The Argosy, October 20, Vol. 146, Iss. 7

THE ARG OSY

NEWS

CENTREFOLD

ARTS & CULTURE

OPINIONS

COVER: LOUIS

No women on collective bargaining teams (Pg. 4)

Students mistreated at local businesses (Pg. 8-9)

Midterms season stresses out students (Pg. 10)

Emotional labour must be shared (Pg. 14)

SOBOL, PREY, 2016

A spectre is haunting Sackville since 1872

Mount Allison’s Independent Student Newspaper

October 20, 2016 Vol. 146, Iss. 7

02 NEWS Student employees on campus feel undervalued, unsupported

EDITORS: CATHERINE TURNBULL & NAOMI GOLDBERG | OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

LABOUR RELATIONS

Students recount issues with being TAs, RAs NAOMI GOLDBERG News Editor Many student employees have recounted feeling undervalued by the University.

A Mount Allison student and former Residence Assistant (RA) to whom the Argosy has granted anonymity due to their continued relationship with Student Life listed a lack of clarity in RA job descriptions and a need for better support structures for residence staff as major problems with the position.

The student described not being taken seriously by Student Life. “The ambiguities in our contract and their unwillingness to listen to us talking about the things we are doing that aren’t in our job description is both patronizing and dangerous in its own right,” the student said.

During their time as an RA, the student dealt with issues such as reported sexual assault and attempted suicide. “We have to deal with it because there’s no one else to deal with it, [but] Student Life doesn’t back us up,” the student said. “We end up with huge responsibilities thrust upon us that aren’t in our job description, that we aren’t trained to do and that are often very traumatic.”

“I burned out from the trauma I was dealing with,” the student said. After going to Student Life for help, the student was given limited therapy and a note excusing academic deadlines for a few weeks. The support they offered, the student said, “wasn’t enough. It gave me a week or two for something that I’m still feeling a few years later.”

Fourth-year student and assistant don (AD) of Windsor Emily Baker said that RAs are “undervalued, very much underpaid and extremely undertrained.” This year, Baker is the sole returning AD or RA on campus.

Due to student advocacy spearheaded by the Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU), RA pay was increased by 25 per cent last year.

However, there are fewer RAs on campus this year and AD pay was cut.

Baker and the student to whom the Argosy has granted anonymity said that the increase in RA pay was good,

but not enough. “They just cut people so they could pay the other people a few hundred dollars more,” Baker said.

Despite the raise, Baker’s pay does not fully cover the cost of her room, let alone her mandatory meal plan.

“When it comes to stress, financial stress is a big one,” Baker said. “It’s one of the major factors why people don’t stay in residence.”

MASU President Ryan Lebreton said that the MASU’s policy on RA compensation will continue to stand “at least until RAs get paid a comparable amount to RAs at other universities.”

The student to whom the Argosy has granted anonymity also takes issue with the lack of a clear liability insurance for student employees.

Liability is in neither student employment job descriptions nor contracts.

“When previous RAs asked Student Life [about liability insurance], we couldn’t get a straight answer,” the student said.

Last year, the student filed a freedom of information request.

“We still don’t know what liability insurance we have, and our suspicion, because they can’t give us a straight answer, is that maybe we actually don’t have any,” the student said.

Other students also listed problems related to liability issues and working as teaching assistants (TAs).

Fourth-year student Josh Johnson, who worked as the MASU ombudsperson to the University last year and as a TA himself, said that some of his friends, chemistry TAs, were working with contaminated mercury. Even though using dangerous chemicals is part of their jobs as TAs, these students do not have liability insurance.

Johnson also mentioned wage inconsistency across departments as a problem. While some English TAs are paid more than minimum wage, this is not the case for most science TAs. Johnson said that TA positions for some departments, such as biology, involve hours of online training that are often unpaid.

Another issue, Johnson said, is

DO STUDENT EMPLOYEES HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE? IZZY FRANCOLINI/ARGOSY the lack of grievance mechanisms for student employees. Students must go through the MASU if they have an employment issue. Because the MASU is not a labour union, “it hinders the ability to actually resolve situations, because [students] don’t have legal basis as equal parties,” he said.

Johnson also filed a freedom of information request on the number of sexual harassment and assault grievances through employee unions at Mt. A, which mainly include the Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA). “There were a considerable number of unionized employee grievances,” he said.

Johnson said that because student employees are the equivalent of sub-

contractors to the university, there is no way for them to file such grievances without fear of repercussion, such as getting fired.

Third-year student and former residence academic mentor Hannah Mackellar said that the academic mentor position lacks a clear job description. Last year, Mackellar said, this led to a significant number of academic mentors feeling they had the power to tell students they might have a learning disability.

According to Mackellar, this was probably a result of their training on the subject. “It was a significant problem,” she said. “If someone was struggling in class, they felt it was okay to tell students they might have a learning disability.”

Johnson expressed frustration with the University for not spending part of the grant it received from the provincial and federal governments on bettering work environments and increasing the wages of student employees. “When we’re having that big influx of money, [improving student employee wages] is not that much money in the grand scheme of things. This isn’t a big fight that they’re picking,” he said. “Employees who are unionized don’t have to deal with a lot of the issues students are currently dealing with.”

NEWS

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03

CAREER

School! School! School!

Graduate studies “the new degree” LEO GERTLER News Reporter There is nothing quite like a harrowing week of midterms to get me questioning the value of my degree. Why am I here? What’s the point of all this work?

Thinking about how my education might be all for naught is horrific.

As such, I ventured once more to Tweedie Hall, seeking answers to these questions. The Sociology Society was hosting another career fair, where students could learn how to turn their degrees into something meaningful, or even profitable.

At the centre of the room stood a table covered in multicoloured pamphlets about various graduate programs. As I looked them over,

I saw that even the promotional material seemed to convey that the point of an education in the social sciences or humanities is hard to parse out.

“To most Canadians, sociologists are invisible,” one booklet published by the University of British Columbia read. “Every year thousands of young people graduate with sociology degrees...So, what does happen to sociology graduates?”

The Sociology Society organized the fair around the issue of students not knowing what to do with a degree in the social sciences.

“Finding this kind of stuff out can be overwhelming,” said Caroline Kovesi, the principal coordinator of the event. “The career fair is important because students are looking for it,

it’s something they ask [the Sociology Society] for.”

As Kovesi explained, nonvocational degrees do not provide you with a clear path to employment. I remembered how my mother wanted me to become a plumber, and I was finally seeing the good sense in that.

I was learning, however, that many students are as scared as I am. Laura Gilks, a recruiter for the University of New Brunswick’s graduate programs, told me that even first-year students are coming to her worried about getting into graduate school.

“They don’t want to waste their time doing an undergrad only to find out that they don’t meet the requirements,” she said. “It’s a recent thing. I’d say graduate studies are the new degree.” We shared a nervous

laugh.

Every student I spoke to stressed the importance of being careerminded from the start. In a group of three students I approached, one said, “It’s never too early to start looking.

You need those good GPAs.” Another in this group, however, was worried that she felt too secure in her job prospects. “I’m not as afraid as I should be,” she said. “I’m too comfortable.”

Having not considered how afraid of not being afraid enough I should be, I began to feel rather ill. I headed over to the refreshments table.

I found a student there, Teressa Carrière, who had come for the free food. In between bites of an Aramark cookie, she told me, “I’m a capitalist pig, and I would like to have a career

that makes money.” Carriere was skeptical, however, of the possibility of this.

“I don’t think a lot of masters programs will help me do that,” she said. “I was thinking of going into law. That’s supposed to be one of the most economically viable decisions, but I don’t know if that’s true anymore.”

I’m not sure if I learned anything at the career fair. I’m not sure if everybody being as scared as I am should make me feel better or worse.

Regardless, I think I might go to graduate school. It might give me some time to mull it all over. At the very least, it will give me another year or two before I have to start paying back student loans.

TOWN

Sackville Commons opens to community use

New space aims to unite individuals and organizations KAVANA WA KILELE News Reporter With plans for a microbrewery in an old garage, offices in former jail cells and, potentially, a venue for the farmers market during the winter, the Sackville Commons is a new space for collaborative work.

The Commons was created for the Sackville community. Located at 64 Main Street, this multipurpose space occupies the former fire and police station.

Commons co-founders Melody Petlock, Rachel Mathis and Julia Feltham are trying to help organizations and individuals come together in a shared work space.

Speaking to what inspired the project, Feltham said that Sackville has many isolated individuals and businesses with no space for collaborative work.

“We are sharing resources and lowering overhead for everybody and making sure that start-ups, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and nonprofits can work together,” Feltham said.

The Commons has been open THE COMMONS WILL OFFICIALLY OPEN IN APRIL OF 2017. SAMUEL THOMPSON/SUBMITTED

for almost a month, though still undergoing renovations. The grand opening will be in April of 2017.

Daybreak Activity Centre, Bay of Fungi, Open Sky Co-op and Live-Bait Theatre are some of the businesses that are or will be using the space.

Ron Kelly Spurles, manager of tourism and business development in Sackville, said he thinks the Commons is a great idea. “The idea has been around for a long time and it is impressive and exciting that it is happening,” Spurles said. “[The Commons] has the potential to offer a service to many small businesses that might otherwise be working on their own, at home, or trying to find a working space,” he said. “Now they have the ability to work in a common space, share resources, share knowledge and collaborate with each other.”

Membership is required in order to use the Commons. The base level of membership is the day-tripper, which costs $20 per month. There are also part-time and full-time memberships available.

Kathleen Cowie, a fourth-year student and member of student-run

entrepreneurial group Enactus, said she sees a lot of potential for networking because of this new space. “[Sackville] is a great spot to meet people, but unlike big cities, where there are a lot of networking events, in Sackville there are not a lot of opportunities for that,” she said. “The Commons provides potential for these partnerships.”

The Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU) has announced that they will be a community partner with the Sackville Commons. The MASU contributed a one-time donation of $500 to the Commons in what Tina Oh, MASU vice-president external affairs, said is and effort to help foster a better relationship between the town and the university.

