The Plant December 2024 VOL. 61 NO. 4

the plant

DECEMBER @THEPLANTDAWSON THEPLANTNEWS.COM

2 THE PLANT

Letter from the Editor My time at The Plant is done. My time at Dawson is over. To be honest, it’s deeply overwhelming.

Over the past few weeks, events have transpired in our city that have struck deep fear. We have seen unbelievably powerful, honourable, beautiful protests that have sent shocks through the island and yet still fail to prompt our academic institutions to divest from genocide. We have seen our communities that fight against the axes of power who profit and trade in genocide be brutalised into screaming pain by police officers, sent home in ambulances, hospitalised and gassed and struck and beaten in fascist acts of state violence, all in the name of “preserving peace.” I don’t feel at peace at all. The air is in a state of constant vibration, and there is a scratching, ripping rhythm to life that pulses stronger every day. And yet, this is not what makes my heart ache.

That is the endless love.

Dawson has transformed me. The person I came here as is long gone, buried deep as the vital foundation of who I leave this place as. I have met so many amazing people, felt anxious in so many ways, and learned. Learned and revered. My world has exploded since semester one and I have been beaten into a shape that can ride the shockwaves and (with varying success) mould them into music. So many amazing colleagues, so many beautiful friends, and although it’s scary to admit, many that have become like family to me. Thank you Dawson, for the endless love. And fuck the administration for staying silent and dismissive whilst we cry for rights.

The Plant.

What can I even say? Since joining this team, I have participated in the publication of twohundred-thousand words of nonstop banger journalism, and not one of them can begin to describe the level of impact it’s made on me. I love you guys so much. I love you guys so much. I love you guys so much. You are like a family to me. You’re all so smart, and so pretty, and so funny, and every time I talk with any of you I feel so excited and happy. You all have taught me so much, continually made me question myself, taught me when to not question myself, and there is no greater blessing.

Now, Dear Readers: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you so much. The amount of support and encouragement, and most importantly engagement we’ve experienced over the last few semesters is incredible. You are all so lovely and fearless, always pushing us to do more. The truth is, the act of writing is meaningless. It is only when you permit our words to render in your brain that a movement can occur. The privilege you have allowed us, to weave a little into your neurons every release, is astounding. Having to leave it behind is terrifying; I will miss all of you, with whom I was able to share this beautiful ritual of making and moving. And of course, thank you Contributors, who have done so much to make The Plant fresh and a part of the school.

My eyes are wet.

Please stay strong. Please don’t be scared. For every scratch and rip, there’s a wonderful winter break full of cozy and chill. That’s a constant. There’s always something for you, even if it’s buried. And we can fight together to scratch and rip and build it out up from the earth. It will be as beautiful as the act of its creation. For every Dawson administrative act of oppression, there’s been an incredibly freeing English class where I’ve discovered a new part of myself. For every sob-inducing french assignment there’s been an exhilarating Dawson Film Fest. For every moment, there have been my amazing friends. Thank you Sanad. Thank you Winie. Thank you Saima. Thank you Maya, Elliot, Ron, Lorina, Julia, Charlotte, Emma, Juhaina, Tasnia, Jade, Thalia, Ciaran, Abigail, Tennesy, Afsha, Naiomi, Stef, Yassine, Towa, Saya & Sarah. We truly are the freak press.

For every endless pain, there is endless love. For every sob there is a cry, for every month, there is a Plant, and finally: for every hello, a goodbye.

Index NEWS

3

ARTS & CULTURE

4

VISUAL ARTS

8

VOICES

10

CREATIVE WRITING

21

SPORTS

24

SCIENCE &

25

ENVIRONMENT

25

CURIOSITIES

27

i love you i love you i love you,

MIRREN BODANIS, 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.

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

Copyright 2024

NEWS 3

The Dana: How Valencians Lost Their Home THALIA RUIZ RAMIREZ News Editor

The recent Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos (DANA; Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression) devastated Valencia and surrounding regions in Spain, forcing them to recover from one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s recent history. Torrential rains fueled by this atmospheric phenomenon caused flash floods that killed at least 220 people and left dozens missing. Nearly a million people face significant challenges, according to France 24. As the death toll climbs, both the government and the public confront growing scrutiny over their responses.

