, a lawyer who is arguably council’s MVP, has had several Best Of moments this past year.

In January 2021, Leblanc introduced an amendment to the city’s Sponsorship, Naming Rights, and Advertising policy that would see fossil fuel companies barred from advertising in the city. While the amendment failed (after a council meeting filled with hours of propagandizing from fossil fuel proponents like Craig Lothian) and Leblanc was fired without cause from Gerrand Rath Johnson shortly after, unlike John Findura, he never backed down, setting the tone for the rest of the year.

In April, after a brutal and disgraceful meeting about banning conversion therapy turned into a platform for hateful rhetoric, Leblanc apologized to Regina’s queer community, saying “I’m sorry that you’re not part of this city council that’s deciding fundamental rights about you…

And apologies that these are the sorts of indignities that you have to suffer, without you here.”

Honourable mention – Cheryl Stadnichuk The best of reporters: Paul Dechene – City Hall reporter for the Prairie Dog and one half of the Queen City Improvement Bureau, Dechene live tweets (sometimes rage tweets) most council meetings at @PDCityHall. Clever and acerbic, with something of a bend to the left, Dechene’s column and feed is a

fessor, Stratton understands the assignment. From homelessness to the police budget, if council is debating something, Stratton can be counted on to be there with her gravelly Bea Arthur voice, fighting for the underdog.

Kale MacLellan – A Cree, Saulteaux, St’at’imc and Scottish mother, MacLellan is soft-spoken but packs a heavy punch. She’s a frequent presenter before council

“

I’m sorry that you’re not part of this city council that’s deciding fundamental rights about you…

And apologies that these are the sorts of indignities that you have to suffer, without you here.

– Dan Leblanc

In November, Leblanc proposed another amendment that would allow councillors to raise a point of order if they believed another councillor was disrespectful to city administration.

In December, Leblanc joined Andrew Stevens, Shanon Zachidniak, and Cheryl Stadnichuk in rejecting the $92.8 million operating budget for RPS, as well as drafting a motion to increase transparency at City Hall.

must-read if you’re wondering what’s going on in Regina. And it’s a good thing that Dechene is the best person for the job, because he is also the only person for the job, since the Leader-Post somehow does not have a dedicated reporter at City Hall.

Honourable mention – Also Paul Dechene The best of citizens: Florence Stratton – A local activist and retired English pro-

and consistently shows up wherever people are in need, from Camp Hope to Defund the Police movements to mutual aid groups.

Honourable mentions – Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen The worst of councillors: Terina Shaw – Shaw is one of the five new candidates, and the only one who was not endorsed by the RDLC. She represents Ward 7. Shaw, who has spent the past year calling Councillor Andrew

Stevens “Councillor Andrews,” has been relentless and unwavering in her commitment to being the worst person on council, as well as the councillor most likely to be ratioed on Twitter.

In January 2021, Shaw said, “My belief is until you turn off your heat and ride a bike you have absolutely no room to talk against fossil fuels,” literally becoming the meme about wanting to change society somewhat.

In an April 2021 meeting about conversion therapy, Shaw came close to conflating queerness with pedophilia (she later apologized for her comment coming out “the wrong way”).

In December Shaw asked municipal treasure Florence Stratton, who was speaking against the police budget, if she would put a price on her children’s lives. Shaw has also been consistently anti-poor, and that same month she argued that people can easily live off $860, that “money doesn’t fix money problems,” as well as asking, “what about the people who want to be homeless?”

Honourable mentions – Landon Mohl, John Findura; Lori Bresciani The worst of reporters: The Leader-Post – For not having a dedicated City Hall reporter, the Leader-Post is hands down the worst reporter in Regina.

Rooky Jegede

Ye olde bronze beast.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon | 6

news

Is the Queen dead? Buckingham Palace says no, we say probably Hasn’t been seen for weeks syd mcwilliams news writer Queen Elizabeth II has been the reigning monarch in England (and the Commonwealth, of which Canada is a part) for a staggering 69 (Editor’s note: nice), almost 70, years. She has always been a solid public figure unwavering in her service over the decades. At this point it would be hard to imagine someone else on the throne, and to most it feels like she is invisible to death and his scythe. However, everyone eventually gets old and over the past year, the queen has had some seemingly serious health complications.

She is now 95 so it is not surprising, but it still is cause for concern. Most of her appearances in the latter part of last year and into this year have included online meetings, pre-recorded messages, and her being spotted driving her Jaguar wearing a scarf and hat, and the last time she officially hosted an event in person was November 23, 2021. She hasn’t been seen outside of her home since then. People who study the royals have dubbed this transition out of the public eye as the queen enters a new phase of her reign, like a large, clicking insect tran-

sitioning from its larval stage. A stage in which she allows Charles to take on more responsibility, and steps away from a lot of her duties in public service. However, other royal watchers aren’t so sure that this is a natural phase at all.

“She’s either sick or she’s dead one hundred percent,” says Sarah Labadie, an education student at the U of R, when asked what she though was happening at Buckingham Palace. “They don’t know who’s going to replace her. There’s all the heat on [Andrew], Harry, and Meghan just

“

Labadie’s not alone in this line of thinking. The queen is not officially scheduled to be out in public again until her platinum jubilee in February, and the internet took what information they had and ran with it, spinning stories of their own. Now, a large portion of people believe the queen has actually died and that Buckingham Palace is covering it up for the time being, but it is hard to know for certain with so little information to go on whether or not her speculated death could be a genuine fact or just another in-

and Stay.” Grief takes its toll on the healthiest of people. Then in October, she canceled a trip to Northern Ireland; afterward, it was revealed that it was canceled because the queen had to spend the night in hospital for unspecified medical issues and tests. At the end of October, she canceled another in-person event in Scotland and was then advised by her doctors to take at least two weeks off to rest; she remained at home for a while.

However, she remained committed to attending a ceremony

She’s either sick or she’s dead, 100 per cent.

– Sarah Labadie

did their Oprah thing, and I think that they don’t know if they want to give the throne to William because it would mean giving the throne to Kate. They’re going to do as much damage control as possible before going public.”

Essentially Buckingham Palace is Weekend-At-Bernie’s-ing Liz while they figure out what they’re going to do.

flated conspiracy theory.

The queen’s health began declining in April 2021 when the haggard, shuffling corpse of Prince Phillip finally bit it. Queen Elizabeth II and Phillip – who were cousins, because the monarchy is nothing if not white trash – were married for seventy-three years, and the queen is quoted referring to Phillip as her “Strength

for Remembrance Sunday on November 14, stating how important it was for her to honour the people who died in warfare.

Unfortunately, her attendance was canceled on the day of the ceremony due to a sprained back.

Buckingham Palace released a statement that said, “The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great

regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph.

Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.” Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla attended the ceremony in her absence, and Charles laid a wreath in his mother’s absence.

Kailee Trost, an avid news follower, thinks that while the queen is probably still alive, “she is probably hiding from Omicron because she is old as hell; if she gets it she is a goner,” but reason aside, she also said, “maybe she passed away on New Year’s Eve too, but because Betty White died they were like ‘Nah, can’t announce it because Betty White will overshadow her.’ So, there are many things that could be going on.”

Regardless of what people think, the reality is that Queen Elizabeth II cannot live forever, and if she is indeed still alive it is only a matter of time before she passes. The only thing people can do is watch and wait to see if to see if she appears in February like she’s supposed to, and until then, continue to enjoy the memes of her “entering a new phase” that have strangled certain corners of the internet.

Sergeant Adrian Harlen via Flickr

You can’t hide from death, Liz.

arts & culture

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editor: hannah eiserman aandc@carillonregina.com the carillon | jan 13 - 19, 2022

Sea shanties on the prairie ocean Saskatchewan man-of-all-trades joins shanty phenomenon hannah eiserman arts editor One of the strangest trends emerging from the mixed bag that is the social media platform TikTok in the last year is sea shanties.