“It is important for my office to work with the town,” Oh said. “When I look at this project I believe it is so ideal, so perfect for Sackville.”

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NEWS

OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

GOVERNANCE

Student resigns from Responsible Investment sub-committee

Questions of university governance arise DYLAN WOOLEY-BERRY Contributor Board of Regents (BoR) Student Representative Willa McCaffreyNoviss resigned from the subcommittee on Responsible Investment last week. Divest MTA has requested that the now-vacant position be filled by one of its members.

The sub-committee was formed by the BoR last year due to pressure applied by Divest MTA. The subcommittee is mandated to investigate and recommend policy regarding responsible investment to the BoR. It has met four times since its inception last year.

McCaffrey-Noviss’s resignation leaves the student representative position on the sub-committee vacant. The terms of reference of the sub-committee state that the vacancy must be filled by a student regent.

Divest MTA originally asked for the BoR to create standing policy and procedure regarding socially responsible investment.

Dennis Pavlich and Jocelyn Stacey, two law professors at UBC, wrote in

an opinion piece for UBC’s student paper that from a legal perspective, in the case of a university endowment, fiduciary duty can only extend to those who are intended to benefit directly from the endowment, namely students and faculty, not donors. Fiduciary duty refers to the University’s responsibility to make decisions in the interests of its stakeholders.

Divest MTA organizer Alex Lepianka does not view financial performance to be the sole component of fiduciary responsibility. “Any financial ties [to the fossil fuel industry] make the university complicit in the violence, environmental damage and social harm that the fossil fuel industry perpetuates,” he said.

In a press release, Divest MTA pointed to the “highly technical nature of the discussion” as leading to exclusion of student and faculty committee members. They said, “this barrier to participation is symptomatic of the larger problem of exclusivity in the University’s governance structure,” referring to the committee’s framing of the issue

as a solely financial one.

According to Vice-President Finance and Administration Robert Inglis, the sub-committee has discussed a number of options, including divestment.

Inglis said there “would be things Divest MTA have brought up and things that they have not brought up.” He said these options included becoming a member of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), incorporating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions and creating a fossil-free investment portfolio.

The sub-committee has examined two documents: a document outlining a legal decision on divestment at UBC; and the Mercer Report, a 150-page report about responsible investment in the context of Mount Allison’s endowment.

Sub-committee chair Jane Craighead’s term on the BoR comes to an end this year. A replacement chair for the sub-committee has not yet been announced.

LABOUR RELATIONS

No women on collective bargaining teams

Negotiations underway to renew collective agreements TIERRA STOKES Contributor Mount Allison Faculty Association’s (MAFA) contracts with its Employer expired on June 30, 2016. MAFA and its Employer are now at the bargaining table, with no women on either side. In collective bargaining negotiations, the University administration is referred to as the Employer.

Collective bargaining is a standard process that takes place between the Employer and the faculty union to negotiate the terms and conditions of their collective agreement. The collective agreements, both full-time and part-time, are written contracts between the Employer and the faculty union. Negotiations begin 90 to 30 days before the expiration of the current collective agreement and work to renew or revise its terms and conditions. The process is required by the Industrial Relations Act of New Brunswick and occurs every three years.

The last time the collective agreement expired, the negotiations led to a three-week faculty strike.

However, strike is not a necessary result of collecting bargaining.

The Employer is represented

by Hans vanderLeest, chief negotiator and former dean of arts, Ron Sutherland, director of human resources and Chris Milner, university budget manager. The MAFA bargaining team consists of Stephen Law, chief negotiator and head of the economics department, Jeff Lilburn, public services librarian, Geoff Martin, MAFA professional officer, and Andrew Wilson, professor of religious studies.

Director of Marketing and Communications Robert Hiscock said that Mount Allison’s bargaining team is selected by the senior administration. He said the senior administration selects members based on either their role in the university or their particular knowledge of the contract and its implications.

Hiscock said the intent was not to exclude women from the negotiation process. “It is just that at this stage, those are the people in those roles,” he said.

Hiscock said that the bargaining team is communicating and working with the senior administration, which includes Kim Meade, VP international and student affairs, and Gloria Jollymore, VP university advancement.

Hiscock said that creating a

bargaining team was not related to gender, but instead to finding the most capable person with applicable knowledge of the process.

Hiscock also said that “what you need in a process is people who understand the process, understand the content and understand the university system. Women are just as able as men to do that, clearly.”

Irwin noted that MAFA is trying to represent different kinds of constituencies, adding that the MAFA executive puts out an open call to their members to volunteer for bargaining positions.

“When the MAFA executive create the team, they strive for representation across departments, for both full-time and part-time, for both experienced and inexperienced members and for a gender balance,” he said.

Irwin said that a number of women expressed interest in joining the bargaining team but could not participate due to sabbaticals or new appointments.

“Unfortunately with those kinds of constraints, you often can’t satisfy all of them,” he said.

There have been women on past bargaining teams, including during the 2013-2014 negotiations.

This Week in New Brunswick COMPILED BY NADIYA SAFONOVA News Reporter SALMON RELEASE IN BAY OF FUNDY

Over 500 Atlantic salmon were released into two rivers in the Bay of Fundy National Park this year, and it is predicted that 1,000 additional salmon will be released next year. Since 2001, the salmon population has been declining rapidly because the salmon have not been returning to the Park from their normal trips to the Bay of Fundy. This conservation project was endorsed by the federal and provincial governments, the Fort Folly First Nation, the Canadian Rivers Institute and the Aquaculture institute.

MARRIAGE MESSAGE VANDALIZED In the town of McAdam, N.B., a message of congratulations to a same-sex newlywed couple was defaced over the weekend. The message was written on a large rock on the highway, where messages of congratulations are often written.

These messages usually stay up for weeks until a new message is written to replace it. McAdam residents are shocked by this act of vandalism and some are calling for official condemnation to discourage homophobic behaviour.

DIEPPE’S NEW SKATING RINK A $1.4-million outdoor skating rink is under construction in Dieppe and is predicted to open before Christmas. The rink will be located next to Dieppe City Hall. This project is meant to promote active lifestyles among the city’s residents, but will not allow hockey playing. The rink will operate from early December to late March and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

LEGO LECTURE AT UNB Following the examples of Procter & Gamble and the United Nations, the University of New Brunswick held a public lecture where adults were given the chance to unlock their creativity through serious play with LEGO. Jacqueline Lloyd Smith was the leader of the lecture. With a background in art therapy and business, Smith is now an official LEGO trainer. It is becoming more common for companies to use LEGO brainstorming sessions to create original ways of visualizing and solving business problems.

COMPLETION OF TRANS CANADA TRAIL IN NEW BRUNSWICK New Brunswick’s segments of the Trans Canada Trail are now completely connected. Co-Chair of the Trans Canada Trail Foundation Valerie Pringle has been working toward the completion of the project for 16 years. Pringle pointed out that approximately 80 per cent of Canadians live within 30 minutes of the Trans Canada Trail, so its completion is very important. By 2017, the Foundation aims to have the Trans Canada Trail fully connected across the country.

According to Irwin, when MAFA realized that there were no women on the bargaining team, they “made certain the collective bargaining committee had women on the team.”

The committee does not participate in the negotiation meetings, but they influence MAFA’s collective

bargaining planning and decisions.

On Oct. 17, MAFA revealed in their press release that 87 per cent of MAFA members voted in favour of a motion to support their negotiating team and that if necessary, members would support strike action.

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INTERSECTIONALITY

“There are No Closets in Tipis” Artist, activist and mental health advocate Jack Saddleback starts a necessary conversation on campus

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This Week at MASU council COMPILED BY DELANEY LOSIER Contributor

The Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU) is governed by the Students’ Administrative Council (SAC), a democratically elected student body. Council is responsible for passing policy on behalf of the MASU, maintaining its bylaws and operating procedures, and providing oversight to the executive and staff. This body of students includes: the executive, composed of one president and five vicepresidents; the University Senate, formed by six faculty councillors; one Board of Regents representative; six councillors-at-large, who represent constituents on general issues; one first-year councillor, who represents the interests of first-year students; and a chairperson and deputy chairperson to run meetings and record meeting minutes.

ELECTION RESULTS Following the MASU’s second and final round of fall elections, the three new councillors-at-large are Maureen Adegbidi, Osama Al Nammary and Matthew Roberts.

REPORT FROM JULIA FELTHAM Julia Feltham is a co-founder of the Sackville Commons, a community hub and coworking space that provides resources for non-profits and start-ups. Council passed a motion that deducted $500 from the budget surplus and delivered $500 to the Sackville Commons as a donation. The MASU will be named a community partner.

COMMITTEE REVIEWS PROPOSED CHANGES TO DISTRIBUTION CREDITS Vice-President Academic Affairs Mary-Emma MacNeil has been reviewing the distribution credit system. The Academic Matters committee is currently revisiting the layout of the past system and implementing the suggested amendments of the greater Mt. A community. Under the new proposal, students still need eight credits from four main categories. The committee will be holding student consultation sessions. Until then, students can contact MacNeil or the representative on the Academic Matters committee, Senator Sarah Murphy, with questions or comments.

SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE VP Student Life Anthony Maddalena met with interim Facilities Manager Neil MacEachern. They have decided to create a committee of safety and security representatives from each residence. The goal of this committee will be to provide a space for students to voice concerns regarding safety and security on campus.

SADDLEBACK VISITED MT. A LAST WEEK. DAVID STOBBE/SUBMITTED

JILL MACINTYRE News Reporter Jack Saddleback explored identity and belonging in a presentation hosted on campus. His lecture captivated students and faculty alike while discussing topics that have rarely been addressed publicly at Mount Allison. Saddleback identifies as a proud two-spirit, transgender gay man from the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, AB. In 2015, Saddleback, a sociology student at the University of Saskatchewan, became the first transgender president of the university’s students’ union.