On October 29th, the DANA unleashed unprecedented rainfall across eastern Spain. The BBC reported that in Valencia, over 500 litres of water per square metre fell in a matter of hours, surpassing the region’s annual average rainfall. The BBC explained that this phenomenon occurs when cold polar air collides with warm, moist Mediterranean air, creating violent storms with strong winds and tornadoes.

El Español described how rivers burst their banks, submerging entire towns and forcing thousands of people onto rooftops or into vehicles for safety. By November 1st, reports from the BBC revealed that authorities had identified 214 fatalities, including 211 in Valencia alone. Additionally, France 24 reported that the disaster affected over 950,000 people, with families grieving lost loved ones while

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searching for missing members.

Survivors shared heartbreaking accounts, such as Sarai from Paiporta.

She told À Punt Television that her father died while saving her children from the floodwaters. According to France 24, rescue teams recovered bodies from submerged vehicles and garages days after the initial floods.

Material destruction also adds to the suffering. Floodwaters destroyed thousands of homes, vehicles, and public infrastructure, according to France 24. The BBC noted that over 75,000 households remain without power, while several areas face contaminated water supplies.

Financial losses, reported by El País, could reach billions of euros.

The government’s response has drawn widespread criticism for delays and inefficiencies. El Periódico de España reported that the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET; Spanish acronym for State Meteorological Agency) issued a red alert early on October 29th, warning of severe flooding.

However, regional authorities waited eight hours before declaring an emergency in Valencia, and officials delayed sending mobile alerts until 8:12 PM. By then, France 24 described how many residents were already clinging to trees or trapped on rooftops.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska faced backlash for rejecting international aid offers from France and El Salvador. Regional leaders, including Carlos Mazón, insisted their resources sufficed despite visible shortcomings, as reported by Tele Madrid and La Sexta.

Amid the institutional shortcomings, the public demonstrated remarkable solidarity.

France 24 described how volunteers from across Spain arrived in Valencia with cleaning supplies and food, organising grassroots relief efforts under the motto “Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo” (“Only the people save the people”). Volunteers cleaned streets, assisted evacuees, and distributed essential goods, stepping in where official responses fell short.

Public anger towards officials erupted during visits by Prime Minister Sánchez, King Felipe VI, and Queen Letizia to the affected areas. France 24 recounted how residents in Paiporta protested, accusing the government of negligence. One resident shouted, “We have lost everything... and nobody did anything to prevent it.” Others hurled mud and insults, voicing their frustration. CNN

Volunteers cleaned streets, assisted evacuees, and distributed essential goods, stepping in where official responses fell short. highlighted the escalating tension, noting that some citizens even attempted to confront officials directly.

Eventually, rescue teams expanded their operations with 1,200 military personnel, followed by another 500 troops, as reported by the BBC. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged €14.37 billion in emergency relief, according to . The package includes direct compensation for affected families, housing reconstruction funds, and a moratorium on utility bills until 2025. Sánchez also announced that families who lost members would receive up to €72,000 per deceased relative, while homeowners whose properties were destroyed could qualify for up to €60,480 in aid.

The DANA revealed significant weaknesses in Spain’s disaster preparedness and response systems.

Climatologist Jorge Olcina told the BBC that evacuation orders and proactive measures could have saved many lives. Olcina emphasised that authorities left too many people exposed, going about their normal lives when they should have evacuated.

As Spain embarks on the long road to recovery, the tragedy underscores both the resilience of its people and the systemic failures that exacerbated the disaster. This event serves as a powerful reminder of the urgent need for more effective disaster management strategies in the face of increasingly severe weather events.

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“Boys [Do] Cry”: The Cure’s New Album on Mortality CHARLOTTE RENAUD Arts & Culture Editor Very much awaited, The Cure’s fourteenth studio album, Songs of a Lost World, was released on Friday November 1st, sixteen years after the release of their previous album 4:13 Dream. It’s Friday, I’m in love with the new album, and so are countless other fans. Not only did it satiate listeners’ anticipation, but the album proved very successful, reaching number one on the charts in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

All eight songs on the album are solely composed by Robert Smith (vocalist/guitarist) who also produced and mixed it alongside Paul Corkett, British record producer and engineer. It’s The Cure’s first studio album to feature Reeves Gabrels since he fully joined the band in 2012, and his distinct guitar sound contributes to the album’s elegiac ambiance.

