Note from the Editor
Senioritis is a horrible disease and I hope you all aren’t suffering like I have!
Since I’m heading to university in the fall, I am obliged to spend many moments thinking about the last 3 years I spent at Dawson. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (shoutout Charles Dickens). Does anyone remember when there used to be a Tim Hortons in the cafeteria and the Quesada was actually good?
In time with the flowers, we are in a period of change with the federal election coming up. Are we officializing our direction towards extreme conservatism or will we continue on the (somewhat) liberal path we’ve been on? In the same week, the referendum concerning the Plant’s independence is happening. I hope you join us in saying YES to support student journalism at the low cost of $1,40$ for full time students and 0,70$ for part time students.To offer you a comparison, I’ve compiled a small list of items more expensive than a 1,40$:
-a cookie from the Cafeteria
-a bottle of root beer
-Uber Eats service fees
-a Longchamp bag
-a Summer Fridays lip balm
- one metro or bus pass
- vape pods and/or pack of cigarettes
-Spotify Premium
-a pack of pencils
-aTim Hortons Iced Cappuccino
-a stamp from Canada Post
The future of Canada and student journalism is in your hands this month. Happy voting!
Love,
WINIE Editor-in-Chief
The Plant is an editorially autonomous student paper. All opinions expressed in The Plant do not necessarily belong to The Plant, but are those of individuals. All content submitted to The Plant or its staff belongs to the paper. We reserve the right to reject or edit all submissions for brevity, taste and legality.
Political and Economic blockage: South Africa’s Critical Situation
MINOLA GRENT News Editor
In 1948, the National Party in South Africa implemented a measure that, on paper, aimed to develop the white and Black populations separately but equally. Despite what it initially claimed to bring, the apartheid actually caused 46 years of segregation in South Africa that was anchored in the law. This was the beginning of the apartheid. The African National Congress (ANC) political party played an important part in the resistance against these laws. More than 8000 people were sent to jail for their participation in a peaceful resistance campaign called the Defiance Campaign that was started by the ANC in 1952. Among these stood Nelson Mandela, a member of the ANC who would not be freed until the end of the apartheid in 1994. That date is ingrained in the minds of all South Africans as a pivotal moment of political, cultural, and social reform. However, 2024 and 2025 surprised everyone by bringing back-toback events that spread and shocked the nation in a similar way.
Last year saw South Africa’s 7th general election since the end of the
apartheid in 1994. President Cyril Ramaphosa and his party, the ANC, had been in power since and expected to be reelected. However, he failed to secure a majority of seats in parliament as he had garnered only 40% of votes. This placed the country in a similar position to that of Canada’s minority liberal government elected in 2021. In response, the government’s website, State of the Nation, stated that “the Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed after the elections, when 10 political parties from across the spectrum came together to chart a new path forward for [the] country.”
The revolutionary coalition that was meant to promote a new era of cooperation for the country now puts it at a great political risk.
South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel in front of the World Court rendering its relations with the US tense in light of Trump’s “staunchly pro-Israel stance,” reports Reuters. The United
States has cut all previously agreedupon investments to help alleviate South Africa’s dependency on coal and support its transition to renewable energy. These investments were also of great use in vaccine production and in the treatment of HIV and AIDS. Without U.S. support moving forward, South Africa would have found itself in a worse situation than it currently is—if not for the EU stepping in.
On March 13th, 2025, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa met at the Cape Town summit. The EU jumped at the opportunity to fund South Africa and announced that about €4.7 billion would be given to the country. According to a DW article, von der Leyen said that the EU, unlike other countries, was not interested in exploiting South Africa for their raw materials, but that they wanted “to support local jobs, local added value, and high environmental and labor standards.”
The U.S. removing its funding has affected the country on more than one front. In fact, South Africa had already been struggling with a massive problem within the government. At the beginning of the year, the government has to present its budget and have it approved.
The original version of the budget was quickly voted down by the president’s own party, the ANC, and their biggest coalition partner and historical enemies, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The proposed budget suggested raising the value-added tax (VAT), which is applied to various products, by 2%. It would bring the current VAT to 17% instead of 15%. This change would worsen many families’ situations as it would increase the cost-of-living. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had no choice but to postpone the budget presentation to write a new proposition that would appease more parties in the coalition government. This type of situation hadn’t occurred in South Africa since the end of the apartheid in 1994, says the BBC. Godongwana came back with a revised version of the budget that barely improved the situation. It suggested increasing the VAT by 1% and spreading it out across two years to alleviate the stress on households.
This time around, it garnered the support of the ANC and one other small party in the coalition, the Patriotic Alliance. The 8 other parties did not approve of the budget. The revolutionary coalition that was meant to promote a new era of cooperation for the country now puts it at a great political risk. According to the BBC, because the second main partner in the coalition, the DA, rejected the budget, the ANC is forced to “strike a deal with other parties or risk seeing the budget being voted down—something that could result in the collapse of the coalition government.”
Regardless of the people and politicians’ upset with this route, the South African government is in dire need of money for multiple reasons. First, the retraction of U.S. funding may be an indicator of the bleak trade future between the two countries. According to the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), the US is South Africa’s second biggest trade partner and according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the trade balance between two countries totaled $20.5 billion for the year 2024. If trade between the U.S. and South Africa were to decrease or, even worse, cease completely, it would be a catastrophic turn of events for South Africa.
Second, the government is in tremendous debt to various countries from which South Africa borrowed money or from which it has received financial help. According to BusinessTech, “for every rand spent by the South African government, 22 cents goes to paying off debt”. The government needs the money to attempt to reduce debt and there seems to unfortunately be few other options than what is currently proposed in the budget.
Moneyweb conducted an interview with Dawie Roodt, chief economist at the Efficient Group, to shed some light on the current economic impasse South Africa has found itself in. Roodt explains that “there’s something that economists call the Laffer curve, which means that if you keep on increasing taxes, then eventually your tax rates, then eventually you will start collecting less taxes”. That is the current situation in South Africa.
The most important thing is to wonder whether too much money is being taken out of the economy with these types of policies, says Roodt.
The government could not increase other taxes like the personal income tax (PIT) or the corporate income tax (CIT) as they had already been pushed past the Laffer curve. Counterintuitively, raising these taxes further would actually result in less revenue. He also explains that 4% of South Africa’s population, its high-earners, make up almost 50% of the total revenue for the PIT and only 1000 companies make up 70% of the CIT. These high-earners feel as though, even though they give the biggest contributions, they aren’t the ones reaping the most benefits from government spending. Roodt says there is already a rising trend in attempts at emigration and tax evasion from this part of the population. Therefore, raising the PIT and CIT would only make matters worse, which is why this is not an option for the South African government.