These are, for the uninitiated, folk songs traditionally sung aboard a ship as a means of keeping time or building relationships between sailors. A Scottish man named Nathan Evans is attributed with starting the viral trend after posting a cover of “Wellerman,” a sea shanty believed to originate from New Zealand. After that, innumerable TikTok users from around the world joined in, using the “duet” feature to harmonize along with Evans, or posted their own renditions of shanties.

In an article for Today, journalist Kerry Breen attributes the surge of interest in these songs, some of which were written 200 years ago, to this aforementioned function of relationship building.

Breen writes that “[o]ne of the most common theories [about the phenomenon] was that the songs, which are meant to be sung by a crew and do not require any musical training to be sung well, are a way for people to connect amid the isolation of the coronavirus pandemic.” The ability to join in and “duet” virtually with some harmonies, from anywhere in the world, helped foster a sense of unity this past year.

Not all shanty enthusiasts got their starts last year on TikTok, however. Some, like Stephen Brown (his full name being Stephen James Talbot Brown II), have been answering the call of the shanty for a long time.

When Brown was recommended to me for this interview, I simply couldn’t fathom how, other than the TikTok trend, a person from Saskatchewan would discover a calling for sea shanties, being that there’s no sea out here! Though, I suppose we are all indoctrinated by that old “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate” song, which seems to play everywhere from middle school dances to bars to every wedding ever.

This is not a problem for Brown, who is originally from Moose Jaw but is of both South African and Canadian descent, and is an adventurer, world traveller, and an “avid canoer.” He says he began his journey with shanties because he “was immersed in the songs of the voyageurs from [his] time on Lake of the Woods, and in the shanties of the Maritimers from [his] travels in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. [He] also found inspiration in the indigenous music of the Xhosa and Zulu people in South Africa, from time spent in the eastern highlands.”

“I’ve always been a musical person,” Brown says, “especially growing up in the theatre department, so my interest grew

Stephen Brown

A photograph of Brown looking a little less pirate and a little more English school boy.

well under those conditions. My capacity for actually recording and performing was enabled by my work as a radio voicer on Mix 103, Country 100, and 800

rock climbing, funk, and funk related activities.” I, for one, have no idea what a “funk related activity” would be, but regardless, it’s undeniable that Brown is a

Jean Ritchie. “It’s a folk song that emblazons the theme of environmental protection upon the traditional images of the Garden of Eden,” Brown explains. He also

“

These stories lead me to believe perhaps Brown himself is the real “Last Saskatchewan Pirate;” the folk hero we have all been looking for!

– Hannah Eiserman

CHAB, as I was employed there for some time after Highschool as a reporter.”

At 20 years old, Brown seems to have lived more than anyone else has in one singular lifetime.

He seems to have seen and done everything, recreationally or in the workplace. He is also a recent graduate of the Primary Care Paramedic program at SIAST, with an “extensive list of hobbies,” including “gardening, Sabre fencing, amateur electrical maintenance, martial arts, Dungeons and Dragons, survivalism,

diversely talented individual.

And if you think all of those jobs and interests are diverse and random, Brown also humble brags that he was once “a voice actor and an escape room operator” to boot, which gave him the skills to sing folk songs in many different languages such as Gaelic, Breton, Swahili, and German, though he can’t claim to speak them all well. Mostly, he sticks to covers in English and French. When asked what his favourite cover so far is, Brown says it “would have to be ‘Now is the Cool of the Day,’” by

says his cover was actually part of a competition with his good friend, Ryland Wiberg, from JustRyland Music, “in which [they] each took the base vocals and had a competition to see who could create a more impressive composition,” which Wiberg, a digital orchestral composer “clearly won,” according to Brown.

When asked for his musical inspirations, Brown lists “Stan Rogers, the Dreadnoughts, the Longest Johns, and Shawn James and the Shapeshifters.” Outside of music, he describes his “inner

inspiration” being “brought on by [his] time in the leopard and baboon infested South African jungle, in which [he] survived for a week without food, water or shelter of [his] own.” He doesn’t give a reason for this excursion, but given the rest of his hobbies, I can assume it was purely for fun. He says it was just him, “a machete, a matchbox, and five other seminude teenagers who despised my singing.” While out in the jungle, he “found comfort in singing the music of the old pioneers” and “walking around naked, hacking at cacti with a machete,” he adds.

These stories lead me to believe perhaps Brown himself is the real “Last Saskatchewan Pirate;” the folk hero we have all been looking for!

Brown beckons any “strange souls who wish to seek out [his] music” to find it on his SoundCloud @SouthSaskatchewanShrike. “If that doesn’t suffice,” he adds, “they can break into my house and listen through my pipes to my constant belting during all hours of the day.” He is also on Instagram @dj_wallaby.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

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Nylut directory goes live for Regina and Toronto residents

Finding your local BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ friendly businesses has never been easier hammad ali staff writer Personal services, ranging from haircuts and skincare to having one’s photograph taken, can sometimes be more of an undertaking if you are a person of colour. Few of us realize, unless we have been in that position ourselves, how much of the existing infrastructures around us are often geared towards skin tones, body types, and hairstyles that the society around us has long considered to be “the usual.” In addition, there often exists a whole different set of challenges for people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community to find businesses that meet their needs and welcome them.

In an effort to address some of these problems, a new directory service called Nylut was recently launched by a couple of friends based in Toronto and Regina. Nylut aims to provide better information on a selection of services for the BIPOC people of Toronto and Regina, with plans to extend that coverage to all of Canada and the USA. Nylut Directory Services provides listings on skin and hair care services that cater to members of the BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. It features tattoo artists, makeup artists, and photography and videography solu-

tions. The directory also includes a Positive Place Rating system for the 2SLGBTQ+ community to find and review businesses based on how welcoming and knowledgeable they are about the needs of individuals from these communities.

Nylut was born when co-founder Faith Olanipekun felt the struggle of finding an appropriate service for her own skincare needs towards the end of fall in 2020. While looking for laser treatment services for herself, Faith finally found someone she felt would be a good fit, only to be told that they were unable to work on darker skin tones. This was, of course, a frustrating experience. Shortly after, during a conversation with her friend kēr about the difficulty of finding hair services, the two friends decided that the time for a specialized business directory had arrived.

As the founders mention on their website, they both feel like they have been shaped by their backgrounds as women of colour in the prairies. The duo had many conversations about their experiences that made them feel excluded, often joking that one day they would offer some solution to these issues. Both founders are excited to now be working on exactly that: adding value to BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ lives by connecting

Nylut Directory Team

The Venn diagram for looking as good as the person in this photo and supporting BIPOC and queer friendly businesses is a circle.

them to appropriate services.

Faith and kēr opted to begin with services in their respective cities of residence in Toronto and Regina, aiming to first meet the needs of their own communities.

So far, uptake has been phenomenal. Faith and kēr mentioned it has been humbling, and they are very pleased with the current content and directory entries. Even though the project is at an early stage,

both founders mentioned they are grateful for the opportunity to be able to start something like this.

When asked about the story behind the name Nylut, kēr mentioned that the name is a stylization of the word Nilote, which comes from the river Nile. This name was chosen by the two founders as their way of paying homage to the river Nile, and the people of that geographic area to whom the riv-

er represented fertility, life, and its many blessings.

When asked about the shortand long-term goals they have for their venture, kēr mentioned that in the short-term they hope to be able to expand Nylut listings all over Canada, and then to the USA. In addition to their website, Nylut can be found on Twitter with the handle @NylutCo.

Mackenzie’s unknown 13th Floor Digital gallery features multiple exhibits of art made in Minecraft

jorah bright arts writer

As COVID has affected our daily lives, it has also obviously affected the way we view art. Going to art galleries is much more difficult and, consequently, art galleries have been forced to adjust. Online events and exhibits have allowed people to view art from home safely.