Songs of a Lost World is proof that beauty and artistry can arise from the ashes of tragedy.

Smith’s grief over losing his mother, father, and brother is channelled into the creation of the album’s lyrical and musical genius. The Cure, more than ever, leans into the gothic genre they’ve denied for so long. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine, claims that it is the Cure’s best since Disintegration, calling it a “vividly propulsive space-rock goth elegy, eight songs in fifty minutes, kicking with a fullblooded band attack.”

“Alone” kickstarts the album off with pounding drums accompanied by resonating guitar chords. The song grows in energy, all

while the piano’s gentle melody softens the sound. Mirroring the long time it took for their album to release (good things take time), Smith only begins to sing three minutes into the song, “This is the end/ Of every song that we sing.” The powerful start to the album sets an apocalyptic tone that lasts throughout Songs of a Lost World, compelling the listener to feel Smith’s sense of urgency in mortality.

In “I Can Never Say Goodbye”, Smith directly references his deceased brother with the lyrics, “Something wicked this way comes/

Songs of a Lost World is proof that beauty and artistry can arise from the ashes of tragedy.

To steal away my brother’s life.” “Warsong”, probably the most apocalyptic song with its battle-like hitting drums, criticises how humanity contributes to death around the world. The lyrics, “All we will ever know is bitter ends/ For we were born to war” forces listeners to gaze upon themselves by casting light on humanity’s tendency to create conflict.

The album cover itself evokes a sense of mortality, showcasing Bagatelle, a 1975 work

by Slovenian sculptor Janez Pirnat. The lightly engraved face on a lump of granite is “redolent of a damaged classical sculpture rescued from beneath the waves,” says The Guardian writer Kitty Empire. Smith fell upon a picture of Bagatelle as he was looking through a book by Pirnat. Right away, he knew that it needed to be

COVER ART FOR SONGS OF A LOST WORLD

the album cover. Coincidentally, Smith looked up the artist online only to discover that he had died that same day, “It was a very strange coincidence, which cemented the idea that this has got to be the album cover,” he tells NME. Mortality, the album’s central theme, is explored throughout the album either by describing the passing of Smith’s family members or the overall negative repercussions of conflict. At the core of the album’s message lies Smith’s own sense of his transient self.

Now that the dream of stardom has been achieved– what next? Smith’s lyrics reverberate with his introspection on his mortality, contemplating his lost youth, “Where did it go?” he sings in “Alone.” In “And Nothing is Forever”, he sings, “I know, I know/ That my world has grown old/ And nothing is forever.”

Despite emanating a sombre mood, the lyrics can also be interpreted as having an underlying hopefulness. Mortality is imminent, but can art last forever? Not only does Songs of a Lost World honour the memory of Smith’s father, mother, and brother, but the album also adds to Smith’s discography that will undoubtedly be remembered long after he passes away.

In his article in Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield writes, “It’s a full-circle achievement for the goth moppet who was already singing ‘Yesterday I got so old’ when he was halfway through his 20s.” However, unlike “In Between Days” and the rest of the band’s older discography, Songs of a Lost World exudes an even more serious and mature tone, an additional sombre layer that was not as present in The Cure’s earlier love songs. It is clear that Smith, growing older and grieving the passing of family members, views mortality as fast approaching more than ever.

The Cure demonstrates how older artists’ music can remain relevant and appeal to anyone, standing the test of time. Smith may feel his mortality looming above his head more than during his youth, but his new music resonates just as much as before. In Pitchfork magazine Ben Cardew writes, “It feels like a record whose time is right…” Songs of a Lost World released when its message had to be heard. We must accept that we are all bound by our mortality, but that there is still so much within our control to ease that burden during our lives, and Smith does so through his music.

ARTS & CULTURE 5 5

Here’s What We Miss on Glee MEGAN SHEEL Contributor (Students from various colleges in Montreal were interviewed about their opinions of the show for the article.)

