DECEMBER 2025

the plant

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SINCE 1969 | VOL 62 NO 4 | 2025

DECEMBER @THEPLANTDAWSON   THEPLANTNEWS.COM

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Letter from the editor Dear Reader, I do not believe one or more specific places shape my experience and, therefore, my life. Sure, there are a few transformative places where I have made memories that I will never forget. But those, when grouped, do not solely shape me into the person I’ve become. I started as a Staff Writer for The Plant, having just graduated from high school. Picture a girl who was unsure of her place in Dawson, filled with worry and nerves at the fact that maybe her writing wasn’t good enough. But The Plant’s team saw something in me, and I was accepted with open arms. Being the youngest in the room, I was always aiming to improve my writing. And, with effort and passion that didn’t go unnoticed, I was offered the position of Managing Editor for the Winter 2025 semester. I remember calling those closest to me out of pure excitement and happiness. I was moving in the direction I wanted to move in. The role of Editor-In-Chief was soon going to knock on my door and be welcomed into my life. And now I’m here, this Fall semester, writing my last Letter from the Editor. Time truly does fly. It’s surreal. Being The Plant’s Editor-In-Chief has been one of those stand-out, transformative experiences in such a transformative place. I have learned so much. So so much. I have never felt growth in my life quite like the time I have spent leading this paper. This means so much to me. Writing means so much to me. I won't deny the stress of the job, and at times it can feel so heavy. But, in this moment of looking back, The Plant is the reason I am the person I am today. And I thank those who have put me here, who trusted me, and saw potential in me. It means so much. Gratitude is consuming me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yours truly,

Index NEWS ARTS & CULTURE VOICES SPORTS SCI & ENVIRONMENT 25CURIOSITIES

Maya Editor-In-Chief

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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. The Plant welcomes typed and signed letters to the editor under 400 words. Copyright 2025

NEWS     3

The Human Right to Abortion MIKA SAUVAGEAU COPY EDITOR

VIA THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA

On Thursday, October 9th, Premier François Legault unveiled a draft for a provincial constitution which would operate under the existing Canadian Constitution. It aims to define Québec’s national identity and reinforces laws adopted since 2018 under the Coalition Avenir Québec government, which established Québec as a secular, French-speaking province. While the constitution has sparked significant debate over its emphasis on monoculturalism, its third cornerstone — gender equality — has received far less attention. Article 29 of the proposed legislation states: “The State protects the freedom of women to have recourse to a voluntary interruption of pregnancy.” While the proposition seems benevolent at first glance, a closer look reveals a flawed promise; this measure may weaken, rather than strengthen, women’s rights. Abortion is currently protected under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty, and security of the person. This has been the case since the Supreme Court struck down Section 251 of the Criminal Code in 1988 (R. v. Morgentaler). R. v. Morgentler was a case led by Dr. Henry Morgentaler. His path to the 1988 Supreme Court

decision was shaped by decades of civil disobedience, legal battles, and a shifting national conversation on reproductive rights. In the 1960s, as a family doctor in Montreal, Morgentaler began providing abortions despite the procedure being criminalized under Section 251 of the Criminal Code. He argued that restrictive laws forced women into unsafe, illegal abortions. In 1969, Parliament introduced limited legal abortion access through hospital-based Therapeutic Abortion Committees, but the system was uneven and often inaccessible, which is something Morgentaler believed failed to protect women’s health. Defying the law, he opened Canada’s first independent abortion clinic in 1973, leading to multiple arrests and high-profile jury trials. Juries repeatedly acquitted him, reflecting changing public attitudes, but appellate courts overturned some acquittals, and he served jail time. His continued activism expanded to other provinces, each opening triggering new criminal charges. The pivotal case came in 1983, when Morgentaler, Dr. Leslie Smoling, and Dr. Robert Scott opened a clinic in Toronto. Charged again under Section 251, they argued that the law violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically women’s right to security of the person. This Toronto case ultimately

reached the Supreme Court, resulting in the 1988 R. v. Morgentaler decision that struck down Canada’s abortion law. As a result, abortion is not regulated by any specific statute; it is treated like any other medical procedure. As Christiane Pelchat, lawyer and doctoral student in law at the University of Sherbrooke, explains in her article “Encore une atteinte au droit des femmes,” abortion in Québec is recognized as a standard healthcare service, comparable to procedures such as knee surgery. However, article 29 singles out abortion as an exceptional medical service, which destabilizes long-standing protections grounded in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This risks stigmatizing the women who seek it and creates an opening for amendments that could restrict abortion access in the future. By introducing Article 29, however, Québec would provide a clear legal platform on which such challenges could be mounted.

The absence of specific legislation has, until now, meant that opponents of abortion rights have no legal text to challenge, resulting in a robust and stable framework for protecting access. Unfortunately, the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States serves as a stark reminder that longstanding constitutional protections are vulnerable to political shifts and judicial reinterpretation. For these reasons, women’s reproductive rights are currently safer under the existing framework than they would be under the proposed constitutional model. If it is approved, a report from Info Québec says that the government plans for the constitution to come into force symbolically on June 24, Québec’s national holiday.

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Three Semesters In: Bill 96 is Hurting Students, Not Helping Quebec ENRIQUE ARANDA CONTRIBUTOR It’s been three semesters since Bill 96 started changing life at English CEGEPs, and it’s become clear that this law isn’t just about protecting French. It’s an anti-immigration law disguised as language reform, and it’s changing who gets to learn, belong, and succeed in Quebec. What was supposed to “strengthen French” has turned into something that punishes students whose first language isn’t French, especially immigrants, allophones, and Indigenous youth. The message is pretty obvious: if you’re not a native French speaker, you don’t fully belong here. The first thing students noticed was the new mandatory French courses. People who came to CEGEP to study science, business, or arts now have to take multiple French classes each semester, whether they want to or not. It’s a heavier workload and way more stress. “It’s more work than I expected, but I feel my French is improving,” said psychology student Silvana Pulido. However, not everyone feels that way. A lot of us already juggle jobs and family responsibilities, told that our education isn’t valid unless it’s in French. At this point, it’s not even about learning the language. It’s about proving loyalty to it. To accomodate the new French requirements, English CEGEPs have been forced to cut electives and foreign language classes to make space. This means fewer chances to try something new, like Italian, Japanese, or creative writing. It may appear minor, but that freedom to explore is central to what CEGEP is designed to offer. Bill 96 isn’t improving education, it’s shrinking it. And, the students hit the hardest are usually those who already have the most to overcome: newcomers, kids of immigrants, andIndigenous students. Then there’s the whole issue of the Certificate of Eligibility. Without it, it’s

harder to get into English CEGEPs, even if you’ve always studied in English. It’s basically an invisible law. This isn’t about protecting French; it’s about controlling who gets access to English education. That’s not language policy. That’s gatekeeping. The worst impact is on Indigenous students. Many come from communities where English or Indigenous languages are what they actually use every day, and French might be a third language. Bill 96 treats them like outsiders in their own province. One First Nation student told me: “The new French course requirements have created another barrier for Indigenous students to get their degrees. Even one bad grade in a French course can mess up your R-score and make it harder to get into university.” Dawson College added a Kanien’kéha (Mohawk language) course to replace one French class, which is a nice step, but it’s still not enough. “We’re still being forced to learn in a language that isn’t ours, just to prove we belong,” the student said. It’s not just about grades, either. “The extra French classes and the exit exam stressed me out so much I started looking at universities in the U.S. instead. It’s not that I hate French, I just don’t want to be punished for not being fluent.” Even with help from places like the First People’s Centre, a lot of Indigenous students still struggle because they’re forced to learn in a language that was once used to erase their own. Bill 96 keeps that cycle going. It’s supposed to promote French, but it ends up undermining reconciliation and making Indigenous students feel like they don’t belong. At Dawson and other English CEGEPs, students are finding ways to adapt, not because the system is fair, but because there is no other option. People are forming study groups, tutoring circles, and French conversation

clubs just to get through. “It’s definitely stressful,” said General Social Science student Hoang Le Pham, “but I’ve learned to manage my time better.” Still, most of us agree the cost is too high. “I wish we still had more electives,” said Myranda Andreu. “It feels like we’re losing part of what made CEGEP fun, the freedom to explore.” Students are doing what students always do, making the best out of bad policy. But adapting doesn’t mean agreeing... Bill 96 was sold as a way to protect Quebec’s culture. But protecting one language shouldn’t mean erasing others. For immigrants and Indigenous people, it sends a clear message: your languages, your backgrounds, and your ways of learning are seen as problems. French doesn’t need to be defended from students. It needs to be supported through inclusion, better education, and respect for linguistic diversity. Instead, the government chose to control and restrict. Unfortunately, three semesters in, Bill 96 hasn’t brough people together, it’s pushed them apart. It’s driving students away, silencing diversity, and forcing Indigenous youth to pick between belonging and success. If the goal was to preserve culture, it’s doing the opposite. It’s creating frustration, alienation, and loss. Language should be something that connects us, not something that divides us. Until Quebec’s leaders realize that students like us: immigrants, Indigenous people, those with an English education, aren’t the problem, we will keep paying the price.