Saddleback’s lecture, titled “There are No Closets in Tipis,” discussed Indigeneity, the importance of representation, and queerness.

Saddleback also discussed his personal experience with severe depression and noted the importance of mental health structures and medical practices that incorporate cultural knowledge.

The Argosy sat down for an interview with Saddleback to further discuss these themes.

Jill MacIntyre: Was it a challenge for you, recognizing your own identities, then having to ‘come out’ to multiple communities?

Jack Saddleback: I had to come out so many times! I’m fortunate to have the family that I do – they are epic supporters. I was fearful of coming out, just like any other queer person would be. There’s always that fear of rejection, but when I came out as trans my grandmother said, “We don’t have anyone like you in our family but we want to help you.” To me, that’s the core value of First Nations cultures: loving and respecting each other as the unique individuals that we are.

JM: You’ve talked in the past about how colonialism was the site for transphobia and homophobia to develop in First Nations cultures.

Could you speak to that?

JS: The interesting thing about transphobia and homophobia within First Nations culture is that it [was] introduced [by] colonialism and the residential school [system] that taught us very foreign ways and introduced

the idea of the gender binary…And along those same lines, First Nations children were taught that marriage or love was to be between two sexes and [that] that was the only acceptable way, when in all actuality, love is love and that is what First Nations cultures were about. We need to renegotiate this because it was negotiated for us without our consent.

JM: What did it mean for you to be elected as the first trans and one of the only Indigenous presidents of your students’ union?

JS: I want to challenge the status quo, especially within leadership positions. I worried that people wouldn’t vote for me because I was too brown, too trans and too gay… when you can’t see yourself reflected in society you can’t imagine yourself in it. Breaking through those glass walls or sometimes concrete walls is so important. I’m hoping I was able to do that for some folks.

Saddleback plans to continue with his culturally based approach to mental health advocacy and with his efforts to indigenize Pride.

STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY Meighen Centre Program and Services manager Anne Comfort, MacEachern and Maddalena are working to install lockers in the Meighen Centre for students to use as storage. If the lockers are found to be popular, more lockers will be brought over from the Student Centre.

CRAKE ARTS INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE Three internships are available for projects involving the close collaboration between students in any discipline and faculty/staff in fine arts, music, drama and the literature departments (English, French, Spanish and German).

Only students in good standing who are registered as full-time students (i.e. in at least three courses in both the fall and winter semesters) are eligible for the internships. They are composed of a stipend of $1,000 (paid in two installments) and generally demand three to four hours per week.

Interdisciplinary projects are especially encouraged and internships may be awarded to support curricular or co-curricular projects. Students are required to complete their projects by April 1, 2017.

Applications: These should provide (1) a concise (300-word) outline of the project that also explains its role in the applicant’s ongoing formation as an artist as well as the project’s relationship to the student’s activities at Mount Allison, and (2) a letter of support from the proposed faculty or staff mentor.

Applications are due at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 and should be addressed to The Crake Arts Internships Committee c/o Dr. Peter Brown, department of English literatures. Please submit your application electronically to pbrown@mta.ca and copy it to Ms. Elaine Simpson, the secretary of the English department, at esimpson@mta.ca. For more information email pbrown@mta.ca or go to http://jeacrakefoundation.org

06 SPORTS

EDITOR: DAVID TAPLIN | OCTOBER 20 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Small roster, big hearts for young team Women’s basketball team plans to rally for the top despite inexperience captains Erin Steeves and Sarah McGeachy, who look to build on their two-season experience.

“We didn’t expect to lose who we’ve lost, but the players who are here are all in,” Steeves said.

The current team has an impressive array of talent and a small-butmighty mentality.

Of the ten-player roster, only eight are active, as Katherine Ollerhead is currently finishing the season with the women’s soccer team and firstyear Karly Buckingham is recovering from an injury.

The team has no fourth-year players. With the exceptions of Steeves and McGeachy, everyone on the roster is in their first or second year, which gives the team the opportunity to work with and mould the young players.

ACAA Rookie of the Year Keirsten Mangold is prepared to continue her dominance on the court, taking on a larger leadership role alongside Steeves and McGeachy. Who are all “ready to lead by example by being

ACAA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR KIERSTEN MANGOLD LOOKS TO STEP INTO LEADERSHIP ROLE THIS YEAR. ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY has left the team with a small roster.

The women’s team is hoping HAMZA MUNAWAR to quickly overcome the teamSports Reporter rebuilding phase in order to retain their elite status as one of the most The Mount Allison women’s basketball team is prepared for the feared defensive teams in the ACAA upcoming season despite the loss of and keep their national ranking. several veteran players who decided Head coach Matt Gamblin is to leave the team this year. The loss entering his fourth season with the of these players was unexpected and Mounties and is back with veteran

more vocal,” Steeves said.

“A smaller team has its benefits,” said Kathleen Morrison, a secondyear forward for the Mounties. “With smaller numbers, [Gamblin] does a good job of breaking up players and working on their individual skills,” McGeachy said.

The makeup of the team gives the coaching staff a chance to develop players and improve more effectively. “I think we will find that improvement throughout the season will be accelerated,” Gamblin said.

“I have a great deal of trust in [Steeves and McGeachy] in their leadership role. They have done a great job so far this season,” Gamblin said.

“The expectation is growth. We are not a group who zeroes in on a certain number of wins or losses. If we focus on the process, the results will take care of themselves. The goals and expectations are to come to practice and aim to get better every day.”

This season, Mt. A will host the ACAA playoffs and Holland College

will host the CCAA nationals.

The team hopes to land a spot at the top of the league and possibly at nationals. This is certainly an attainable goal, as the ACAA conference will send the top two teams to nationals this year.

“Everyone is dependable, everyone contributes,” Morrison said. “The best teams come together when athletes have high expectations of themselves individually [and of] each other as a group, and keep everyone accountable. We have a driven group of athletes this year who have already shown a lot of improvement, and I trust we will continue to do so,” Gamblin said.

The ACAA season kicks off Saturday when the Mounties host St. Thomas University in a double header, with the women tipping off at 2 p.m. and the men’s match beginning at 4 p.m.

HEALTH

Fentanyl crisis hits eastern Canada

Abuse of a painkiller more potent that morphine rising nationally RILEY HIGDON Contributor

Fentanyl is a highly potent and addictive drug that is one hundred times stronger than morphine.

This drug is generally prescribed by physicians as a painkiller, but is often illegally imported.

The drug can be taken as a powder, liquid, or tablet, among other forms.

This makes it easier to mix and lace with other drugs.

Fentanyl can enter the system by inhalation, ingestion or absorption through the skin. Even the smallest amounts can cause damage – just two milligrams (about the same amount as a few grains of salt) can be fatal to a typical adult.

Mount Allison student Mallory Burnside-Holmes grew up in Manotick, O.N., a town similar in size to Sackville. In 2012, fentanyl hit her

In recent years, there has been a rise in rates of fentanyl abuse across Canada and in New Brunswick. Between 2009 and 2014, there were approximately 1,019 deaths in Canada due to usage of the drug. Over half of these deaths occurred between 2013 and 2014.

Locally, more than 32 deaths in New Brunswick have been a result of fentanyl use since 2008. According to their website, the New Brunswick RCMP has been involved in three seizures of counterfeit oxycodone pills since 2015, which, upon analysis, were found to contain fentanyl. With the risk of addiction, professionals and RCMP officers fear that this number will continue to grow.

community hard.

Issues arose when a young adult from the area obtained fentanyl and got high school students to distribute the substance. Students began using the drug in the form of a patch, as it is typically used in hospice homes by terminally ill patients.

More than a dozen students from Burnside-Holmes’s graduating class were using this drug on a regular basis, some to the point of severe addiction.

“They were using it at school by placing the patch on their tongues and [continuing] about their day,” Burnside-Holmes said.

Following interventions from faculty and parents, many students were forced into rehabilitation for the school year. Only some returned near

the end of the year for graduation.

Several other students were sent to jail for the criminal behaviour to which they resorted, such as theft, to be able to afford the drug. One student was unable to battle the addiction and died as a result of fentanyl abuse.

“Being in a small town, you could really see the effects of [fentanyl] – everyone was talking about it, even those not linked to the high school at all,” Burnside-Holmes said. “A death in a small town has a lot of ramifications.”

It is important when dealing with fentanyl or any prescription drugs to dispose of them properly if the entire bottle or treatment is not finished.

Leaving the medication in your home can increase the risk of the drug finding its way into the wrong hands.

Putting the drug in the garbage carries the risk of others finding it, and flushing it down the toilet is damaging to the environment and marine animals. Returning the remaining medication to the pharmacy is the best way to dispose of the unwanted prescription drug.

The increase in fatalities and the greater general use of fentanyl in recent years means that knowing and taking the proper safety precautions is more important than ever.

