The Argosy, December 1, Vol. 146, Iss. 11 by The Argosy

THE ARG OSY

NEWS

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

OPINIONS

Ghomeshi lawyer’s speech spurs debate (p. 3)

Metamorphoses: A Photo Essay (p. 10-11)

Two sport athletes transition seasons (p. 6)

Women feel unsafe going out in Sackville (p. 15)

Not with a bang, but a whimper since 1872

Mount Allison’s Independent Student Newspaper

COVER: SYLVAN HAMBURGER, SLEEPER (INTELLECTUAL) II, WOODCUT & MONOPRINT, 2016.

December 1, 2016 Vol. 146, Iss. 11

02 NEWS

EDITOR: CATHERINE TURNBULL & NAOMI GOLDBERG | DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

MMIW

Indigenous speakers discuss MMIW

CIS facilitates conversation about missing and murdered Indigenous women

WEBB SPOKE OPENLY ABOUT THE MURDER OF HER COUSIN ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY

KAVANA WA KILELE News Reporter On Thursday, Nov. 24, the Centre for International Studies (CIS) organized a discussion on missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) in Canada. The event was organized and moderated by CIS coordinators Jill MacIntyre and Katharyn Stevenson. Lisa Webb, an Inuk social worker and social justice activist originally from northern Labrador, spoke about her experiences as an Inuk woman and about the murder of her cousin, Loretta Saunders, in 2014. Webb was emotional as she told the story of her cousin, a young woman

determined to complete her degree at Saint Mary’s University and further her education in law or criminology. Webb said that Saunders had been writing a paper on MMIW at the time of her death. Webb also spoke about her social work with Indigenous youth. She said that because many Indigenous youth come from isolated communities, they are particularly vulnerable to mistreatment by strangers when they move to cities. “I take them down the sidewalk, teach them how to use the crosswalk, take them to the bank, and take them to the grocery store,” Webb said. “To me, the biggest thing is safety. If you see a student who looks to be from a

small town, help them out.” The second speaker was Josephine Savarese, a professor of criminology and women’s and gender studies at St. Thomas University. Savarese spoke about her academic interest in MMIW. Savarese said her interest in this topic was sparked by the death of Pamela George of Sakimay First Nation, a sex worker and mother of two from Regina who was beaten and killed by two university students in 1995. “I lived in Regina at that time, and that story moved me,” Savarese said. “My life was different after the story became public.” Savarese also talked about

presencing, a methodology that she uses to think and talk about MMIW. “Presencing means focusing on the strength and resilience of the Indigenous people rather than [on] the damage [inflicted upon them] within Indigenous stories, which [represents a] continuation of colonial harm,” Savarese said. Tawnie Martin, a student at St. Thomas University, spoke last about her experience as a Mi’kmaq woman and about the disappearance of her cousin, Mt. A student Chris Metallic, in 2012. “Chris is a Mountie and he was very proud of it,” Martin said. “He helped other Indigenous students and brought them together as a

community.” Martin also talked about missing and murdered Indigenous men. According to Statistics Canada data, between 1982 and 2011, 71 per cent of 2,500 murdered Indigenous Canadians were male. “It is wrong that the men get overlooked,” she said. “It is sexism and discrimination.” When asked what she wanted people to learn and understand about the topic of MMIW, Webb said, “I want the country, the world, to know that we matter. As Indigenous, aboriginal, Maliseet, Inuit, Mi’kmaq. I want the world to know we matter, our lives matter, we are human, we are here.”

EXPERIENTAL LEARNING

Mt. A students visit Elsipogtog Mi’kmaq Nation Professor puts experiential learning into practice

MARTIN SPOKE HONESTLY. JACOB DEMERS/SUBMITTED

JACOB DEMERS Contributor On Nov. 25, professor Brad Walters and 18 students took a bus to Elsipogtog Mi’kmaq Nation, southwest of the colonial town of Rexton, N.B. The students are part of the Introduction to Indigenous Studies course, which is co-taught and covers a range of topics, including Indigenous history, culture and environmental issues. The course was introduced to the curriculum this year and is offered exclusively to

first-year students. Friday classes are dedicated to experiential learning. “I took the course because I think it is extremely important to learn from Indigenous people and about their concerns and knowledge about the environment,” Mt. A student Molly Bowes said. “I’ve been learning a lot of meaningful lessons, especially from the experiential Fridays, including [taking a] trip to Fort Folly, meeting with keynote speakers, and viewing the Treaty Day flag raising.” Brad Walters, a geography professor at Mt. A, said it was beneficial for students to meet

Indigenous activists. “Given how prominent Indigenous activism has become in Canada in recent years, I thought it would be enlightening for the students to actually meet and learn from some of those activists first-hand about what they did, and why they did it,” he said. Upon arrival to Elsipogtog, students were greeted at the Mi’kmaq Sports Bar by Kenneth Francis, Serena Francis, Nelson Augustine and Crystal Cookson, four of the forefront leaders of the 2013 antishale gas movement and the ongoing water protection movement. The visit began with handholding and a traditional Mi’kmaq greeting sung by Augustine. After listening to presentations and a documentary, students and representatives exchanged mutual concerns about land use in an intimate circle discussion. The slideshow and documentary portrayed the entire campaign and their efforts in ultimately stopping Southwestern Energy Company (SWN) from performing activity that would have had unaddressed consequences for the land. First Nations representatives

spoke of their activism efforts in 2013 that stopped SWN – which they referred to as “swine” – from working in the area and across New Brunswick. SNW is an independent energy company with corporate headquarters in Texas, U.S.A. Their efforts in New Brunswick included seismic testing and the extraction of shale gas through a process known as fracking. Students viewed unedited footage of blockades and learned about the backlash the activists received and key strategies of their campaign. Mt. A student Demarre Brown said the slideshow and presentation were “really interesting.” “I saw what really happened, things that are not reflected in the media.” The representatives introduced their next course of action, which will focus on protecting the environment through traditional land claims. They said that the best way for citizens to protect their lands from private companies seeking to exploit natural resources is to have their land become Indigenous land. The Nov. 9 land claim of District 6, also known as Sikniktuk, was filed to protect waterways and stop industry

from exploiting and destroying the province. “Our intention is not to take away land from people, it’s to have a say in land management,” Francis said. He stressed how this would have a mutual benefit, since everyone depends on the health of the land for food, water and living space. Kenneth said his first sighting of northern New Brunswick’s clear cut via aerial photography reminded him of an “animal being gutted and skinned.” Students were then invited to the Kopit Lodge, where the reserve’s environmental activism is headquartered. There, students met one-on-one with the activists over soup, sandwiches and traditional bannock bread. Activists urged students to get involved because it is their future at stake. After gifting each student with a book on First Peoples Law, Nelson ended the visit with a farewell prayer recited in Mi’kmaq. Cookson, one of the Kopit Lodge representatives, encouraged student to stand for a cause of their choice. “If you don’t,” she said, “you will fall for something.”

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CONVERSATION

Debate sparked by concerns around lecture by Ghomeshi lawyer CATHERINE TURNBULL News Editor

On Nov. 17, the Xaverian Weekly published an opinion piece titled “Difficult Conversations at St. FX.” Jasmine Cormier, a third-year student at St. Francis Xavier University (St. FX) in Nova Scotia, voiced her concerns about lawyer Marie Henein’s planned speech at Bishop’s University in February for its annual Donald Lectures series. The lecture will be live-streamed at St. FX, and possibly at Mount Allison, as part of collaboration between the newly renamed “Maple League” of liberal arts universities. Henein is an award-winning lawyer based in Toronto. Last year, she defended former CBC radio broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi against multiple allegations of sexual violence in a trial that attracted international attention and prompted campus conversations about sexual violence policy and procedure. In her piece, Cormier wrote that “selecting Marie Henein as a guest lecturer serves to silence victims and perpetuate rape culture.” The piece has received national media attention and has sparked a conversation at Mt. A as to whether or not the university will choose to live-stream her lecture. Henein is the only woman among a set of prestigious lecturers who will offer live-streamed speeches available to Mt. A, St. FX, Acadia University and Bishop’s University, the four Maple League universities. Other lecturers featured this year include former prime minister Paul Martin, author and activist Joseph Boyden, and senator Murray Sinclair. Cormier’s article caught the attention of media outlets such as the

CBC, CTV, Global News and the Toronto Star. Michael Goldbloom, principal of Bishop’s University, published an opinion piece on Nov. 24 in the Montreal Gazette in which he welcomed Henein to Bishop’s. Tasia Alexopoulos, women’s and gender studies professor at Mt. A, said media outlets have attacked the structure and tone of Cormier’s article rather than giving her concerns weight. “It’s really unbecoming of national media to attack a student who is writing for a student newspaper. I think that’s been really revealing of what happens when students voice their opinions, and of who actually has the ability to come to the table,” Alexopoulos said.

“WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS THAT PEOPLE FEEL HEARD AND THAT EVERY OPINION CAN BE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE.” In a phone call to the Argosy, Cormier said, “I think what a lot of people forget when they read interviews with me is that I’m not a journalist. I don’t write for the CBC, I don’t even write for the school paper, this was an opinion piece.” Cormier said her concerns centre around issues of sexual violence at St. FX and on other campuses. “After all the controversy last year surrounding this trial and all the controversial things she said about women, victims and survivors in the past, it’s such a disservice to students

who are victims of sexual violence, who should feel safe coming forward, especially on a university campus,” Cormier said in an interview with the Canadian Press. “My concern is that the discomfort of students, staff and faculty is not being taken seriously and that it’s being treated as irrational, that it’s being treated as though raising concerns is being equated to violating freedom of speech,” Alexopoulos said. “Obviously, there are always going to be speakers and viewpoints that not everyone is going to agree on. What’s important is that people feel heard and that every opinion can be brought to the table,” she said. Katharyn Stevenson, president of the women’s and gender studies society at Mt. A, is concerned about Henein being upheld as a role model. “I think a lot of people are using this controversy as a grounding example to critique the liberal arts in general, how a lot of people think the liberal arts is becoming a space that coddles students,” Stevenson said. “In university we do encounter things that make us uncomfortable. That’s what makes us better students and better individuals,” she said. “But you can’t criticize someone for speaking out against a speaker they feel is harmful to students. To people who have gone through these experiences this reaffirms the fact that trauma is often invalidated.” Robert Hiscock, director of marketing and communications at Mt. A, said the school is considering live-streaming the lecture but that nothing is firmly in the calendar. “I don’t believe she’s speaking about that subject,” said Hiscock, referring to the controversy around

THE MAPLE LEAGUE: WHAT IS IT? IZZY FRANCOLINI/ARGOSY last year’s trial. “But I recognize that it might be something that would value from more contextualization.” “You have to respect the fact that some people could find it troubling,” he said. “Universities are places for debate and discussion, a lot of our coursework is around that. “Is there a way to do it in which it is positioned appropriately and has educational value? Maybe there are ways that faculty could assist in making it a more educational experience, and we are open to considering that,” Hiscock said. Alexopoulos said a lot of work is already being done in the university to facilitate similar discussions. “It seems like a better learning experience would be to listen to what people are saying,” she said. “Maybe

this isn’t the right time for this. If you have an outcry from people, why isn’t that the learning experience? Why don’t we say, ‘OK, we’re not going to live-stream this lecture—now let’s have meaningful discussions about why.’” Henein did not respond to the Argosy’s request for comment.

RECONCILIATION

Waneek Horn-Miller remembers the Oka Crisis Horn-Miller says reconciliation means moving forward NADIYA SAFONOVA Politics Reporter During the Oka Crisis in 1990, when Waneek Horn-Miller was only fourteen years old, she was stabbed by a Canadian soldier and nearly lost her life. This event was a turning point in her life. On Tuesday, Nov. 22, HornMiller spoke at Mount Allison about her memory of the crisis and how it affected her and her community. Horn-Miller is part of the Mohawk community from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory near Montreal. She currently works with Indigenous youth to promote higher education and build self-esteem by highlighting the balance between education and sport. She was the Assistant Chef de mission for Team Canada at the 2015 Pan Am Games. She is also an ambassador for Manitobah Mukluks, which is an Indigenous-owned

company that sells moccasins and mukluks. For Horn-Miller, the dream of going to the Olympics began at the age of seven. She was inspired by Alwyn Morris’s gold-medal win in the K-2 1000m kayak sprint at the 1984 Olympics. Seeing a member of her community become an Olympic champion sparked in Horn-Miller a strong desire to go to the Olympics. From that moment on, she overcame several challenges and trained every day to get there at swimming and running. Among the many obstacles she faced was the Oka Crisis. The Oka Crisis began in July 1990 as a land dispute between the Kahnawake First Nation and the town of Oka over Mohawk territory. Town officials wanted to expand a golf course and build condominiums, which were to extend into the reserve and onto Mohawk burial ground.

To stop this development, Mohawk protesters set up barricades, blocking road access to the area. When injunctions to remove these barricades were ignored, the town of Oka called on the Quebec provincial police (SQ) to intervene. The SQ was unsuccessful in resolving the dispute, so the military became involved as well. After 78 days, the standoff between the Mohawk Warriors and the military came to an end with the cancellation of the golf course expansion. On the last day of the standoff, while Horn-Miller was carrying her four-year-old sister, a soldier stabbed her close to the heart. After this near-death experience, Horn-Miller considered quitting sport, but said she kept going because of something her mother told her: “I never raised you to be anybody’s

victim.” Horn-Miller went on to compete in the 1999 Pan Am games and the 2000 Olympics on the women’s water polo team. She said this achievement was important for her because it proved that against all odds, there is a space in the sports world for Indigenous people. For Horn-Miller and her community, the Oka crisis was an awakening. “It was an awakening for Indigenous people to come together and start fighting, and start going after being recognized as partners and as founders of this land,” she said. She added that the Oka Crisis was also eye-opening for non-Indigenous people because it was the first time many had even heard of a conflict over disputed land. Horn-Miller said that finding a way to move past her trauma – both

of her injury of the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples throughout history – has been an important learning process. To conclude the talk, Horn-Miller discussed reconciliation. “Reconciliation isn’t just about the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, it’s about a plan forward,” Horn-Miller said. For Horn-Miller, the understanding of reconciliation came from her experience with sport, finding balance with her non-Indigenous team members and working towards a common goal. Horn-Miller ended her speech by urging us to define reconciliation for ourselves, and with the future generation in mind, to think about “the kind of country we want to create.”

NEWS

DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

NBSA

Oh “removed” as Vice-Chair of New Brunswick Student Association Oh’s motion to hold session out of camera did not carry NAOMI GOLDBERG News Editor Following a vote of non-confidence in her ability to carry out her duties, MASU Vice-President External Tina Oh was removed from her position as vice-chair of the New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA) last week. The NBSA is a student advocacy organization representing over 12,000 students from four universities – including Mount Allison – in the province. The vote of non-confidence occurred while Oh was in Marrakesh, Morocco, acting as a Canadian youth delegate at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP22. Oh motioned for the discussion and vote not to occur in camera, as she felt it was valuable for the Mount Allison community, as well as other interested parties, to know what had happened. “I felt that if I was okay with having that discussion on public record, [then] the board would not have a problem with it being public too. Unfortunately that was not the case,” Oh wrote in a Facebook message to the Argosy. Her motion did not carry. The term “in camera” refers to a

discussion in which the public and press are not allowed to take part. Because the session was held in camera, information regarding the reason or reasons for Oh’s removal has not been disclosed to the public. “After the in-camera session, I did the best I could to have as much substance [as possible] appear in the minutes about that discussion,” she wrote. At a MASU council meeting, Oh said that once the vote on whether or not to move in camera when discussing her removal had taken place, she asked the NBSA board if they would be willing to use the word “impeachment,” as it implied her unwillingness to resign more strongly than the word “removed.” Her request was denied. At the moment of the vote on whether or not to move in camera when discussing Oh’s removal, Oh – who was not physically present, as she was in Morocco – said she lost internet connection. Oh said the board did not wait for her to regain internet connection and that Ryan LeBreton, MASU president and delegate on NBSA board, voted in her place. Oh is the primary MASU delegate,

and as such is usually responsible for voting on behalf of the MASU during NBSA board meetings. The Argosy has acquired the minutes of the NBSA board meeting, which are pending approval. The minutes indicate that the MASU voted in favour of the motion to move in camera while discussing Oh’s removal. The minutes also indicate that prior to the vote, Oh dissented to moving the discussion on her removal in camera. When LeBreton was asked to comment, he wrote in a Facebook message, “[t]he minutes are still pending approval. I will also stress that I am the secondary delegate. Voting responsibilities fall to the primary delegate.” MASU Board of Regents Representative Willa McCaffreyNoviss said she does not think it is fair that the conversation happened in camera. “We had two executives go into an in-camera session and deliberate about whether one of them would be removed from a leadership position and I want to know whether that was a united front. I want to know if [Lebreton] was on [Oh’s] side,” she said.

“If one of our executive [members] is getting in trouble because they’re not doing their job, I want to know that as a councillor. On the other hand, if that executive [member] is just getting in trouble because she’s being a strong advocate, I would also think that that’s necessary information,” McCaffrey-Noviss said. Oh has been vocal about her climate justice activism. In response to a question about the fairness of the vote and the discussion about whether or not to remove Oh in camera, NBSA Executive Director Robert Burroughs wrote in an email that “[t]he board, like most boards, holds HR-related and internal board governance discussions in camera.” LeBreton wrote that “[t]he decision of the NBSA board to go in camera when discussing the performance of the executive follows governing policies.” Burroughs added that “[a]ll officers of the board and the executive director serve at the pleasure of the board. They typically hold these positions concurrently with their directorships, though that tenure is, as suggested, at the discretion of the board.” MASU Councillor Maureen Adegbidi thought it was strange that

the discussion occurred in camera, since Oh had asked for it to be held out of camera. “I feel like she knew coming back that there would be questions, and it being in camera doesn’t allow her to be transparent at the MASU level, even though she wanted to be,” Adegbidi wrote in a Facebook message to the Argosy. “I do think it also serves as an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the NBSA and how our union fits into that, advocacy-wise.” MASU Councillor Osama Al Nammary said that he would like to understand why the decision to remove Oh was made. “As a councillor and as a student, I want to know exactly why the decision was made and what led to it,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why I don’t agree with it being in camera, because we have the right to know.” “But if that’s policy of how they conduct certain aspects, such as a removal, then I respect that,” Al Nammary said. Burroughs said that a new vicechair will be elected at the next board meeting in December. He added that Oh will remain the MASU’s primary delegate to the NBSA.