ARTS & CULTURE     5

Bronies Love Horror: Why The My Little Pony Fandom is Like That If you happened to be on the right side of TikTok last year, you might have seen a resurgence of My Little Pony content on your For You Page, a. Although these ponies didn’t appear as you might be used to them. A: artists were having fun designing and inventing what they called “‘Infection AU’s.”’. These were fan-made, horror alternate universes in which the “mane six” (the fandom name for the main characters) were slowly infected by a mysterious disease and slowly turned on each other. Thousands of iterations ofn this concept flooded the internet, creating a temporary boom in an otherwise half-dead fandom. If you’re unfamiliar with the My Little Pony (MLP) fandom, this trend might have come to you as a great surprise, to you but there is actually a long and storied history behind the use of MLP as a backdrop for horror content. Most people are familiar with the fourth and most popular generation of the show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. MLP was an attempt by Hasbro to increase toy sales by making a children’s show (similar to He-Man in the 80s) which worked to wild success. However things didn’t go quite as planned for Hasbro., Tthe show garnered an audience no one could’ve expected: adult men. So how in the world did this children’s show about colorful, anthropomorphic ponies learning about friendshipbecoming friends become the worldwide fandom phenomenon known as the bronies? Sadly, the answer is 4chan. For the uninitiated, 4chan is an anonymous image board website known for its propensity towards irony, dark humor and incel culture. When MLP was first airing, 4channers all over the world thought it would be a hilarious prank if they all went and watched this show. For weeks after the first few episodes aired, the message boards were flooded with what they called “‘pony-posting.”’. The thing is, and if you’ve ever tried to start saying “‘skibidi”’ ironically only to find it in

your everyday vocabulary, you know this., Iirony doesn’t really last that long before you find yourself genuinely enjoying what you are mockingthat thing. Parallely to the My Little Pony fanbase growing, so did the “‘Creepypasta”’ fanbase. “‘Creepypastas”’ are an internet term to refer to online horror stories and legends. These stories were everywhere in the 2010s, some of them even garnering their own fanbases, like Slenderman. The first pony-based creepypasta (or pony-pasta if you will) was Cupcake, a fanfiction in which Pinkie Pie drugs, brutally tortures and murders Rainbow Dash to bake her into a cupcake. The horror content didn’t stop at fanfiction, fans made music, art, animations and even video games. On its own there is absolutely nothing wrong with making horror content, it’s a safe way to experience emotional catharsis, especially through something that feels inherently safe, like My Little Pony. However, this content was everywhere in the fandom, rarely accompanied bywith any trigger warnings, and easily accessed by the young children who were also a part of this fandom.

“The horror content was not the strangest thing bronies did., Uunfortunately they were also known for sexualizing the show and its characters.” A lot of the darker sides of the brony fandom —, the intense gore and NSFW content —, started began in a very similar way toas the fandom itself: irony turned genuine. Shock culture was very big on the internet at this time, especially on 4chan, so a lot of the early adult content was done under thea veneer of “Haha, I’m going to hell for this. Isn’t it so funny of me to make this? Aren’t you shocked?” Bbut with time, the irony was dropped and these adult topics were no longer considered taboo in the fandom. In a way, it’s un-

VIA MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC

ORION PEYROL STAFF WRITER

derstandable why these men might feel the need to adult-ify their love for this show:, it isn’t seen as normal for them to enjoy children’s media., Nno matter what they did people would view them as perverted and unmasculine. I mean, why would a man enjoylike someanything if it iswasn’t hypersexual orand hyperviolent? I am in no way excusing the content that has been made for this children’s show, but I can understand why the bronies might’ve felt as if it was a safer way to enjoy it. They might be seen as creeps, but at least they weren’t seen as unmanly for enjoying a girly show. The problem with using children’s shows as the backdrop for horror media is that children are not safe from stumbling upon that adult media. On one hand there aren’t really any ways to keep children out of adult-only spaces and, on the other, the Bronies almost flaunted their adult content in the faces of children. They wanted to prove that their love for this show was normal by making it more adult, to their reputation’s detriment. Thankfully, we haven’t seen a fandom quite like this hasn’t really happened since. Thanks to the normalization of animation as a medium not uniquely reserved for children, adult animation shows are being produced like Bojack Horseman, Rick and Morty and Helluva Boss. Adults admiration for children’s shows is viewed being fans of children’s shows is seen with less judgement: more neutrally and you won’t immediately get you immediately labelled as a pervert as it happeneddid for the Bronies.

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ARTS & CULTURE     9

The International Community’s Role in Silencing Civilians: Civil War in Sudan and its Hidden Toll on Women and Children CHLOE BERCOVITZ NEWS EDITOR This story contains descriptions of sexual violence, and self harm. Reader discretion is strongly advised. Abducted from her home as she was studying for her exams, anonymous, 22, told Al Jazeera in an interview that “if they had killed me, it would have been better.” She never saw her family again; taken to a remote village and gang raped, her story is one of thousands. A civil war between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group, broke out in April 2023. While the present conflict may be recent, political turmoil has been persistent since the nation's independence in 1956. Sudan saw the same president for 30 years, Omar al-Bashir, until the coup d'état in 2019. Citizens hoped for a democracy to come forth. A joint civilian-military government was established, however, it too, was overthrown; the two men responsible for the coup are at the core of the current conflict. According to Munzoul Assal, professor of social anthropology at the University of Khartoum, “the Sudanese people wanted a transition fully led by civilians but were let down by an international community pushing for a power sharing agreement that was doomed to fail.” The international community, namely the AU, UN, and Troika (US, UK, Norway), pushed for Sudan’s military involvement in government: these same individuals conducted the coup. Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the armed forces, and the deputy, RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo began to rule together. However, when they began to disagree, their fragile alliance collapsed into open warfare. The international community set Sudan up for failure. The United Nations has declared that

this is the world's largest humanitarian and displacement crisis; one of the largest of the twenty-first century.

"Over twelve million have been forcibly displaced, 24.6 million face acute hunger, and over 150,000 people have died. " As the men fight, it is women and children who suffer quietly the toll of a conflict that has stolen their futures. Imagine carrying your children in your arms for days on end to escape gunfire, unable to return to your home which now lies in ruins. If you try to flee you risk being attacked, abducted, or forced into labour. Women are raped in front of their families. Girls become pregnant. Boys are taken and sent into battle. A thirty-year-old mother of three was raped in front of her kids. Once the soldiers left her home she slit her writs and bled to death. Her youngest was four years old at the time. VIA AL JAZEERA

ANONYMOUS, 22, WHOSE STORY IS TOLD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ARTICLE.

Another woman, Rita, was married for less than a year before being abducted. She was gang raped and her face was mutilated; Rita was thrown into a river. Her family found her days later. Similarly, aid workers are targets for kidnapping and assault. Armed groups assume their organizations can provide ransom, leading to repeated assaults and detentions. Many of those affected are Sudanese women who continue distributing food and water despite these

risks. They are the cornerstone of their communities, keeping them alive while receiving nothing in return. Sudanese women likewise lead the humanitarian response through their creation of safe spaces. Though deprived of resources, they continue to shoulder the work of survival. Such grassroots initiatives are what keep children learning. Thirteen million children in Sudan are out of school, their futures quietly being pried out of their hands. Furthermore, support for survivors is sorely lacking. For those who have borne sexual violence, in Tawila, North Darfur, there is only one Doctors Without Borders with the capacity to provide medical care. Shaza, a doctor, told More to Her Story how the paramilitary group invaded her town in demand of those that had the ability to treat their soldiers – either forcing their help or abducting them. She fled to Al Jazeera state. Regardless, the brutality continued. At a Sufi Shrine, a refuge, RSF members perpetrated mass gang rapes, claiming the lives of many. “They thought they’d be safe there,” Shaza finished, trembling. “Silence is not neutrality. Silence gives a blank cheque for horror to continue.” says Reena Ghelani, CEO of Plan International. Only a quarter of what is needed in humanitarian aid has been received. War crimes remain uninvestigated. It is only when foreign actors intervene that the Sudanese can live a life of dignity, which is a possibility that will never be within reach as long as the world stands by as military groups wield control.