Regina’s own Mackenzie Art Gallery has an online exhibit called the 13th Floor, which is “located somewhere in between physical and virtual presence” according to the gallery’s website. It is full of possibilities, combining the experience of being at a gallery with the potential of online creation. The 13th Floor has eight exhibits currently available to view on their website. Some are simply images curated uniquely with the online space, while others are reflections or extensions of pieces at

the Mackenzie Art Gallery – what fascinated me the most was the Ender Gallery.

The Ender Gallery exists within the game of Minecraft, a game that was released in 2011 and has been steadily growing in popularity since. It’s become the best-selling video game of all time.

The Mackenzie Art Gallery allowed anyone from the public to apply for an artist residency within the Ender Gallery, and if accepted, an artist would have their Minecraft project featured for two months.

The Mackenzie was specifically looking for exhibits to explore “Indigenous sovereignty, storytelling, simulation, colonialism, alternative economies, materiality, fandom, and digital ontologies.”

The Ender Gallery has included the exhibit How to be an artist in Minecraft by Huidi Xiang, documenting the process of creating in real life through Minecraft. It was used to show the labour that goes into being an artist through

the medium of Minecraft. It has included “Odanak – At the Village”

by Simon M. Benedict. Benedict’s work in the gallery was about how non-Indigenous depicted Indigenous people in media.

The Ender Gallery also includes a project by Cat Haines entitled (g)Ender Gallery, which uses a combination of different mediums to explore gender. All of this was done solely in Minecraft. The latest exhibit of the Ender Gallery, A Minecraft Ride Towards World Border by Travess Smalley, will be closing on January 15. Smalley’s work took the textures pre-existing within Minecraft and replaced them with text. This replacement allows the land of Minecraft to become poetry. The closing event of A Minecraft Ride Towards World Border will be live streamed, so you don’t need to own a copy of Minecraft to enjoy it. Each exhibit has had its own opening event, except How to be an artist in Minecraft, and they are all available on the Ender Gallery

website.

While the Ender Gallery is an overall unique experience and it allows artists to explore new mediums and ideas through Minecraft, I found a few issues with it, starting with the Mackenzie Art Gallery’s website. You’re unable to rightclick to open the link in a new tab.

I found this incredibly frustrating while I was trying to navigate the 13th Floor. Instead of opening up the exhibit in a new tab so I could easily access another exhibit afterwards, I remained on the same tab.

While it will show at the top of the site the path you took to reach the page you are on, those buttons are unclickable. It tricked me several times. I thought I could click the button to go back. I couldn’t.

Only some of the 13th Floor exhibits have easy ways to back out. The Multiple Lives of Drawings has a small M with a back arrow in the top left signifying that’s how to move back, but even then, it didn’t work all the time. The Ender Gal-

lery pages had no such button.

The Ender Gallery website itself that the Mackenzie Art Gallery links to is difficult to read. All the text is the same font as Minecraft, which is thematic, but the blocky text is close together and I struggled to read it. Moreover, it’s not on a solid background, it’s on a low opacity black backing with clouds behind that, poking through the backing. The white clouds with the white close-together text made reading the information about the exhibits difficult.

Overall, the Ender Gallery is a really interesting idea, and using Minecraft, a very popular game especially during COVID, brings a new medium that’s quite appealing to a younger audience. I recommend the 13th Floor, found at mackenzie.art/experience/13th-floor, as a good way to experience quality art with artist insights while staying safe at home.

Minecraft via Flickr

A Flickr screencap of a Minecraft set up that is not nearly as cool and artful as the ones you’ll see in the Ender Gallery.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

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Artist spotlight: Hailiiz Illustrations The life of a Winnipeg-based Dungeons and Dragons character illustrator jorah bright arts writer In the last several years, digital art has been on the rise. The format has many perks, including allowing for easier posting on social media by simply taking the art file and uploading it straight from the device used to create the piece.

Selling and creating prints has never been easier, and there’s the glory of the undo button that you just can’t quite replicate with an eraser.

Being a full-time artist and creator is a dream for many artists, and for some those dreams come true. This week I spoke with hailiiz, or Ricky, a professional artist based in Winnipeg about her art process, social media, and art as a career. Ricky grew up loving art but didn’t consider herself to be an artist until 2017. She started drawing then “after working in an office setting and realizing this was not the place for [her].”

“I don’t believe in the way companies often treat their employees and how normalized gaslighting, gossiping and harassing is within the workplace,” Ricky says. “This is not something I say lightly. I worked in offices from 2014 till just last year and my experiences put me in a very dark and dangerous place. Art and having a supportive group of people including my partner, my family, and my amazing friends and supporters are the only things that kept me going.”

Once Ricky started taking art seriously, she had hopes that she would be able to turn it into a career – but that doesn’t mean the path was easy. She stated “looking back at my old art, I am very glad that I had the motivation to keep going.” What changed everything was the game Dungeons and Dragons (often abbreviated to D&D). D&D has had a major resurgence in the past several years, and it allowed Ricky to realize her “place in the art world and the joy bringing [her] clients’ characters to life brought [her].

This changed everything.”

On September 15, 2021, Ricky was able to quit her office job and focus on art full-time, due in part to Patreon, a membership platform that allows ‘patrons’ to pay creators. Ricky says that “[w] ithout a platform such as Patreon and the amazing humans that subscribe, I would not have been able to quit my job and leave my toxic daily life. I am so incredibly thankful that each month I get to put out things that I can be proud of, things that might be a little goofy and more personal, and just random posts that someone wants to see. It’s crazy.”

Not everything is always smooth sailing when creating art.

Like most things in life, there are obstacles. When asked about obstacles she faces in her creative process, Ricky says “[n]o matter what you do in life, there’s going to be obstacles. Sounds basic but it’s fact! In art, there are tons! One of the biggest ones I currently have is stepping out of

Hailiiz Illustrations

What you mean when you tell your stylist “I just want more volume!”

my beautiful little comfort zone.

For this, I practice and study! No matter what obstacles come up, take a deep breath and tell yourself, ‘One step at a time.’”

The first thing Ricky does when starting a new piece is look at “references, always!” For

her references, she “purchased a ton of stock from lovely reference photo companies such as Grafit and The Pose Archives,” alongside using Pinterest and the work of other artists for inspiration. She says that “watching my friends and the artists I admire

reach their goals is mesmerizing and pushes me to reach mine.

Artists that I have watched for so long such as Cyarin and Loish inspire me to keep going. The cool thing about being an artist? You can only get better.”

As a full-time artist, Ricky

“

Telling ‘adultier-adults’ that I draw people’s Dungeon’s and Dragons characters for a living always confuses them.

– Ricky (@hailiiz) Horns make the perfect accessory for anyone’s outfit.

uses social media to post her art, which can be tricky with those ever-changing trends and algorithms. On this subject, Ricky says that “while I am a firm believer in drawing what you love, sticking to trends is very important and helpful! To compromise, I like to actually take part in the trend. I prefer to watch a popular show before making fan art on it.”

But what makes the pressures of social media worth it for Ricky is “the support and motivation I get from heartfelt comments, DM’s and support from other creators or followers on each platform.”

Ricky knows that posting on social media can be difficult, but recognizes the importance of it.

“Social media will always be an important part of my daily life,” she says, “and I try to remember that bad will always come with the good. Put up walls against the high possibility of trolls and remember that is part of the job!”

When asked about the struggles of working full time as an artist, Ricky admits that “[s]o far, the most difficult part would definitely be keeping a schedule, especially working completely from home. Even when I have a schedule, it can be hard not to be down on yourself if the hours are obscure. As long as you’re working, right?” She also faces confusion from other people when she explains what she does for work.

“Telling ‘adultier-adults’ that I draw peoples’ Dungeon’s and Dragons characters for a living always confuses them,” she says.

Art has changed Ricky’s life for the better. It has influenced the friends she makes and the people she gets to talk to sometimes (“that old me would faint over,” she adds). She finds joy in “the fact that [she] get[s] to wake up each day and do what [she] loves, even when [she] hate[s] it.”

For Ricky, the best part of being a full-time artist is “[b]eing able to do what [she] love[s], each and every day, with the support of [her] loved ones and lovely human beings online.”