THE SCOREBOARD

WOMEN’S SOCCER

MEN’S SOCCER

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

MTA (A) 0 - DAL (H) 2

MTA (A) 0 - DAL (H) 5

UPEI (A) 5 - MTA (H) 1 DAL (A) 1 - MTA (H) 3

AUS

Cape Breton Memorial Acadia StFX UNB UPEI Dalhousie Moncton Mount Allison Saint Mary’s

GP 9 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 8 8

W 9 7 6 4 4 2 2 2 1 0

L 0 1 0 1 3 5 6 7 6 8

T 0 0 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 0

PTS 27 21 20 15 14 8 7 7 4 0

AUS

Cape Breton Acadia StFX Dalhousie UNB UPEI Memorial Saint Mary’s Moncton Mount Allison

GP 9 8 8 9 9 9 8 8 10 8

W 7 6 5 4 4 3 2 1 1 0

L 1 1 1 0 1 5 4 5 8 7

T

1 1 2 5 4 1 2 2 1 1

PTS 22 19 17 17 16 10 8 5 4 1

LACROSSE STFX (A) 18 - MTA (H) 8 MTA (A) 5 - DAL (H) 12

FOOTBALL MTA (A) 15 - ACADIA (H) 13 STFX (A) 5 - SMU (H) 45

AUS

W

L OTL PTS

2 UPEI 2 St Thomas 1 Moncton 1 Saint Mary’s 1 Mount Allison 0 Dalhousie 0

AUS

StFX Saint Mary’s Mount Allison Acadia

0 0 0 0 1 1 2

GP 6 6 6 6

0 0 1 1 0 1 0

W 5 2 2 1

4 4 3 3 2 1 0

L 1 4 4 5

PTS 10 4 4 2

SPORTS & HEALTH

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

WORK

07

Athletics and academics, a balancing act School work gets relegated to the side lines for many varsity athletes

KEEPING UP WITH ATHLETIC AND ACADEMIC DEMANDS CAN BE OVERWHELMING. LOGAN MILNE/CONTRIBUTOR

BEN WISHART Contributor It’s that time of the semester. After weeks of coasting through lectures and readings, you now have a presentation on Monday, a paper due on Tuesday, and two midterms on Friday—oh shit! And that assignment due on Thursday.

That’s right, folks, it’s hell-week season, so much to do, but not enough time to get it done. Now, imagine adding 10 hours of practice, four hours of matches, and countless extra hours of training and film study

to that week. This hectic schedule is just another week in the life of a Mount Allison varsity athlete.

The delicate balance between academics and athletics is nothing new to fourth-year Mountie basketball forward Brad Fuller. “You really have to try to schedule out your whole week ahead of time,” Fuller said. “The key is to stay on top of everything.”

Fuller stressed the importance of scheduling due to how little free time basketball leaves him. “[Basketball takes up] about 15 hours per week, and the season goes from the first

of September all the way to midMarch,” Fuller said.

Fuller reflected on one specific time his commitment to both athletics and academics affected him. “I remember one time second year [when] we had practice Monday night and I had three midterms the next day. [I] ended up not doing too well on the midterms,” Fuller said with a smile.

Although he admits that more free time to study would be helpful, Fuller believes the amount of time he dedicates to basketball has had a positive impact on his studies. “I feel like sports [gives] me discipline to do my work. If I had too much free time on my hands, I might tell myself I’d study, but I wouldn’t necessarily do it,” he said.

Third year Jillian Edwards stepped away from her position as a guard on the Mounties women’s basketball team this year.

While Edwards acknowledged all of the benefits varsity sports offer, she also feels there is a downside to the level of commitment they require.

“The negative side is the amount of time it takes out of your day-to-day life, whether that is study time, social time or time away from other schoolrelated activities,” she wrote over Facebook.

After two years on the varsity

basketball team, Edwards decided to give up the sport she loves for a variety of reasons, but she emphasized that academics played a role.

“The conflict between basketball and school did play a part in my difficult decision to leave the team,” Edwards said via Facebook. “Going into my third and fourth year with hopes of continuing my education after Mount Allison, I realize that dedicating my time to schoolwork would pay off in the end.”

While both Fuller and Edwards seem to agree that varsity athletics certainly cuts into study time, that has not stopped many Mt. A athletes from thriving academically.

In 2015-2016, an astonishing 73 Mounties were named academic all-Canadians, an honour given to

varsity athletes who maintain at least a 3.7 GPA. Many Mt. A students dedicate time to extracurricular activities and campus life, and our Mounties are no exception.

Varsity athletes commit so much time to their craft, at a cost. Fuller, at least, was very quick to say it is all worth it.

“Being able to have the opportunity to play the sport I love while attending university is what makes [the experience] worth it,” Fuller said.

“And I like to think if the only thing I have to complain about is having a busy schedule, then I’m living a pretty good life.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Shooting for a championship Depth and physicality key for an explosive Mountie team

THE TEAM HAS BEEN PRACTICING FIVE DAYS A WEEK SINCE EARLY SEPTEMBER. RYAN MACRAE/ARGOSY

DAVID TAPLIN Sports and Health Editor This year, the new men’s basketball coach for the Mounties, Steve Chapman, is looking to emphasize physicality and toughness in order to bring an exciting style of basketball to campus.

Chapman said that the objective was to build an aggressive, fastpaced offensive team and improve defensively.

This emphasis by the coach marks

a shift in identity for the team. As fourth-year player Sam Prowse said, “Mt. A has been labelled soft in our league the past couple of years.”

“He’s tough, we practise every single day, we work on a lot of defence and we go at each other very, very hard,” Prowse said about Chapman.

“We don’t call fouls in practice.”

The team is already looking more physical this year. On Sep. 28, Mount Allison hosted Crandall University in their first preseason game. During the exhibition, the Mounties firstyear centre Liam Tubman came

down with a strong rebound flaring his elbows. After the play, when an upperclassmen on the Crandall team came up to Tubman and told the rookie to watch his elbows, Tubman responded by saying, “get out of my space.”

“It’s hard to teach tough but you can find individuals that are that way,” Chapman said. With 6’9” Tubman and former Mounties football star Rod Joseph anchoring the centre position, Chapman seems to have found the players he needs.

“Rod is a key here, if he can stay

healthy. He is a beast,” Chapman said.

This year, the basketball team will host the ACAA playoffs, guaranteeing a playoff spot before the season even begins. With a strong graduating class, an impressive supporting cast and a great group of rookies, the team hopes not only to compete in playoffs, but to win.

A strong cohort of graduating players, second-team all-star Alex Chisholm, first-team all-star Brad Fuller, tenacious point guard Jesse Balser and three-point threat Sam Prowse, are all crucial to the Mounties’ success.

“We are going to have a really good year, we are going to be winning a lot,” Chisholm said. He has big expectations for his final year. “Go out with a bang and bring a championship to Mt. A.” Chapman expects the team’s depth to be key in their championship run this year. Also valuable to the team are third-year student and former ACAA Rookie of the Year Brad Sanford as well as second year and former Tantramar Titan Jeshua Becker. “Sanford is a great scorer,” Chapman said, and “Becker had some Rookie of the Year votes last year.”

Chapman stated he expects a big contribution from rookie Thomas LeGallais from Cornwall, ON. “I think [he] is going to be a nice piece for us,” Chapman said.

Second-year guard Mack

Chisholm looks to build off a solid rookie season. He and incoming New Brunswick high school all-stars Brody Blakeney and Sungwoo Park will all push for playing time off the bench.

Speaking on the depth of the team, Alex Chisholm said, “We have so many good players, it’s going to be tough. Chapman has some tough choices to make for minutes.”

Despite their strength, the Mounties always face stiff competition in the ACAA. Holland College, a team that has dominated the league in past years will host the CCAA national tournament in March, opening up two spots at nationals rather than just one.

The desire to finish in the top two and join Holland at nationals is an opportunity the Mounties have in the back of their minds.

“Looking way too far ahead that would be an ultimate goal,” Chapman said.

A long season separates the Mounties from hosting playoffs and the fight for nationals. Despite the competition, the Mounties do not seem intimidated.

“I think this year is the year we are going to beat them,” Chisholm said.

08

CENTREFOLD

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREAS FOBES OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

Student employees mistreated in Sackville Work experiences in town fulfilling, exhausting and humiliating JILL MACINTYRE News Reporter After working at the Black Duck Café for less than a month, Mount Allison alumnus Jean-Sébastien Comeau was fired on the spot last year after talking to a friend during his shift.

“I was pretty thoroughly humiliated on the day that I was fired. It was pretty quiet, and I was talking to a friend of mine,” Comeau said. He reported that the owner took him to the back of the café, where he told Comeau that because this was his second warning, he did not want to see Comeau again. Comeau added that the owner swore and told him he needed to fix his work ethic.

This type of situation is not uncommon in Sackville. Students working in a small community

often face unique labour struggles.

Not only are they required to balance school and work, there is also the potential for exploitation due to their financial need or the abundant labour supply in town.

Some students were not comfortable coming out publicly with stories of mistreatment. Many, however, did come forward with examples of verbal harassment, lack of respect for available hours, and wages set below the minimum standard.

A former Mt. A student who wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about future employment opportunities spoke to the Argosy about negative experiences while working as a barista at both the Black Duck and Bridge Street Café. Their information has been corroborated by multiple former employees.

At the Black Duck, “the staff

turnover was quite high, and occasionally there was a bit of a ‘big-brother’ atmosphere. Hours could be irregular and made making a stable income difficult,” the source wrote in an email.

“I witnessed some questionable management decisions, such as firing an employee on the floor and asking an employee to read a bad review about themselves aloud,” the source said. “A co-worker was demoted from barista to dish-washer because of having panic attacks at work.”

A corroborating source also discussed having experienced verbal abuse from their supervisor at the Black Duck.

According to the first anonymous source, “Bridge Street Café was a heinous experience. I was paid $8.00 per hour in cash [less than minimum wage], as I was on a month-long

‘training period.’ After this period, I would apparently receive a raise.”

The owner of Bridge Street Café stated that new employees are paid an hourly training wage of $7.00 for the first two to four weeks of employment. The owner said he was unaware that it is illegal to pay employees below the provincial minimum wage of $10.65 during any period of employment. At the end of the interview, he said the café would begin to pay employees the minimum wage at the start of their employment. The Argosy will investigate whether or not these changes are implemented.

“I think employers and small businesses in Sackville experience unique difficulties in making a profit and finding reliable and longterm staff – those anxieties clearly result in questionable practices,”

said the first anonymous source. “[Employers] can fire/hire without much gravity because there are so many [students] to choose from … I had to stow away concerns about my employers because I had to pay for rent.”

According to recent Mt. A graduate and McDonald’s employee Alexandre Landry, there are some positive [aspects] to working for a chain restaurant instead of a small business.

“They treat their employees really well. I can take time off and they’ll give it to me,” he said. “If anyone is looking for a job, McDonald’s is probably the best one [in Sackville].”