GOVERNANCE

University Librarian up for reappointment Marc Truitt speaks on accomplishments, challenges LEO GERTLER News Reporter The Argosy sat down with Marc Truitt to talk about his work as University librarian. Truitt is currently up for reappointment for another five-year term. The decision to reappoint him will ultimately be made by an advisory committee created specifically for this position. Leo Gertler: What responsibilities as librarian?

are your university

Marc Truitt: I suppose that depends on whom you ask, but you’re asking me. I’m in charge of, or responsible for, the daily operation of the two branches of the university libraries, the [Ralph Pickard] Bell and music libraries, and of the university archives. I’m responsible for the dayto-day operations, for planning and budgeting. I’m responsible for

APOLOGY

working with other stakeholders in the community in order to ensure we are doing the best we can to serve their needs. We do this also so that [stakeholders] are aware of some of our challenges. [I play] my part in the collegial governance of the university. [I work] with other libraries, collectively and individually, in order to co-operate and realize synergies as best we can. For example, I’m currently the chair of CAUL-CBUA (Council of Atlantic University Libraries), which focuses on things like resource sharing like ILL (interlibrary loans). LG: What would you view as your major accomplishments at this university? MT: It’s been a challenging several years. I think I’ve learnt that in a resource-challenged environment such as Mount Allison’s, and other very small places...is that they tend to work a lot differently than large places

and sometimes well-endowed places. So little things that touch people end up being large, I think. I’ve tried to work on things like addressing the needs of students and faculty as well as I can. One of the early big things that I worked on was obtaining the backfiles for about 2,000 journals from the publisher Elsevier, which is one of the big players in commercial publishing. For a 12-month period, we had nearly 12,000 turn-aways of students trying to access journals. We arranged a deal with Elsevier to buy all of their issues, which predated our electronic subscription, and essentially got ourselves a custom package to pay for these journals without interest until we would own them. In the next turnaway report, we had only something like 1,000 turn-aways. We installed CSD (Computing Services) classroom technology in the third floor theatre. Before, it had been a space that nobody was using and it was wasted. It’s since become

very popular. I’ve worked with the MASU (Mount Allison Students’ Union) on things like getting the comfy red chairs, because we previously had two upholstered chairs in the library which were real rats’ nests. People loved them, though, they liked comfortable chairs. One of the other things we worked with the MASU with was extending the library hours. What used to be the hours for exam period only are now the hours for the whole term. LG: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced? How have you dealt with them, and hope to deal with them in the future? MT: Some of those have been the pains of a university trying to find its right size. There have been cuts the last several years, but I want to emphasize that this a problem not unique to Mt. A. Some of those are due to fluctuations, or more like the

collapse of the loonie against the greenback. The great majority of acquisitions, electronic and print, are coming from out-of-country and are traded generally in U.S. dollars. Back in January, when a loonie was only worth 60 cents on the dollar, that was devastating. There are a number of challenging factors that have come together. How will I change that? Nobody can do it, [nobody] can snap their fingers. I can try to make the campus more aware of it. This is something we’ve tried [to do] and we haven’t always been very successful. It’s hard to convince other departments to give you money when they’re experiencing cuts themselves. But the library affects everyone—we uniquely do, I think. Truitt’s full CV and a statement of purpose can be found on the Mount Allison website under “Reappointments” in University Governance.

On Oct. 20, 2016, the Argosy published an article entitled “Student employees mistreated in Sackville.” The intention of the article was to report on students’ diverse experiences as employees in a small town. However, we should not have included the aspects of the story concerning students’ experiences working at the Black Duck Café. We did not give the owners of the Black Duck Café enough time to comment on the article before the issue went to print. This was a mistake. The article made assertions about the Black Duck Café which are erroneous. We retract what the article said about the Black Duck Café and apologize for any damages done to the reputation of the Café as a result. The article did not embody the spirit of fair reporting to which the Argosy aspires.

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TEXTBOOKS

Issuing a debt sentence Cost of textbooks a major burden on lowincome students JILL MACINTYRE News Reporter As first semester comes to a close, many students are beginning to budget for their second-semester textbooks. On top of student fees, housing and one of the highest tuition rates in the Maritimes, textbooks can be a financial burden on students, especially those relying on student loans and financial aid. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the average university student spends between $800 and $1,000 per year on textbooks. To combat high prices charged by university bookstores, Enactus Mount Allison has created a new Textbook Osmosis online store to sell used books at 40 per cent of the bookstore rate. According to Tom Hammond, a fourth-year economics student and the coordinator of Textbook Osmosis, the online store was originally designed to give donated textbooks to inmates at local prisons or to language centres that volunteer with refugees. Due to communication issues and a major influx of textbook donations, Textbook Osmosis had over 2,000 books in storage without a designated purpose. This past semester, Textbook Osmosis launched a used textbook pop-up shop and online store to connect students with used copies of course readings. Hammond said it is important to provide low-income students with

multiple options to purchase used textbooks. “The bookstore charges a ridiculous price. There have been a couple of courses where my learning outcomes have been compromised because I couldn’t afford the book,” he said. Due to a non-compete agreement that the campus bookstore has with Mt. A, Textbook Osmosis will not be able to host future pop-up shops on campus, but they still plan on maintaining their online store for the coming semester. Some students have found other venues to purchase textbooks outside of the campus bookstore. Laren Bedgood, a first-year student from a low-income background, found all of her textbooks for this semester on two Mt. A Facebook pages, Textbook Exchange and Textbooks Mt. A. “I don’t know how I could’ve afforded to pay for my textbooks if I hadn’t found them on [the Facebook pages] because they were still expensive,” she said. “I still spent $360 for something I’m going to use for three months.” Bedgood said that many firstyear students are not aware of the cost of textbooks before coming to university, and many students may not budget for this when applying for student loans. “I wish that professors would be more explicit with how in-depth they’re going to cover the textbook to see if the purchase is actually that valuable,” she said. Bedgood expressed frustration at

textbooks with an online component that require the purchase of a new textbook to be activated, such as the textbooks for introductory economics and their accompanying MyEconLab and psychology courses with MyPsychLab. Hammond, a teaching assistant in the economics department, described MyEconLab as “a fundamental part of the course” in terms of helping students understand course material. While most students across class backgrounds complain about the price of textbooks, for some lowincome students, it is a question of buying textbooks or buying food. According to Sally Faulkner, a low-income student studying environmental science and biology, textbooks are inaccessible to those relying on student loans and bursaries for school. “I spent money that I would’ve spent on my well-being on textbooks that I then can’t return for nearly the same amount of money,” she said. “I would never ask my parents to give me money for a textbook because I want them to buy food or pay a bill. Textbooks seem petty but it’s such a burden [on low-income students].” In addition to purchasing used textbooks from Textbook Osmosis or the Facebook pages, students also borrow from professors or the library, buy books on Amazon, and download online PDFs from pirating websites. Some professors also offer some or all of their course readings on Moodle.

This Week at MASU Council DELANEY LOSIER Contributor

RACISM, POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Adam Christie, director of student life & international services, presented a draft of the Racism and Racial Harassment Prevention and Response Procedure and Policy documents at MASU council. This document and its policies will be applied to all Mount Allison students and employees, as well as the Board of Regents, visitors to the University, and contractors. The purpose of these documents is “to create and maintain a learning and work environment at Mt. A that is free of racism and racial harassment; and to provide a mechanism by which complaints of racism and racial harassment are addressed in a clear and timely fashion.” The documents are still in the consultation stage, and any student wishing to look at them may contact Christie.

AIRPORT SHUTTLE SERVICE

The shuttle will run from Thursday, Dec. 15 to Sunday, Dec. 18. It will also run at the end of the break on Saturday, Jan. 7 and Sunday, Jan. 8. It costs $30 each way. Interested students should contact the MASU Office with flight details.

GRANTS AND AWARDS

The deadline for this round of grants and awards funding has been extended until the new year. Applications can be downloaded and completed electronically. Paper copies are also available at the MASU office. Completed applications should be printed and brought to the MASU office during business hours, or emailed to masu@mta.ca. For any questions related to the application process, please contact the vice-president finance and operations Alex Lepianka at masufinance@mta.ca.

7 MONDAYS

Funding for 7 Mondays is on the voting agenda in the upcoming winter referendum. 7 Mondays is a student-run journal that publishes literary and photographic works by Mt. A students. The annual journal welcomes all current students to submit work and/or to apply for a position on the editorial board. Copies of 7 Mondays are available to students free of charge, and any events sponsored by 7 Mondays are open to all students. Now approaching its 23rd year of publication, 7 Mondays is the longest-running journal of its kind. The upcoming referendum question is whether or not 7 Mondays will continue to receive an annual three-dollar levy from each student. This pays for the printing of the journal; any surplus funds go toward events that help to enhance Mt. A’s literary community.