Ricky/hailiiz can be found on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok, and Youtube @hailiiz, on Facebook at Hailiiz Illustrations, on Etsy at etsy.com/ca/ shop/hailiizco, and on Patreon at patreon.com/hailiiz.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

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Why HBO’s Insecure is important

Sex and the City for the younger generation hits what the classic show missed

amina salah staff writer Warning: contains spoilers!

Insecure, a television series that streams on HBO, details the lives of Black women in contemporary society. The show is named Insecure to encompass the struggles of its two most prominent characters, Issa and Molly. Issa is awkward and insecure, whereas Molly, on the other hand, is head strong, anxious, and impulsive. The show was created

by Issa Rae, who also stars in it.

What makes HBO’s Insecure authentic and unique is the fact that it focuses on the mundanity of life. For once, as a Black girl, I can watch a show that is just about life and living it without the inclusion of trauma porn.

To have a fantastic show, you must have a killer costume designer. The characters of the show are seen wearing Gucci and Fendi among others. Insecure also celebrates Black designers, Black beauty, Black art and culture. The show features fashion from couture fashion houses such as Pyer Moss and Telfar.

Over the last two decades, HBO was known for its iconic show Sex and the City. Today, Insecure is carrying that torch by exploring similar themes, but bringing the representation Sex and the City never had.

In season one, Issa is dating Lawrence, her long-term boyfriend. She is the breadwinner.

Lawrence has been looking for a job for quite some time but hasn’t had any luck unfortunately. This was a burden that was too difficult for Issa to bare and as a result, she seeks out company from someone else who she feels can give her what Lawrence can’t. Issa ends up cheating on Lawrence and when she confesses this to him, they break up as a result. Issa relies on her friends Molly, Kelli, and Tiffany to help her get through it.

By the second season, Issa is stuck at her dead-end job. She feels like she wants to quit, but is unsure what path she wants to be on. Molly, on the other hand, has been going on dates but is unlucky in love. All she wants is a partner for life, but her dates have ranged from narcissistic to commitment phobic. Towards the third season, Issa quits her job at a non-profit called We Got Y’all. She starts managing apartments on the side while she is figuring out what she wants to do next. Her friendship with Molly starts going downhill.

When Molly starts dating an Asian man, the show takes a moment to detail the reality of interracial relationships. Molly becomes serious with her boyfriend Andrew in season 4. Her life is going well until Issa decides that she wants to throw block parties and events in South LA. She aims to have Black caterers at her events and promote local talent.

Issa needs a famous musician at her first event, so she asks Molly if she could speak to her boyfriend about asking the musician to perform since Molly’s boyfriend

Wikipedia Commons

works at a record label. Molly says no. Somehow, Issa’s new friend Nathan pulls some strings and talks to Andrew about asking the musician to perform. After a long season of making sure everything comes together, Issa’s first event is

person, wrong time. Issa and Lawrence are in this exact predicament. Since the start of the show, Issa and Lawrence have been trying to make it work. The reality is that sometimes you just have to step away from the person

Insecure also highlights the importance of having genuine friends who are there for you.

It’s hard being a woman, and it’s even harder being a Black woman. Therefore, it’s important to have your people – those who

“

For once, as a Black girl, I can watch a show that is just about life and living it without the inclusion of trauma porn.

– Amina Salah

a success.

By the fourth season, Issa and Molly’s friendship has gone sour and they aren’t speaking to each other. Then, Molly and Andrew break up; Issa gets back together with Lawrence, but they break up again after she finds out that he has a baby on the way with his last girlfriend.

One of the aspects that makes Insecure fantastic is that it explores the concept of right

and the situation before you can find your way back to each other.

What and who is meant for you will never miss you. If it’s right, people always find their way back to each other, the same way Issa and Lawrence did. This time they are both more mature, communicate their needs, and are resilient and strong. Most importantly, they are vocal about what is important for a successful, honest relationship.

have your back no matter what.

Throughout the ups and downs of life, Issa and Molly have always been there for each other.

They are consistent in the roles they play in each other’s life. Issa and Molly are the pinnacle of friendship. When Molly is going through her mother’s stroke and family issues, Issa is there for her.

When Issa is unsure about her feelings for Lawrence, Molly is there to offer some wisdom.

Insecure is an amazing show that deserves all the hype it is getting. Though many have criticized the costume choices of the show because Issa is wearing couture while going through financial difficulties, the reality is that when Carrie Bradshaw was wearing Vivienne Westwood and Manolo Blahnik shoes, nobody said anything because the show focused a lot on fashion. It’s important to have a show that features Black characters wearing designer pieces because it is about the representation. Insecure isn’t just about friendship – it’s also about fashion.

Issa and Molly started the first season as two insecure women just trying to do their best given their circumstances. As they grow and mature, they become secure.

They become secure in what they want for their lives. They become secure in their self-esteem and worth. They become the women of their dreams. They become who they were always meant to be. Insecure is an amazing show because it celebrates growth, self-esteem, and security.

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editor: katherine mutschler sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | jan 13 - 19, 2022

Gym review series: Oxygen Yoga and Fitness Let’s review the gyms for a new year, new me

victoria baht s&h writer Most of us know the month of January has a constant theme of “new year, new me.” For the month of January, each issue is going to feature a sports article based on a different gym in Regina. It will include a review and then a short interview between myself and the instructor of the class. Make sure to check in weekly to see which gyms you should try out to get a new you!

This week, we are visiting the Oxygen Yoga and Fitness studio.

The studio has a great setup! You get to book your classes online using an app, and you can see a variety of different classes with a variety of different instructors.

Not only can you book a class, but they also have an option to do classes on the app. You can stream the classes live, or you can do them on demand. This seems like a great option for people who have a crazy life or want to stay home because of COVID. So, what is this gym doing for safety during the pandemic?

When you walk through the doors you have a worker greet you and check your temperature. Once you get into the studio you are six feet away from each client, giving the option to remove masks.

You can enjoy your workout mask free, although once you step off the mat, you put the mask back on. The instructors also sanitize all gear between classes and mop the floor as a safety precaution for the clients.

Let the class begin! Start by

Victoria Baht

Instructor of Oxygen Yoga and Fitness stands super buff after teaching a cardio and strength class.

laying out your yoga mat at a designated spot with some equipment. Okay, I made it to the studio, I am in my spot, now what is that I feel? I already feel some warmth… I haven’t even started working out already, why am I so warm? The answer to that question is one of the unique things about Oxygen Yoga: is has an infrared studio which means that the studio is always warmed up to about 34-36 degrees. Now that’s a great way to stay warm these winter months!

makes you feel comfortable. After a few minutes of motivation speaking, you then do some light stretches of your body while laying down.

Then it is time to start! You pop back up on your toes and start moving. For this review specifically I took the class called “Hot Tone and Sculpt,” and holy man is it a killer! This is a unique class where your movements are in a sequence of three. Let’s say you are doing a squat: you go down for three counts and come

but just wait until you try it – your body will burn and feel amazing.

One thing Oxygen is good for is providing options to make the workout truly for you. You can just do arms, just do legs, or take a break. Even for the cardio bursts you can go all out or take a low power version; whatever is good for you is good for them. Would I go back for another class? 100 per cent.

Now let’s hear it from Shawna Taylor, an instructor at Oxygen studio (and man, she kills it

“

I like being able to motivate, see the progress and work in the clients. It always fills me with a fire and passion each time I step on to the mat.

– Shawna Taylor

Okay, time to work out. Let’s get ready! Step one is laying down in savasana. This is a pose where you lay down on your mat comfortably and try to clear your mind and get into the true state of either relaxation or “let’s kick some butt this workout!” The instructors help you get into that mindset by talking to you. They tell you what to expect for the class, saying it is okay to take a break when you need, or it is okay if you want to keep pushing yourself harder. This is your workout and it is your body, so do what

up for one, and then you reverse it down for one and up for three.