The only tax the Roodt says is not past the Laffer curve yet is the VAT. This explains why the budget proposes an increase in that sector. However, Roodt also warns that while the Vat may not be over the Laffer curve yet, it very well may be after the raise. The most important thing is to wonder whether too much money is being taken out of the economy with these types of policies, says Roodt.
President Cyril Ramaphosa promises that this budget is what’s best for the economy and that it will create jobs. However, these are the same promises he made during his last mandate and the current unemployment rate in South Africa is about 30%. According to Moneyweb, the South African government is expecting a rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1.9% over the next few years, but Roodt explains that a more realistic expectation is 1%. He says that in the best case scenario, GDP will grow 1.5%.
As of the end of March 2025, no compromise was found. The country is in a political impasse with none of the 10 parties that form the coalition government finding common ground. The economic state of South Africa is just as deplorable. Despite the EU’s investments to counter Trump’s retraction of funds, the Government of National Unity’s inability to settle on a budget because of political disagreements and because of what increasing taxes may mean to the people may bring a crisis. Though it is a situation no one wishes to see South Africa end up in, a collapse of both its economy and government seems on the horizon. All people can do is hope the GNU will come to an agreement before it is too late.
6 THE PLANT CURATED
BY SANAD HAMDOUNA
Visual Arts Editor
BY @RIBEY3D
BY KIM-ÉRIC VUONG @KWEEMPOO
VISUAL ARTS 7
BY MINOLA GRENT
Dawson students vocally oppose the presence of Raytheon subsidiary Pratt & Whitney on campus
SANAD HAMDOUNA Visual Arts Editor
On Wednesday February 10th, the Dawson Student Employment Office hosted its annual Job Fair, during which a range of companies and other employers set up booths around Conrod’s.
Within the diverse array of job sectors represented, the inclusion of an arms manufacturing company stood out to many as unusual for Dawson.
The company in question, Pratt & Whitney, is an American company
I recognize that there are complicated relationships with things like that, but I don’t necessarily think that vibes with our overall values at the college.
and a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, commonly known as Raytheon.
RTX is the world’s second largest arms manufacturer, trumped only by Lockheed Martin, with 54% of its $80.8 billion in sales being within the military sector, according to its 2024 annual report. Pratt & Whitney, specifically, is responsible for developing,
manufacturing, and maintaining engines and turbines for military aircrafts such as fighter jets, bombers, and surveillance aircrafts. These aircrafts include, among others, the American F-35s, F-22, and F-16, which have been famously used by militaries accused of war crimes, such as the Canadian and the United States’ militaries. Furthermore, these types of aircrafts have also been sold to governments or other countries accused of similar war crimes and crimes against humanity such as Saudi Arabia—who has been accused of serious war crimes in Yemen—and Israel—who is presently on trial at the ICJ for genocide against the Palestinians.
According to a report by Al Arabiya News on April 4th 2025, Israeli bombers destroyed a warehouse storing medical supplies belonging to the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage in Gaza. On top of this destruction of civilian infrastructure, Israel’s renewed savage bombing campaign has killed at least 1249 Palestinians in the days between March 18th and April 5th 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. The planes that Israel relies on to kill Palestinians in the thousands likely sport engines designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney.
Ever since the tragic 2006 shooting
at the college, Dawson has held a firm commitment to peace and supported outspoken advocacy for nonviolence. It is the only cégep which hosts a garden dedicated to peace, a Peace Center committed to serving the community, and a popular certificate for the study of Peace. Yet, only a few weeks ago, an American arms manufacturing company was invited to openly recruit in the middle of our supposedly peace loving campus.
In an interview with Diana Rice, manager of the Dawson College Peace Centre and published author of several writings about peace, The Plant inquired into how the inclusion of Pratt & Whitney
As an engineering student, I want to find a fulfilling career where my labour does not directly contribute to the murder of civilians abroad.
in a job fair can coexist with Dawson’s values. In Rice’s personal opinion, “it’s not ideal and doesn’t necessarily match the values that we espouse broadly at the college. […] For example, the Dawson
Foundation [has] very clear principles, none of their money, which is invested, can go into arms. Having Pratt & Whitney on campus complicates that, right? […] If it were up to me I probably wouldn’t invite companies like that.”
Yet Rice wasn’t entirely one note in her opinion: she acknowledged that arguments could be made in defence of Pratt & Whitney’s presence. “On the one hand someone could be like ‘oh but aerospace’ which is fair enough, that is part of their business model. They are not just arms manufacturers, but they are also arms manufacturers. I recognize that there are complicated relationships with things like that, but I don’t necessarily think that vibes with our overall values at the college. [Arms manufacturing is not] for the wellbeing of all, [it’s not] in the sphere of nonviolence or community building, which is something I think we should focus on more.”
Numerous students were also concerned with the presence of such a company, which prompted a wave of complaints to student services, host to the Student Employment Centre responsible for organizing the job fairs. Thanks to students who wish to remain anonymous, The Plant was given access to two of the emails in question, as well as their replies from student services.
The first was short and to-thepoint, allegedly copied by many students wanting to send a complaint. It highlighted the inclusion of Pratt & Whitney as “problematic because of their documented enablement of numerous human rights violations in Palestine and throughout the Middle East.” The email ended with an echoing of Rice’s position: “Weapons manufacturers have no place on Dawson campus, a place that promotes peace and inclusivity.”
In his reply, the director of Student Services started by acknowledging the students’ opinions, but argued that “not everyone has the privilege to evaluate the background of their prospective employer when looking for a job. Some people simply need to work, and large companies like Pratt and Whitney provide that opportunity to a large variety of our graduates”. This reply was received as a dismissal of the students’ ethical concerns and sparked additional outrage which partly inspired the second email that The Plant was given access to.
This email was notably more personal, written by an engineering student who
had not participated in the initial wave of complaints, but also disapproved of Pratt & Whitney’s presence on campus.
In his letter, the student describes himself as a “student of conscience” and directly addresses the response other students received from Student Services: “I saw the response you wrote to my fellow students who did speak out, and I find your justification equally unacceptable. As an engineering student, I want to find a fulfilling career where my
This is not a petty concern - Pratt & Whitney is a company that facilitates real and life-ending violence against students’ families.
labour does not directly contribute to the murder of civilians abroad. You cite the fact that there are students who simply need jobs, but the most underprivileged students are also the ones whose families in the Global South are most likely to get murdered by the same planes for which Pratt & Whitney supplies the parts.”
He continues by arguing that there’s
no real need to inform students of Pratt & Whitney’s existence as an employer— the job fair’s stated goal—since it’s “not some small company that requires any extra advertising” and that students are free to seek out the company themselves and choose “to be complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people”, but that it’s not Dawson’s place to be facilitating that contact.