“Because Sackville is so small, employers need to sometimes cut a few corners and then the employees are not as well treated as they would be in bigger cities,” Landry said.

CENTREFOLD

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

Michael Thibodeau, a student who worked at McDonald’s for over two years, said that working for a big corporation was draining at times.

“Most of [McDonald’s] employees are students, and they don’t really realize that because they’re just about profit,” he said. “They schedule students during their class times.”

“They gave me 40 hours per week [despite a stated 20-hour availability],” Thibodeau said. When he notified higher management, it was revealed that his manager had failed to file his availability sheet into the scheduling system.

Thibodeau decided to quit as a result.

“When I told them that I was quitting, for them it wasn’t really an issue,” he said.

“There are so many students who are desperate for money.’”

Student labourers often lack the financial independence, experience and knowledge about employment rights necessary to fight mistreatment in the workplace.

Though there are many examples of mistreatment in Sackville workplaces, students can also have positive experiences that can bolster resumes and provide a break from academic work.

Fourth-year student Caity Brawn works part-time as a bartender at Ducky’s.

“It’s a pretty nice place to work.

I’m one of the only students, but I’m not less valued because I’m a student,” Brawn said.

Brawn applied to multiple local businesses before being hired at Ducky’s. “In Sackville it’s hard to get a job if you don’t have connections,” she said.

Fifth-year student Teressa Carrière said her work experiences at both Mel’s and Earth were positive due to accommodating hours and wages above the minimum standard.

Carrière said that working as a student can be stressful. During a period in which she was also working at Jennings Dining Hall, Carrière was

working over 40 hours per week on top of having a full-time course load.

“I rationalized that I had to because it was the only way to be financially autonomous, but it just wasn’t doable. My mental state quickly deteriorated,” she said.

Carrière urged students to “vote with their dollar if they find out that a place treats its student employees badly.”

Third-year student Courtney Law found part-time work last year as a barista at Bridge Street Café. Though she generally enjoyed her experience, she found it stressful at times.

“You were basically trained to run the entire café by yourself. Even though officially I was a barista, I was also a cashier, had an informal managerial role, made food, did dishes, cleaned and would be the only employee there for hours,” Law said.

“Students are just going to accept whatever job they get,” Law said, citing financial need and a lack of knowledge about employment rights.

Third-year student Tina Oh has been employed as a server at the Coy Wolf Bistro since April.

“The philosophy of myself as an individual and the philosophy of Coy Wolf are so similar that it just works out. It rarely ever feels like a job,” Oh said.

Oh also works once a week at the University Club, a food service located in the President’s Cottage on campus. According to Oh, who has been working there for three years, there are significant structural issues with the building.

“The roof was falling down and the university wasn’t doing anything about it. That’s a major health concern,” Oh said.

“There are bad employees. But there are also bad employers,” she said. “I think employers know there is a large student population looking for jobs and they can easily become not so patient because they know there are a lot of people waiting to be hired.”

These student testimonies

09

show that minimum standards of acceptability in the workplace are not always met in Sackville.

“You have to be careful about the kind of image that a business projects from the outside [versus] how it actually works on the inside – particularly in the case of small local businesses,” Comeau said. “We often think that they are more ethically orientated or that they treat their employees better because they’re not owned by conglomerations.”

Comeau, who once frequented the Black Duck and said he was proud when the small business hired him, now has a different perspective. “Once I actually saw what happens on the other side of the curtain, I never went back, and I would not recommend that anyone frequents an establishment that treats their employees so rudely.”

With files from Hamburger and Tyler

Sylvan Stuart

10 ARTS & CULTURE

EDITORS: MIRELLE NAUD & MALLORY BURNSIDE-HOLMES OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

STUDENT LABOUR

Students stress over midterm season

Many overworked students find themselves struggling to stay on task

STUDENT STRUGGLES UNDER WEIGHT OF MIDTERMS. RYAN MACRAE/ARGOSY

WILL PELLETIER Contributor With the amount of constant chatter surrounding them, you would think that “midterms” refers to an impending, earthbound, lifeobliterating meteorite rather than a series of tests. While catching undergrads with their proverbial

pants down is nothing new, midterms come at a time when many new students would rather be spending their evenings wearing no pants at all.

Much of the fear surrounding midterms comes from how these tests make up a significant portion of a final grade, the exact percentage values of which are often up to

the professor’s discretion. Ideally, midterms should hit our newest Mounties in a way that pushes them to swim, but the tendency to sink is not so easily overcome.

First-year student Felix Chan spoke about how preparing for midterms takes up the majority of his time. “In one of my classes, I actually had to put off writing a paper

which was due on the same day as the midterm,” Chan said. “I ended up having to hand in that paper a day late.”

Chan’s midterm preparation has since changed from a method of unstructured study to one that emphasizes time management. “For me, I have to balance my classwork time and my actual free time. I was pretty lucky, since my prof was really understanding.”

Upper-year students are generally better equipped to deal with the pressure by virtue of already having experienced this intense period.

Second-year student Nick Croft, for instance, has a simpler view on the tests: “Midterms are easy, if you study.” Unfortunately, it’s not always that straightforward.

The decision to either catch up on Shakespeare or keep up with the Joneses is not made easily or without consequence. Sackville nightlife hubs like Club P tend to rouse students from their desks, and those suffering from the resulting Irish flu can say goodbye to any chance of learning in the morning.

While various distractions - from exploring the depths of a new social landscape, to learning how to live on their own, to expressing newfound freedom through extensive Netflix binges - are key components to many

students’ experiences at university, they are nonetheless understood as being detrimental to study.

Thankfully, there are safeguards set up to help the social scholar excel. Residence academic mentors, a helpful library staff and empathetic professors are only a few parts of Mt. A’s repertoire of student academic aid.

Counsellors are also available for overstressed students. They can be contact by email at counsellor@mta. ca or in person on the ground floor of the Student Centre. They are also available for students who find themselves ignoring an increasing number of angry voicemails from

MUSIC

Music department celebrates anniversaries

Weekend of student, faculty, alumni and guest performances commemorates Mt. A milestones

ISAIAH YANKECH Contributor Last weekend, the music department celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Young Marjorie Bell Conservatory of Music and the 100th anniversary of Mount Allison’s first bachelor of music degree, completed by pianist Mary Elsinore Tait. A full weekend of performances and discussion by students, faculty, alumni and guests marked this special occasion.

The celebrations began Friday evening with a recital of alumni compositions performed by faculty and artists-in-residence Tesla Quartet. The talented performers offered attendees a taste of the innovative new sounds and staging techniques that present-day composers are exploring.

Third-year voice student Sarah Sharpe said, “the variety of styles and instrumentation performed were inspiring and truly entertaining. I’m glad this opportunity was presented to current Mt. A music students.”

In the most intriguing composition, Dean Burry’s “Tempest in a Teacup,” the performers staged tea and conversation around tables that held a rolling marble and various teacups. The following performance delighted the audience by making use of these props, along with a whistling

kettle, to create a variety of unusual percussion effects.

On Saturday afternoon, six Mt. A music graduates described their university experiences in a panel discussion. The graduates shared their current work positions, which included composer, music librarian, arts administrator, sound engineer, schoolteacher and music therapist, demonstrating the large scope of jobs available to a music graduate.

“I’m glad the panel was able to address a large audience and still be able to help people personally,” said first-year trumpet student Joseph Fitzner. “I received advice on how to jumpstart my career.”

Later that evening, students and pianist Stephen Runge, head of the music department, performed the program of Mary Tait’s graduation recital. The challenging piano works informed the audience of Tait’s remarkable piano abilities.

Between pieces, Nancy Vogan, professor emeritus, offered intriguing commentary on Tait’s life.

The student musicians beautifully performed the more challenging compositions of Tait’s program. They effectively portrayed the styles of each composer, which ranged from the warm melodic lines in Schumann’s “Romance in F-sharp Major” to the boldness of Schubert’s “March Militaire in D Major.”

The celebrations officially ended with a second lecture recital, an overview of the history of music at Mt. A, and a revisitation of the opening of the current conservatory 50 years ago.

Students and faculty learned about the lives of key figures in Mt. A music history, such as James Noel Brunton and Marjorie Young Bell, whom the auditorium and music building are named after, respectively.

The second lecture recital featured voice professors Vicki St. Pierre and

Monette Gould, who performed a selection of works from Annon Lee Silver’s voice recital that marked the opening of the conservatory. Both professors performed the works with character and demonstrated excellent text emphasis and understanding of the musical phrases.

Fourth-year pianist Megan Watt felt pleased to partake in “such a monumental weekend of celebration.”

“Having a chance to perform works

that were performed 100 years ago on this campus by a student much like my peers and I really speaks to the timelessness of music,” Watt said.

The music department will continue to celebrate these landmark anniversaries with more special recitals.

CONTRALTO VIVKI ST. PIERRE AND PIANIST STEPHEN RUNGE PERFORM QUIET SONGS. GARY TUCKER/SUBMITTED

ARTS & CULTURE

THE ARGOSY | WWW.ARGOSY.CA

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

From methodology to metaphor Professor speaks on the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation EMMA BUSH Contributor Mount Allison English professor Janine Rogers has a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration that is reflected in her research, which encompases both literary and scientific fields.

Last Thursday, Rogers gave a lecture titled “The Nature of Knowledge: the Shared Material Life of Science and Literature” in Brunton Auditorium. In addition to teaching, Rogers also holds the Reverend William Purvis Chair in English and has won multiple awards for her teaching and her research, which straddles both literary and scientific fields. Most recently she received the Paré Medal, an award given annually to a Mt. A faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding teaching, research and scholarship while maintaining an excellent record of service.

“A lot of my research uses literature to look at the natural world…bumping up against what other people consider as science or the scientific enterprise,” Rogers said. In her lecture, she discussed the diverse range of her current research projects and the importance of interdisciplinary work in both an academic and global context. “We’re living in this time where we’ve forgotten some of [this] history that joins disciplines together...[when actually,] at their

root, they’re engaged in the very same end-product,” she said.