"For now, such scraps of dignity are upheld by the women who, unflagging in their efforts, keep Sudan alive."

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Wielding Pain as an Artistic Tool: Is it Powerful or Harmful? The creation of art is not always pleasant, but it is necessary. It allows us to understand ourselves and the world, but most importantly, it also enables us to live our emotions instead of ignoring them. Art is what allows us to move through life. By materializing our emotions, we let ourselves move on. Art is the opposite of immobility; it reminds us that life continuously changes and that by default we must change with it. The tortured artist myth has always romanticized torment, pain, and mental illness as a necessary side effect of being an artist. Its dangerous effects are entrenched in artistic industries as well as individual beliefs. A disturbing example of the much too common glorification of pain is seen in a conversation between actor Jim Carey and movie director Michel Gondry. The two met before the filming of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to discuss Carey’s role. At the time, the actor was struggling with depression and Gondry told him: “You are so beautiful right now. You are so broken… Please don’t get well.” To Gondry, Carey’s emotional unwellness would transmit into his performance and thus had the potential to be even more “moving.” By perpetuating the glorification of mental illness, artists dealing with depression are discouraged from seeking treatment. Too many artists – musicians, writers, painters – who struggle with mental illness do not receive the help they need. Kurt Cobain, Sylvia Plath, and Van Gogh are only some of countless other examples. Everyone knows Van Gogh as the genius who painted The Starry Night. However, everyone also knows him as the man who struggled with severe manic depression, severed his ear and then went as far as committing suicide. According to Ginevra’s article “The Myth of the Tortured Artist,” “Van Gogh was a great artist not because of his mental illness, but in spite of it.”

Yes, he used painting to cope with what he was living through, but his illness was not the source of his genius. There is a great difference between embracing sadness and embracing mental illness. To embrace pain is knowing that it will pass; but to embrace mental illness is refusing to seek that change. The human experience is complex and inexplainable. We feel the way we feel sometimes without understanding why.

"There is beauty in pain because it is a part of being alive; but it is not what makes us alive." but it is not what makes us alive. It is not prettier nor uglier than any other human emotion. Pain should not be romanticized as an emotion one should linger in longer than necessary; to stagnate in it would be depriving oneself from the entire human experience. In Van Gogh’s case, his pain wasn’t simply a part of the human experience, it was his life. The je-ne-sais-quoi that propels artists to create is not pain and it never will be. However, there are benefits to using emotional turmoil as a tool to create art. According to Will Richards’ article for NME, Billie Eilish explains that she was struggling with depression and “hated every second” of the process in making her first album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? In a video where Billie was recording her song “listen before i go”, her mother asks her how she feels about the song implying that she jumps off the roof of a building. Billie replies, “I feel like it’s something I want to have said. This song is the reason I don’t. This way of saying it, instead of doing it, is better.” Art can be a tool to cope with mental illness and Billie knew this. Today, in her music, she continuously spreads awareness about depression and anxiety. Despite still struggling with both, she feels that she is in a much better place and prioritizes her well-being

before anything else. Wielding pain as an artistic tool can be powerful if done correctly. Channelling pain and heartbreak into art is a wonderful way of creating something beautiful out of something that isn’t. Justin Vernon, known for his work in Bon Iver, spent three months in a family cabin in Wisconsin in solitude. He was retreating to deal with his heartbreak and health challenges. He lived a life away from society in the hopes that he would find himself again. The product of his escape: For Emma, Forever Ago. The album won critical acclaim and contributed immensely to the indie-folk genre. It continues to move people today, and is without a doubt, Bon Iver’s most famous album. Only pain could’ve created the nostalgic masterpiece For Emma, Forever Ago. Perhaps it is works such as these that beg the troubling question: is pain necessary to create such beautiful art? This year, Bon Iver released a new album: SABLE, fABLE. If For Emma, Forever Ago was born from the ashes of pain, the new album was born out of hope. In an interview, Justin Vernon explains that he’s finally distancing himself from the “guy in a cabin” narrative and embracing a more hopeful chapter in his life. He’s lived the pain and now he’s moved on from it. The human experience is not stagnant; it is ever changing, and we must change with it… that is the je-ne-saisquoi that artists wield – change.

SELF-PORTRAIT WITH BANDAGED EAR BY VAN GOGH

CHARLOTTE RENAUD ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

ARTS & CULTURE     11

Nouvelle École : Une quatrième saison à la hauteur? ALAA ETTAOUTH STAFF WRITER

2L, TRZ ET SHAYNE, FINALISTES VIA NETFLIX

L’émission de rap française Nouvelle École était de retour cet automne nous offrant une quatrième saison chargée en compétition pour notre plus grand plaisir. On y retrouve une nouvelle fois le rappeur marseillais SCH ainsi que SDM, connu pour son hit Bolide allemand. Cette fois-ci, un nouveau concept nous est présenté : à la place d’un troisième juge pour départager, les membres du jury seront les coachs. Les candidats représenteront soit la Team SDM ou la Team SCH au courant des épreuves pour remporter 100 000 euros ainsi qu’une propulsion astronomique de leur carrière. Bien que plusieurs aient reproché à cette saison d’avoir des candidats au niveau bien plus faible que ceux des années précédentes, il suffit de se remémorer l’épreuve des Battles où il y a eu plusieurs victoires impressionnantes par KO. La plus mémorable : celle de Guerta, qui va malheureusement être éliminé à l’épreuve de son Featuring avec Guy2Bezbar sur Mo-

naco qui l’a remporté haut la main sur Ziena. Il y a aussi, bien sûr, la Lionel Messi de la compétition selon SDM, qui a réussi à faire chanter tout le public avec elle pour l’emporter contre Maks, rappeur dont le titre Assis-Toi a déjà plus de 5 millions d’écoutes sur Spotify. Effectivement, cette saison a été ponctuée de plusieurs candidats connus, parfois même déjà maîtres du domaine dans leurs quartiers. Je pense notamment à ceux s’étant démarqués lors des auditions comme Eve La Marka,

artiste déjà quelque peu établie dans la scène du rap, dont quelques-uns de ses sons, comme Bayonetta, ont déjà percés au Costa Rica. Un autre exemple est TRZ, qui occupe la scène du rap français depuis plus de 10 ans. Il en a amusé plusieurs lors de son featuring avec Theodora, chanteuse et rappeuse francophone, sur la chanson KONGOLESE SOUS BBL. J’ai toujours son petit « Boss Lady » en tête et il a su parfaitement concorder son univers musical avec la prestation scénique dansante de Théodora. Sa performance lui a mérité une belle place en finale. Il sera aux côtés de 2L, une artiste accomplie et disciplinée au courant de chaque épreuve ainsi que de Shayne, le underdog de la compétition qui a réussi à se hisser parmi les gagnants après un repêchage lors de l’épreuve des Battles. L’artiste qui me semblait la plus complète, mais également celle qui m’a parlé le plus était sans équivoque, 2L. Ses textes sont poignants et marqués par l’activisme social et politique tout en restant divertissants et relâchés. Non seulement a-t-elle su jouer de sa dualité artistique avec grand talent, mais elle a aussi renforcé la représentation féminine dans ce genre musical. Les femmes dans ce milieu souvent réduites au constant besoin de prouver leur légitimité, comme l’a si bien relevé Theodora lors de son passage en tant que juge invité pendant les auditions. Être une femme dans le rap, c’est bien plus qu’avoir à prouver sa place. C’est simplement partager son art comme n’importe quel autre artiste, et cela, 2L l’a accompli brillamment. Son titre de finale 200 dB était mémorable de par sa production musicale, mais également ses paroles engagées, sans oublier sa prestation au violon à la toute fin démontrant de nouveau sa virtuosité en tant qu’artiste. Même si je dois avouer que j’espérais énormément qu’elle repartirait avec les 100 000 euros, Shayne, l’heureux gagnant de la compétition, n’était pas complètement déméritant. Il nous a offert une prestation scénique incroyable en mêlant gospel et sonorités énergétiques, un peu « à la Travis Scott » comme SCH l’a mentionné.