With cardio, you burst after four power moves. Trust me, the class goes by fast, and you feel powerful. When the class is all done you do a quick stretch again and lay back down in savasana. Then, they end each class sitting all together and thanking you for coming out. We all put our hands together in front of our chests in the shape of a heart and say, “I love my life!”

That is your workout!

“Sounds easy” you may think,

every time).

What do you like specifically about teaching classes at the studio?

I like being able to motivate, see the progress and work in the clients. It always fills me with a fire and passion each time I step on to the mat.

What keeps you personally motivated to be a fitness instructor?

Part of it is my own fitness journey, it is a big part of my life.

Plus, the yoga has given me a chance to calm down and relax.

I find if I can do it with others, it keeps me motivated to keep pushing myself and them as well.

What is some advice you would give someone who is wanting to try your gym for the first time?

Do not be afraid! It might look intimating but we will always offer you different levels and different options. So just come, and don’t be afraid to be outside of your zone and grow.

We all know January is the month for “new year, new me.” What are some suggestions you have for people to not only have a “new me,” but to improve their habits and lifestyle?

Do not put a lot on new resolutions. Focus on yourself and start by being healthier, and it starts when you are ready. Be more conscious of your body and yourself and with how you feel.

Does the gym have any special promotions going on right now? If so, can you explain them?

At Oxygen North we are celebrating our fifth year so we have sales and deals and contracts, and chat with the front desk to find out more!

That’s all, Carillon readers!

Now you know what is like to workout at Oxygen studio. Make sure to check back next week to see which gym we review and interview next, and remember to love your life!

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

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How to finally keep your New Year’s resolutions How to keep New Year’s resolutions using sport psychology (and without all the boring articles) katherine mutschler s&h editor It is the new year, and you know what that means: it is time to get the sudden urge to become super mega fit. Whether you are wanting to lose some of the turkey weight you gained over the holiday, you just want to get strong enough to lift your enemies, or, if you’re like me, you just want to stop feeling winded when you go up the four flights of stairs in classroom building, January is the perfect time for a fresh start.

You’re not alone with this sudden urge to change your lifestyle. This year, you have decided you will not fail like all the other years, but why do resolutions feel impossible to keep? Using sport psychology, I will explain the best methods for easing into a new lifestyle, finding what works best for you, and keeping you motivated.

If you’re feeling full of spit and vinegar at the start of the new year, you may feel like you want to do it all at once. All your friends are telling you to do HIIT workouts five days a week. You feel like you need to cut out all bread and pasta for a month. By the end of week two, this will not feel sustainable anymore. What do we do then? Weinberg & Gould presents in their article “Exercise Behavior and Adherence” from Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology (fourth edition) that exercise adherence is more successful when the person eases into the workout regimen. If a person

has been sedentary for the whole pandemic, they will be more successful doing light cardio, making small diet changes, and going for walks. This prevents the body and mind from burning out, which results in you being able to keep your resolutions longer.

It is very easy for the individual to engage in the “all or nothing” mindset. Weinberg and Gould explain that this is demonstrated in the form of a person feeling like they have failed if they miss one day of working out. A person may also cut out all foods

one isolated event. Just continue to do your exercises and eat your favourite foods in moderation, and it will all balance in the end.

It is better to have a gray mindset: “I will try not to drink soda as often, but once a week and maybe a bit more is okay for now,” or “I don’t feel well enough to workout.

I will do yoga instead.”

Now you must be asking yourself, “but what diet or workout is the best one for me?” With all the contradicting opinions online (are eggs good or bad now?), it could be hard to figure out what

and feel physically great, then you are doing exactly what you should be.

The best workout for you is the same principle as above: the workout you enjoy and the workout you can be consistent with is a good routine for you, according to research found in the chapter “motivation and behavioral change” from Sport and Exercise Psychology (third edition), edited

by Peter R. E Crocker. As a teen I tried for years to like HIIT, and would be shocked that I could not make it to the fourth workout in

“

As a teen I tried for years to like HIIT, and would be shocked that I could not make it to the fourth workout in my plan; this was because I hate HIIT workouts. If you don’t like what you are doing, then you aren’t going to do it.

– Katherine Mutschler

they enjoy right away. This all or nothing mindset results in failure because the individual is more likely to give up if they eat the food they “weren’t supposed to,” or they go all out on a cheat day and toss the whole plan away.

Another way this is presented is if a person misses a workout or eats food that they deem as bad (like a slice of cake) first thing in the morning. They see this as a failure, and then feel that they have lost all progress because of

is the best diet or workout for you.

The answer is simple: the best diet/workout routine is the one that makes you happy and the one that is sustainable. Calorie counting may seem appealing to some, but having to put a numerical value to food everyday may not be ideal for your mental health while it may be fine for others. You may love bread a lot, so as soon as someone says “keto” it is time to walk away. If you can still eat the foods you love (with moderation)

my plan; this was because I hate HIIT workouts. If you don’t like what you are doing, then you aren’t going to do it. Lots of different dance, muscle training, cardio, and other types of workouts can be found online, or at the gym. For both eating and working out, sport psychologists suggest doing what you enjoy and giving yourself variety.

Motivation is best when it comes from within. Research in “motivation and behavioral

change” from Sport and Exercise Psychology explains that there are a few levels of motivation, ranging from non-self-determined (outside sources of motivation) to self-determined (internal motivation). Non-self-determined examples sound like “I feel guilty when I don’t work out,” or “I feel guilty if I eat this food item.” Guilt does not help us reach our goals. Another example would be: “I have to work out because my trainer said I had to.” It may work in the moment, but long term this does not keep a person motivated. The best sense of motivation comes from understanding the benefits of your workout or eating, identifying with what you are doing, and because you enjoy it. For example, I have a running friend who, if I were to ask her, would say, “I run because it is fun, it is good for my health, and I am a runner.”

Keeping New Year’s resolutions is hard because we all want to go full power into our new routine. Diet ads saying “lose 10 pounds in a week” and “workout and don’t eat any fun foods ever” are plastered on magazines, YouTube ads, and TV. Don’t look at their ads. Look at yourself, and find some manageable goals that you can really enjoy. It does not have to be just one thing either; you may try running and find you hate it, but then discover the joys of lifting weights like I did. Go forth and find what you love, and happy new year!

Shoeib Abolhassani

If the endorphins don’t cheer you up, the sound of crunching leaves will!

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

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sports and health

Dieting industry and capitalism New Year, new me, same sales pitch

gillian massie staff writer Sales pitches normally go one of two ways in the new year: someone is trying to get you to invest in cryptocurrency, or someone is trying to get you on a diet plan with a gym membership.

Every year, as soon as the ball drops in time square, television stations and social media apps are flooded with ads promoting weight loss and diet culture. The “New Year New Me” mentality has adapted to non-contact methods to compensate for COVID-19.

We are 18 months into the pandemic and now entering the fifth wave of COVID-19 with even more uncertainty as Omicron variant cases continue to rise. Stuck between closures of fitness facilities, fear of gaining “the quarantine 15” emerged, encouraging people to get into shape with their pre-coronavirus bodies. Many of these ads have been targeted to lose the weight that people have put on during quarantine. For many individuals, it has not been feasible or safe to become physically active because facilities were closed.

For most of the pandemic, isolation left us with minimal options for any physical activity.

It has become incredibly easy to turn to fad diets and other supplements that dieting industries offer because there is little alternative. There was opportunity to head outdoors in the summer months, but heading into colder winter months it is not safe

to attempt outdoor activities in -40-degree weather.

According to CNBC, the dieting industry has become a $71 billion dollar industry. Not to mention these specific diet plans have a 95 per cent failure rate. These plans are designed for rapid weight loss that cause more damage than good. In the National Eating Disorder Association, only five per cent of individuals keep the weight off from these fad diets, and the rest gain it back within one-five years.

Diet culture as an industry is labelled as “toxic” for sacrificing physical and emotional wellness in the pursuit of thinness, youth, and beauty. You can always be losing the extra weight which is exactly what the diet industry wants you to think, which means buying yourself a lifetime subscription to products that enforce your own insecurities.