ADVOCACY WEEK

Five MASU Council Members attended the New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA) and Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) advocacy weeks in Fredericton and Ottawa, respectively. These organizations work to keep student issues at the forefront of public discussion and bring recommendations to the different levels of government. During advocacy week, students gather with government officials to advocate for a variety of student issues. If you wish to hear about the “asks” for this year, please contact VP External Tina Oh at masuexternal@mta.ca or President Ryan Lebreton at masupresident@mta.ca.

THURSDAY, DEC. 1

Fine Arts Show and Sale Lampshow: Connor Wheaton, Sadie, and Devarrow Stereophonic XIV Line-up Release Show

FRIDAY, DEC. 2

Second Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Grad Class Christmas Carolling (with Varsity Dance) Rebecca’s Room + Dyscontrol Club P: Ugly Sweater Party

SATURDAY, DEC. 3 Nothing to Lose

SUNDAY, DEC. 4

70th Anniversary Celebration: It’s a Wonderful Life Town vs. Gown Charity Hockey Game

10-4 p.m., PCCA (Dec. 1-2) 6:30 p.m., Tweedie Hall 9 p.m., Thunder & Lightning 5:30-7 p.m., Bill Johnson Memorial Park 2:45-4 p.m., Drew Nursing Home 9 p.m., Thunder & Lightning 11:30 p.m., The Painted Pony

11 p.m., The Pond 2-5 p.m., The Vogue Cinema 6:45 p.m., Veterans Memorial Civic Centre

MONDAY, DEC. 5

Lettuce Eat Community Meal

TUESDAY, DEC. 6

MASU Presents: Last Class Bash

FRIDAY, DEC. 9

Steven Lambke and Julie Doiron

12-1 p.m., Chapel Basement 10 p.m., The Pond 8 p.m., T&L

06 SPORTS

EDITOR: DAVID TAPLIN | DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

HEALTH

Weighing in on the “fit” ideal

How I learned to appreciate what my body can do, not how it looks

FITNESS AND BEING HEALTHY VARIES FROM PERSON TO PERSON. ANDREAS FOBES/ARGOSY

ALEX STRANG Contributor Many of the so-called “fitness” models we see on social media present the same thin bodies we’ve always called beautiful – the only difference is that those bodies are now in neon sports bras and spandex shorts. The diverse bodies of real women are not represented by the “one-size-fits-all,”

airbrushed “perfection” of fitness models. As my passion for the sport of weightlifting developed, so too did my appreciation for the many ways fitness can be embodied. Fourth-year sociology student Keyanna Russell said that being bombarded with these images takes a toll on her perception of body image. “I think it has added to the thoughts about my own body, honestly all

negative,” Russell said. “[It] makes it impossible not to compare yourself to one another.” Too often fitness is presented as something we look at rather than something we do. The truth is, strength and fitness don’t exist in a still frame – they are skills we demonstrate through movement, not how we look in a gym selfie. If we really want to celebrate strong women, we

need to concern ourselves with more than how “toned” they look. Fourth-year psychology student Antonina Pavilanis has felt the pressure of trying to live up to these standards first-hand. “I thought cardio was the way to lose weight and believed that [it] would make me love my body,” she said. “I resorted to eating less, and got what I wanted: ‘the perfect body.’ But I was more miserable than I had ever been in my life.” My approach to food and fitness completely changed when I got into the sport of Olympic weightlifting. With weightlifting, it is necessary to fuel your body the right way so you can train properly. I went from “how little food can I survive on today?” to “how can I best nourish and fuel my body to perform?” Getting serious about weightlifting meant letting go of the desire to look “fit” in order to truly get stronger and become a better weightlifter. This was challenging at first, but eventually, something just kind of clicked. I realized that my goals were bigger than how my body looked. I became empowered by what I could accomplish in the gym, and this made it easier to eat more to further feed that progress. I also realized that being strong lead to the best kind of confidence

I could ever have. I am happy with how my body looks, how it feels and how it’s performing; I’m not just striving to look like some “fit chick” I see on Instagram. I find weightlifting empowering because the only thing that matters is the number on the bar. Nobody cares whether you actually look fit or not. The most respected women in this sport are praised for the serious weight they can throw overhead, not how they look in their singlet walking up to the platform. Weightlifting has helped my body image by allowing me to focus on what my body can do rather than what it can look like. Pavilanis offered her own thoughts on body image. “Body image is about confidence, and confidence comes from feeling good. That took me a really long time to understand,” she said. “I’ve learned that what makes you feel good in your own body is what you give it, not what you take away.” For me, it was finding confidence in strength that helped me learn to value my body for what it is capable of, but that’s not to say it has to be about strength for everybody. Being guided by a passion for something you love is what brings us confidence – not reaching a certain body fat, size, or weight goal.

STUDENT ATHLETES

Student athletes balance two teams Multi-sport athletes are a Mount Allison tradition DAVID TAPLIN Sports Editor October 29 marked the end of the season for Mount Allison’s women’s soccer team. But while most of her teammates unlaced their boots, second-year midfielder Kate Ollerhead was sliding into her basketball shoes. From Sackville, Ollerhead committed to playing soccer at Mt. A coming into her first year. A multi-sport athlete throughout her life, Ollerhead thought the days of running between teams were behind her. “I had never thought about playing two sports [at university] until I got here,” she said. Ollerhead made the basketball team, fitting preseason practices around her commitments to the soccer team, before joining the team full time after the fall soccer season. “I had so much fun, the girls were super great!” Ollerhead said. “[Balancing two sports] didn’t affect my grades. I see no negative side to playing two sports.” That being said, balancing two varsity sports and a full biochemistry course load can get a bit hectic. Struggling with injuries to the team, basketball coach Matt Gamble, reached out to Ollerhead the night of Oct. 28. Gamble asked if she would be able to dress for the second half of the

basketball season opener at 2 pm the next day after the soccer game that would begin at 1 pm. That day Ollerhead suited up for the Mounties final game of the season against UNB after playing the full 90 minutes the night before at UPEI. Once the soccer game was over, (another 90 minute effort) she stuck around for the end-of-season ceremonies. From there, she went to suit up for the basketball team. “I took my gear off on the field, ran back inside and got my jersey on two minutes before halftime was over,” she said. Sitting on the bench, Ollerhead was exhausted, but so were her eight teammates, battling it out in a close game against STU. Gamble asked her to go in. Ollerhead, who had been unable to attend the majority of practices due to her soccer schedule, asked about the team’s plays, to which Gamble responded, “don’t worry about the plays.” The game ended in a one point loss for the Mounties, who have since hit their stride, winning three straight games. Multi-sport athletes are not something new to Mt. A athletics. Jack Drover, a former athletic director and hockey coach talked about many such instances where students suited up for multiple teams. Drover remembered five members

of the men’s soccer team that won the Atlantic Championships in 1976 were also key players for the hockey team. One story reminiscent of Kate Ollerhead’s experience, is that of Dan Fergus in the 70s. “It was homecoming weekend. Dan was our number one goalie on our soccer team. He had a shutout,” Drover said. “That afternoon, the football kicker was hurt and [Dan stepped in and] set a Canadian record with a 82 yard punt.” Fergus, a member of the men’s hockey team, approached Drover to play that night against UPEI. At first resistant to the idea, Drover was eventually worn down by Fergus’s insistent pleas. “He played 45 minutes of the hockey game,” Drover said. Emily van Diepen, a four-time AUS all-star in hockey and one-time all-star in soccer, as well as a two-time female athlete of the year winner, sees the opportunities to play multiple sports at Mt. A as a huge positive for the school. “Being able to play both sports was definitely one of the deciding factors in me choosing MTA. I had grown up playing both sports and knew I wasn’t ready or willing to choose one sport over the other,” she wrote over Facebook. Opportunities, not just in athletics, are what sets Mt. A apart from other

schools, according to van Diepen. “Whether it’s playing on two sports teams or volunteering at an array of local organizations, our small school makes taking on these tasks reasonable and even encourages it,” van Diepen added. “Other schools did offer the opportunity to play the two sports, but their were a lot of stipulations put in place that did not sound like the experience I was looking for.” Speaking on the opportunity to play multiple sports, Drover said, “If they’re competent, why not? What a wonderful opportunity.” He added that, “when they have the reunions they can go back to two teams and share memories of it all.” It’s not all glory for student-

athletes, especially for those who choose to play for two teams. A lot of effort goes in behind the scenes. “You just make it work,” said Ollerhead. This kind of mentality is what allows student athletes, especially those who take up two sports, to keep our athletic programs going and bring us the sports we know and love. Drover, who coached varsity soccer and hockey for fifteen years, knows the difficulties athletes face with balancing multiple teams. With the support of those around him, and a little luck, Drover was able to balance both commitments. “Luckily, it was around the same time that the microwave was invented,” he said.

DOODLE NO. 1

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

PHYSIOTHERAPY

Ultimate team hits the gym

Lets get physio! Physio!