"Ce qui est désolant de cette finale, c’est que le jury ait visiblement pris en compte seulement leur dernière performance pour déterminer le gagnant, en omettant de considérer l'ensemble du parcours des trois finalistes." . Shayne, qui a marqué plusieurs points en ajoutant une chorégraphie et des effets spéciaux frappants à son numéro, a pu facilement gagner le vote du public en présentiel par applaudimètre. Selon moi, cela ne se mesure pas à une performance presque sans fautes de 2L. Non seulement a-t-elle triomphé lors des auditions et de son Battle, mais elle a aussi fait valoir le défi du Featuring plus que n’importe qui. Alors qu’elle avait été mise en difficulté avec sa collaboration avec Merveille sur son hit Citadelle, une artiste hors de son répertoire musical habituel, elle a conquis le public et le jury en alliant le chant et le rap. Il ne faut pas non plus ignorer TRZ, qui a accompli un parcours solide et qui a offert un magnifique spectacle honorant ses racines kurdes lors de sa finale avec sa chanson Beldia, titre que le jury a même qualifié de « hit incontestable ». Même si son absence de mouvements sur la scène lors de sa performance lui a malheureusement fait défaut, son numéro a validé l’ampleur de son talent. Espérons que Netflix continuera à gâter les fans de rap en nous offrant la chance de découvrir de nouveaux artistes avec une cinquième saison. En attendant, vous pouvez toujours visionner les épisodes sur la plateforme streaming ou sur YouTube.

12  THE PLANT

Black Holes and Death by Techno: How DJ i_o Swallowed Dance Music Itself RAYMOND PRINCE CONTRIBUTOR

scene — under a spell? We never knew what was coming next. What’s more, Lockhart was sensitive to the tradition of EDM; I can hear the 80s and 90s in his music and certainly 2009. It strikes me that the more dance music breaks into smaller factions, the more i_o’s music feels like a foothold.

By contrast, the radio-ready house tunes that dot his discography, featuring the likes of Grimes and Canadian musician Lights, conjure sprites and angels and get stuck in your head.

monolithic, and the synths have the singularity of a black hole. You knew it was the new i_o track when it culminated in a shockwave. I do recall where I was when I decided to listen to “Death By Techno” for the first time: the Eaton Centre Indigo. The snare rolls suddenly stopped, and the whole track fell into silence. And then the beat dropped, and i_o blighted me with, well, death by techno.

Maybe the secret to the seduction of i_o’s music is how bare-bones his tracks are. Every hit of the kick drum feels

VIA EDMUNPLUGGED

He could have been bigger than The Beatles. Well, maybe not. But I can’t shake the feeling that DJ and producer Garrett Lockhart, AKA i_o, was bound for the mainstream before his passing in 2020. He sure was stealing the hearts of ravers. Mystifying and versatile, I think Lockhart should be remembered as nothing short of a visionary.

sets and album artwork. Early EPs like FATAL ERROR and ScriptKiddi sound distinctly digital. But for my money, they have some of his most moving moments too – the trance-y breakdown halfway through “Something” is a case in point. For his punishing 2019 House of God EP, Lockhart gave up all things cyber and explored satanic imagery. To this day, the title track disturbs me like a cobwebbed attic. But it still has a cool-factor because the groove kills.

It was obvious that i_o was a cross-pollinator when he released his first single in 2017. The catchy “Oxygen” featuring producer Tommy Trash and vocalist Daisy Guttridge has one foot in shimmering trance music and another in peak-time techno. But there’s nothing inaccessible about it; it recalls the anthemic EDM of deadmau5. As Lockhart told Groove Radio, the i_o moniker “all [came] back to a groove, a beat.” His music was always elementally danceable. Initially, i_o’s social media persona and visual identity borrowed from hacker aesthetics; error terminals and walls of green text featured in his live

"Lockhart could write melodies just as well as he could shake floors."

When you blur your eyes, and your ears if you can, i_o’s artistic vision is messy. Even his 2019-2020 trilogy of EPs (titled 444, he explained to Forbes, after a venue that inspired the project) runs the gamut from squelchy to ethereal. But can’t you tell how this had me — and the popular dance music

Garret Lockhart showed so much promise. Five years ago, his discography came to a most unfair halt. Party at your nearest bookstore in his memory.

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14  THE PLANT

When Misogyny Goes Too Far

It was an ordinary Wednesday. Like any other day, Pierre Leclair, a Montreal Police lieutenant and director of public relations, had to report for duty. The night before, he had the pleasure of having his daughter, Sonia, over for supper. Sonia told them all about how her semester had been going. She was in her senior year of university in engineering, and they discussed her plans for the future. On his way to work, Pierre was recounting the events of the night, a gentle smile softening his cheeks. When he arrived at the station, nothing special was on the schedule. In the late afternoon, he received a call on his radio ordering him to report to the Polytechnique School of Montreal to handle an active shooter situation. When he arrived at the scene, the media was already there shouting at any officer who would answer their questions. As director of public relations, he promised to go into the school and report back to them as soon as he could. He entered a classroom, in which a group of mechanical engineers had been attending a lecture. Pierre analyzed the scene, making mental notes for the media, when his heart sank. Ten wounded female students laid on the ground, five of whom were dead. The male classmates were unharmed. Then, Pierre fell to his knees as he watched a plastic tarp being laid out over his daughter’s lifeless body. Over 35 years after the Polytechnique Massacre, violence against women persists. Last year, 25 femicides were reported in Quebec.

Though the term femicide was only coined in recent years, women have been the targets of genderbased violence since the dawn of time. There are several types of femicides

recognized by the Feminist Coalition Against Violence Towards Women: death or suicide caused by domestic violence, misogynist torture and massacre causing death, death related to sexual orientation, and many more. The Council on the Status of Women of the Government of Quebec conducted a study confirming many facts about femicides but the most frightening is that the number of women that are reporting being victims of sexual or domestic violence is on the rise. 35 years later, no progress appears to have been made to protect women, as we notice “an increase in gender-based violence and in the rate of femicides,” says Anuradha Dugal, Executive Director at Women’s Shelters Canada. They were the perfect couple. Melissa and Blake had met years ago while they were working together. They fell in love instantly and got married soon after. Their life seemed to be falling into place; everything was so perfect. On social media, everyone was head over heels about their relationship and magazines couldn't stop admiring their couple. What they didn’t know was that Melissa’s perfect little life had quickly turned into a nightmare. Behind this perfect façade, violence, insults, bruises, and cries were hidden. Melissa Benoit had gotten the role of her life as the lead, playing Supergirl in a new TV show. But her husband had become her own personal kryptonite. During the day, she played an invincible superheroine but at night, she was a defenceless woman covered in countless bruises. One day, her husband would throw his phone at her, shattering her cornea, and the next, she would be on live television telling the story of how she had clumsily fallen down the stairs and hit her head. For years she hid beneath fake smiles, made up stories, and thick layers of makeup.

In 2020, she found the strength to reveal her story to the public, admitting to everyone that she was a domestic violence survivor and encouraging others to follow her lead. “It’s bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch.” This is one of the many misogynistic quotes from the infamous Andrew Tate. This violent treatment is something that he not only recommends but encourages men to use on their wife or girlfriend. For centuries, men from

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EVE LAROCQUE & PASCALE MCEWEN CONTRIBUTORS

all around the world would beat their wife into obedience and submission, affirming themselves as the “dominant sex.” If Andrew Tate has been one of the strongest voices of the “Alpha Male” movement in the last couple of years, he is far from being the only one. In fact, there is a strong community of thousands of men that share their desire to go back to a patriarchal society where women are reduced to a simple appendage to their husbands. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 1 in 3 women (30%) have experienced either physical and/ or sexual violence in their relationships. Men like Andrew Tate and other proud misogynists only help that percentage rise even higher with each year that passes.