The harsh truth is that people benefit off of you hating yourself – and it’s not your fault.

It is easy to compare yourself to fitness influencers whose job is to look as fit as possible. Matching gym sets, glute bands, and protein powders are expensive.

Not to mention influencers who are obligated to market these items to their following because they are being sponsored by big corporations. Social media apps like Instagram have become another way to promote products with its new “Instagram Shop” section that takes you straight to the website, and then the checkout. Convenience of plugged-in credit card numbers and free

Annie Spratt

A person has given up on their workout to lay on the ground while someone lifts their leg up.

shipping can suck customers in to making a purchase they might otherwise not make.

Influencers’ monetary gain does not justify the long-term damage that comes with endorsing unsafe or unethical dieting products. When Kim Kardashian endorsed appetite

suppressing lollipops, it sent out promotion for disordered eating.

With such a broad and young audience, it sets an example that eating less and working out more should be prioritized over your wellness.

Fear of weight gain throughout the pandemic has been used

to guilt consumers into buying products from the diet industry.

Relationships with food and exercise should not be dictated by the way the dieting industry sees fit – they should represent tradition, culture, and memories.

Braving the cold series: how to skate Let’s learn how to skate in the cold winter months

victoria baht s&h writer

Isi Parente

Take me out to the ball game - Err, hockey game...

All of us that live in Regina, Saskatchewan know that the cold can be a little unmotivating when it comes to keeping active in these cold winter months. This is why the Carillon wants to talk to you about the sport of skating and the different levels everyone can skate at to stay active. Once you finish reading this article, who knows?

You might be motivated yourself to give it a try or to get back at it.

Before we get into being active, let’s look at what the sport of skating is. Some of you may think skating is a sport where you glide around on two thin pieces of metal while hoping to stay balanced long enough to be able to gain some speed and then come to a full stop. Although it is more than that, skating started out in the 17th century as a form of transportation. It originated by gliding around on shanks or rib bones of elk or caribou. Skating became a hit and people wanted it to become more than a form of transformation. It then became social pastime in the 1840’s where the fun all began. Skating did not stop there and has developed into

so much more. Now you see athletes taking part in figure skating, speed skating, hockey, and skating for fun – and so can you!

Now that we know some of the history, let’s get down to the action! The first step is getting your skates on, and then making sure your skates are nice and tight and properly laced. Skating is a sport that depends a lot on your ankles, so you want to make sure they are protected. Once your skates are on you are ready to start.

The next step is getting onto the ice. Now, this may be a little tricky which is okay – that is the fun part. Please know that as you skate it is normal to fall on your butt, hands and knees, or run into the boards when trying to stop (or at least we say it is). When learning how to skate, one of the most important lessons is learning how to fall and how to get back up. So, go ahead fall a couple of times!

Phew, falling can be a lot of work. Time to get down to the real business. The moving part, sounds scary right? Well let’s not be too scared because worst case scenario is that you will fall, and we already know how that route goes. They say the way to visual-

ize the movement of skating is to pretend like you are on a scooter.

Do a nice swift kick of your leg back and keep one leg forward (or on the scooter). Once the pushing leg is back you shift back and forth and you will gain speed. If that does not seem like your style, just hold onto someone and glide behind them!

Now that you have gained some speed, how do you stop?

Don’t you worry, that’s what the walls are there for. Feel free to glide and grab onto them. A better idea is actually stopping on the skates. A good way to stop is by pushing your feet apart, using the flat part of the blade to come to a full stop. Another way to come to a stop that may not be the most effective – but works – is just gliding on your skates and swerving your legs in mini half circles. Eventually your body will lose momentum and you will come to a stop.

Now you have the steps of learning how to skate, why not give it a shot? Reminder that skating can be a dangerous sport and is hard to learn, so please be careful and take someone with you when trying it out for the first time – that way you can both laugh together!

op-ed

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editor: sarah nakonechny op-ed@carillonregina.com the carillon | jan 13 - 19, 2022

Missing out on more than you know

The walls of our bedroom are not what we should be remembering about our undergrad experience

Joshua Mayo via Unsplash

Just because you leave your tree up doesn’t mean the joy of the holidays will continue to be felt during courses

It is no surprise to anyone that we are trapped online for yet another few weeks, as it currently stands. Before the winter break all students and staff at the University of Regina received an email informing us of two very important decisions. The first is that we will be starting the Winter 2022 term at home behind our computer screens once more. Following that was the announcement that courses are starting five days later to provide adequate time for professors to change their delivery methods to be suitable for the online platform once more.

To say that anyone was shocked by this decision would be foolish. As much as we

being forced to live our undergraduate years out like this. There has been almost two years of remote learning that has taken place. This means two years of being unable to interact with faculty and peers, two years of not being able to utilize the spaces on campus that were built to ensure our success, two years of isolation, and two years of anxious yearning for the day we can sit amongst our peers in a classroom once again.

Unlike many students in the Fall 2021 term, I had the privilege of being on campus weekly. Once a week for work, and once a week for rehearsal. It was a total of three to four hours each week that I had

With the prevention of courses in person of any kind those few hours have been ripped from my grasp. It feels as though I was trying to hold onto a fistful of sand and there was no chance that I would be able to maintain my grip on it for long.

I had allowed myself the hope of potentially seeing campus more - of being able to utilize the common study spaces, the fitness center, and the libraries. I was looking forward to being able to message friends and see if they wanted to grab coffee somewhere between classes or accidentally running into them in the hall as you try and do the 15-minute dash across campus between classes. There was so much

care about later. You are not going to care about the stress of writing that midterm in your 100-level courses, or the number of pens you went through because you always seemed to lose them before they ran out.

What you will remember is your professors love for their dog or the icy shuffle from the parking lot into the school that you had to brave in the winter.

Now I know, all these things sound mundane and pointless. But these are the strange little moments that make university so unique from any other schooling experiences. Being trapped behind a screen is absolutely devastating as it is depriving us of these opportunities to make the weird little

“

Although this might not seem like a lot, I was emotional every single time I stepped foot through any of the doors, filled with fear that this might be the last time I get to step onto campus for months in the event of a lockdown.

– Sarah Nakonechny

all hate to admit it, we knew that this would be coming. It was not a question of ‘if ’ we would end up back online, but rather it was a question of ‘when’ it was going to happen. Although some were hopeful that we might get to experience a week or two in person before being shipped to online, we were unable to make it even that far. Despite the prediction that come January 24, 2022, we may be able to return to life in a classroom, this is sounding once again like a distant dream that we will not be able to make a reality.

I, like the rest of the student body, am not fazed that the decision was made.

Rather, I am disappointed that we are still

the opportunity to walk the halls, interact with the staff that were there, and see the few peers I could at the time.

Although this might not seem like a lot, I was emotional every single time I stepped foot through any of the doors, filled with fear that this might be the last time I get to step onto campus for months in the event of a lockdown. Knowing that there were thousands of students that were not granted the opportunity for even those few menial hours a week to see the campus and remember what it is like to be a student outside their bedroom.

Now, the feeling of despair is a blackhole that feels impossible to crawl out of.

hope and potential that feels as though it has been thrown away with little hope of coming back anytime soon.

Nothing could prepare a person for the best parts of university - the group events, random late night study sessions with friends, welcome week activities, finding that perfect nook to relax in after class, that impulse coffee purchase, among so many other amazing little moments.

We might be doing important research, preparing for higher levels of schooling, or praying that we get hired into a field that is relevant to our degree after everything is all said and done. But those are not the things that you will remember and

memories and enjoy the simpler moments outside of papers, exams, and applications.

Banishing us to life behind our computer screens may be for our own good.