Before concluding his email, the student reminded Student Services that in the 24 hours preceding the email, which was sent on the 18th of March 2025, “Israel murdered over 400 Palestinian civilians, with the help of weaponry, planes and components designed and built by companies such as Pratt & Whitney”. A fact which was corroborated by Amnesty International on the same day.
He then restated that “it is immoral to have these companies on campus,” before urging Student Services to “truly think about how easy it is for the College to dismiss the safety concerns of Palestinian students and their allies. This is not a petty concern - Pratt & Whitney is a company that facilitates real and life-ending violence against students’ families.”
A few days later, the director of Student Services sent his reply to this second email. Thanked the student for his feedback and stated that Student Services will take it into consideration ahead of the next Job Fair.
A different representative of the Student Services Department confirmed this in an email exchange with The Plant, saying that they “are always open to feedback.” The representative also clarified that, despite this controversial event, “Dawson’s commitment to peace and non-violence has not changed.”
The voracity of these statements will be determined at the next job fair.
PEACE POLE IN THE DAWSON PEACE GARDEN, MAY 2012. PHOTO VIA WORLDPEACE.ORG
You have got it all wrong about Schizophrenia.
CAMYLLA JOSEPH Staff Writer
Schizophrenia is a very serious mental illness that has unfortunately been bastardized and misinterpreted all throughout history. The general idea the public has on Schizophrenia is based on false assumptions that couldn’t be more wrong.
It is stated by the Schizophrenia Society of Canada that approximately 300,000 Canadians are currently diagnosed and living with schizophrenia. Despite schizophrenics being 0.75 percent of the population, the stigma surrounding this mental illness still scares many, sometimes even people who have never been around a schizophrenic. The proof lies in how the word “schizophrenic” is casually thrown around and used as a derogatory term. Western media and film industry have played a major role in this misinterpretation and “boogeymanification” of schizophrenia. Movie such as The Joker (2008), have
Schizophrenics aren’t the scary, multiple personalities, hotblooded citizens that they’re depicted to be.
portrayed the illness as an aggressive and dangerous disorder, while this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Schizophrenics aren’t the scary, multiple personalities, hot-blooded citizens that they’re depicted to be. Those stereotypes have led to the isolation of them, even though it is a fact that a schizophrenic is more likely to get assaulted by a non-schizophrenic than the opposite, as stated by the National Library of Medicine. It is ironic, considering many non-schizophrenics seem to think schizophrenics are real threats that need to be dealt with utmost carefulness. In an interview for the YouTube channel Special Books by Special Kids, Cecilia, a diagnosed schizophrenic, discusses the challenges she faces. She admits that her true fears are not the voices she hears, but rather “the fear of real people, like what real voices have to say..” and that those are “the one that matters” to her. The
stigmatization she faces has made it nearly impossible for her to fully trust another person.
Visual and auditory symptoms are the most widely known symptoms in western media. While those are actual symptoms of schizophrenia, it shows limited representation of schizophrenic symptoms. The symptoms can be divided into three main categories. There are the positive symptoms, which are commonly known as psychotic symptoms. Those are the “wellknown” symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions. Negative symptoms are symptoms that impact the daily life of the individual and their behavior, including a hard time expressing emotions, difficulties socializing, speech issues, lack of motivation, lack of interest in activities and a reduced experience of pleasure. Lastly, there are cognitive symptoms, which affect thought processes, difficulties with attention and memory issues, making it harder for the average schizophrenic to perform daily tasks.
Schizophrenia symptoms not only vary from one individual to another, but it has been found that geolocation has an impact on how the person with schizophrenia experiences the illness.
In a Stanford study led by professor Dr. Laurence Kirmayer, researchers found that, while schizophrenics from Ghana and India tend to hear calmer voices, people from the United States tend to hear harsher and violent voices. Ghanaian and Indian patients suffering from schizophrenia have said to maintain good relations with their voices, which for the most part are seen as elders exhibiting a caring, playful attitude, nurturing them and giving them advice. On the opposite side, voices heard in the USA are hostile, frequently telling the patient to harm themselves or others.
It is theorized by Dr. Laurence Kirmayer that the reasons for this phenomenon are the typical individualistic views of the West, which pushes citizens to put themselves and their individual needs on a pedestal while neglecting their communities. This might be the cause of those harmful thoughts against others, compared to South Asian and African cultures, which often prioritize a sense of community rather than individualism.
Another study, led by Tateyam
Masato and Asai Masahiro, published on Karger, an academic publisher of scientific and medical journals, conducted on 575 patients from Germany, Austria, and Japan, has found that Germans and Austrians tend to have strong false beliefs which are also known as delusional thoughts about religion, guilt, and death, compared to the Japanese, who are more likely to have delusional thoughts about coworkers wanting to harm them.
The stigmatization of schizophrenics has a huge impact on Schizophrenics, it is stated by the Schizophrenia Society of Canada that approximately 96 percent of Schizophrenics experience discrimination due to the negative image that schizophrenia has. By attempting to learn and understand them, we create a safer environment for schizophrenics, making them feel safer, less ashamed and isolated.
VIA LOUIS WAIN
Romanticizing Life: Embracing or Erasing the Mundane?
EMMA CASPI Voices Editor
Life has been very monotonous lately: wake up, go to school, go to work, go home and repeat. I am a creature of habit and often let myself drift into autopilot– the state where my actions require no real thought or consideration. Sometimes falling out of this state, I am forced to acknowledge all my surroundings, movements, feelings, etc. This acknowledgement is like when you’re reading a book and realize you missed the last 10 pages because you were not paying attention, too busy thinking about what you could be doing instead. Reading back the pages, you recognize that the text is actually quite informative and interesting. Although this phenomenon is nothing new, social media has called it the act of “romanticizing life.”
Without a doubt, noticing and appreciating routine and mundane aspects of our lives is uplifting and motivating, helping us break out of tireless monotony. However, the wholesome intent behind romanticization has been lost in translation after being circulated around social media too many times. Back to the book analogy, romanticizing life has been associated with those thoughts of what could be, not the actual act of reading. Rather than appreciating life’s banalities, a romanticized life has been distorted to mean applying a veil, so to speak, to only see what one wants or expects, not what is.