The hit television show, Glee, aired over fifteen years ago, becoming an instant cult classic and gaining a fan base of “gleeks” who tuned into every episode, bought merchandise, and even attended concerts. Keeping true to the times, Glee feels like a relic of teenagehood in 2009 to 2015, including its fashion, music, and pop culture…the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. The wholesome idea of a group of misfits brought together by their shared love of singing is the focus of the show.

“I would say it’s kind of advanced for its time,” explains Audrey Belanger.

Characters of various different ethnicities, sexualities, and races were hard to find on television in the early 2010s, but Glee starred characters that broke out of Hollywood stereotypes. However, like all shows directed by Ryan Murphy, Glee is filled with raunchy comedy that most agree would never pass today. “When it comes to dark humour, I feel like if stuff that was said in the show was said now it would be taken really differently,” says Audrey, which begs the question: should Glee have aired to begin with?

Jade Gagné expresses,“The show basically tells all the jokes we say in our heads. It’s so problematic that it feels ‘free’ to see this in a show which is loved as much as this one is.” Whether it be Sue Sylvester, played by Jane Lynch, saying she does not want to be “visually assaulted by uglies and fatties” or simply nicknaming the character Kurt Hummel “porcelain,” the character of Sue is nothing if not offensive.

If her character was a real person today, she would probably be cancelled. However, her unapologetic honesty and hatred for the glee club in the show has made her a fan favourite. Kacy Seguin calls herself the “biggest Sue fan ever,” explaining that the character “speaks the truth all the time.” Bianca Melocco describes Glee as “absolutely necessary for our culture,” but if it’s known that Glee wouldn’t be appropriate today, why does it gain so many fans over a decade past its release?

Will Shuester, played by Matthew Morrison, says, “You’re all minorities, you’re in the glee club.” For some reason this resonates with the show’s brand and, although it’s a stupid line, perhaps it is why

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the fan base is still going strong a decade since its release. We watched the glee club get slush thrown in their faces for being losers, but Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is right when she says, “You want to be a loser like me.” Watching these characters get relentlessly bullied and persevering nevertheless, is nothing short of inspiring.

Viewers want to see them succeed no matter how many times they are ridiculed.

The characters, despite being over the top, have realistic traits that the viewer can feel connected to. “They’re so flawed and lowkey awful,” explains Berlynne Steenbergen, “characters become real when they fail and if a character is perfect I don’t believe it.”

In season 2, episode 3: Grilled Cheesus, Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) becomes a devout Christian after burning the face of Jesus Christ into his grilled cheese sandwich.

Instead of praying for his stepfather who is in a coma, he prays for his personal wishes.

Although it seems obvious that praying for his stepfather would be the right thing to do, Finn’s selfishness appeals to viewers who also relate to having personal desires that appear important in the moment.

The show is beloved by many viewers because they can relate to the characters on the screen. When watching Glee, Mackenzie Stone recognizes that “each character has to go through different stepping stones, it kind of made me reflect on my own life.”

For example, when Santana (Naya Rivera) came out, Mackenzie says, “I related to

that so much because I also didn’t want to believe I was a certain sexuality.” As some feel serious connections to the characters, other viewers relate to the more comedic aspects of the show. “Brittany is an idiot and a genius at the same time,” expresses Kacy, “I feel like she’s just like me.”

Julia Ellis notes that “celebrities were begging to be on the show because it was so fun,” which led to Glee having an abundance of fun guest stars. “You don’t rock with Holly Holiday the way I do,” Julia says about Gwyneth Paltrow’s guest appearance on the show as the substitute teacher.

Some argue that there hasn’t been a show like Glee since its release. All over social media, such as on TikTok and Instagram, people have been actively craving a reboot of the show, calling it a Gleeboot. “It’s objectively a bad show,” explains Julia, “but it touches on so many topics that were deemed too controversial at the time.” As a response to the show’s great soundtrack, she says, “We need that again, it makes me so mad when someone hates on the show.”

Since Glee has contributed so much to the culture, especially for Gen Z viewers, could a Gleeboot be necessary for the next generations?

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A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: The Symbolism of Milk in Film MAYA JABBARI Staff writer

As someone who has never had a liking for whole milk, even in my youth when it was served with almost every meal, and given to us at school in the little Québon boxes, I felt I was always forced to drink it. My parents would say my bones needed to be strong and I needed to grow and all that. I mean, of course, yes, milk is good for you! It’s the first food we consume as infants, and that directly makes it associated with growth, motherhood, and childhood.