VOICES     15

Quebec Has a Sub-Human Category of Labour They Don’t Want You to Know About NICOLE MOTTA STAFF WRITER "If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilets, Donald Trump?” This line, said by Kelly Osborne in 2015 during a live episode of The View in an attempt to call out Donald Trump for his offensive remarks about Latinos, will undoubtedly be going down in history as one of the most disastrously phrased political critiques to ever see the big screen. The countless memes circulating the internet for over 10 years made sure to never let her forget that. One of her co-hosts, Nicole Wallace, manages to catch onto a somewhat discernable point tangled within Osbourne’s tone deafness and awkwardness, suggesting, “I think what you’re saying is that Trump himself probably relies on a lot of these people that he’s insulting.” Now this remark rings much truer. In fact, the idea of socially demonizing migrants while simultaneously depending on their contributions to society, such as labour and economic output, is a growing issue in the past decade. As Quebecers, we are witnesses to it within our very own provincial government. The CAQ, since taking power in 2018, has led the contemporary Québécois “culture preservation” agenda, pushed with the overarching critique that foreigners threaten Quebec’s identity – defined particularly around the French language and a set of Western values such as secularism. The party has been consistently vocal about these beliefs in the media; you might recall the 2022 Jean Boulet incident, where Quebec's immigration minister falsely claimed that 80% of immigrants who go to Montreal don’t work, don’t speak French, and don’t adhere to Quebec society’s values. That same year, Premier Legault warned that bringing in more immigrants would be “suicidaire.” Among those most directly affected by the government’s demonization are

the province’s temporary foreign workers (TFWs), which, curiously, have been increasingly welcomed over the years under CAQ’s government, increasing from 7,180 in 2017 to 59,000 by June 2023, according to United Steelworkers. The TFW program concentrates itself in agricultural and manufacturing work, where workers’ closed-permits tie them to a single employer and an inflexible role, confining them in inhuman work conditions. They are often victims of low pay, abusive employers, extremely long hours, and prolonged separation from their families. These workers are even required to contribute to the Quebec tax base, while ineligible for most public benefits. It’s no accident their numbers have increased so drastically; these workers are indispensable to the Quebec economy. According to the Canadian Agricultural Resource Council, over 21 500 foreign temporary workers were employed in Quebec’s agricultural sector in 2022, making up around 22% of the entire sector workforce. This is even more significant due to the labour shortage in this sector, where 7800 positions went unfilled at peak season in 2022. TFWs are to thank for filling gaps in essential sectors relying on low-skill labor. However, occupying these jobs traps them in a striking systemic disadvantage. Most temporary foreign workers dream of settling permanently in Quebec.

"But it seems temporary migrant workers are only welcome as long as they stay in the opressive roles designed for them." Programs like Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), previously one of Quebec‘s main routes to permanent residency, only allowed workers in the highly skilled TEER (training, education, experience, and responsibilities) job categories 0-3 to apply.

Levels 0-3 include jobs that require higher education degrees or specialized training. This excludes levels four and five, short term training jobs or manual labor respectively, which make up most of temporary migrant labour in Quebec. The PEQ is set to end as of this November and will be replaced by the reformed Skilled Worker Selection program (PSTQ). Technically, this new points-based system allows level four and five workers to apply, but they’re faced with hopeless barriers within the program. Applicants are assessed through a 1400-point grid that prioritizes three main categories: human capital, response to Quebec’s needs, and adaptation factors. Clearly, TFWs are responding tremendously to the province’s needs, yet point accumulation heavily favours younger, highly educated, and French proficient applicants, with 200 points dedicated to proficiency across the four language skills. Beyond that, an intermediate oral level is required to apply, which can take anywhere from 600 to 650 hours of practice to reach, according to French Language Solutions. The multiple flaws within the Quebec Francisation system itself, designed to support the “integration” the government so desperately demands, hinders language progress for workers. They deal with enrollment limits, months-long waitlists, work schedule conflicts, and poor teaching quality. TFW contracts bind them not only to difficult living and working conditions, but to a system that offers the illusion of opportunity towards permanent status while fundamentally barring any real possibility. The question, then, is whether they are indeed stuck in this situation or deliberately placed there? The CAQ presents an interesting dichotomy. We are told that migrants are a threat, yet, clearly, they acknowledge their labour is essential for our province's needs. Cocooning a certain cultural identity appears to be conveniently keeping an indispensable workforce exactly where the government wants them: in their fisted hands.

16  THE PLANT

On the Colour Blue MAYA JABBARI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Over the summer, I, with excitement, sank my teeth into Maggie Nelson’s insightful autobiographical novel, Bluets. All about blue, this book of fragmented writing delves into Nelson’s devotion to the colour and its hues, not just because of what it means to her, but what it means to us.

"Blue, in our world, is a whole mosaic of meaning."

VIA BLUETS BY MAGGIE NELSON

To be frank, the colour is challenging, as we’ve made it paradoxical. In the realm of psychology, blue is often associated with trust and serenity. But at the same time, as the saying “having the blues” goes, blue also clearly has major ties to melancholia and loneliness. This is not new news. Even historically, blue has carried its own symbolic weight. In the Mediterranean and Jewish traditions, blue can protect against the evil eye. In Christian paintings, a shade of ultramarine called Marian blue appears in the clothes of the Virgin Mary. Blue didn’t just signal protection and holiness, but sacrifice. Even artists at times saved it for the parts of a painting they valued most, hoping the colour’s depth would speak where words could not. Picasso, centuries later, painted almost exclusively in blue during his Blue Period, turning to the colour to express the heaviness and poverty that he underwent in his early life.

Artists have continued to chase the high that garners the emotional reach of blue. Famously, Yves Klein invented his own pigment called “International Klein Blue” and, as the MoMA puts it, “Klein adopted this hue as a means of evoking the immateriality and boundlessness of his own particular utopian vision of the world.” Blue holds contradiction better than almost any other colour. That might be why we reach for it so often when words fail. Some of the most impactful works of music lean into this. Joni Mitchell’s Blue (1971), for example, is, to me, not just an album. It has left a true mark on not only my life, but the lives of so many. It’s as if it exists in its own sphere, its own world, and sometimes people visit the planet of Blue to get a feel of real vulnerability. Mitchell recorded the album alone on the road in Europe just after a break-up. You can feel it in her songs: they are stripped of any protective layer, and are delivered to us with pure authenticity. People return to the album in moments of heartbreak or transition, drawn to the emotional clarity Mitchell offers. In naming her album Blue, she wasn’t just naming the sadness we attach to the colour, but rather, she was naming the openness and the courage to feel without armour. On the other hand, blue also permeates our cultural imagination through visual media. Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Blue comes to mind. The film uses motifs drenched in blue, which is seen in beads, the sky, and garments that the main character comes across while attempting to overcome

grief without being consumed by it. Specifically, as of late, blue has also become a way of tracing cultural and political memory. In her book Black in Blues: How a Colour Tells the Story of My People, Imani Perry explores how blue treads through Black history from indigo plantations to the “blue notes” that shaped jazz and blues music. She writes about blue not as an abstract idea but as a lived experience. In Perry’s telling, blue carries the voices of people who endured and reinvented themselves through music, ritual, and storytelling. What keeps coming back to me, after reading Nelson and while writing this piece, is, truly, how blue manages to be both intimate and enormous. What a confusing and beautiful thing. We encounter it everywhere; when we look up (the skies), when we look down (the waters). It surrounds us constantly, and yet it still manages to feel personal and like it only invades us individually and no one else.

"In a society that so often demands certainty, blue allows ambiguity." In a society that so often demands certainty, blue allows ambiguity. It’s as if it is an emotional vocabulary of its own, but not because it is visually pleasing or psychologically soothing. Sure, I mean, that can be a reason in and of itself, but because it also gives us a way to name experiences that are otherwise difficult to hold. Blue is how we learn to live with things we can’t fully understand, but can’t let go of either. This is precisely why it matters so much. This is why I love blue.

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Working with a Great Story: What Maggie O’Farrell Can Learn from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead SIMON MACLAREN CONTRIBUTOR

VIA BRITISH VOGUE

When I saw the trailer for Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet, a 2020 novel by Maggie O’Farrell, I was thrilled. I decided that I had to get ready for the movie by reading the book – in my English class, we were reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which inspired O’Farrell’s novel, so the timing was perfect. While I am still excited to watch Zhao’s film, which was released in theatres on November 27th and includes critically acclaimed performances from Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, I was disappointed by Hamnet the novel. My hopes were high for Hamnet, because its premise is fantastic. O’Farrell draws on the story behind William Shakespeare’s 1603 tragedy Hamlet, the finest and most influential work in the English literary canon. Shakespeare’s eleven-year-old son, Hamnet, died in 1596, shortly before Shakespeare began writing his famous tragedy; Hamlet’s powerful consideration of what it means to be mortal, which still rings true to twenty-first-century readers, channels the monumental emotion of a grieving father. The complex feelings portrayed in Shakespeare’s play are already interesting; O’Farrell deepens the story by adding the perspective of Hamnet’s mother, Anne Hathaway (called Agnes in the novel). Agnes lived in Stratford

with her children, while Shakespeare lived in London; exploring the relationship between her and her brilliant but distant husband could even be its own complete novel. O’Farrell has so much to work with, and I was entertained and moved by her novel. But reading Hamnet is like watching a chess genius take hours to win a single match. Yes, it succeeds, but one feels it doesn’t live up to the expectations that are set by its rich premise.