Central to Rogers’s lecture was the point that people working in the humanities need to appreciate the scientific side of beauty in the world, while people in the sciences need to recognize that the humanities can make these issues more easily accessible to the general public. She emphasized the value of interdisciplinary cooperation by applying it to her connection to scientists in the community. “I think I could only develop this [ research and success] at a place like Mount Allison, where it’s small enough…I actually know people who are biologists,” she said.

Mt. A’s academic and social environments encourage and cultivate interdisciplinary exploration.

An increasing number of students are choosing to pursue interdisciplinary degrees.

Fifth-year student Jessica Hawkes is doing a double degree in English and biology. “The variety keeps things interesting,” Hawkes said. “I find it helps you to look at things with a unique perspective.” “[An interdisciplinary degree] opens up a realm of context and understanding that I might not have had otherwise in my English classes.

I find biology is usually interesting to apply to poetry,” Hawkes said. “And the English degree is useful for the biology degree because it’s made me a

WHERE SCIENCE AND ART MEET: BIOLOGY STUDENT SALLY FAULKNER GIVES FINE ARTS STUDENT IZZY FRANCOLINI A TOUR OF JOGGINS ON CLASS FIELD TRIP. ADRIAN KIVA/ARGOSY better writer and better at conveying ideas.”

This summer Rachel Thornton, a Mt. A BFA graduate, facilitated Camp Cyanotype. Part botanyfor-amateurs club, part art-making workshop, the camp’s motto is “Art, Science, and Magic.”

“There are benefits to these sorts of interdisciplinary projects because [they] benefit broad explorations of a topic without the limitations of a particular discipline’s boundaries,” Thornton said.

According to Rogers,

FOOD

Unsettling the table Navigating the future of food culture ALEX LEPIANKA Contributor In a society that is always asking us to be more absorbed in our professional lives, our reliance on others for food has become increasingly pronounced.

In varying degrees, the work of planning, shopping for, cooking and cleaning up after meals makes up a highly industrialized food culture.

Within consumerist narratives, fast, pre-packaged lunches are associated with the corporate elite, while home cooking is made out to be unnecessary, the mark of a special occasion or a hobby.

Food producers have made explicit their intention to engineer how society eats. Standardized and technological food products like Soylent, a meal-replacement drink, usher us into the future of nutrition with advertisements that denounce at-home cooking as an archaic chore. More insidiously, they suggest that cooking is a practice of the misinformed poor and that the purchase of these products is a means of self-betterment.

However, the opposing narrative, which celebrates the craftsmanship and heritage of fine-food production, also positions food labour as an

industrial affair, albeit on a smaller scale.

So-called Slow Food culture, a countermovement against the mass production and standardization of food, is equally explicit in its aims. This movement celebrates the complexity of and value in food made on a small scale. Generally, Slow Food culture values commitments to local sourcing, season-conscious menus, and social and communal meals (rather than meals eaten merely for sustenance).

Many Slow Food culture principles respond to the social and ecological damage inflicted by the various industries involved in food production. Although its efforts to avoid everything from unjust labour practices to overfishing are valuable, Slow Food nevertheless embodies a sense of elitism. However socially and environmentally responsible the operations of small-scale artisans may be, Slow Food discourse still normalizes a culture in which participation is profitable for some but too costly for most.

While fine craftsmanship, fair worker pay and robust quality standards are all virtuous, Slow Food is ultimately fashionable compared to the laypeople’s fare. Part of what

makes Slow Food artisanal products so alluring is the very fact that only a small minority can actually afford them. Small-scale production forms an industry of its own, even though its participants are not monoliths like McDonald’s or Aramark.

Though the gap between the smalland large-scale food production seems only to be growing, both production types foster cultural elitism and rely on domestic labour that is almost entirely organized by the economy. Whether artisanal or mechanized, the future of food these cultures promote is one where food quality is determined by the diner’s buying power.

In short, domestic labour is no longer domestic. The important cultural traditions that are transmitted and maintained through food practices are valued only to the extent that they are associated with a marketable product, for sale to others.

An equitable future in which the right to eat well is shared equally is one where domestic labour is valued on its own terms, not on those of industry or commerce.

interdisciplinary work is a necessary tool to target the current ecological crisis. “These types of disciplinary practices are complementary…

We need all of our resources right now, intellectually, to deal with this [crisis],” Rogers said.

She closed by saying, “All of my projects are collaborative because I need [other people’s] expertise…my biggest challenge is knowledge and this is where my colleagues are so generous in sharing their knowledge with me.”

11

DRINK

Fall cocktail KEEGAN HILTZ Contributor

Neil Young’s song “Cinnamon Girl” inspired this drink, and like the song’s famous one-note guitar solo, it’s pretty straightforward. In another of his songs, “Ordinary People,” Young sings about “hardworking people stopping for a drink on the way to work.” I recommend waiting until after work to enjoy this adaptation of a classic Irish coffee.

40 mL spiced or amber rum 1 tbsp honey 1 lemon or lime wedge 2 tsp cinnamon sugar (plus extra for rim glass) Freshly brewed coffee Run the citrus wedge around the rim of a coffee mug and spread cinnamon sugar on a dish. Roll the dampened edge around in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Once the coffee is ready, pour into the mug while still very hot and immediately add 2 tsp of cinnamon sugar plus the honey. Stir to combine and let cool slightly before adding rum and garnishing with a cinnamon stick.

To improve the taste at the cost of a little extra work, use cinnamon simple syrup instead of cinnamon sugar and honey. Bring to a boil 1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water and add 4 cinnamon sticks; once the combination has reduced to about 1 cup of syrup, discard the sticks and store the syrup in the fridge for up to one week.

Use a light- or medium-roast coffee to avoid overpowering the cinnamon and rum flavours. Try substituting the rum with an Irish Cream if you dislike black coffee. To make the drink more like a true Irish coffee, use whiskey rather than rum and top with whipped heavy cream and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

Best enjoyed with a pastry next to a fireplace (or a Jennings muffin next to a res-room radiator).

12

ARTS & CULTURE

OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

FINE ARTS

The art of making (money)

Emerging and professional visual artists discuss compensation for their work

MARISSA CRUZ Arts and Culture Reporter Mount Allison’s fine arts program focuses primarily on teaching students the technical aspects of artistic production – how to use materials and tools. The program attempts to teach students how to properly price their work, apply for grants and find gallery spaces.

Despite the program’s breadth, it can be complicated for emerging and practising artists to ensure that they are fairly compensated for their work.

Ben Morton, a fourth-year fine arts student, explained how living in a commercial market where cheap art products are immediately available affects an artist’s ability to appropriately sell their artwork.

“You encounter those people who are supportive of art, [who are] supportive of you, but are still very unwilling to pay a lot of money for it,” Morton said.

Morton believes that handmade art has become undervalued because of commercialized art. He feels that art appears to be unreasonably expensive in comparison to the low prices of mass-produced products.

In response to the troubles that some artists face in this market, Morton plans to work commercially as an animator and designer. “I have a background in animation…I know a lot of artists that make art in their spare time, but they have to have another job,” he said. “It is hard to find an artist who can live purely [off of] their work.”

Morton is pleased when he is able to get paid for the work he has to make for school courses. “I think my art is not compensated fairly, but I acknowledge that I am still a student artist.”

“There is this weird, grey area while you are in university. I guess we are artists…but we are always told, ‘Don’t do anything for free,’” fourth-year fine

arts student Kevin Melanson said.

To Melanson, exposure as a student involves getting his name out there which often requires creating and displaying work without monetary compensation.

“THERE IS PAYMENT, AND THEN THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES.” Melanson plans to create a cover for the Argosy but understands that he will not get paid for his work.

“There is payment, and then there are opportunities,” Melanson said.

He puts students’ artwork up in the University Club and is one of the student representatives for START gallery. Both of these spaces allow artists to showcase their work but do not compensate them for their efforts.

Melanson is not concerned with always getting compensated, as he enjoys taking advantage of opportunities while focusing on pure creation. “I don’t care if I get paid or not. I am all about making,” Melanson said. “I am more interested in making things than making things that will sell.”

Adriana Kuiper, a member of the fine arts faculty and a practising artist, agrees compensation can be difficult for artists. “My work is not very commercial. [I make] site-specific work that people don’t really want to pay for.”

For Kuiper, pursuing a career in the arts was not the easiest choice. “I worked for many years as an adjunct faculty [member] to try and cobble together an art career and a teaching career,” Kuiper said. She expressed that she is well-compensated at Mt. A. but as an artist relies on the Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC), a

board that ensures that artists are paid fairly and regularly.

CARFAC is federally incorporated as a non-profit that promotes the visual arts and fair artistic compensation.

Bess Forestall, a 2013 graduate from Mt. A’s fine arts program who went on to receive her master’s degree at Concordia, agrees with Kuiper about the value of CARFAC in protecting artists’ rights to compensation. “I honestly feel that whatever CARFAC recommends is going to be appropriate,” Forestall said.

Although some young fine arts students may fear potential economic troubles, Kuiper stresses that “[schooling] is a short part of [one’s] artistic career.” While compensation can be difficult in certain aspects, Kuiper is optimistic about the opportunities her students will encounter as their work develops and the art market changes.

JOB SECURITY

Tentative tenure keeps professors on edge How students can contribute to their professors’ job security

CHELSEA DOHERTY Arts and Culture Reporter Trying to maintain control over your university education can be a struggle. While conversations are ongoing over what kind of say students should have on topics such as tuition, course content and accessibility, few students are aware that their voices are also considered in deciding promotions and tenure for professor applicants.

Tenure and promotion ensure professors a permanent position at an institution, which entails job security. This refers to the change in a professor’s status from assistant to associate professor.

Two weeks ago, students were sent an email listing the names of professors applying for tenure and promotion.