For instance, mental health issues are often misrepresented in the media
Via Annie Aboulian
as quirky personality traits, thus downplaying their severity. Recently, intrusive thoughts have been grossly distorted and misrepresented. According to Harvard Health Publishing, intrusive thoughts often result from obsessivecompulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder, can be triggered by stress or anxiety, and mainly present as distressing, strange and uncontrollable thoughts that cause feelings of embarrassment, worry, fear and shame. They are therefore not synonymous with impulsive thoughts, which incite spontaneous action without considering the consequences. Because the media
Rather than appreciating life’s banalities, a romanticized life has been distorted to mean applying a veil, so to speak, to only see what one wants or expects, not what is.
conflates the two, intrusive thoughts are stigmatized for being more than impulsivity, thus creating even more shame for those who experience them. Additionally, romanticizing the past can make negative memories and past traumatic situations seem less intense, impactful and harmful upon retrospection. According to Psychology Today, this pattern of thinking is a cognitive bias referred to as “rosy introspection.” Because memories become abstract and obscure over time, we focus on positive generalities, which, in turn, minimizes or completely negates the unpleasant aspects of our past. “Rosy introspection” is insufficient in the long run as it simply covers the issue; the best way to find solutions for the present is to resolve past problems. Since romanticization is all about being in tune with ourselves and appreciating what we do have, it is quite ironic–but not unsurprising–that it has been transformed into a capitalist
and materialistic practice. For instance, a 2024 BuzzFeed article, “If You’ve Decided To Start Romanticizing Your Life, These 49 Things Will Fit Right In With Your New Mindset,” is clearly unconcerned with your well-being. Nothing says romanticizing life like Miracle-Gro plant food spikes, Capri Blue Volcano scent booster or the L’Oreal Paris rinse-out lamellar water treatment–the items BuzzFeed claims will enhance your life! A disclaimer clarifying that “BuzzFeed… may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links” is the nail in the coffin, conveying that–if it was not already obvious–the article has no true intention of helping its readers appreciate life.
This article feeds into the idea that we will never have enough, making us question what we do have and spiral into an endless cycle of dissatisfaction. In waiting for the next material object allegedly needed for one to acquire the perfect life, we pretend to lead an impeccable and desirable life. This is masking life, not romanticizing it. The Globe and Mail claims that feeling the constant need to pull meaning from the mundane borders on toxic positivity and makes imperfect experiences taboo. The Guardian similarly accounts for the pressure to abandon our realities for a more aesthetic, exciting, fulfilling, creative, etc., life after confronting the dull aspects of our current lives.
After in-depth research on the true purpose of romanticizing life, I can tell you for certain what is not the purpose: romanticizing life is not about shaming and invalidating the “undesirable” parts of yourself, buying items that will supposedly enhance your life, or feeling bad that you’re not perpetually happy-go-lucky. Romanticizing life is meant to counteract the very notion that we must always be busy, lively, interesting or creative. Our lives will inevitably be filled with mundane moments. The practice of romanticizing our lives pushes us to stop waiting for the extraordinary and embrace the here and now, regardless of how ordinary or wonted.
April for me is the sound of a tulip unfurling, a wet acoustic tang, walking on blisters with my eyes squinting at the sun. It is everything slowing down; the wind settling to a breeze, the rain easing itself into fog. It is cold sweat under unnecessary layers of clothing, too many overdue library books, and 3-hour lung-killing walks to nowhere in particular with a purse that is too heavy and a posture that is too crooked. Suddenly, I can feel warmth on my cheek, and I remember picking raspberries from my grandmother’s garden. Suddenly, my knuckles graze the air and I remember being 10 years old blowing trumpet blades of grass between my thumbs. Everything has thawed already, but not me– not yet. It takes a while for the heat to settle into my skull and to flow out from my tongue. I play guitar clumsily and sing out of tune, I go to my friends’ shows and cry at how raw we are now, how tender and soft and melting. People are kinder, have you noticed? Like blossoming pink buds, we are unfurling and baring our golden hearts for the honey harvest. Here is this month’s bouquet, with each freshly plucked flower still shivering in sugar water. Thank you for being vulnerable. Thank you for giving us a piece of your garden.
JULIA AZZOUZ
Creative Writing Editor
CREATIVE WRITING
PROPHETIC ARROWS
SAIGE SHRIER
Contributor
The archer releases the arrow, following providence’s path, It strikes the heart of my matter, puncturing my core I want to be rid of reveries I cannot shake I beg to be cured of them Crushing herbs with a mortar and pestle–I can’t brush off the feeling that botanicals will not heal this ache Prescribe me a prophecy, Where I am unburdened by the sounds of a lyre The stab of its song is that of what I cannot bear I don’t want to hear its music, it’s too loud for me to stomach Be gentle with your aim, Remedy the presage that refuses to quiet
SOFT GLOW
Christopher James Dimitriadis
Contributor
A hush lingers in the quiet room, Where golden light hums against the walls, Soft as a whisper, gentle as breath— A presence unnoticed, yet never absent.
It flickers, not from weakness, but knowing, Dancing between shadows and sight, Never demanding, only offering A warmth that some forget to seek.
Fingertips trace its edges, But grasping it proves impossible— For it is not meant to be held, Only felt in fleeting moments.
And still, it remains, unwavering, Through the weight of silence, Through the closing of doors, Through the nights when no one looks.
CREATIVE CREATIVE CREATIVE
I SEE LOVE IN METAPHORS
INÈS MONTEL
Contributor
Is love rough or gentle
Sitting quietly on the mantle Of the bed
Licked its paws idlily
Perched on the dark oak
Green piercing eyes
Glowing in the dark
Of the bedroom
The light of the streetlamp
Outside the window
And the soft hue of the moon
Reflect on your tender face
Smothered in sleep
Resting on the white pillow
Can love be mine?
Exposed on the vanity
In a blue crystal vase
Like a famous painting Of the 19th century
Beside the corroded mirror
And the used lipsticks
Red, pink, nude, champagne—
Can love be kind?
Served out of the green carton
Into a clear glass
Flavoured with a Teaspoon of honey
Consumed in gulps
Leaving a white moustache
Upon your lips
Can this love last a lifetime?
Smoked halfway By a rock singer On tour
Its butt left to rest
In an aluminum ashtray
Picked up by a groupie
And stashed into A plastic bag
Can we love now?
KARSTEN LI
Contributor
I’m a sheet of paper with a heart of great ambition. Obsessive spiral mind who promised me a whole. Water burns my skin, and my brush is mere delusion Crawl out of my body, so I may rest my soul. Indulge in foolish glee, to leave the cell of mirrors. Your work’s plethoric aim must die before it drowns me. Thus when you burn my skin, begone! As you’re no dearer. Though you transcend my frame, only when I allow me.
WRITING
CURRENTS OF THE SOUL
VICTORIA ORMISTON Contributor
Beyond the blue abyss, Lives my second nature, An unseen current, Buried in my soul.