"My dissatisfaction made me wonder: what makes a good adaptation? O’Farrell’s novel certainly doesn’t hold a candle to Hamlet; but why?" I found the answer in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This play, first performed in 1967, retells Hamlet through the perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the hapless attendant courtiers. In Shakespeare’s play, they spy on Hamlet and report his behaviour to Hamlet’s uncle, King Claudius. Hamlet sees right through these witless noblemen, however, and they serve only as incompetent foils to Hamlet’s verbal gymnastics. Stoppard reimagines Shakespeare’s work by exploring these featherbrained stock characters; he reflects the desperate existential uncertainty of the tragedy in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are trapped in Hamlet’s plot, acting out roles that imprison them in futility. Just below their foolish calm, they are panicked animals caught in cages. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern know just as well as the audience that they will die, and they approach their fate like people in a canoe with no paddles slowly drifting towards a waterfall. In the instant before his end, Guildenstern reflects that “there must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said – no.” Stoppard’s play is a masterful metatheatrical reflection, and it has become a contemporary classic.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is so great because it knows its source material inside and out. Stoppard makes few changes, but his editorial thrift lends them power. Hamlet’s lines in Shakespeare’s play and Stoppard’s adaptation are identical, for example. Yet through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s reactions to Hamlet, Stoppard creates a new version of the tragic hero. Stoppard’s play is not completely original, but it doesn’t have to be: the source is rich enough to share its wealth and support a thoughtful adaptation. In short, Stoppard’s play is great because Hamlet is great. For Maggie O’Farrell, Hamlet is incidental. She is interested in the human drama of Shakespeare and Agnes. Bits and pieces of Hamlet come out in her book, but only in the most obvious ways. Hamnet dies, and the epigraph to the next part of the novel is “I am dead / thou liv’st … draw thy breath in pain / to tell my story.” O’Farrell takes two different lines and mashes them together; the relevance of these words to the plot of her novel is as subtle as a brick to the head. The final scene of O’Farrell’s novel is a performance of Hamlet, with Shakespeare onstage and Agnes in the crowd. O’Farrell’s dismissive attitude to the play is apparent: Agnes is bored and uncomfortable watching the performance, and the book ends in the middle of Act 1, Scene 5. We are left with one last Hamlet quote: “Remember me.” It’s a good line, for sure, but Shakespeare has so many others, especially in this play, that are uniquely his and dig deeper into the theme of remembrance. Adaptation is not easy. It requires checking the imagination and working with what has already been created. Hamnet’s connection to Shakespeare could have lent it such wealth, but O’Farrell’s novel is instead left impoverished. Here’s hoping that Zhao and company read both Hamlet and Hamnet with care.

18  THE PLANT

The Fate of Taylor Swift’s Political Views the Eras Tour and upon dating Travis Kelce.

Over the summer, I, with excitement, saPrior to this year, Global Pop Sensation Taylor Swift had not been known to speak out about her political views. During the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, Taylor announced that she did not support Donald Trump. It was revolutionary. Taylor endorsed Joe Biden, and her 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana features an entire sequence of Swift being scared about how controversial her views were.

Since being with Kelce, Swift’s fanbase and audience has expanded from liberal teenage girls and millenials, and has slowly seeped into conservatives and football fans. In October, Taylor announced she would be marrying her boyfriend of two years. Travis Kelce is a tight-end for the Kansas City Chiefs, the winners of the 2024 Super Bowl,

Taylor even has an entire Wikipedia page titled “Political impact of Taylor Swift,” proving further that her political impact is no small thing, and has a large impact over her fanbase and mainstream media. In 2019, she released her 7th album Lover featuring the song “You Need to Calm Down” with a music video that showcased lots of LGBTQIA+ celebrities and introduced many queer themes. It highlights the men from the hit show Queer Eye, Lesbian Pop-star Hailey Kiyoko, and pride flags everywhere. It also features a group of homophobic protestors alongside a gay wedding featuring Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Another song on Lover, “The Man,” condemns the patriarchy and anti-feminist values of American society. Additionally, Taylor spoke out during Pride Month in Chicago on the American leg of her Eras Tour in 2023, urging her fans to vote and that the wave of new legislation would “put people in the LGBTQ+ community at risk,” according to The Tennessean. She has also donated over $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project to combat anti-LGBTQ+ bills in her second-home state, according to NBC News. But, is it all performative? Prior to 2020, Swift had been known to be apolitical, or at least silent about her political views. However, in light of recent events, Swift has rescinded back into her shell of apoliticalism after

"Upon Taylor’s recent album release, it is apparent that the identity of liberal Swift has disappeared. " definitely not a music guy. Taylor Swift has become increasingly criticized for her greediness in regards to music charts. Every single or big song she releases has three or four preceding versions that hardly differ from the original, allowing her to remain at the top of the charts. In fact, she was under fire last year for releasing more and more versions of her songs on The Tortured Poets Department while Chappell Roan, an up-andcoming queer artist, was attempting to promote her album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. The rumours have since been dispelled, as The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess would’ve charted the same regardless of Swift’s remixes. Recently, Donald Trump’s new administration has used a variety of artists' songs to promote the White House and I.C.E. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Including Olivia Rodrigo, who immediately spoke out about it and condemned the use of her song “all-american bitch.” Swift’s songs have been used a myriad of times for the same purpose, and she has remained completely silent. So, if Taylor’s messaging is meant to be liberal, why isn’t she condemning the White House’s usage of her songs? Trump is famously anti-Swift, and Taylor has

always endorsed Trump’s opponents. It was almost imminent that she would respond immediately, which she does normally by issuing lawsuits as soon as possible. Taylor Swift’s most recent album The Life of a Showgirl came out in October, and has been criticized for being of poorer quality than Swift’s other albums. To most fans, this album felt like a cash-grab: rushed and spurious. Her songs attempt to reach her audience, but fail to do what her past albums did: feel authentic. One of her songs “Actually Romantic” is a diss to Charli XCX’s “Everything is romantic,” which was aimed at the industry and not directly at Swift’s demeanour. Yet, Taylor “retaliated” to an inexistent “beef” just for publicity. Another song, “The Fate of Ophelia,” is being criticized for its inaccurate depictions of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy Hamlet. The song elucidates that a woman can be saved by a man from Ophelia’s “fate,” which is not at all accurate to the plot of Hamlet. Ophelia’s suicide could not have been prevented by a man, since it was essentially inspired by misogyny. This doesn’t mean the album wasn’t a big hit with her die-hard fans, though. She beat Adele’s 25 for the most sales in a week in the U.S., according to The Guardian. As a Swiftie, I was personally disappointed by the album, but also by Taylor’s lack of action taken against I.C.E. regarding the use of her songs. I think that Taylor Swift has turned into a version her fandom never thought was possible: a capitalistic monger.

VIA POLITICO

JACQUELINE GRAIF VOICES EDITOR

CREATIVE CREATIVE CREATIVE WRITING     19

Wings

ARYAN NARAYANSWAMY CONTRIBUTOR

Oh, to be free! they say. There is no taste quite as sweet as that of liberty.

Oh, but to set free, I counter. That is another high, a higher high. Not to fly but to give flight. To hold afloat. To carry the weight of another’s mortality and watch him drunk on laughter. To allow him to defy wind and sky and refuse to heed the summons of the Earth as she calls us back to her. To soar higher and higher into endless blue nothing, to look down on the vastness of the sea and the smallness of the ships.

And he laughs, because he is above it all, and I am carrying him higher still.

And he turns his face upward, away from the sea, and the ships, and the city, and the earth, basking in the sunlight, drowning in it. Skin flushing, golden, glowing, the gentle warmth washing over him.      Higher and higher still, and I feel myself unraveling, coming apart at the seams. Everything is loose, and the wind rushes through my cracks, but it does not matter because all I feel is warmth. Blazing, hungry, all-consuming, the fierce warmth brands everything in its wake.      I am dissolving, immaterial, untethered, and the fall is almost more exhilarating than the flight. He is still laughing as the sea wraps us up in its grasp, and I understand him completely. One taste of that exquisite, cruel warmth is worth a thousand falls.