“Once you have tenure, [the nature of] your job doesn’t change in any particular way. You still have the same teaching and researching responsibilities. The purpose of tenure is to make sure that academics feel that they have the freedom to pursue research and teachings that might seem unpopular, politically controversial or groundbreaking,” said tenure applicant Leslie Kern, a professor in Mount Allison’s women’s and gender studies department. “So for me, I see it as an enhancement of the freedom that I already have that allows me to take my research where it wants to take me.”

According to section 17.15 of the Full-time Collective Agreement between Mount Allison University and the Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA), “Employees, staff, alumni, or students, other than

members of the sub-committee, may submit to the sub-committee their own written evaluations of the candidate’s performance insofar as the appropriate criteria listed in this article are concerned, together with their reasons for these evaluations.”

With a simple letter, students can have an impact on the status of a professor’s position. These letters are then sent to a committee along with additional letters from other members of the applicant’s academic

department(s), present and past research, and the anonymous course evaluations students fill out at the end of each semester.

“Letters that you might write to us after you graduate or after you’ve taken a course with us, we keep those,” Kern said. “Those letters are really important to us, not just for tenure, but [to] really give us some guidance as to what we might be doing well or not.”

In section 17.23, the Agreement

also states: “When a faculty member is not granted tenure, their contract will be terminated at the end of the following academic year.”

A professor who does not receive tenure could continue to work at Mt. A for a whole year after the termination of their contract while trying to find another job, a process that could mean relocating out of Sackville, out of the province or even out of the country.

“If I was looking for another a job

TEACHER TENURE AMD PROMOTION DECIDED BY ADMINISTRATION, FACULTY AND STUDENTS. ANDREAS FOBES/ARGOSY

while trying to think about picking up my life and moving with my family, something would suffer. My teaching, community service or research would suffer,” said Robbie Moser, a tenure applicant in the philosophy department.

Aside from having to relocate, “There is a professional embarrassment or shame that comes with [not getting tenure] too. Rightly or wrongly, you can get stigmatized if you don’t get tenure and go looking for it somewhere else,” Moser said.

Similarly, Kern said, “Tenure itself is a status that means you are no longer a probationary employee of the university but a full-time, continuing employee.”

Tenure and promotion do not necessarily lead to salary raises.

Specifically at Mt. A, Kern said, “Promotion means that you are promoted to a new title. So, it is a promotion in name. As per the collective agreement, we do receive a step in pay every year, but that is not related to promotion. So whether I am an assistant professor or an associate professor next year, I will be making the same amount of money,” she said. “[Asking for tenure] is about just reaching different types of plateaus in the academic hierarchy.”

Student and community input is important to professors, regardless of their intentions of asking for tenure and promotion. Although the application date to send in letters has passed this year, be sure to find out how you can contribute to a professor’s position in the future.

EDITOR: SHANNON POWER | OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

SAFETY

Women deserve to feel safe

OPINIONS 13

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

Break-ins and sexual harassment create a feeling of insecurity among female students

MOLLY HAMILTON Contributor Keys held tightly between my knuckles – a false sense of protection – I start the run back to residence, hoping that the sooner I walk through the doors, the sooner I will be safe from predators and harmful strangers. I have felt fear before – it is natural not only as a human being, but especially as a woman. Before this month, however, I had never felt this kind of fear in small, peaceful Sackville.

Recently, there have been a number of burglaries and incidents of breaking and entering at student homes off campus. Women have

looked out their window late at night to find a man looking back at them.

Moreover, there have been instances in residence of male students taking advantage of female peers in vulnerable situations.

Sitting in Gracie’s, alone, anxiety creeps over me. Not about my assignment due tomorrow or about my midterm coming up in a few days, but about the possibility of someone walking in and hurting me. This may sound like an overreaction to some, but with recent events in the community, my sense of security on campus and around Sackville has been turned upside-down.

A mass email was sent out to all students and faculty about the burglaries several weeks ago, yet the other situations that have targeted women especially seem to have slipped under the radar. It is only through the grapevine and, more specifically, from female classmates that I have heard about strangers who have been looking through people’s windows and breaking into their rooms.

My fear of violence does not stem solely from what is happening off

campus. I have heard talk of male classmates betting over who can film the “best sex tape” without the consent of their partners and snapchats being taken of women in vulnerable positions without their knowledge. The doors of our residences are nothing more than an illusion of safety because some of the most humiliating and dehumanizing things occur within their walls – and they are rarely talked about. All of these incidents contribute to a feeling of insecurity many women feel while on and off campus. I am definitely not the only person who is terrified.

Last year there were incidents of drink spiking at the Pond, but no official warning was released. Why was no email sent to students about this incident or any others? If our physical and mental safety are at risk, we deserve to be made fully aware of the situation.

Women are constantly told about ways to “protect” themselves. We are told to be conscious of our clothing, our body language and how much we are drinking. I am tired of this being my responsibility. I should be able to live my life however I like without the

constant fear of violence looming in the back of my mind. I should be able to walk home at night with shorts on, sleep in my room peacefully, and enjoy sex without fear that I will be hurt or violated.

It should not be our responsibility as women to protect ourselves. I think it is time for men to step up and educate themselves about genderbased violence and why taking non-consensual pictures of women is absolutely wrong. The university should take these issues seriously, inform students properly and work to prevent this harmful behaviour.

While it is easy to condemn offcampus burglaries, we must also speak up when Mt. A students contribute to our sense of insecurity, vulnerability and fear.

Independent Student Newspaper of Mount Allison University Thursday, October 20, 2016 volume 146 issue 7 Circulation 1,000 Since 1872

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

506.364.2236

E4L 1H3

Email argosy@mta.ca

THE ARGOSY is published by Argosy Publications, Inc., a student run, autonomous, apolitical not-for-profit organization operated in accordance with the province of New Brunswick.

THE ARGOSY is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national co-operative of student newspapers.

ISSN 0837-1024

The Underbridge Press is a student-run publishing organization at Mount Allison University.

EDITORIAL staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF | Sylvan Hamburger, Tyler Stuart MANAGING EDITOR | Cecilia Stuart NEWS EDITORS | Catherine Turnbull, Naomi Goldberg ARTS & CULTURE EDITORS | Mallory Burnside-Holmes, Mirelle Naud SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR | David Taplin OPINIONS EDITOR | Shannon Power HUMOUR EDITOR | Mark Cruz COPY EDITOR | Claire Henderson-Hamilton

PRODUCTION staff PRODUCTION MANAGER | Hailey Guzik PHOTO EDITOR | Adrian Kiva PHOTOGRAPHERS | Ryan MacRae, Savannah Harris ILLUSTRATION EDITOR | Jeff Mann

CLIMATE CHANGE

Youth across the country demand a fossil-free future

Trudeau must stop non-renewable energy projects to meet climate goals

TINA OH Contributor After the 2015 federal election, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations commissioned a study to analyze youth engagement in Canadian politics. The study found that voter turnout of 18- to 24-yearolds had increased and that the Liberal Party of Canada overwhelmingly won more youth votes than any other party.

In light of this, it came as no surprise when Trudeau appointed himself minister of youth. Despite this, the appointment now seems rather underhanded, as he continues to ignore the voices of thousands of youth across the country calling for the rejection of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline.

On Oct. 24, I will accompany several colleagues from Divest MTA to Ottawa for a civil disobedience protest called Climate 101 to demand that the government reject the

ILLUSTRATORS | Andreas Forbes, Izzy Francolini ONLINE EDITOR | Monica Zahl

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, Corinna Paumier

OPERATIONS staff

Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

In accordance with the Liberal government’s election promise to approve one major energy project before December 2016, the current political climate suggests that the Trans Mountain pipeline is its most likely candidate. Unsurprisingly, this decision contradicts the ratification of the historic Paris climate agreement that passed in the House of Commons earlier this month, in which Canada pledged to cut its emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

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

CONTRIBUTORS Olivia Landry, Molly Hamilton, Tina Oh, Willa Mcaffrey-Noviss, Alex Lepianka, Keegan Hiltz, Emma Bush, Will Pelletier, Isaiah Yankech, Erik Garf, Xavier Gould, Dylvan Wooley-Berry, Delaney Losier, Tierra Stokes, Ben Wishart, Riley Higdon, Samuel Thomson, Logan Milne COVER | Louis Sobol RUNNING DOODLES | Izzy Francolini

PUBLICATION board Leslie Kern, Owen Griffiths

“ THIS BLOOD IS ON THE STEPS OF PARLIAMENT”

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

If the Trudeau government has any interest in keeping its promises for real climate action and respect for Indigenous peoples, Trudeau must immediately reject plans for all future non-renewable energy infrastructure.

Climate 101 is not solely about Kinder Morgan, or any other specific pipeline. Climate 101 is an act of restlessness.

Do not underestimate us because we are young. We have had enough.

As we sit in classrooms across the country, we learn about the injustices done to Indigenous communities and the science behind climate change.

We are awake at night grappling with the fact that post-secondary administrators repeatedly refuse

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

LAST YEAR, DIVEST MTA ACTIVISTS PARTICIPATED IN A CLIMATE JUSTICE ACTION IN OTTAWA. ALEX LEPIANKA/SUBMITTED

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

to divest from fossil fuels while simultaneously grooming us to be educated citizens of the future. The answer is clear and simple: there is no future for us with fossil fuels.

I will be risking arrest on Oct. 24 because I reject the politics of business-as-usual. I refuse to be represented by politicians who do not support my right to a future in an inhabitable world. As a result of climate change, bodies have been

strangled to death by toxic water in Shoal Lake 40 First Nations and murdered by unprecedented wildfires in Alberta. This blood is on the steps of Parliament. While broken promises leave us disheartened, we will continue to stand unwavering.

We are resilient, we are powerful, and we will be heard. I say no to the theft of Indigenous land. I say no to climate injustice. I say no to Kinder Morgan.

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.