By extension, milk’s symbolism is also a direct representation of innocence and purity. I urge you to think of where you’ve seen milk. Maybe you’re picturing marketing campaigns, or, like me, maybe you’re picturing some movies…

Take Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds for example, in one of the film’s most tense scenes, we see SS Colonel Hans Landa visit a French dairy farmer who the Colonel suspects of hiding Jews during WWII. As Landa interrogates the farmer, he requests a glass of fresh milk. When that request is quickly realized, he lifts the glass, chuggs it, and the reminisce of the drink coats his lips as he praises the farmer for its quality. Tarantino juxtaposes our idea of milk as a wholesome drink with Landa’s sinister intentions.

Tarantino isn’t the first director to use milk to unnerve his audience. Stanley Kubrick employed a similar technique in his dystopian classic A Clockwork

Orange. The film’s violent teenage protagonist and his gang frequent the Korova Milk Bar, where they drink drug-laced milk to prepare for their brutal crime sprees. The image of these young thugs downing milk creates a disturbing contrast between youthful innocence and extreme violence.

Another example of this subversion of milk is seen in more recent films like Get Out directed by Jordan Peele.

In a pivotal scene that became quite popular, Rose casually eats Fruit Loops one by one while sipping a glass of milk through a straw as she searches for her next victim online. This scene makes the connection between innocence and violence even more prominent because of the addition of Fruit Loops, a childhood breakfast staple. We, as the audience, realize the true depths of Rose’s sociopathy.

So why does milk work so well as a symbol of hidden evil? It all comes down to the power of contrast. Milk represents everything these villains are not - pure, innocent, and nurturing.

By consuming it, they’re essentially wearing a mask of normalcy that makes their true nature even more frightening. Think of the American Psycho monologue that Patrick Bateman delivers about his mask, “There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not

there.” This is the visual equivalent of a wolf in sheep’s clothing; a concept all of these directors are exploring.

To add, milk also serves to infantilize these characters in a disturbing way.

Adult men drinking milk can come across as creepy or stunted. It proposes the idea that there’s something “off” about them, hinting at arrested development or a twisted worldview.

When we see Landa drinking milk, a part of us can’t help but think “grown men shouldn’t drink milk like that, they shouldn’t chug it, it just seems weird” which is exactly the unsettled reaction the filmmakers are going for.

The milk motif also ties into broader themes of corruption and tainted innocence that run through many of these films. This is especially seen in A Clockwork Orange, where the milk laced with drugs represents how society’s attempts to “cure” Alex ultimately poison his free will.

And similarly, the milk in Get Out symbolizes how Rose’s outward wholesomeness masks her true monstrous nature.

By now, the sight of a villain drinking milk has become almost a cinematic shorthand for “this character is not quite right.” It’s a subtle but effective way for filmmakers to signal to the audience that something sinister lurks beneath the surface. So the next time you see a character on screen gulping down a glass of milk, pay attention - chances are, there’s more to them than meets the eye.

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ARTS & CULTURE 7

Shoot for Jorts summer,” stated a spokesperson of the Mile End based warehouse retailer in a recent email correspondence. Known As winter changed over to mild for its extensive variety of jeans and spring and the weather started to heat incredible customer service, they up, so did a particular portmanteau receive brisk business from all ages. trend. By early summer, people were Yet in this case, the clientele for jorts hit with the full blast of this bottoms were from the trendier crowd, ages sensation. Are they jeans? Are they ranging around 15 to 25. shorts? Nope, they’re jorts.

In this day and age, social media is While jorts can confusingly refer to ingrained in young people’s everyday any type of shorts made of denim, in lives and that culture has helped jorts this particular instance they are most to resurface. By shaping how they known for being slouchy, wide legged, connect, communicate, learn and and loose. Their hemlines range interact with the world, mainstream anywhere from mid thigh to knee trends and social commerce are highly grazing. effective on consumers, particularly By shaping how they connect, communicate, learn youth. Every interviewee admitted that they first became aware of jorts or and interact with the world, mainstream trends were influenced by the trend through social media, iterating popular digital and social commerce are highly effective on platforms such as Instagram and consumers, particularly youth.