Long after we do CHARLOTTE RENAUD ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

We exist in the spaces in between In the lives we lead In the distances we breathe Let us fade into the background So we can live forever In the tunes we listen to In our favourite hues The walls will remember us long after we do Let’s speak of ourselves like museum guides Let’s show the fissures in our hides The sediments of our sentiments We shave, we peel, and lose a bit of ourselves To gain a little more of each other Mother Nature whom we’re inching closer Welcomes us in her winds and oceans We’ve never been anything else We’ve only ever lived to love We’ve only existed in a recycle Let us speak now Like tangled weeds Two wheels of a bicycle

CREAT CREATIV CREAT

The Unaddressing QING JAMES CONTRIBUTOR

A cacophony of the world’s failures echo in his mouth The noise feasts on his daily bread The noise settles in cavities The noise weighs on him The teeth of that mouth bar their calls from escaping His mouth has harbored lies (The words of the aggrieved grow evermore) The wicked mustn’t speak (Silence is a source of great strength) (You peer into the maw of the wicked) Your lamentations rest in his first left molar You find hope in the bars rotting one day The microphone turns on and the wicked must speak Waves of falsehoods gush out, granted priority The cacophony stood unchanged

IALICIA am a writer J. FERREYRA CONTRIBUTOR

WRITI NG

CREATIVE

20  THE PLANT

I am a writer. I am a pensive writer. I seek experience. I witness moments— I play with letters and make new phrases from exponents. Synced with the metro’s speed I catch word and word with greed With all the vacant space I had— A notebook, an algo or an iPad. Many will be caught. And the rest will fall. Yet, these are the words I embrace, For old poetic language is not required To consume the nostalgia desired. For there’s no need for metaphors and similes To compare beauty and pain to society. Neither is an elegant vocab needed, To make a text your written masterpiece. So, I let these words grow vague, And make many mistakes On this empty sheet, lines aligned, And it’ll become my next artwork defined, For I am a writer seeking for the next pages.

CREATIV CREATIVE WRITING     21

What We Owe PASCALE MCEWEN CONTRIBUTOR

Riding down the street, the sleeve of my sweater got caught in the spokes of my bike. The wheel jammed and I lunged forward onto the pavement, scraping my knees and denting the frame of my bike. I got myself up, gathered my things and dragged my bike off the road. Once the street was cleared, the car that had stopped behind me rolled away and a woman staring at me from the sidewalk continued walking, unfazed. I limped back to my house, alone with my aching body and my bruised ego, wondering why no one stopped to lend me a hand. “You don’t owe anyone anything,” is an expression I have been hearing recently. I disagree. We owe each other kindness, compassion, respect and empathy. We live in a society that promotes radical self-interest, autonomy, and putting our needs before anyone else’s. I think “putting yourself first” is a selfish excuse to take the easy, comfortable way out and avoid the inconvenience of thinking about anyone but ourselves. Everyone wants to be independent, prioritize their own success and “protect their peace”. We sacrifice relationships to avoid distractions, miss out on experiences to put work first, say “no” to commitments that don't benefit us or our goals, and put in all this effort, just to end up successfully alone. What people don’t seem to understand is that putting yourself first does not necessarily have to imply depriving yourself of exciting experiences or meaningful connections. There are ways to show up for yourself through showing up for others. Protecting your peace can be done through nurturing your existing relationships and forging new ones, strengthening the communities that offer you a sense of belonging, surrounding yourself with love and contributing to bigger causes. The price of community is inconvenience. Success is not only measured through personal achievements, it is also reflected in selflessness, connection and belonging. Rachel Carson, the marine biologist, once wrote “in nature, nothing exists alone.” Everything and everyone is connected, weaved together to form our wondrous universe, proving that we were never meant to experience this life in solitude. Even the stars in our night sky rely on the nuclear fusion of multiple protons to shine bright.

CREAT CREATIV CREAT It is okay to need help and support. It is not embarrassing to care, to be vulnerable or to love everything in an annoyingly unconditional way. It’s human. And it’s beautiful when individuals come together to form something larger than themselves, constellations of meaning that make the world shine brighter. So, pull yourself out of the hole that you’ve been digging before it’s too late, and show up for people! Celebrate their victories. Support them through big moments. Remind them, and yourself, that you are not alone. Indulge in small acts of kindness for someone, or large ones, and relish the moment as the warmth of their happiness seeps into the cracks of your soul, until you become so filled with the warmth that it heals every single part of you.

22  THE PLANT

Touch Yourself Tonight: The Mysticality of Female Masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one’s genitals and other sensitive body parts, like the nipples, to achieve arousal and pleasure. It can be done with fingers, sex toys, videos, fantasies, or anything else that tickles your pickle. A common misconception is that women don’t masturbate. Surprise! They do. Research shows that women masturbate as frequently as men, but don’t discuss it as openly, says BBC. Another misconception is that a vulva and a vagina are the same thing. Surprise! They aren’t. Before diving into the juicy parts of female masturbation, an anatomy pit stop is necessary. Let’s get the record straight. The vulva refers to the exterior part of the female genitalia. Furthest from the center are the mons pubis, a round piece of fatty piece sitting on the pubic bone, and the labia majora. They grow hair and protect the more sensitive areas. Then comes the labia minora, the shorter lips around the entry of the vagina. The labia minora can be of different sizes, shapes, and colours. Some are asymmetrical, smaller, bigger, pinker, browner, but they are all normal. Unlike men who have two, women actually have three holes: the anus, the vaginal opening, and the urethra, through which urine comes out. Right above the urethra sits an impossibly well hidden artefact: the clitoris. It’s the most sensitive part of the human body, even beating the penis due to the concentration of nerve endings. Lastly, the vagina is actually the internal canal that connects the vulva to the cervix. There is often a small membrane called the hymen covering this entrance. Its main purpose is to protect the vagina from infection during infancy and childhood. It’s often broken when women first have penetrative sex, but it can also happen from other activities like biking. In that case, it is not painful and simply erodes over time as it loses its necessity with age. Historically, masturbation had a horrible reputation, particularly when

VIA NATURAL CYCLES

MINOLA GRENT MANAGING EDITOR

it came to women engaging in it. Any type of sexual behaviour for women that happened outside of marriage was heavily frowned upon. However, female masturbation was a known phenomenon and was studied by physicians. Medical textbooks of the early modern England period, which is roughly between the 16th and 18th century, believed that, like men, women had their own “female seed” which would be released upon orgasm, explains The Conversation. It was believed that in order to maximize pregnancy chances, it was preferable for the woman to enjoy herself during intercourse. If, on the contrary, a woman’s pent up sexual frustration and “seed” had nowhere and no way of being released, it would make her ill and cause a disorder called the “madness of the womb.” It would later be renamed hysteria. Therefore, women, and especially virgins, were seen as lustful creatures. In 1662, English physician Nicholas Culpeper was already aware that the hymen was not a proper proof of virginity. He explains that some virgins were so lustful they used their fingers or other objects and broke their hymen. While it is true that it can happen if masturbation is performed by inserting fingers or other objects, qualifying women as beings unable to control themselves is a typically misogynistic comment of the time.

In 1716, a piece of paper was distributed, causing a societal shift in the view of female masturbation. “Masturbation, [an anonymous pamphlet] claimed, was physically ruinous to either sex, causing infertility, genital discharge, consumptions, genital disfigurement, and even death,” says Women’s History Network. Female masturbation was viewed as “self-defloration” and “a meaningful threat to men’s sexual property.” Similarly, Freud also thought of female sexuality as a threat. Most are familiar with his theory that women have “penis envy.” In the same vein, Laura Mulvey explains in her book Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that Freud believed women were a threat to men because they represented what all men feared: castration. In response, men use voyeuristic and fetishistic urges as a defense mechanism against the threat of female sexuality. This includes masturbation and is, according to Mulvey, a likely explanation for the prevalence of female masturbatory content aimed at men in films and pornography alike. In porn, female masturbation is a fantasy that men get to enjoy rather than women as it holds little value in itself. “[I]t tends to serve as an appetiser to the main dish of penetrative sex,” says White Little Lies. Mainstream media often portrays female pleasure as a mystical and hazy concept that is beyond the comprehen-