14

OPINIONS

OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

WOMEN’S WORK

Emotional labour is exhausting

Male feminist allyship means taking on women’s emotional labour

OLIVIA LANDRY Contributor The Mount Allison community is known for being politically active and socially engaged, with a strong feminist presence. Despite this, there is still a culture – not unique to Mt. A – that forces women to perform more emotional labour than men.

Emotional labour can be defined as expending energy to address the feelings of others and work to help them feel comfortable. This work can be exhausting and emotionally draining, hence its name. While asking friends for advice and reaching out to others can be components of healthy relationships, this work can become emotional labour for other people when it is not reciprocated.

Emotional labour takes on many forms, from making women feel guilty for not responding politely to street harassment to criticizing them for doing “inappropriate” things such as swearing or talking about sex. As women, we are continuously forced to justify the decisions we make about our bodies, which includes defending what we eat, what we wear, what we do with our body hair, or when, how and why we want to have sex.

On top of these things, women are also expected to cater more than men to the feelings of their peers, which is

WOMEN DO A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF GENDERED WORK AND EMOTIONAL LABOUR ON CAMPUS. JEFF MANN/ARGOSY justified by the myth that women are naturally more caring. The backlash and double standards that women must face on a daily basis require an unbelievable amount of energy and emotional capacity.

At Mt. A, women contribute to traditionally gendered labour much more frequently than men do. This includes cooking and volunteering for bake sales, carrying out logistical aspects of big events, or being the main (and sometimes only) active advocates against gendered issues like sexual violence and harassment.

Female professors are often asked to participate in events outside of the classroom more than male professors, are judged more harshly on course evaluations for not being nice or caring enough, and are expected to exclusively address women’s issues at events like panel discussions.

An instance of unfair emotional

labour occurred last year during the WGST cuts. Throughout the protests, some male students decided that they were better equipped to combat the cuts than female professors who have been engaged in political feminist work throughout their lives, and attempted to tell the professors and WGST students how to run the protests.

This type of behaviour required women to explain to the male students why this was a problem, which compounded the labour that the organizers were already undertaking – not to mention the fact that listening to men speak over WGST students is emotional labour in itself. While it is important that non-WGST students care about the precarious nature of the WGST program, speaking over women who hold a direct stake in its continuation is not the way to be an ally.

The excessive emotional labour performed by women at Mt. A can be reduced. By doing little tasks or performing traditionally gendered labour like addressing conflict or volunteering for and attending events that focus on gendered issues, men can reduce the emotional labour of women on campus. Changing this culture requires that male allies take an active role in helping the women they hope to support – simply

voicing support is not enough.

Everybody has the capacity to care for others and take on some of the hard work that is necessary in addressing issues of social injustice.

Allyship is a verb that requires allies to check in and continue to educate themselves for the sake of the cause and those who are most marginalized – so let’s get to work.

The problem with the Pond

Work to make the Pond a welcoming environment, or close it completely

WILLA MCAFFREY-NOVISS

Contributor

Mount Allison students probably know how the Pond’s reputation has been dragged through the mud in recent years. Failed events, such as the Pond’s attempt to host a “Men’s Night,” have caused students to avoid the campus pub. One student captured this sentiment last week in an Argosy article about Club P, in which she made comments about “girlcotting” the campus pub in favour of the new, off-campus venue.

Despite this sentiment, the Pond has not always had such a negative reputation.

The headline of an Argosy article published in 1974, the year the campus pub opened, reads, “The campus pub is thriving” – an unfamiliar phrase for current students. In recent years the Pond has been losing money and students’ interest, without many prospects of turning the business around. I’d like to see the Pond thrive again, but in order to do so it will need to make some serious changes in order to compete with downtown businesses.

Over the past few years places like Ducky’s, the Painted Pony, Joe and the Crow, and Thunder & Lightning have captured the hearts of the student body’s drunken spirits. For such a small town, Sackville has a surprising number of bar and club options. Whether you want to play pool with townies, join a bowling team while watching live music,

or grind in a sweaty pit with your scantily clad peers, Sackville seems to have it all. So, what role does the campus pub play in the Mt. A student night scene?

Originally named the “Tantramarsh Club,” the campus pub served as a social gathering space for students, staff and faculty. Operated by 13 students and infused with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit, the pub was proudly independent from the student council and the University.

Flash forward to the early days of 2010, when the pub filed for bankruptcy. Later on that year the University Administrative Services department took over its financial management, citing the importance of sustaining a casual place to socialize on campus as well as the continual showcasing of art by Corey Isenor, the guy who painted the mural of those creepy, striped hands on the pub’s walls. After taking over,

the University promised to form a student advisory committee that would look into student concerns about the pub.

Many concerns have been raised about the Pond in recent years.

Whether it is due to the everlasting presence of Isenor’s art – which, let’s face it, has accumulated an irreparable number of bad associations – or its basement location, the Pond is failing in its mission to serve as a social place for students. Despite attempts to improve the Pond’s reputation, such as last year’s My Pond Is campaign, many students continue to see the pub as an unwelcoming space.

So, what should our campus pub look like? Should there even be a campus pub that is owned and paid for by the University? Is it feasible to go back to when the pub was owned and managed by students? Change is possible, as seen at other campus bars like the Inn at StFX, which is nothing short of bumpin’.

As your student Board of Regents representative, I have seen a financial report that detailed how the University has paid thousands of dollars to make up for the pub’s losses in some years. The administration has written this off, saying that it is typical for campus pubs to lose money. I do not see why an academic institution should be footing the bill for a business that only takes in money during improv shows or on the occasional dance night.

Students and the University must put in the effort to make the Pond a better environment. Whether this means repainting or assigning it as a project to the entrepreneurship commerce class, the pub is in need of substantial change. Otherwise, the University should accept that the campus pub cannot compete with Sackville’s other businesses and quit wasting money on something that is just not profitable.

HUMOUR 15

EDITOR: MARK CRUZ | OCTOBER 20, 2016 | ARGOSY@MTA.CA

CONSUMERISM

Fashion forward A guide to your trendy new aesthetic

MARK CRUZ Humour Editor Fall may be here, but don’t call it “sweater weather!” Ditch that cableknit. Throw away the circle scarf.

Your wardrobe needs an update. Fear not! We have put together a guide to fall’s hottest trends.

From the runway to the breezeway, explore the looks that will dazzle and inspire!

Mountie Football Gear This season, football apparel is in! If you toss the ol’ pigskin, you need to make sure everyone knows. Every single day. That means backpacks, sweaters, t-shirts – Mountie Pride never dies! Complete the look with a pair of athletic slides and socks.

Don’t worry about this hot trend fading away because those thin, nylon tracksuits are known to keep football players warm all winter long!

Broken Bridge Clothing The much-hyped streetwear titan returns with an inspired Fall/ Winter collection.

Considering last season’s highprofile collaborative e f f o r t s with the Harness Store, the Food Truck and “that tye-dye guy by the highway,” experts are anticipating Broken Bridge Clothing will light the fashion world on fire once more. Among this season’s

offerings are the “box logo” jogger, a much-coveted item adorned with the iconic Broken Bridge logo. Get to the bookstore early, however, as hypebeasts are expected to begin lining up as early as eight hours in advance!

Little Cat’s Bazaar Garments The undisputed fashion house of Sackville’s “alt” crowd. This curated boutique is chock full of pieces that’ll make you go “Eh…” or “Well, I guess you could call it distressed.”

Experimenting with unique textiles, the Bazaar is constantly evolving in its selection of flower-printed garments. Grab a vaguely ideological or passiveaggressive patch/pin to make that new piece extra edgy!

Business Attire Everyone needs a good suit. As an epicentre of trade and business, Sackville has no shortage of young professionals.

Just take a look around Avard Dixon, a Campbell Hall res party or the Wallace McCain Student Centre – you will see successful young men adorned in ill-fitting business wear.

Theme party? You need a blazer.

Pond event? Suit up. High-profile community members who have been seen sporting this look include the guy who has a presentation in class today and the “hottest” DJ’s east of Montreal. You gotta look like Jordan Belfort to BE Jordan Belfort.

SIMPLE ECONOMICS

Sticker Shock A slippery, sticky mess GARF & GOULD Contributors An economic boom in sticker sales has investors baffled while researchers point fingers at university students.

Recently, laptop sticker companies have recognized that their largest consumer market is the university community. Why stickers? What are the reasons behind this growing industry?

Laptops, tablets and jumbo smart phones all have great potential in the classroom: many students use them to take class notes, while others use them to waste their tuition.

Regardless, instructors are requesting that students do not bring them to class. We finally took advantage of a professor’s thumb-twiddling office hours to discover the real reason behind the laptop ban. Dr. Dontcare says, “I tell my class that some students may find it hard to concentrate in the midst of all the laptop tapping of note-taking. But

the ban is for purely selfish reasons.

I simply cannot manage to lecture while staring at 50 little billboards!”

As BuzzFeed quickly realized, students have an unhealthy obsession with collecting politically provocative or cutey-patooty stickers for their computers. Laptop stickers sits on the top of their “19 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed Until Right Now” list.

In this day and age, we are constantly bamboozled by the struggle of standing out in a sea of similarity.

Every hyper-political student who owns a Mac feels the need to decorate them in a self-expressive way by ordering high-quality stickers made by independent artists and designers from around the world. Some say the laptop is just another platform to promote that perfectly eloquent Tinder bio we work so hard on.

We looked to our peers and found a sixth-year philosophy student nine credits away from graduating who was boycotting the library because

of stickers. He told us, “I need to go to the library to research Playdough and Sucratities. But every time I go, I have the impulse to show people my stickers. I don’t have a laptop, so I started sticking them on books, and on librarian butts.” Afterwards, a librarian confirmed, “He’s not boycotting by choice. We don’t allow him in here anymore.”

So you might ask: why stickers?

Well, how else can we let the world know we are purely and wholly young liberals? There are stickers for everyone: “My vagina, my rules,” “Don’t blame me, I voted for Bernie,” or the pride sticker, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Don’t be picky, just get sticky!