TikTok. For others, these denim bottoms are The gravitation towards these roomy shorts began to gain prominence in just another ridiculous fashion trend. and lengthier jean shorts is fitting. California’s skate and beach culture Ksenia Sidorenko, the founder of People have been shifting to larger and in the 1980’s. By the 1990’s and early denim upcycling brand UseDem, was slouchier denim styles for both style 2000’s, jorts were in full swing before at first confused by the term ‘jorts.’ and comfort. For Zoe Wallis, a student stepping off stage, taking a breather by She was amused once it was clarified, at College Durocher, fashion has the being skewed as a tacky Dad aesthetic. “That’s shorts.” Sidorenko further last word. The owner of multiple jorts, Since its grand reemergence and explained by text correspondence she is pulled in by its distinctive edge hitching a ride on Y2K movement, that it’s a trick in making something when it comes to style, pairing the the trend is ever growing. A July 2024 fashionable. “Take something that was loose bottoms with a tight top for a article “The Jorts Trend Revival Isn’t Up cool 20 years ago, call it different and contrast. Wallis notes, “It’s just more for Debate” in Marie Claire found that Tadam! New fashion.”

Jort wearing season has long since different to wear that then, let’s say, just there was an additional 13% increase shorts and a tank top, you know?” in jorts’ popularity that month to the passed but as we slide back into another For others, they are appreciated for already 75% increase three months winter many are hopeful that they will their modesty, especially compared earlier. JeanJeansJeans has been on the withstand the lengthy cold until the to the recent reign of cheek grazing front lines of jort action. “There was warmer months. “They’re perfect for short shorts. “I don’t like to reveal my a demand in the 2nd half of this last every summer,” says Jeuris before jokingly adding, “I hope they never go out of style because I’ll also go out of style.” The suppliers are banking on such hope as well; at JeansJeansJeans, they are already preparing for the upcoming future. The spokesperson revealed that a big preorder of the knee length bottoms had already been placed for summer 2025. Now all that there is to do is wait!

RUOHAN WALLIS Contributor

leg that much,” explains Natthakritta Saengsok, an Industrial Design student at Dawson College. With the stifling heat of summer, jorts are equally appreciated in keeping to their ‘shorts’ function. Ava Jeuris, a Dawson College Arts and Culture student, summarises, “They’re long enough that you won’t be judged and they’re short enough so that you’re not too hot.”

Jorts have been sliding in and out of fashion for the past decades.

According to an August 2024 article in The Washington Post “Jorts are no joke in this summer of slacker style,” baggy and oversized versions of jean

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8 THE PLANT CURATED

BY SANAD HAMDOUNA Visual Arts Editor

SAHARA ROMERO @SAHARIITAAA

VISUAL ARTS 9

SANAD HAMDOUNA @SWORDHYMN_

AFSHA AKHTAR @ASH_SKETCHRECORDS

10 THE PLANT

4B Movement: Boycott the Boys with Grace and Poise EMMA CASPI Voices Editor

November 6th was a dismaying day for American women. Donald Trump’s victory was indeed a solemn déjà vu, reminding all Americans of what he has done to suppress women during his first presidential term. According to The Independent, Trump managed in his first term to end international funding for women’s rights and reproductive health, block laws promoting equal pay, appoint very few women to his administration, censor terminology about women’s health from government agencies, dismantle reproductive health services…should I go on? Kamala Harris was a beacon of hope to all the dejected women. When that hope was extinguished, American women had the choice to do one of two

so radical as the 4B movement does not simply appear for the fun of sundering women’s relationships with men. Although the movement was brought to our attention since it has piqued interest in the United States, the movement was originally created to counteract systemic misogyny and address violence against women such as increasing femicides, revenge porn, and dating violence in South Korea.

The Washington Post depicts South Korea’s view of women’s roles in society as the Korean word “jibsaram,” meaning “home person” and is a word for “wife.” Regardless of a woman’s career aspirations or occupation, they are expected to be jibsaram and are oppressed by perpetual gender expectations. If women do prioritize academic education and thus become competitors for increasingly

Participants of the 4B movement do not view their actions as male hatred, but more so the rejection of heterosexual relationships as a means of resisting patriarchal structures and reclaiming a sense of agency. things: passively watch their bodily autonomy vanish or protest in a way that oppressive men can’t ignore.