Winter does not mark the end of Ultimate season

week in the Mt. A gym. Claire Genest, a first-year international relations student, joined the team not long after starting at Mt. A. She said her experience has been positive so far. “I got to meet a lot of upper-year students. People I wouldn’t have met if I wouldn’t have played frisbee,” Genest said. Genest played ultimate frisbee in high school and said it can be difficult to convince people to try the sport. However, once people try it, they’re often hooked and keep coming back. Brent Wallace, a Mt. A graduate, has continued to play with the team this season. “It’s a good group of people and you get to know everybody. You get to build friendships that will last forever,” Wallace said. “Playing games, practising and just talking to everybody is a great experience. It’s always nice to meet new people.” After the completion of an eventful series of fall tournaments, the team hopes to see some new friendly faces come out and give ultimate a try next semester. Although the club has been practising since September, Gordon said that anyone is welcome to come try the sport, even if they have never played. “Anyone can join. You don’t need to have any experience to play,” Gordon said. “We will teach you as you go.” For more information on the club, there is a Facebook page entitled “MTA Ultimate 2016-2017,” which anyone can join.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOR THE MTA ULTIMATE TEAM RYAN MACRAE/ARGOSY

KEIFER BELL Contributor With the fall semester coming to an end, there will be no more outdoor practices for Mount Allison’s varsity fall sports teams. While many of these teams go into hibernation, this does not mark the end of the Mt. A ultimate frisbee team’s season, as they look forward to a winter full of indoor play. The ultimate frisbee club continues to play year-round, with tournaments across Atlantic Canada, weekly games in the indoor Moncton league, and multiple practices per week in the gym. The team is co-ed, and players travel together throughout the school year to compete in tournaments across the region. Katie Gordon, a fourth-year commerce major, is one of the team’s co-captains. Gordon started playing

ultimate frisbee in high school and has played on the team since coming to Mt. A. “We went to a one-day St. FX tournament, followed by the Atlantics tournament with all of the other Atlantic university teams, along with a tournament in Halifax,” Gordon said. “We also go to a league play in Moncton every Tuesday night to play against Moncton teams.” Recently, the team faced off against elite competition at a tournament in Halifax. “Even though we’re a university team without a lot of experience, we played a lot of great games better than I ever would have expected us to,” Gordon said. Despite the weather stopping outdoor play, Gordon looks forward to next semester’s indoor focus. She stated that the team plans to play in four tournaments after Christmas and will continue to practice twice a

*GAME VS MSVU CANCELLED*

MTA (A) 81 - DAL AC (H) 67 *GAME VS. MSVU CANCELLED*

GP 5 5 5 5 4 7 5

W 5 4 3 3 2 1 0

L 0 1 2 2 2 6 5

PTS 10 8 6 6 4 2 0

ACAA

Holland MSVU Mount Allison Crandall UNBSJ St. Thomas UKing’s College DAL AC

Unbeknown to many students on campus, Mount Allison offers free physiotherapy services to students through the athletic centre. Fourth-year student athlete Dakota Brush has taken advantage of these services throughout his time at Mt. A. “Therapy is essential,” Brush said. Athletic therapists at Mt. A use many skills in their practice, incorporating both technology and physical techniques. A typical treatment can consist of therapeutic exercises, massages to aid joint mobilization, and even shock therapy, to relax muscles and restore normal movement. Rayhan Malik, a part-time athletic therapist, has worked for Mt. A since August. Malik said that there is room for improvement within the athletic therapy program, particularly concerning accessibility. “[Appointment] time slots would get booked throughout the day,”

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

MEN’S BASKETBALL

MSVU Holland Mount Allison St. Thomas UNBSJ UKing’s College Crandall

HAMZA MUNAWAR Sports Reporter

Malik said. Students are constantly in and out of the clinic. Bookings are made on a first-come, first-served basis, and it is difficult to find a time slot for every student, let alone one that can accommodate them during the busy season for athletics. Malik’s contract with Mt. A expired this past weekend. He is moving on to work with the the Erie Bayhawks, the NBA D-league affiliate of the Orlando Magic. During the winter semester, Jocelyn Dowling, the head athletic therapist, will be the only full-time staff member. This means the clinic will only be able to treat one student at a time. Dowling’s hours do not stop when she leaves the clinic, as games are scheduled during the evenings and weekends. The physiotherapy office is located on the bottom floor of the athletic centre between the weight room and the football team’s locker room.

RAYAN MALIK WILL BEGIN WORKING FOR THE NBA D-LEAGUE TEAM ERIE BAYHAWKS WHEN HE LEAVES MTA. RYAN MACRAE ARGOSY

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ACAA

SPORTS & HEALTH

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

GP W 5 6 6 5 6 6 8 7

5 5 5 3 2 2 2 1

L 0 1 1 3 4 4 6 6

MTA (A) 1 - UPEI (H) 4 MTA (A) 1 - STU (H) 3

PTS 10 10 10 6 4 4 4 2

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL UKC (A) 1 - MTA (H) 3 HOLLAND (A) 3 - MTA (H) 1

AUS

St. Thomas Saint Mary’s UPEI St. FX Moncton Mount Allison Dalhousie

12 10 9 8 4 3 2

ACAA

Holland MSVU Mount Allison UNBSJ UKing’s College DAL AC St. Thomas USainte-Anne

8 8 9 8 7 7 7 8

L OTL PTS

1 1 5 5 7 11 11

W 7 7 7 5 2 1 1 1

1 2 0 0 3 0 1

25 22 18 16 11 6 5

L PTS 1 1 2 3 5 6 6 7

14 14 14 10 4 2 2 2

10 ARTS & CULTURE

EDITORS: MIRELLE NAUD MALLORY BURNSIDE-HOLMES DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

COMMUNITY

Open Sky fills gap in education system

Local charitable co-operative offers vocational opportunities to youth with disabilities

MIRELLE NAUD Arts and Culture Editor

TOP: CLEAR BLUE SKY MEETS GREEN FIELDS OF ORGANICALLY GROWN KALE ON OPEN SKY HORIZON MIDDLE: HENS RANGE FREELY ON CO-OP’S EXPANSIVE FIELDS BOTTOM: PUMPKINS HARVESTED BY OPEN SKY PARTICIPANTS MARGARET TUSZ-KING/ SUBMITTED

The Open Sky Co-operative sits on an 11-acre tract of land by the Tantramar Marsh, where autumnal, straw-green fields stretch for miles until they meet clear sky on the far-off horizon. Unobstructed by tall trees or large buildings, the view from Open Sky clearly inspired the co-op’s name. Open Sky offers young adults with self-identified mental or developmental impairments the opportunity to learn vocational skills in a supportive environment. Participants can choose between day programs and longer-term residential arrangements, with fees determined on a case-by-case basis to best suit applicants’ individual and financial needs. Modelled after the European care farm, the charitable co-op combines farming with vocational training and mental health care. “We started [Open Sky] because we felt that the farm environment – working with plants and animals – was inherently healing,” said Margaret Tusz-King, executive director of Open Sky. With a background in adult education, Tusz-King incorporates alternative teaching methods into Open Sky’s program. “We had to come up with different ways of teaching,” Tusz-King said. “Most of our learning tools that you and I are successful in are written

words, and not all of us learn well that way.” Methods such as emphasizing schedules and the use of visuals characterize Open Sky’s educational curriculum. Posters decorate the recreational and outdoor spaces and kitchen. Inside the barn, step-bystep photographs outline the task of distributing hay bales to the goats and donkeys. Third-year Mount Allison student Diane Ortiz-MacLeod contributes to the co-op’s visually oriented curriculum by overseeing an art program. “When it comes to art programs, they’re not always readily accessible to people with disabilities,” OrtizMacLeod said. “I want to make the arts a more accessible learning tool.” Liz Kent, an Open Sky employee and Mt. A graduate, said that daily activities at Open Sky may seem initially trivial, but in fact provide essential practices that gear participants to become and feel more independent. “It might seem like ‘why am I getting paid for this?’ at first,” Kent said. “[Since] a lot of the things we focus on are activities.” Activities like tending to the farm’s gardens and animals, playing board games and working on DIY projects under Ortiz’s art program offer participants the opportunity to apply new tools at their own pace with the support of mentors.

Secondary schools often fail to equip youth living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with the necessary tools to thrive after graduation. Consequently, young adults with ASD are less likely than their peers to hold a job or be enrolled in postsecondary education. In addition, onsets of most mental health illnesses occur during secondary school years, creating another impediment for youth finding employment after graduation. Tusz-King and many other parents of children with disabilities refer to this transition period as a cliff. “People who have kids with disabilities talk about ‘the cliff’ at the end of formal schooling; there’s a cliff that everyone falls off,” Tusz-King said. “There’s not a lot to catch them.” Offering a safety net, “[Open Sky] is a possibility where a possibility may not have been,” Kent said, referring to the educational gap the co-op fills. “It sounds like a lame metaphor, but we have stuff growing,” Kent said, alluding not only to the vegetables in the gardens, but also to the youth who arrive at Open Sky and “find their own way of being independent.” Open Sky seeks to hire and train students as volunteers and paid staff over summer and into the school year. The co-op offers training in organic farming and sells its organic produce at the Sackville Farmers Market. To learn more, direct any questions to Tusz-King

at info@openskyco-op.ca or visit www.openskyco-op.ca.