It whispers in the silence, Makes me hold my tongue, Dances a quiet rhythm, Like the waves come and run.
At the ocean’s depth, A foundation looms, Concrete and stone, Where the quiet booms.
We look to the man-made, To nourish and grow, Honouring what was, As we tend to what we sow.
But still, the ocean calls our return, The sand and the species, Needing our connection, Desiring our love.
Though, many do not care for the currents, And forget their crashing rhythm, We must listen to it’s hymn, For in its folds, we are whole again.
CRE-
Love, Loss, and a Retrospective on Friendship: Adjani Poirier’s Scorpio Moon
JACQUELINE GRAIF Arts and Culture Correspondent
“What happens to a dream deferred?”Harlem, Langston Hughes
As one enters Studio Mile-Ex, a wave of curiosity overcomes them while they observe their surroundings. Rocks, dirt, caution tape, old crates, empty shopping carts, and pieces of broken canvas and insulation hanging from the ceiling fill the space. What was an abandoned train workshop has been transformed into a theatrical experience.
The immersiveness of Scorpio Moon (running with Imago Theatre March 27th to April 6th) begins as you enter the theatre, immediately encapsulating you in the story of Koa (Cameron Grant) and Lily (Bénédicte Bélizaire). The play begins with Lily alone on stage, awaiting the arrival of her old friend, Koa. As the play progresses, the audience witnesses a friendship that has been ripped apart, and sewn back together again. A reflection of Adjani’s own life, the story does an incredible job at resonating with its audience. Tying in themes of economic disparity, the struggles of creating art, and the Queer and Black experience, the story is complicated and ever-changing. Adjani had a “desire for people to feel reflected in the story and the themes.”
In an interview with playwright Adjani Poirier, I asked about the message she wanted to communicate when writing Scorpio Moon, to which she replied “There is no singular message.” Scorpio Moon manages to incorporate many different messages about life, grief, and love while portraying the human experience.
The lack of a central plot or singular message feels like an homage to the complexities of the human experience. The focus is the relationship of the two characters. Koa is a struggling studio artist with a distant personality, and tendency to correct others. Lily, a former artist with a victim complex, is making a living in a dreary corporate job.
We learn that Lily slept with Koa’s boyfriend, causing the friendship to pause for over two months. When they meet at the warehouse, it is their first reunion.
The struggle between art and capitalism becomes evident. Koa is a wonderful artist, but is rendered homeless, and while Lily makes a decent living, she had to leave her artistic dreams behind. Koa mentions “Capitalism and art are like oil and water.” The audience is soon faced with the reality of being an artist in the modern world. As Lily says, “Everything interesting always gets destroyed.”
Despite their intense fighting, the duo always progresses with love. That is the
“Everything interesting always gets destroyed.”
mission of Scorpio Moon; to portray the complexities of being human and loving someone else unconditionally, when it is easy and when it isn’t.
Let’s have a toast to the douchebags!: Segal Centre’s Kanye West Jukebox Musical
WINIE COULANGES Editor-in-Chief
The venue is small, ripe with anticipation and on stage there are two small clothing racks with shirts that read “ Slavery was not a choice” and “Kanye was wrong about the jews”, a glimpse into what segal’s centre Pain to Power: A Musical Protest has in store for its audience. The play was originally presented by the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre and was presented in Montreal in collaboration with the Black Theatre Workshop. The show opens with the lyrics “ Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul. He’s heartless”, a song that feels strangely ominous knowing the fall from grace from its author, Kanye West. As the main characters make their entrance and sing the melodies, headlines, photos, and video clips of West’s recent anti-semitic and anti-black tirades are projected on stage and you just can’t help feeling uneasy. Written in major part by CJ Capital and Seth Zosky who play themselves on stage, this play is one of the most personal I’ve ever seen.
The play tackles the famous question of : Can we separate the art from the artist? While it doesn’t offer its audience a simple answer, it takes them on a journey to rediscover the power of a legacy. CJ and Seth approach this by positioning themselves as victims of West’s bigotry as Black and Jewish Canadians. With the help of West’s discography they do a retrospective of the most defining moments of their lives like the first kiss at sleepaway camp or winning a talent show contest. This walk down memory lane is presented on stage with classics like “ American Boy” and “ Runaway”. Both actors sing and dance their hearts out in choreography designed by Travae Williams.
The play bears resemblance with the genre of documentary theatre which uses source materials from personal events and explores socio political events. For example, CJ confronts West’s famous “Slavery is a choice” comment by giving an account of a tense interaction with a police officer after George Floyd’s murder. Scenes like that are frequent in the play and demonstrate that West’s bigotry has an impact in the real world. His Bipolar diagnosis has sometimes been used as an excuse for his erratic behaviour but CJ and Seth reject this by having a scene where they say “ Bipolar doesn’t cause antiblackness and antisemitism”.
While I wasn’t a Kanye superfan before the show, I did really enjoy the incorporation of his music in the show as it was well executed by the talented performers. The ending was a spectacular celebration of religion, perseverance, and love as CJ and Seth sang a blended Haitian Creole/Yiddish prayer. I took away that Pain to Power was ultimately not about West, but about how we can extract the admirable parts of a legacy and transform them into things that inspire us to pursue our passions. In the end, it wasn’t about separating art from anyone but saying goodbye and hello to a new version of oneself.
VIA IMAGO THEATRE
VIA SEGAL CENTRE
Why Shiva Baby’s Music Works So Well
MAYA JABBARI Managing Editor
Whenever someone asks me about my favourite movie, my mind always goes to Emma Seligman’s “Shiva Baby”. People, when discussing and explaining their favourite movies, usually talk all about the cinematography and the set design, but with this one, the film’s score always gets me and stands out more than anything. It makes the movie what the movie is, a true reality of a young woman coping with nervousness and anxiety on display. Without fail, on every rewatch, I feel what the protagonist feels. To me, what makes a movie perfect is not just the performance of the actors but rather how the music makes me connect and feel what the characters are feeling on a deeper level, which I feel is undermined daily in films.
“Shiva Baby” revolves around a young Jewish woman named Danielle who attends a shiva (a Jewish mourning ritual) with her parents. Not feeling seen by her parents, she is struggling to balance her complicated relationships with her childhood best friend, Maya, and a current affair with an older man who just so happens to be at the shiva with his, unknown to Danielle, wife and newborn baby. As the film unfolds, tension and anxiety gradually rise as secrets are threatened to be exposed.