Pursuing the latter, frustrated American women have been researching and joining the 4B movement.

4B is a radical feminist movement originating from South Korea. The “B” is shorthand for the Korean prefix “bi,” which means “no.” The central idea rests on 4 pillars or the 4 b’s: bihon (marriage), bichulsan (childbirth), biyeonae (dating), and bisekseu (intercourse) with men. The movement therefore requires all women who join to completely isolate men from their nuptial, maternal, romantic and sexual lives. Participants of the 4B movement do not view their actions as male hatred, but more so the rejection of heterosexual relationships as a means of resisting patriarchal structures and reclaiming a sense of agency.

What makes this movement so striking is that it does not try and find solutions to dismantle the patriarchy, but rather leaves it behind altogether; women refuse to fix yet another faulty governmental system. Something

scarce jobs, online forums and social media foster a hostile environment for angry male commenters to attack women.

Feminist scholar Euisol Jeong notes that men will label college-educated women as “kimchee women,” a stereotype that Korean women are selfish and exploited if they neglect their “duties.” A misogynistic and anti-feminist community subsequently followed called “Ilbe” whose members view women as shallow gold-diggers.

Korean women clapped back, creating feminist sites that use the term “Korean male-bug,” a stereotype that Korean men are ugly, sexist, and obsessively buy sex.

South Korea makes it incredibly hard to be both a mother and pursue a profession since the country offers very little maternal support and care. The 4B movement began around the same time South Korea’s government attempted to raise the plummeting birth rate in a panic through unhelpful incentives, trying to get women to copulate without implementing the proper resources and care for mothers. The Cut reveals the

“National Birth Map” launched online by the Korean government, which illustrates the women of reproductive age in every municipality. Korean women were deeply offended, accusing the government of treating them like livestock.

As a result, Korea’s birth rate has been steadily dropping: according to Reuters, South Korea’s birth fertility rate reached a record low of 0.78, with Seoul logging the lowest rate at 0.59.

The panic ensuing from South Korea’s low birth rate proves the 4B activist’s point that women are crucial for the nation’s survival and success; if the nation does not care about women’s health, why should they care about the nation’s health?

Inspired by Korean women fighting against their patriarchal and misogynistic government, many American women are gaining back their feminine power and control over their bodies by joining the 4B movement. If women do not have a say in the legislature created by men that controls their reproductive health, then they will in turn deny them access to their bodies.

The male audience typically thinks unfavourably about this movement, viewing it as an unfair punishment toward the innocent. What is truly unfair is that women astonishingly have to force their country and its men to respect them. American women know society will fall apart if they isolate themselves. They eagerly await the time so they can rebuild a world bereft of perpetual fear, frustration and anger– a world where the word “no” is a command, not a suggestion.

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VOICES 11

The Dawson R-Score Paradox: Levelling the Playing Field or Rigging the Game?

ELLA DUBÉ Contributor

Did you know there is more to your R-Score than meets the eye? Every Science student in CÉGEP obsesses over that five-digit number that appears in their transcripts at the end of each semester. The general purpose of the R-Score, as per the Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire (BCI), is to “correct for observed differences in college grading systems and to adjust the resulting values so as to take into account the relative strength and dispersion of each group of students”.

Simply put, it aims to level the playing field across the province, so everyone has a fair chance during university admissions. Yet, at Dawson, quite the opposite is true in the pre-university science programs. Instead, the administration applies something called R-Score groupings in a way that appears

does not account for previous evaluations, the differences in grading methods, or the variation in teaching methods from class to class. Hence, the R-Score calculation is no longer accurate at depicting a student’s success compared to their peers.

To understand the issue, one must understand the principles of the calculations. The R-Score utilises three primary classification methods: The average grade, the Z-score and the College R-Score. The average grade is simply one’s grade in a class. The Z-Score standardises this by comparing it to the class average and the standard deviation, which measures how spread out the grades are from the class average. Therefore, a better R-Score is achieved if classmates have very similar grades, and a student manages to stand out significantly above them.