PERFORMING ARTS

Metamorphoses: A moving interpretation

KELSEY OTTO’S ADAPTATION OF MARY ZIMMERMAN’S PLAY BLURS THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN MODERN AND ANCIENT STORY-TELLING.

“LET ME NOT OUTLIVE MY OWN CAPACITY TO LOVE.”

EROS AND PSYCHE RECONCILE AFTER A HEATED QUARREL.

ARTS & CULTURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

SELF-CARE

Unsettling the table ALEX LEPIANKA Contributor

FINE ARTS

Montréal artist explores motherhood and Québécois culture Struts’ artist-in-residence explores notions of “the good mother” MARISSA CRUZ Arts and Culture Reporter Using a combination of video installation and performance, Myriam Jacob-Allard explores motherhood with an interdisciplinary approach. Jacob-Allard, an artist from Montréal who is currently in residence at Struts Gallery, works with music in connection to familial relations. Jacob-Allard’s most recent works attempt to deconstruct conventional notions of motherhood. By embracing the appearances of Québécois country musicians, she explores the strong relation of music to her grandmother and mother. “[The Québécois country music scene] is a culture that has been represented in my family. My grandmother is a big fan, so it has always been there,” Jacob-Allard said. “I really hated it until I was about 18. I always feel like I am outside of that culture, but inside in some way.” In her work, Jacob-Allard tries to illuminate the disconnect she feels to this culture.“It is a love and hate relationship with that culture,” said Jacob-Allard, “So it is what I try to evoke.” A dissonance characterizes Jacob-Allard’s tense relationship to the culture. “Country-western is

really comforting and also a familial reference, but I also feel that there is a gap,” Jacob-Allard said. “There is a kind of melancholia, because it has been passed on through the generations.” Jacob-Allard expresses these mixed feelings in her artwork, drawing from the the different ways her grandmother and mother explain the culture to her. In her works Soldat Lebrun: devenir et être le héros and Willie Lamonthe: devenir et être le héros, Jacob-Allard dresses as male country musicians, forcing the viewer to reconsider the boundaries of gendered identities. Her femininity still apparent and unconcealed, the adoption of male personas invites the viewer to contemplate the effect of women on society. Through her videos and performances, Jacob-Allard tries to understand how collective culture can become personal. In doing so, she proposes that music is tied to tradition and explores music as “a vehicle of transmission.” Jacob-Allard films herself dressing up in costume, then goes out to perform day-to-day activities. In character, she ventures out in a cowboy hat and tassels to get groceries, sing karaoke and ride a bike around Montréal. “I am interested in the notion of

[the] everyday,” Jacob-Allard said. She navigates culture to understand how these characters exist in current society, investigating the falsehoods that connect one generation to its descendents. “It is a way to create a relation through the generations,” she said. While in Sackville, Jacob-Allard has been working on a collaborative installation. Maintaining her interest in motherhood, Jacob-Allard asks attendees at her workshop to write their mothers’ biggest flaws onto shoeboxes. She then illuminates the boxes on a wall. Another project of hers in her capacity as Sackville’s artist-inresidence follows a similar theme. Working with volunteers, she asks them to sing songs that remind them of their mothers. “Music is a part of my vocabulary in my work. [This work] shows the relationship of mother to daughter, but distances away from country music,” JacobAllard said. Jacob-Allard’s whimsical work explores motherhood in an eccentric and captivating way. Her work is on display at Struts Gallery, where she is currently working away at her new projects. Before her residency ends on Dec. 8, be sure to pop by Struts to see the light-box installation.

ACTORS CREATE A DEEPER DIALOGUE THROUGH PHYSICAL CONNECTION AND MOVEMENT.

At this point in the semester, the stresses that our studies, relationships and society in general impose on us often reach a critical mass. A friend of mine recently mentioned that she is quick to feed her close friends whenever cooking becomes too great a challenge to take on, aware of their occasional need to be cared for. When we prepare food out of sympathy, we do so not because we recognize the virtue of cooking, but because we are well aware of how stresses can accumulate to the point that cooking seems unimaginable. My friend’s example of caring for others who are not able to care for themselves reveals how inadequate the principle of self-care can be. We encourage each other to stay healthy, find time to relax and hold on to patience and hope in the face of numerous challenges. With the best of intentions, we tell others to take care of themselves. However, in these well wishes, the principle of self-care is more dogmatic than it is helpful. Above all, the principle of self-care asserts that we should care for the self. Our experiences in a world of deadlines, unkindness, violence, and so on, produce an affective response that is felt personally. Self-care culture says that if the problem is based on our own individual reactions to the world, unjust as it may be, then the solution must also come from the individual. This mentality doesn’t mean that we can’t care for others, but it does suggest that care happens between individuals, when, in reality, care should also take into account what causes distress, not just who’s affected. Though we’ve learned to validate emotions, splurge on feel-good food and create places of comfort, selfcare culture assumes that care is accessible to all. While meditation, an evening stroll or a comforting meal may be readily available to many, this mode of thought makes the

experience of feeling okay susceptible to commodification. By enjoying self-care as if it were a commodity, we often stop short of organizing relief for those who are unable to do so themselves. However therapeutic yoga classes, shopping sprees and dinners out are, they are not universally available; not everyone is able to afford to spend the money or time on these experiences of feeling good. When we are able to afford self-care, it becomes even more difficult to recognize how exclusive commodified feel-good experiences can be. Often, insisting on self-care produces a distance between what we conceptualize as our own reality and the realities of others. The doctrine of self-care supposes that not only good health, but also sickness, violence and discrimination are simply personally felt, and are not systemic features of the world as well. Even when we care for others, the logic of self-care still persists. We confuse caring for others with assisting others in caring for themselves. Empathy, rather than sympathy, becomes the currency of care when we no longer recognize our own place in the lives of others. Practising sympathy reveals the absurdity in scrolling past image after image of acts of oppression while saying, “They better take care.” If self-care is meaningful, it is because it restores our capacity for sympathy and allows us to stand resolutely – to act – for the care of others. Sympathy, and not the insistence of self-care, forces us to ask ourselves what else is possible. By rejecting the distance that separates our own experiences from the trauma of others, sympathetic care leads us to organize for others, sparking soup kitchens and community programs. It compels us to work for the justice of those we love. Sympathy asks what is needed and what is felt by those we care for and compels us to act accordingly.

THE CAST STAND WITH ARMS OUTSTRETCHED AS THEY REACH THE END OF THEIR TRANSFORMATION AND PERFORMANCE. PAUL DEL MOTTE/SUBMITTED

ARTS & CULTURE

DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

COMMUNITY

Bagtown Brewing Company coming soon Student nanobrewery project to launch in Sackville

DOODLE NO. 2

Marketing class role-plays at fair International Fair prompts students to sell outside their comfort zone WILL PELLETIER Arts and Culture Reporter

MALLARD ADDS UNMISTAKABLE SACKVILLE TOUCH TO NEW BUSINESS’ LOGO MADDI BELL/SUBMITTED

KEEGAN HILTZ Contributor

As public interest in craft beer has risen over the last few years, passionate startups have sprung up throughout the Maritimes. Get your peanuts and pretzels ready, because Sackville will soon have its own brewery. Headed by 14 students who are in Mount Allison’s entrepreneurship class, a commerce course instructed by Nauman Farooqi, the Bagtown Brewing Company is committed to start production and distribution in January. In order to get the brewery off the ground, the students have pitched in to raise the initial $5,000

needed for startup. I sat down with Jane Rouse, Robbie Baxter and Cody Cummins, three of the students behind Bagtown Brewery, to learn more about their project and the products it will offer. “Expect a launch party sometime in January,” Baxter said. At the moment, the brewery is still getting started, but the members hope to expand the operation before its launch. Project member Anthony Maddalena has previous brewing experience and will oversee the brewing process. Cummins also plans to contribute to the brewing, a process that lasts around a week from start to completion. The brewery will offer one kind beer for now, an English-style pale ale. Bagtown Brewery describes this yet-to-be-named EPA as a smooth, drinkable, unfiltered ale with distinctive body and golden-brown colouring.

“[The beer] will be named before it’s out in the bars,” Rouse said. The team plans to give the beers Sackvillerelated names. Baxter explained that one of the ideas behind the project is to “add a story behind each beer.” These stories will add to the feel that the products are from and for Sackville. Tentative arrangements for sale on tap have been made with some of Sackville’s favourite bars, including Ducky’s and Joey’s. Soon after the beer makes its appearance in bars, expect growlers to be available from Bagtown Brewery’s brewing and distribution centre at the old police station on Main street. Aside from Bagtown Brewery merchandise, the company plans to expand production to other products. “I’d like to try [brewing] a fruit beer,” Cummins said. Although disappointed I didn’t get to sample a pint (or keg), I have high expectations for the brewery’s upcoming launch.