As this tension and anxiety rise throughout the film, Danielle, played by Rachel Sennott, starts to spiral. This performance of spiralling is, yes, displayed through Rachel Sennott’s phenomenal acting but also through the music. It’s as if we’re actively living in Danielle’s world of anxiety, being put in her shoes and, at the same time, on the edge of our seats. Through the conflict she faces while hiding the secret of the paid hookups she’s been having with an unknown to her, married man who is friends of friends with her parents, the rhythm and unease in the film’s soundtrack by Ariel Marx, adds depth to the mix of emotions we’re experiencing through the protagonist.
Not only is this secret the main plot of the film, but so is how her family and friends, at this shiva, treat her. This is often shown in scenes with her family members during overwhelming conversations, commenting on her body, her career choice, and overall her as a person, which results in her struggling to maintain dialogue amongst her family. We can literally hear the discomfort that is felt by Danielle through her changing emotional state. Her anxiety ultimately creates tension between not only her and her family members but also between her and the audience. We are sitting there, so invested in what’s going to happen next, waiting for her to crack, hearing the music get more intense as the film progresses.
The rhythm of the music in this film is specifically what makes us feel uneasy. As Danielle navigates not only the house where the shiva is taking place, but also how to deal with the people in it, the potential exposure of her secrets and their consequences rise and rise, and with that, the music adopts an irregular and intense rhythm. It’s as if it becomes rhythmically unpredictable, which I think composer Ariel Marx wanted us to experience, working as a reflection of Danielle’s heart rate and internal restlessness. It’s more intimate that way, like we’re her, we’re living what she’s living, and god it sucks.
Upon research, Nylon Magazine had a conversation with Seligman on the film, where they note that Seligman insisted that the score was “dissonant and abrasive” without any “melodic moments”; as a result, Marx composed most of the film, using strings in order to originate
the style of Klezmer music. It’s as if these strings symbolize the unravelling of Danielle’s lies and the crumbling of the walls she’s put up to defend herself, but we see through her.
The climax of the film is marked by the rise of both narrative tension and musical intensity. As Danielle’s lies finally become exposed, the music becomes a huge orchestral display of intensity all together, and all at the same time. We finally see the true depth of her turmoil and we empathize and connect with her. This peak is her emotional breakdown, which we’ve seen build up throughout the movie’s 78-minute run time, capturing the overwhelming anxiety and vulnerability she experiences, which leads to her crying on the floor with her mother. There’s this loud crescendo of music until, suddenly, there’s a break, and she finally does crack. It’s at that very moment where her world explodes, and we’re witnessing it. She tries to find the right words while on the floor, but ultimately doesn’t. And that’s where we finally fully understand Danielle, and her mother does too.
So, “Shiva Baby’s music communicates the intense emotions the main character, Danielle, deals with as she grapples with anxiety, secrecy, and the whole idea of pulling herself together for the benefit of others. The film’s soundtrack, to me, perfectly encapsulates her internal struggles, and it does an amazing job of immersing the audience into her world, allowing us to experience her levels of unease like they’re our own. By using the power of sound to its fullest, “Shiva Baby” says A LOT about how we as humans experience emotions so deeply.
AI at Dawson: An Interview With Robert Stephens
CIARAN WILLIAMS Science and Environment editor
We’re surrounded by artificial intelligence, so what are its implications in education? This month, The Plant interviewed Robert Stephens, a professor involved with artificial intelligence, in the hopes that he could provide answers to some of our questions about the use of AI at Dawson.
Q1: Are professors currently exploring ways to integrate artificial intelligence into their lectures and grading?
Grading, no. But I think a lot of faculty are realizing that it can be helpful for doing things like drafting instructions, or generating examples for assignments or discussions, etc… For example, if you wanted to create a bunch of practical scenarios to test students’ understanding of some concept, or to ethically analyze them or something, an A.I.-generated list can be super helpful –assuming you carefully validate and edit the suggestions.
And it is definitely useful for generating test questions in multiple choice format, that sort of thing. Again, it takes a certain level of expertise to be able to weed through the outputs and be judicious with what to actually usebut it’s a hugely efficient way to sort of gather ingredients quickly and then start organizing.
Q2: Is there some kind of faculty or administrative body that is responsible for looking into, or regulating the use of AI at the college? If there isn’t, should there be one?
There are discussions at many levels. It is difficult because different programs/ disciplines have different needs: the ways a student might use or misuse ChatGPT in an English or French course may be quite different from using it in a Science Lab report. Some classes are going to be incorporating A.I. into the way students are trained/taught, because professions in the future will expect some competency and familiarity with these tools. But other classes are focused on building basic level skills in communication, research, critical thinking etc. - so in that case we wouldn’t want students using A.I. tools (yet), as it would mask whether or not they actually have developed the skills on their own.
The College as a whole has basically left the existing Academic Misconduct policy in place, and it is up to teachers in courses to explain what would and/ or would not constitute misconduct in the case of A.I. usage in their course and in their particular assignments. Some departments have adopted departmentwide policies, but the College as a whole has not adopted a singular policy on A.I.,
which I think is probably the right stance at this point.
What a LOT of faculty have done is rearrange their classes to have more high-stakes work done entirely inclass, to moot the A.I. question. very few are still sending take-home writing assignments worth substantial marks. This has caused more stress for students, obviously, since many writing essays etc. in class, time-constrained, to be not ideal. And many teachers have found it sad to suck up so much class time with writing assignments (having to cut content, cut back on more interactive activities). It also has had a secondary effect of overwhelming the Student AccessAbility Center in the past couple of years, since the number of “tests” has essentially skyrocketed, especially in courses that didn’t traditionally have inclass “tests”.
Some other things will likely be regulated as we go forward, for example, there will almost certainly be restrictions on the use of some of the particular tools on College computers (like DeepSeek?), based on privacy and data concerns.
Q3: Do you think the adoption of artificial intelligence into education curricula is inevitable? If so, what are some of the drawbacks and benefits you can see?
Yes, it is inevitable. And I think the benefits are definitely there, though it will take a while for everyone to find the sweet spot and work out the bugs. The main benefit is the speed of processing and sifting information, and the ability to suggest ideas and paths forward when brainstorming, etc. In an ideal world, A.I. could be a personalized tutor for students, available 24/7. I’d like to be able to rely on A.I. tools as a force multiplier for me, as the teacher -- if a chatbot could help and guide students as I would have, then I should welcome it into my course! And the technology is there to shape an A.I. assistant for a course that would constrain itself to “help” only as much as I would have personally helped if a student came to me in person. Obviously I would “help” a student in real life, but I wouldn’t do all the work for them,
you know? I would maybe fill in a few blanks to get them on track and then push them to work out the rest on their own... if the A.I. tool does that, then great. The trick is how do you constrain it to “help” but still ensure the student actually learns how to do the thing on their own?