There is no arguing that it will keep us safer and slow the spread of everything. Regardless of how good it may be for the state of the province’s health and our own, I am still going to continue to wish that it did not need to happen.

sarah nakonechny op-ed editor

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

op-ed

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

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What a pain in the Janus

Just because the universe thinks you should set resolutions, doesn’t mean you have to right now As the past sets and the present arrives, there are a panoply of goals I wish to accomplish this year: film another skate part, start that guaranteed-to-be-bad novel, learn more pretentious words, attenuate time spent on Instagram, and so on. I categorically support self-improvement, though I am diametrically opposed to New Year’s resolutions, the kind that are steeped in the ostensible ethos of self-improvement induced by the exigencies of the moment. The past ending, the future arriving, and a foreboding feeling that one must change the present this very moment, lest they are trapped in their past selves and actions for the foreseeable future.

Why do we adhere to such arbitrary distinctions?

There is evidently something grandiose (and absurd) about the Earth completing another revolution around the sun - our solitary life-sustaining mudball flinging around a capricious and finite firebomb. This notion occurs to such a ubiquitous extent globally that one could argue it is an inextricable part of the human condition to let the Earth and its function in time and space dictate our lives. However, nowhere does this imply that it would be natural to start anew at the completion of such a cycle. It appears it would be equally as arbitrary and effective to decide to begin anew each day, a brief cycle that would be more beneficial to success given that there are many more new days than years. Unless, that is, there was some other reason for our arbitrary distinctions being derived from something other than their practical effects. Incidentally, this appears to be the case. Let me introduce you to Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, and Ovid, the author of Fasti.

Fasti, a poem that spanned several books regarding the Roman calendar, was published putatively in 8 A.D. You may be thinking, “what the hell does this almost 2000-year-old, fusty-ass poem have to do with my resolution to diminish the amount

of time I spend on TikTok or to learn how to cook with more than directions from the box?” Well, my fellow zillennials (a term I detest and found recently on the Atlantic as a portmanteau of, you guessed it, the misnomers of millennials and generation Z’s), the poem encapsulates the values that pertain

new sun, the winter solstice. The latter is dependent upon construal; here, a direct quote from Janus as interpreted by Ovid: “Omens are wont to wait upon beginnings.” The god goes on to compare such behavior to that of having a conversation and how the ear is alert at the outset of sound, only to diminish

Wikipedia Commons

Here we go again with the astrology girls...

to each month as interpreted directly by the gods themselves.

In the text, Ovid inquiries from Janus, the god of January, several answers and justifications for rituals occurring within the month, such as why the new year begins in the cold season, and what justifications there are for obligatory sharing and reception of good tidings and well-wishes at the month’s conclusion. The former is dictated by the

attention as time elapses; so too, ostensibly, does our ability to enact change diminish in strength throughout the year as the time piles on.

As a personal aside, I quit smoking, without any traditional succor, on July 31, 2021. I contemplated quitting smoking for quite some time before earnestly undertaking the endeavor. The price had become outrageous in the last few years; the price

of cigarettes was never reasonable, it’s just that it had become unjustifiably unreasonable, if you know what I mean. While the physical issues that were appended, namely the chronic bronchitis, were so intense as to conjure thoughts of my inevitable death way sooner than my expected expiration date.

This may be incredibly anecdotal, but that is nowhere near New Year’s; I decided on a course of action, finally quit succumbing to my self-justifications, and quit on my terms, with my power, of my own volition, all invocations of the gods be damned.

What the new year does accommodate for is a notion of novelty, a catalyst and marker for what will follow. This is a verifiable feeling, but to believe that all resolutions are best kept for the beginning of the year would relegate people to a lack of change and adaptation throughout the remainder. So, what’s the conclusion of this tirade against New Year’s? Go ahead and make resolutions, but don’t make them merely because it’s New Year’s.

Make them because they are what you truly want and desire. Once you have set those resolutions, render the environment around you as conducive as possible to your success. For instance, when I quit smoking, though I didn’t use traditional cessation methods I did choose an opportune time to implement my change: during the final month of summer when I had zero obligations to anyone other than myself and my family. If I had chosen a time within the normalcy of the year, I don’t think I would have been successful. To reiterate: set goals, render your environment conducive to success, and fuck tradition.

william spencer contributor

Goal setting for you, not others

Setting goals is important, but being kind with yourself is crucial

Behnam Norouzi via Unsplash

2022 will simply be “2020 too” unless you find a way to shake up your normal.

“New year, new me” is a rhetoric that we see on all social media platforms towards the end of every year. It is a time for people to reflect and decide what changes they’d like to bring into the new year and what they’d like to leave in the old year. It is the perfect time to set resolutions for yourself.

I have seen many people mock those who utter phrases such as “new year, new me.” The reality is people should not be made fun of for trying to make changes in their lives. Self-awareness is the key we all need to determine the path and future we want for ourselves. I like to make short term goals that will help me in the long run. I like to write down all my goals and take the time to visualize them. To do so, I create mood boards and vision boards for the new year.

It feels better when you can picture them. I like to set habits and stick to the habits I do.

Journaling, yoga, and Pilates are all things I enjoy. It is important to remind myself why I enjoy them and why they are good for my physical and emotional well-being.

It takes about a month for something to become a habit, which means that it is important to set reasonable goals for yourself, ensuring that they are goals that will not overwhelm you in the long run. If something is not working out for you, then perhaps it is time to change things. This is completely normal.

Often it feels like a failure if we get overwhelmed because of these new goals. It is important to understand that it is okay if a particular routine does not work for you.

What works for someone else might not

work for you, and what works for you might not work for others. Comparing where you are in life to where others are in life will only make you miserable. Comparison is the thief of joy.

In the past, I have made goals that were extremely unreasonable. When things did not go the ways I planned for them to go, it was difficult for me. Today, I would say that version of me is gone and that it is okay for me to take a detour. Sometimes life just does its own thing, and it is up to you to let it happen instead of wallowing in despair and self-pity. I understand that this is easier said than done. It takes a lot of practice.

Setting goals for yourself is a tool that can help you cultivate the life that you want.

It helps you curate every aspect of your life and how you would like it to go. The reality is that the most important relationship we will ever be a part of is the one we have with ourselves. It is important to nurture that relationship because, at the end of the day, it is all that will always stay with you. Nurturing your emotional well- being and your mental health is crucial to moving forward in life.

The pandemic has been extremely difficult for so many people and it is a blessing to still be alive and well today. I hope people realize that it is okay to be unsure about the future.

Ultimately, we are all trying our best given our circumstances.

amina salah staff writer

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |

op-ed

The year of baby steps over lofty goals

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If you shoot for the stars, you will simply crash and burn New Year’s resolutions. Clean slates. Fresh starts. New year, new me. We have heard all these before, all based on the idea that with the turning of the calendar, or rather with the breaking out of a new calendar, we should make major changes to our lives, hobbies, and goals. We all have made them at some point in our lives, and if conventional wisdom is to be believed, only a few of us last until February. Yet most of us persist on making resolutions yearly. There is one thing that baffles me about this process. If these are good habits or goals to have, why do we put them off for months? Life is short enough without wasting months not working on things we ourselves decide are important to us.

predictable structure with enough opportunities at the frontier to try new experiences.

Daily disruptions and chaos would mean we cannot focus and get routine work done, but as someone who was once stuck in a dead-end career doing the same thing every day, too much routine can also be a bad thing. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting something different, as they say, is the definition of insanity.

Returning to New Year’s resolutions and why we often fail at them – perhaps the problem is that we are convinced that on the other side of midnight on December 31 there is some magic land where all our less desired character traits disappear.

In this magical tomorrow, we do not crave

Then comes the secondary reason: how we view ourselves. When we take too much work on and then crash and burn in less than a month, we chalk it up to being one more thing we did not manage to execute well or see through to the end. Over time, this cements a certain perception we have of ourselves. Not very different from how many of us feel that we are “not good at math” or “not a reader.” What would be far closer to the truth is that we did not spend enough time on math to be good at it, or never pushed ourselves to read more.