ILLUSTRATION MAPS OUT COMPLEXITIES OF STATE-OF-THE-ART BREWING PROCESS. ANDREAS FOBES/ARGOSY

Have you ever dreamt of becoming a global investment tycoon, but felt like you couldn’t because you’re already majoring in philosophy? Last Thursday, students were given the chance to live out this alternative reality by participating in the thirdyear International Marketing class’ mock “International Fair,” where they could speak with “salespeople” and discuss market goals like an everyday member of Dragon’s Den. Hosted in Avard-Dixon, the fair gave the class a chance to exhibit their newly acquired skills during an unscripted simulation. Random passersby were encouraged to take on the persona of a potential investor, patron, or customer of the (mostly) fictional companies created by the students taking the class. The fair was set in New York, a metropolitan hub of the global economy. There were nine different booths present at the simulation, which was overseen by the class’ professor, Oliver Mesly. Norwegian exchange student Thomas Hansen and German student Sandra Mehl showcased a northernEuropean alcoholic drink commonly called “hot wine,” or “mulled wine” in the West, under the brand name “Winter Wonder Wine.” Aside from simply displaying a product, Hansen wanted to “find an agent to represent their company overseas in order to expand into new markets, like Canada.” Having analyzed the variability of several different markets, Mehl and Hansen decided to narrow potential expansion to three different emerging markets: northern China, southern Argentina and Canada. “A lot of Canadians have never had hot wine before, and since we’re so used to it, the opportunity of finding a market niche here seemed hard to pass up,” Mehl said. Mehl and Hansen even had free samples of the wine, which caused the nearby Model UN team to take a brief pause from their practice for

a festive break. (Full disclosure: I had some. It was delicious.) A bit of forced speculation posited that the wine samples were part of the reason Robert Campbell made an appearance––albeit briefly. Another company was “Voltage Splitboards,” created by third-year student Erik Oliver and fifthyear student Shelby Colton. The company was intended to fill a market opportunity for skiing and snowboarding. “We created our own brand called ‘Voltage’ to compete with big, established brands,” Oliver said. The group went so far as to form a “partnership” with energy drink company Red Bull in an effort to boost sales. A series of sporadic encounters with student participants complicated things for the Voltage representatives. Oliver elaborated on the fair’s element of unpredictability. “For all intents and purposes, we are salespeople for this company, and so we have to adjust to whatever happens to come our way.” When I first approached Oliver for an interview, he thought I was an enthusiastic student pretending to be a reporter to quiz him on his knowledge of the product. “The fake reporter thing was funny because in an event like this, we [had] different levels of engagement from different people,” he said. “Some were really invested. For example, some posed as individuals from certain demographics, or asked questions like, ‘How does this help me? Why do I want this product?’ which made it feel realistic.” Colton agreed that at times the simulation felt real. “I was a brand ambassador over the summer and the feeling you get when you’re trying to sell the product is very similar to how I felt when someone would walk up to our stand today.” She felt the heightened authenticity is what forced class members to adapt under pressure. “I think it really challenged us and forced us to go above and beyond the typical presentation.”

ARTS & CULTURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

OPERA

Performers shine in abbreviated production

A small but spectacular performance satisfies Sackville opera lovers EMMA SOLDAAT Contributor

Last Friday, Sackville was treated to a rare event: a staged production of Verdi’s La Traviata performed by Jeunesses musicales. Despite cuts to its plot, the romantic tragedy retained its magic by virtue of the actors’ stellar performances. La Traviata tells the story of Violetta Valery (played by Cristina Pisani), a hedonistic social butterfly who gives up a life of luxury to be with the charming Alfredo Germont (Marcel d’Entremont). Familiar with Violetta’s reputation as a former golddigger, Alfredo’s father (Sebastian Haboczki) forces her to leave his son for the sake of his family’s reputation. Angry and ashamed, Alfredo publicly shames Violetta, causing her to lose all hope of being reunited with her true love. After months of separation, Alfredo learns the truth about the reasons for Violetta’s abandonment

and returns to her, only to lose her to a consumptive disease at the moment of their reunion. In addition to having stunning vocal prowess, the leading duo effectively communicated the touching and tragic love story through tender and intimate acting. The sparse and flexible set design made the most of the limited space in Brunton auditorium, with modern props and costume designs. However, because the production was shortened from three acts to two, many roles were omitted, including the entire chorus. The cuts did not heavily affect the plot, with the exception of those made to Act II. The limited casting resulted in omission of two characters: Violetta and Alfredo’s maid and Violetta’s former lover, Baron Douphol. The maid is a significant character, given that she reveals to Alfredo that Violetta has been selling all her former

possessions to fund her life with him, to which he takes offence. In the following party scene, Alfredo repays Violetta by throwing his money at her face for “services rendered.” Without the Baron’s presence during the party scene, and without the explanation of Alfredo’s debt to Violetta, Alfredo’s anger comes off as unreasonable. Despite these narrative cuts, the performers certainly did justice to the beauty and drama of Verdi’s magical music. Although there are no more operas on the horizon this year, the musical community of Sackville can look forward to a busy weekend, with performances by the Mount Allison Chamber Orchestra on Thursday night, the Mt. A Symphonic Band (with the Third Field Regiment Band) on Friday night, the Tesla Quartet on Saturday night, and the Choral Society (with the Mt. A Brass Quintet) on Sunday afternoon.

SOCIETY OF ANONYMOUS DRAWERS/SUBMITTED

NUMB ABBY JOHNSON

Depression is not a storm It is the eerie moment of sitting in the rubble Trying to reform It is a wilting flower Or the leaves in fall Or getting their voicemail when you call When you’re almost there but you run out of gas Driving too fast to escape the past It’s hitting walls and feeling small But most of all it is wanting to feel something Anything at all

ABOVE: CRISTINA PISANI AND MARCEL D’ENTREMONT STAR OPPOSITE EACH OTHER IN ROMANTIC TRAGEDY. BELOW: THEATRE COMPANY JEUNESSES MUSICALES STAGES VERDI’S OPERA LA TRAVIATA ANTOINE SAITO/SUBMITTED

14 OPINIONS

THE ARGOSY w w w. a r g o s y. c a

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Thursday, December 1, 2016 volume 146 issue 11

GRAD SCHOOL

Stop asking me about my future

There is nothing wrong with being uncertain about post-graduation plans

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on Unceded Mi’kmaq Land 62 York Street W. McCain Student Centre Mount Allison University Sackville, New Brunswick

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REPORTING staff NEWS REPORTERS | Leo Gertler, Kavana Wa Kilele, Jill MacIntryre POLITICS REPORTER | Nadiya Safonova SPORTS REPORTER | Hamza Munawar ARTS & CULTURE REPORTERS | Chelsea Doherty, Marissa Cruz, Will Pelletier

NATALIE MELLON Contributor Graduating sucks. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to get far, far away from Mount Allison. But graduating is still really stressful. Most of this stress arises from the never-ending questions about my post-grad plans. What’s next? What are you going to do with your degree? Grad school or no grad school? What school? What program? I must have missed the lecture that answered all of these questions. I didn’t realize that signing up for a degree meant that I had to have the rest of my life figured out when I finished. I’ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of people about grad school over the last few months. I’ve wanted to go to grad school since I took my first women’s & gender studies class three years ago, and I’ve spent the better part of November trying to put together my application packages. I’ve spent hours ripping my hair out, and so far, I have nothing. Or, until recently, I thought I had nothing. Applying to grad school is stressful. It costs a lot of money, it takes a lot

OPERATIONS staff BUSINESS MANAGER | Tessa Dixon AD MANAGER | James Lantz CIRCULATIONS | Katharyn Stevenson

CONTRIBUTORS KEIFER BELL, MADDI BELL, PAUL DEL MOTTE, JACOB DEMERS, ERIK GARF, KEEGAN HILTZ, ABBY JOHNSON, COURTNEY LAW, ALEX LEPIANKA, DELANEY LOSIER, NATALIE MELLON, TINA OH , ANTOINE SAITO, LOUIS SOBOL, SOCIETY OF ANONYMOUS DRAWERS, EMMA SOLDAT, ALEX STRANG, MARGARET TUSZ-KING

COVER | Savannah Harris RUNNING DOODLES |Andreas Fobes

PUBLICATION board Leslie Kern, Owen Griffiths

DISCLAIMERS & COPYRIGHT The Argosy is the official independent student journal of news, opinion, and the arts, written, edited and funded by the students of Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of The Argosy’s staff or its Board of Directors. The Argosy is published weekly throughout the academic year by Argosy Publications Inc. Student contributions in the form of letters, articles, photography, graphic design and comics are welcome. The Argosy reserves the right to edit or refuse all materials deemed sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise unfit for print, as determined by the Editor-in-Chief. Articles or other contributions can be sent to argosy@mta.ca or directly to a section editor. The Argosy will print unsolicited materials at its own discretion. Letters to the editor must be signed, though names may be withheld at the sender’s request and at The Argosy’s discretion. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Comments , concerns, or complaints about The Argosy’s content or operations should be first sent to the Editor-in-Chief at the address above. If the Editor-in-Chief is unable to resolve a complaint, it may be taken to the Argosy Publications, Inc. Board of Directors. The chairs of the Board of Directors can be reached at the address above. All materials appearing in The Argosy bear the copyright of Argosy Publications, Inc. Material cannot be reprinted without the consent of the Editor-in-Chief.