And that is the drawback: currently the tools are super helpful, but also programmed to never stop helping, and if you keep asking for more, eventually they will answer and/or solve all the problems you throw at them. So a student could potentially have the A.I. doing all the work, and learning nothing from it. That’s no good. If a student is struggling with an assignment, I don’t say “come to my office, I’ll do it for you”. But the A.I. will. And then we get into a situation where no learning is happening.
These tools are excellent and useful in the hands of people who can use them well: i.e., people who already have the knowledge and competency and expertise to validate the outputs, and who essentially could have done this one on their own.
An example would be in Creative Arts - let’s say Graphic Design. We now have access to incredible A.I. tools. I can use these tools to create posters, or logos or whatever... But I have no real skill or knowledge of the art of Graphic Design, so I will just take what I get, and not really appreciate whether or not it is any good, and in what ways it could have been so much better or more effective. The Graphic Designer does have this expertise - so in her hands, the tool is useful: she can work quicker than before, perhaps, and then competently evaluate the A.I. outputs and use them effectively and wisely. But this assumes a Graphic Designer who learned her craft before these tools... How, going forward, do we teach young aspiring Graphic Designers to use the tools, but to not let the tools substitute for their own nascent skills? And if all the students turn in A.I.assisted work, how will we be able to identify the really talented ones? This will be the tricky part. And it’s not just the Creative Arts where this problem is
already happening: Computer Science has this problem (coders obviously will need to learn to use A.I.-assist techniques, but how do we ensure they don’t rely on them too heavily without learning the underlying principles and skills?) Same thing in Science and Social Science in terms of research: using A.I tools for research will be standard going forward, but we best not lose the ability to do individual research along the way!
Q4: Per college policies, what are some ways students use artificial intelligence to help with their assignments?
I sort of addressed this above - there are many ways to use these tools to help get started on a project, or to help sift through a large volume of detail in order to find a through-line for a particular project or research question. There are also tons of ways to use these tools creatively almost as a foil or partner to bounce ideas off of and help clarify a direction that you haven’t been able to nail down. There are definitely faculty who are using the tools in this sort of way already.
I’d like to plug a contest Dawson is currently running, through S.P.A.C.E. and DawsonA.I.!
https://dawsoncollege-aimaking-2025.devpost.com/
The goal here is to partner with A.I. tools to develop and make something - and to reflect on the usefulness of the tools along the way. We think this is a model for how A.I. could be effectively incorporated into student work, and it’s a fun opportunity for students to really plumb the depths of what these tools can (and cannot) do.
Q5: What kind of advancements do you think we expect to see made in the field of artificial intelligence in the coming years?
I think A.I. agents are the next step, and that’s where, economically speaking,
we are going to see more of a revolution. There is a LOT of human labour that is easily replaceable in the coming years, and not just graphic designers, coders, and writers. I mean pretty much ANY human whose job involves data and reporting, which is basically every white collar job. And mechanical agents will replace a ton of blue collar work (drivers, for example; picking and shipping departments; factories, etc.) the only safe careers in the next generation will be things that involve personal engagement inside people’s homes (e.g., plumbers, or itinerant caregivers for the elderly). There will still be “humans in the loop” whose jobs will be to validate and sign off on A.I. outputs - but there will be far fewer of them. Basically, become a plumber or a CEO. That’s my advice.
Q6: What resources are available to students that would allow them to learn more about AI, whether they be accessible through the college or external organizations?
DawsonA.I. and Dawson S.P.A.C.E. are constantly operating to offer activities to students and workshops to faculty. Like the “prompt and validate” challenge mentioned earlier. We have also run some “Data Storytelling” challenges in past years, and more silly/ fun like a ChatGPT songwriting contest, and a GPT “jailbreak” contest -- all oriented to getting students to try out these evolving tools and learn their uses and misuses.
Dawson A.I. also has an ongoing relationship with the A.I. LaunchLab, a local non-profit focused on A.I. education. We have three cohorts a year of students who get a 10 week training program for free (!) and the chance to keep going to work on an independent project and even paid internship possibilities. This is open not only to tech-savvy students, but to absolute beginners in non-technical fields.
Playing By Their Rules: Sports Media and The Battle Against Misogyny
JADE GAGNÉ Sports Editor
For years women have been fighting for their equality in various arenas. From the comfort of their house or the comfort of their office, misogynistic views can be seen everywhere , especially in sports, and it all starts in the media.
The media gives little space for female journalists. In 1977, Melissa Ludtke, a reporter for Sports Illustrated, was banned from accessing lockers rooms during the baseball World Series. The then-baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn would not allow her access to interview the players. She became unable to do her job even though she worked for Sports Illustrated. This all led to a landmark legal battle to secure equal access for female reporters. Kuhn argued that the players deserved their “sexual privacy,” but Ludtke claimed that his intention was to keep baseball a fortress where women cannot enter. During
“We need more women in this industry. [...] We need those voices. We need that perspective. We need them making coverage and hiring decisions.”.
that same time, the NHL and the NBA allowed female reporters to do their jobs inside locker rooms with no issues whatsoever, and there were many rooms where it was off-limits to any reporter. While her fight was purely to help the
authenticity of her work, Ludtke faced public hatre. She wasn’t being seen as a journalist; she was being treated poorly because of her gender.
Sport misogyny has changed since then, but there’s still a long way to go. In 2022 an article got published in The Guardian where Gabriella Bennet, freelance journalist and co-chair of Women in Journalism Scotland, wrote about a lack of appliance to their “annual mentoring scheme for up-and-coming female talent.” The organisation Women in Journalism Scotland (WIJS) then decided to investigate what they believed to be a diversity problem in Print Scottish sports media, but discovered that the issue isn’t diversity-related, but gender-related. Only three out of ninetyfive staff writers were women. There appeared to be a huge barrier that female journalists had to face everyday while being in the industry. Not long after there was the Scottish Football Writers’ Association’s annual awards. Bennett explained that it was during this event that they celebrated, for the first time, the achievement of women in sport, but it didn’t take long for the after-dinner speaker, the American poet,writer and historian Bill Copeland, to make multiple sexist comments. Bennet was one of many guests that walked out in protest of those comments. The organisation condemned the behavior, stating that sports journalism “appears to be among the last bastions of misogyny.”