I am doubtful that people are born with some genetic propensity for being good at math or preferring reading over watching television. These are learned habits that

expected to perform as athletes. Crushing these small challenges will give them the confidence to take on progressively harder ones, until one day they are playing at the highest level available – until one day we finish that thousand-page book or find ourselves in a graduate program in math. Our brains, or minds if you will, enjoy incremental challenges they can ace. They shy away from impossible tasks which seem to be doomed for failure.

This new year, I am not making grand resolutions. In fact, I am not making any resolutions at all. I am just trying to do a little better. I am reading for ten more minutes every day. I am getting the small pizza, and just water is fine, thanks. When the

“

For one, we are trying to change too much too soon. Secondly, we are sending our own mind mixed messages. Is the change we want desirable? If not, why are we doing it at all? If yes, why are we waiting to do it?

– Hammad Ali

Maybe the crucial insight is that we romanticize the major sea of lifestyles changes somewhere out there, over the little tweaks in habit we can make every day. On December 31, I can eat an entire extra-large pizza, extra pepperoni, washed down with coke. But, on January 1, I will be eating vegan and organic, and drink only cold brew tea.

Something I read about this really struck home the other day and might be a much better way to handle desired lifestyle changes. We are all, to some extent, resistant to change. Well, perhaps that is an oversimplification, because we also do not function well in a stagnant environment.

There is a sweet spot where we need some

sugar or junk food, even though we binged on fast food and pop every single day in December. We wake up at 5 am and go for a run, never mind that we have not seen the world before noon in years or ran anywhere unless being chased by a rabid dog.

We read for three hours every day, making our way through the world classics, while the reality in December is that we spent six hours scrolling social media.

This is the basis for the two major reasons why we fail. For one, we are trying to change too much too soon. Secondly, we are sending our own mind mixed messages. Is the change we want desirable? If not, why are we doing it at all? If yes, why are we waiting to do it?

take time to build and if we try too much too soon, we fall short. We never finish that difficult book, or we flunk that math class that we did not have the right background for. With enough failures, we eventually associate feelings of unpleasantness with the task and stop trying.

On the other hand, we could take a page out of the books of successful coaches. Most good coaches tell us that beginners at any craft need a few small wins to start building a positive self-image. Towards this end, they will often get beginners to take on very small challenges. There is going to be a huge gap between the challenges they are facing now and the level at which they are

weather outside does not feel like it’s stabbing me in the eyes, I am taking one more walk than I currently do. If I can do that for enough days, weeks, and months, then I will sit down and think about what more I could do. There is nothing magical about the new year. But there can be something magical about steady, consistent work on the things I value and want to be better at.

For those setting grander goals, may you have an easier time with them that I ever did. Happy 2022, everyone!

hammad ali staff writer

Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash

I resolve to eat whatever the hell I’d like, thank you very much.

jan 13 - jan 19, 2022

carillonregina.com | the carillon |17

op-ed

Breathing in the new year with reflection and hope Take the time to enjoy reflecting on the past, and look forward to the things to come

Luo Lei via Unsplash

Pics or it didn’t happen.

Whether you were home alone with your cat or gathering with family safely, I’m sure you probably felt it. This is the second New Year that we’ve been urged to social distance, even self-isolate, and acknowledge that it’s been a difficult year. I’m not going to even attempt to find a silver lining, but rather find some comfort in the fact that we’re all struggling together.

I’m a complete sucker for the new year.

I love it all: the eve, the day, and the afterglow that lasts all throughout the month of January and a week or so into February.

I always use this transitional time to allow myself to feel the nostalgia of the past year and fill myself with hope for the year to come. It helps that the popular discourse of the day, the New Year’s resolution, is based on transformation and renewal. The

Romans celebrated by exchanging gifts and wishing their fellow neighbors well.

Much like wishing our neighbors a “happy New Year,” the Romans delighted in the celebratory energy of the new year. It was a holiday celebrated in togetherness, based on connection. The month of January was named even earlier than Caesar’s rule, by Romulus, after the god Janus and his two faces, which allow him to look back into the past and forward into the future. In January, we still do as Janus does.

We would be doing a disservice to ourselves and to the planet by dismissing the power of New Year’s Day. Calendars, made by rulers with the help of clergymen and mathematicians and astronomers to help make sense of time, continued to shift, and turn throughout the ages. One thing

Our January 1 New Year is disconnected from the natural world. Economists divide their year into quarters, and New Year’s Day marks the beginning of the first quarter. For many, that day also marks the beginning of a new semester at the manmade institution of university. The nature of our resolutions reflects these shifts.

Most of us set self-serving goals like losing weight, starting a business, or doing well in school. In keeping with the spirit of the new year, it makes a ginormous difference to strive for these goals with the intention of serving or connecting with one another.

These resolutions might be less romantic than the Babylonian “sowing of the barley,” but there is still a wide-spread collective experience associated with believing in awe and believing in one another. The

turbance is almost mitigated by the sense of togetherness, the sense of solidarity that comes from having this huge, shared experience. It’s like looking outside a shop window in Saskatchewan during January’s -45-degree weather and knowing exactly what that person sprinting and sliding across ice to their car is going through. It’s believing they can get to their car in one piece.

When the ball drops at the end of every year, it’s akin to the first-time snow kisses the pavement. We stand and admire the miracle of new seasons, in awe of the distinct shapes of snowflakes. Children gather their carrots and stray buttons, waiting for enough snow to accumulate to create snowmen. We also stand in line at KalTire or Mr. Lube, having left the switch to win-

“

The month of January was named even earlier than Caesar’s rule, by Romulus, after the god Janus and his two faces, which allow him to look back into the past and forward into the future.

In January, we still do as Janus does.

– Ala Eisa

grocery clerk or the Uber driver’s insightful and yet light question, “What’s your new year resolution?” breaks barriers and elevates Saskatchewan small talk to more than just the weather, even just for a short little while. The celebratory energy that accompanies the discourse is the icing on the New Year’s party cake.

Even so, it’s easy to be let down by the odd thought that passes by, “it’s just a day like any other day” or “the year isn’t even real.” These thoughts are completely valid.

Technically, the New Year’s celebrations we have come to love and anticipate hinge on Caesar’s decision that January 1 is the first day of the year. There is nothing mystical or magical about a new day or even a new year, except for when we have faith that there is… or that there could be. The

has always remained the same: the energy of Janus. The Babylonians celebrated the festival of Akitu as a celebration akin to New Year’s, way back in 2000 BC. Although it was celebrated during the vernal equinox in late March, the transformative energy or rebirth and renewal was the same. Everyone was in on it.

Akitu, meaning “sowing of the barley,” was tightly conjoined with seasonal events relating to harvesting and agriculture. Even Egyptian New Year celebrations were dependent on the annual flooding of the Nile.

January 1 isn’t necessarily tied with events of natural seasons, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy of real celebration or transformation. It doesn’t mean we should deprive ourselves of the possibility of renewal or rebirth.

rituals of Akitu were based on renewal and survival of the world, and our intention to survive and renew ourselves is instrumental in the survival of the world. Think of pieces of a puzzle. bell hooks, may she rest in peace, said “self-love cannot flourish in isolation.” I think the Babylonians understood this. When we’re leaning into the celebratory and transformative energy of the new year, we’re understanding this as well.

I attribute this energy to the collective.

If you want to know what I mean by “the collective,” think of a power outage.

When it’s solely your own home that’s dealing with a black-out, it’s annoying and you need to be annoyed all by yourself. On the other hand, there’s a momentary thrill that comes from realizing it’s your entire block or, if you’re lucky, the entire city. The dis-

ter tires to the very last possible moment.

However optimistic or pessimistic we are about any time of collective change, we are united in the experience of navigating these changes.

Switching 2021 to 2022 is no different than the first snowfall. It is no different than the “sowing of the barley.” Those same energies make their way into our atmosphere.

The possibility of transformation is presented among the cultural tendency to set resolutions (big and small), wish each other a “happy New Year,” and keep on keeping on, together.

ala eisa contributor

graphics

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editors: safal gangwani, rooky jegede graphics@carillonregina.com the carillon | jan 13 - 19, 2022