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Another example is Darren Anorofsky’s Black Swan in which Nina, a ballerina obsessed with perfecting her role as the white and black swan, is introduced to her sexuality by her company's artistic director, Thomas. He invites her to touch herself to relax. When she is unable to do so because of her controlling mother, Thomas starts doing it for her during one of their private rehearsals and stops midway to teach her a lesson. After rubbing her between her legs, Thomas pushes her away and reminds her that, as the black swan, she is meant to seduce him and not the other way around. The expression of Nina’s sexuality is highly dependent on the people surrounding her, and particularly on Thomas who has a manipulative grip on her and her career. Cosmopolitan explains that female masturbation is “misrepresented in mainstream films and TV shows as this sensual, erotic experience.” A study on the feminine gaze in cinema also says that “[t]he cinematic female sexual experience has historically been criticized for its use of one dimensional, purely aesthetic, and representational practices. Scholars have argued that this is largely due to the patriarchal ideological framework, and male gaze, that has long defined the Hollywood film industry.” Despite the two scenes described above being relevant in the plot of their respective narratives, it is undeniable that to an audience, and especially a male one, it seems more like an erotic and visually pleasing endeavour. It is hard for women to identify with Daphne and Nina’s masturbation se-

quences. It is implied to be the first time they masturbate, yet they immediately know what they are doing and seem capable of reaching an orgasm. Both women are also in their early twenties, which is much later than the average first masturbation experience, which usually happens between the ages of 11 and 15. The lack of realistic progress and banality in female masturbation portrayed on screen alienates women from an experience that most should be able to relate to. More accurate depictions of everyday female masturbation are present, for example, in Fleabag and Broad City. They each showcase a different part of masturbation that women experience in a relatable and down-toearth way. In Fleabag, the titular character starts masturbating to a video of Obama giving a speech. This speaks to the sometimes odd choices that can be used for masturbation. As she’s entertaining herself, her sleeping boyfriend is woken up and is distraught at the scene. Interestingly, in a study that touched on reasons for not masturbating, 2.5% of

women surveyed expressed that they feared their partner’s negative reactions to knowing they masturbate. While Fleabag shows how uncomplicated and straight forward female masturbation can be, Broad City, on the other hand, shows an example of using a ritual to get in the mood and begin arousing yourself before even touching anything. Whether it be always starting out in the same position or wearing a certain piece of clothing, a pre-masturbatory ritual can be both soothing and exciting. Regardless of what history may have gotten some people to believe, masturbation is far from harmful. It does not cause vision loss, mental illness, or infertility as some may have made you believe. On the contrary, it can help reduce stress, improve sleep, and enhance your sex life. It’s a matter of learning to explore and discover your body and what it likes. The first step to make the mystical real is to bring it into the physical and to remove the barriers of shame and misrepresentation that keep masturbation a taboo topic. Go ahead and try it. Touch yourself tonight!

VIA BRAINKART

sion of women, and is solely understood by men. An example of this is in episode 3 of the first season of Bridgerton, “Art of the Swoon.” Daphne, the main character, is unaware of her own sexuality, given how sheltered girls of that time period are, until Simon, her love interest and a notorious playboy, swoops in to enlighten her. He tells her that she can touch herself between her legs when she is alone, and then explains to a shocked and confused Daphne what an orgasm is. Later in the episode, Daphne tries it for herself as seen in a pretty montage that showcases moments she spent with Simon, along with her gasps in her candlelit room.

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SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT  27   27 SPORTS  27

You are what you eat: How your meals impact your brain activity NADIRA ZIBIROV COPY EDITOR

The gut-brain connection is complex and bidirectional, meaning each affects the other, and the health of one influences the health of the other. Signals travel both ways through the vagus nerve, hormones, and the immune system. In fact, the gut contains more nerve cells than any other part of the body aside from the brain, and it also houses trillions of microbes that produce neurotransmitters involved in mood regulation. Among these neurotransmitters are serotonin, also called the “feel-good hormone,” dopamine, released in response to pleasurable activities, and GABA, which reduces neuronal excitability and has a calming effect. Notably, about 90% of the body’s serotonin is produced in the intestines. As a result, when the gut is healthy, the brain is more stable and possesses improved stress resilience and more energy, whereas when the gut is inflamed or imbalanced, we are more prone to stress, sadness, irritability, and brain fog. Since the brain is always active — controlling our thoughts, movements, breathing, heartbeat, and more — it needs constant fuel from the foods we eat; thus, what we consume makes all the difference. Nutrient-rich foods improve our mood by feeding the “good” bacteria in our gut, which influence the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, strengthen the intestinal lining, limit inflammation, improve nutrient absorption, and activate neural pathways between the gut and the brain. Fiber-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables boost serotonin production;

fermented foods like yogurt and kefir increase beneficial microbes; healthy fats, including salmon and walnuts, support brain-cell communication; and polyphenols, found in berries, olive oil, and green tea, reduce inflammation linked to depression. In contrast, ultra-processed foods such as chips, instant noodles, and fast food, high-sugar items like soft drinks and candy, and excess saturated fats disrupt helpful bacteria, leading to inflammation, anxiety-like symptoms, poor focus, energy crashes, and irritability. According to a meta-analysis from the National Library of Medicine of 21 studies across 10 countries, a nutrient-dense diet has been associated with a decreased risk of depression, while a “Western” diet, high in processed food, has been found to increase that risk. Just as the gut is bidirectional with our brain, it also loops with stress. Stress increases cravings for comfort foods, which harm gut health and worsen mood, leading to more cravings. This “stress-eating cycle” is biological, not a lack of willpower. Over time, it can disrupt gut microbes and contribute to obesity, certain autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory bowel diseases. So what does that mean for students? A lot, as our brain performance is constantly tested at school, especially during exam season.

VIA HAMMERSLEY HOMES

You’ve probably skipped meals during exams to save time for studying. Yet no matter how much you study, you still feel stressed and foggy. Why does this happen? The answer might be on your plate. Our gut and brain are closely connected — so much so that scientists call the gut our “second brain.” Because of this, what we eat directly influences our brain function and emotions far more than we realize.

"Skipping meals to “save time” hinders brain activity, making studying harder and less efficient — so it is actually counterintuitive. " Running on coffee and snacks also increases anxiety and weakens focus, while a balanced meal improves concentration, memory, mood regulation, and test performance. A meta-analysis of 24 studies from the National Library of Medicine found that students who skip breakfast have significantly greater odds of poor academic outcomes. So the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” couldn’t be more true. There are many ways to support a healthy gut — and a healthy mind — such as a nutritious eating plan, regular physical activity, stress management, and sufficient sleep. And of course, you can still treat yourself. A small sweet snack can temporarily boost dopamine and provide a short burst of energy. However, it is important to eat in moderation to avoid negative longterm consequences. Taking care of your gut is taking care of your mental health.

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Horoscopes ARIES (MAR 21 – APR 19) Show off that big brain of yours, Aries! Your leadership, courage and innovation are more than appreciated; they are needed. Movie rec: Rise of the Guardians (2012)

LIBRA (SEPT 23 – OCT 22) There will always be people who don’t deserve your time, who test your sense of justice. Don’t stoop to their level. Kiss them goodbye and go talk shit about them with your besties. Movie rec: Die Hard (2010)

TAURUS (APR 20 – MAY 20) Your romantic heart might be playing tricks on you lately. Stay true to yourself, and remember what values matter to you most. No relationship is worth losing your identity. Movie rec: Happiest Season (2020)

SCORPIO (OCT 23 – NOV 21) Ring, ring Scorpio! Your sixth sense is calling; please pick up. If you feel something is wrong, walk away. You don’t need anyone else's approval. Movie rec: The Chronicles of Narnia

GEMINI (MAY 21 – JUNE 20) Teamwork makes the dream work! So don’t fret when seeking a partnership. Whether you’re looking for a team to realize your vision or investing in someone’s project, trust in the power of community. Movie rec: Home Alone (1990)

SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 – DEC 21) “A glass half-full” mindset is what you need in these challenging times. The year is coming to an end, so don’t give up just yet. Trust in your ability to adapt and overcome. Movie rec: The Holdovers (2023)

CANCER (JUNE 21 – JULY 21) I know it’s that time of the year when we spend a ton on gifts, but trust me, Cancer!! Keep that wallet closed. Invest in what you need, rather than what you want. Movie rec: The Holiday (2007)

CAPRICORN (DEC 22 – JAN 19) You have been pushing yourself to work harder and more effectively lately. Find solace in your mentors and elders; those with experience and advice can give you a new perspective. Movie rec: Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

LEO (JULY 23 – AUG 22) This one is for the taken Leos: show your partner you care about their interests. You do not need to partake in their niche and nerdy hobbies to respect them. Simply listening to them can make a difference. Movie rec: Little Women (2019)

AQUARIUS (JAN 20 – FEB 18) You might want to stay in tonight because it’s dark and cold out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find warmth amongst the people. Cherish your community and keep a stable connection with old and new friends. Movie rec: Barbie in A Christmas Carol (2008)

VIRGO (AUG 23 – SEPT 22) Taking your time to accomplish even the smallest task in a grand scheme is not meaningless. Details count even when you think no one will notice. Your meticulous nature is an asset, so exploit it. Movie rec: Muppets Christmas Carol (1994)

PISCES (FEB 19 – MAR 20) It’s a wonderful thing to be creative and ambitious. So put those words into actions and make it happen. Don’t get lost in the ifs and whens. Movie rec: Love Story (1970)

ANSWER TO LAST MONTH’S SUDOKU:

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