Misogyny isn’t only in sports media, it is in every kind of media. In January 2025, Fox News received a lawsuit from Noushin Faraji, a former hair stylist for Fox News, for unwanted sexual advances
from male colleagues, including an offer for sexual favors in exchange of $1.5 million. She also claimed to have faced racial discrimination, particularly from her male colleagues Skip Bayless, sports commentator and journalist, and Charlie Dixon, Executive Vice President of Content for FS1, whom she specifically mentions. She accuses them of contributing to the hostile work environment through behaviour in regards to women. This lawsuit highlights the vulnerability, mistreatment, and abuse of women in sports journalism at Fox News. On January 5, 2025, Fox News filed a request in Los Angeles to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Faraji. A spokesperson said “we take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation.” As for Skip Bayless’s response, the sport journalist and his defense team argues that Faraji gave her consent to any alleged physical act and that any emotional distress experiences felt by her may have been due to “preexisting psychological or medical conditions.” Charlie Dixon has not yet commented publicly on the allegations.
A clear pattern has emerged in sports media, and media in general: misogyny is still present, whether people choose to acknowledge it or not. A 2021 study by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) published on ESPN, revealed that sports media is a male-dominated field: 83.3% of the sports editors, 75.8% of the assistant sports editors,82.2 % of the columnists, 85.6% of the reporters, 75.3% of the copy editors/designers, and 78.1% of the web specialists were all men. Lisa Wilson, former APSE president commented that “We need more women in this industry. [...] We need those voices. We need that perspective. We need them making coverage and hiring decisions.” She also added: “It’s been a problem for a long time, and it will take time to correct. And it’s still a major problem for women, and especially for women of color.”
Misogyny in sports journalism manifests through sexist remarks, harassment, and a lack of opportunities; both within and outside the media industry. Women’s credibility is often judged by men, which should not be the case. Women should be free to work in male-dominated fields without having to fear for their reputation.
WORD SEARCH
by
BROWNIE BATTER
BUTTERSCOTCH
CHARCOAL
CHERRY GARCIA
CHUNKY MONKEY
COFFEE COFFEE
COOKIES AND CREAM
FUNKY NUT BLAST
HONEY LAVENDER
MARMALADE
MOCHI
ROASTED CHESNUT
SALTED CARAMEL
SALTED PUMPKIN
SOURDOUGH
STRAWBERRY SUNDAE
SUPER KID
TARO
UBE CREAM
VANILLA
Curiosities
TASNIA ALAM Curiosities Editor
SUDOKU
Curiosities by TASNIA ALAM Curiosities Editor
HOROSCOPES
Hello, Plant Readers! Spring has been volatile in gracing us with its presence, but it is here, along with the new horoscopes! Enjoy!
ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19)
Unleash your excitement, Aries, as the weather has officially sprung into the lights that compliment you the most. Treat yourself with some flowers as you pop off in your spring fits. Release that fiery self of yours to the world, so all can bask in the delight that is you (including your short temper, so it doesn’t build up).
TAURUS (APR. 20 - MAY 20)
Happy birthday, Taurus! Make a wish, and wish hard because your consistency is about to be disturbed. A little ripple or big wave will rock your life because of an old friend or foe… Stay grounded in your ways — follow your head because it will lead you the right way.
GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20)
Gemini, your screen time has been high… Everything will fly by in the next few weeks, so cherish it. If you stay on your phone instead of spending time with your loved ones, you might miss a very important moment. It is time to put that phone away and commit to your family and friends.
CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22)
Hard decisions will come forth, and you need to make some seemingly impossible choices, Cancer. These choices might break you and the bonds you have cherished for so long, or create new ones that will follow you through trenches just for you to be okay. Choose the right people.
LEO (JULY 23 - AUG. 22)
I’m sorry for your reality check, Leo. Nobody likes one, but instead of hating it, embrace it. Perhaps the cleansing of toxins from your life was done for your own good. Perhaps it was what you needed to push your growth further. Don’t be mad at yourself because it was out of your control. All you can do now is make sure you react appropriately.
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22)
Your calendar is jam-packed, Virgo, and it may seem like a lot right now, but keep pushing through because those results will be worth it. Continue checking off the to-do list that you create religiously; you’ll feel amazeballs once more. Make sure not to procrastinate, however, because that will leave a severe dent in your academics.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23 - OCT. 22)
It’s time to stop projecting perfection on everyone, Libra, because you’re limiting yourself to new relationships that want to enter your life — emotionally and spiritually. Let them in while keeping your standards high but not impossible to reach since not everyone can be as ideal as you.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23 - NOV. 21)
Detox your life, Scorpio. I know you’ve been thinking about it constantly, so here’s your sign. Cut off those who have been bringing negativity to your life, say no more often because you want to, fix your sleep schedule, add screen time limits, declutter your room and throw away (burn) those bad memories. Do what you must to cleanse your soul, finally.
SAGITTARIUS
(NOV. 22 - DEC. 21)
Life is about to get juicy! Your shiny persona is attracting new eyes that are very intrigued, Sagittarius… Perhaps even the eyes you’ve been wanting upon yourself desperately. Since you stopped hyperfocusing on it and were simply yourself, their interests have been snagged. Your love life is about to spice up, and you finally have gossip to bring to the table.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 - JAN. 19)
Capricorn, instead of pestering other people about themselves, maybe it’s time to question yourself — your goals, your dreams, your personality, you. Use this month to recenter yourself and find out what you want in life so you can bloom along with the flowers. Sometimes, it’s necessary to put yourself in question to get the arc you want.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 - FEB. 18)
A little birdie told me you’re spending too much money, Aquarius. You might want to start reeling it, so you don’t fall into a financial crisis. Think about budgeting money aside instead of spreading it all in one go. Great events are heading your way, and if you spend all your money now on unnecessary material, you might be unable to afford them.
PISCES (FEB. 19 - MAR. 20):
I know everything feels overwhelming at the moment, Pisces — friends, family, work, assignments… You feel like these big currents are pulling you under, and you barely have the time to resurface before another wave pushes you down, but you need to breathe. Follow your plans and not your mood. Everything will become less overwhelming.
Winie Coulanges Editor-in-Chief
Maya Jabbari Managing Editor
Saima Mazumder Digital Managing Editor
Berlynne Steenbergen Copy Editor
Juhaina Rauph Copy Editor
Minola Grent News Editor
Emma Caspi Voices Editor
Charlotte Renaud Arts & Culture Editor
Jacqueline Graif Arts & Culture Correspondent
Ciaran Williams Science & Environment Editor
MASTHEAD
CONTRIBUTORS
Saige
Christopher
Victoria
Karsten Li
Kim-Éric Vuong
CONTACT
Plant
theplantnews.com theplantnewspaper@gmail.com @theplantdawson
Jade Gagné Sports Editor
Tasnia Alam Curiosities Editor
Julia Azzouz
Creative Writing Editor
Sanad Hamdouna Visual Arts Editor
Camylla Joseph Staff Writer
Afsha Akhtar Social Media Manager
Yassine Benouahmane Graphic Designer
Towa Di Profio Cover Artist
Yasmine Bouanani Secretary