EDITOR: SHANNON POWER | DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

LOUIS SOBOL/ARGOSY

of time, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get in. Grad school has been my go-to answer to the “What’s next?” question for as long as I can remember. So, what if I don’t get in? What will happen then? The uncertainty that comes with applying has often made it feel like a huge waste of time. But I’m starting to realize that this isn’t actually true. Applying has forced me to think about what I really want to do when I graduate, and the truth is, I don’t know. I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but I think that’s okay. When did applying to grad school become a requirement, anyway? My parents demanded it and my professors suggested it. It always seemed like the “right” thing to do – so right that I never stopped to think about what I wanted to do postgraduation. Instead, I worried about having “perfect” grades, almost always falling short because I was too stressed to actually do any of my work. And now, here I am, too stressed to finish my grad school applications. After years of university, people demand answers. They want absolutes, periods and colons, but I only speak in relativity, brackets and ellipses. The people asking the questions only hear that I don’t have a plan. They hear that after four years of university and thousands and thousands of dollars spent, I am still unsure. But, I didn’t pay Mt. A to answer all of life’s questions. I paid Mt. A for an education, and in five

GRADUATION IS STRESSFUL JEFF MANN/ARGOSY months, I will (finally) have proof of purchase. The uncertainty of my future shouldn’t scare me. It should be exciting. It is exciting. Maybe I’ll take a year off and travel. Maybe I’ll

be in grad school. Or maybe I’ll still be working at my $12.25/hour job. Either way, I’m going to let myself be unsure and sit in the uncertainty of my post-grad plans.

OPINIONS

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

ACTIVISM

Reflecting on COP 22, climate justice, anti-racist organizing and direct action Discrediting the work and experiences of marginalized people is an act of violence

TINA OH Contributor I spent the past three weeks representing Canadian youth at the United Nation’s climate change conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco, to hold the federal government accountable to climate justice. Since COP22, on a regular – almost daily – basis, I have received violent messages online in opposition to my climate justice, indigenoussolidarity, anti-white supremacy and direct-action work. I understand that these are unavoidable conditions of my work as a woman of colour in a white community in a colonial country. I also understand that I have the responsibility as a non-indigenous, non-black woman of colour to utilize my privilege to do this work. Because I inhabit a body that comes the nearest to understanding the hatred that attacks my black and brown siblings, it is my sober responsibility to swallow this hate in an attempt to deflect a measly portion of the burden from the most vulnerable communities. I offer my body in solidarity to those who are organizing a safe and

fiercely compassionate movement. My tenderness for this movement grows as I learn and unlearn from brown and black folks who know better than I do about using their bodies, as if it were all they had – as if they ever had anything else. Last week, three white boys held up my father with a knife pointed at his gut. An un-foreboding sneeze could have killed him. A swastika was graffitied on my Muslim neighbour’s garage. Racist arsonists in rural Alberta burned a motel owned by a Sikh family to the ground, killing one person. Do not tell me that Trump is framed within American borders. White supremacy and racism has always existed, and is proliferating, in Canada. Look at the ground beneath you and ask yourself what land we stand on. It has come to a point where it is no longer acceptable, or respectful, for me to disguise this hatred as palatable. I heave. I heave. I heave. I notice how your knees point the other direction when you sit beside me. I heave. I heave. I heave. I can hear your deafening silence in response to my suffering. I heave. I heave. I heave. I know you are uncomfortable with my words and actions. I notice that rules and regulations exist that will always benefit and defend white bodies before bodies like mine and that all too often, inaction is defended by bureaucracy. Since COP22 and the American election, it has become hard for me to control my emotions. I am now allowing myself to cry in violent spaces as an act of political revolution. Why should I remain rational when the violence done to me and my people is irrational? In my time of

CLIMATE JUSTICE ACTIVISTS CALLED ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO REJECT DESTRUCTIVE PIPELINES AND RESPECT INDIGENOUS RIGHTS TINA OH/SUBMITTED need, it is the black and brown bodies that help me. They teach me to let my body be a body, and my heart to be a heart. As the radical Asian-American activist Jenny Zhang has said, “We do not deserve to only know love while colonized. We do not deserve to only build families while occupied.” I am not asking for your support in doing this work, but do not dare speak against it. In light of my arrest on Parliament for a pipeline, you must recognize and understand that you are still reaping the benefits of a cleaner world at the arrest of others. As guns are aimed at the peaceful bodies of the Sioux Nation, you and I reap the benefits of drinking clean water. The Mt. A community must recognize that justice work is not

optional for people of colour. It is our method to survive and be recognized as humans. When you undermine that work, and/or when you oppose the methodology in which people of colour go about that work, you

are not an ally in my eyes. If I have ever made you uncomfortable, know that I did so on purpose. It is now your responsibility to navigate that discomfort with rawness and love.

DOODLE NO. 3

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Start taking women’s concerns seriously Women deserve to feel safe going out in Sackville

COURTNEY LAW Contributor I don’t feel safe going out in Sackville. I am not alone in feeling this way: like me, several female students I have talked to have had negative experiences with sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour on nights out in town. Following a particularly negative experience in which I was groped by a

stranger at a local bar, I felt as though there was a lack of appropriate avenues to express my concerns or pursue solutions. When I tried to take action by disclosing the incident, I do not feel as though my concerns were taken seriously. I felt defeated in my efforts to resolve an issue that would continue to put other patrons at risk. Sexual assault itself makes victims feel violated and unsafe, while the systemic barriers that hinder victims’ ability to obtain support make the experiences even more disheartening. Mount Allison students should be able to feel safe at bars in town. Generally, the environment of these spaces is such that sexual assault and violence are risk factors for women. The fact that the protection of female patrons is not prioritized at all of the nightlife venues in Sackville is unacceptable. A person who doesn’t value a

woman’s autonomy over her own body or her right to consent is a person who should be removed immediately from a nightlife establishment. From my experiences, this is often not the case. When I felt that my safety at a bar was not prioritized, I left in tears, feeling dejected, helpless and scared. Violating a woman’s consent, whether it’s in a bar, a library, or in your own home, is sexual assault — a crime. Seemingly small acts have the ability to make victims feel vulnerable, embarrassed and violated. I no longer have any interest in going out to places where I feel unsafe. In light of the danger to women that is often present in nightlife spaces, particularly in a university setting like Sackville, I believe that Club P’s recent Facebook marketing for an event titled “Ladies Night,” which has since been cancelled, was

disrespectful and inappropriate. The event description, before it was amended and apologized for on the Club P Facebook page, read: “Being a girl is hard. Club P wants to reward women for taking that extra challenge every day. Ladies get drinks at half-price until 1 a.m.! You go girls, you’re HOT!” The sexist tone and wording of this event description is exceptionally offensive. There is a condescending attitude toward female oppression as well as an affirmation of the notion that a woman’s value should be measured by her desirability. When female students took to Facebook to express their opposition to this event, the Club P Facebook page initially refused to discuss its intentions behind the event, responding “No” to students who asked to have the event taken down or renamed. This blatant disrespect of

women’s concerns is both ironic and depressing given that the discussions concerned an event called “Ladies Night.” More work is needed to make bars in university settings safer spaces for women, given the increased risk they face on nights out. Venues need to adjust their business practices and policies to make the safety of their patrons their top priority. All people should feel that they will be respected and feel safe, and that the staff will react quickly and appropriately to their serious concerns. Given Sackville’s limited nightlife scene, women should not have to be put at risk of sexual violence when they choose to go out. It’s time that we listen seriously to the concerns of women and take the appropriate action to turn nightlife venues into safe spaces.

16 CLASSIFIEDS

EDITOR: MARK CRUZ | DECEMBER 1, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

REAL ESTATE SUBLETTER WANTED! : Posted by Carl

Description: Housing available for subletting. Nice view, just a 30 minute walk to campus, I am leaving on exchange and need someone to take my place on the lease for months of February to May. Additional Details: 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom unit. Other roommates are chill. $500 a month. Pet Policy: Sorry, no pets allowed! ALSO SUBLETTER WANTED!! : Posted by Carly Description: ALL UTILITIES ARE INCLUDED! Balcony terrace with skyline view of Sackville, only a 29 minute walk to campus. Additional Details: 3 ½ bedroom/ 2 ½ bathroom unit. Roommates are SO chill. Room for $499 a month is available at DuckBill Apartments on 33 Squawk St. in Sackville New Brunswick. Pet Policy: I won’t tell the landlord. DON’T LISTEN TO CARLY!! : Posted by Carl My place is way better. I’ll cut you a better deal than Carly. $400 monthly, all meals provided, and guaranteed ghost-free. Scratch the no pet policy. My room has perfect morning sunlight for Instagram pics and I have some sick posters from the poster sale! Amenities: High-speed internet if you stand close to it, doors, liberal roommates, windows that open almost all the way. CARL IS FAKE… : Posted by Carly Searched this guy up, he doesn’t even live in Sackville. It’s a fake number and street; probably even a fake name. Maybe a murderer. Revised offer: $399 rent. If you’re single, my roommates are way hot! Better Amenities: Bilingual and bisexual Roommates, view of highway. LOOKING FOR ROOM TO RENT! : Posted by Carlos DIBS ON CARLOS : Posted by Carly

ERIC GARF

JEFF MANN