However, this method is flawed when a group average is very high, as in the

This grouping does not account for previous evaluations, the differences in grading methods, or the variation in teaching methods from class to class. Hence, the R-Score calculation is no longer accurate at depicting a student’s success compared to their peers.

to benefit the highest-performing students while potentially disadvantageing the others.

For starters, what is the R-Score grouping? When calculating the R-Score, a student’s average is typically compared to those of their classmates. However, according to the BCI, this comparison does not have to be limited to a single classroom. If multiple sections of a course are evaluated in the same manner, all the grades from those sections can be grouped together for the R-Score calculation. The BCI gives the example of a justifiable R-Score grouping in the circumstances where a teacher gives three sections of the same course. In this context, it would be reasonable to regroup those 3 sections into a single group.

Nevertheless, the college furthers that example by grouping all the sections for a single core science course into one R-Score grouping, even if they were taught by different teachers. This practice is justified on the premise that everyone takes a common final at the end of the semester, thus fulfilling the BCI’s criteria of being “evaluated in the same way”. This grouping

case of enriched classes, making it nearly impossible to distinguish oneself. The college originally developed the coursewide R-Score grouping to counter this issue. However, the larger collective of grades skews the group averages and increases the standard deviation, making it harder to achieve a high R-Score, especially for the lower-performing students.

In 2017, the BCI implemented the college R-score in an attempt to correct the issue of enriched classes. This method corrects the Z-score by implementing

two correction factors that estimate the strength of students: the indicator of the relative strength of the group (ISGZ) and the indicator of the dispersion of the group (IDGZ). The results from high school ministry exams from secondary 4 and 5 are used to determine these factors.

The implementation of these indicators was influenced by the Comité de Gestion des Bulletins d’Études Collegial which determined this method to be “more equitable for all students, regardless of the characteristics of the group to which they belong.” This signifies that, in the case of groups with abnormally high averages, the overall strength of the students in the group will increase their R-Score.

As of seven years ago, the inconsistencies seen in enriched classes were resolved. Nonetheless, Dawson College never readjusted the R-Score groupings, opting to maintain the previous ones. The effects, mostly felt amongst regular Science students, are evident not only in the Z-Score calculation, as previously mentioned, but also in variations in the ISGZ and IDGZ factors, caused by the wider range of high school results when a larger number of students are grouped together.

Ironically, the administration provides a graph on their website’s Science R-Score page, demonstrating the inequities between regular and enriched science students’ results. Despite that, it would be incorrect to assume that enriched students are exempt from the negative impacts, seeing as they no longer obtain a boost from the correction variables that reflect their true strength as a group. In essence, these R-Score groupings are hindering student success across the board and the need for change is long overdue.

VIA DAWSON COLLEGE

12 THE PLANT

Palestinians are Not a Threat to Jewish Life– White Supremacy is ANONYMOUS JEWISH CONTRIBUTOR

In 1967, James Baldwin published the essay “Negroes Are Anti-Semitic Because They’re Anti-White” in The New York Times. In this essay, he details the sometimes fraught relations between African Americans and Jewish Americans in the U.S.A. and posits that antisemitic attitudes in Black communities stem from the generalised resentment Black people held towards White people after centuries of oppression. His primary argument is that because (White) Jewish people were living in proximity to Black people in Harlem, Black peoples’ most direct experiences of white supremacy were at the hands of Jews, even if Jewish people do not hold most institutional power in the US, nor were they uniquely racist compared to other White people.

Research on whether antisemitism among African-Americans is specifically related to anti-White sentiment yields mixed results, as writes Jessica T. Simes for the Social Science Journal. Nevertheless, Baldwin’s essay provides a starting point for examining racial conflict between minority communities. In the present moment, it may help enlighten us regarding Palestinian-Jewish relations. As pro-Palestinian protesters are increasingly repressed by the state under the guise that it would protect Jews, we must ask ourselves, what is the source of this (sometimes genuine, most often only perceived) antisemitism?

In the post-WWII period, Jewish Americans started to integrate into the White American middle class. In this context, Baldwin writes: “But if one is a Negro in Watts or Harlem, and knows why one is there […], one can’t but look on the American state and the American people as one’s oppressors.” Thus, as Jewish people became American, they also became part of the apparatus that oppressed Black people.

Baldwin however recognizes that Jewish people are not at the top of the hierarchy in a white supremacist, Christian society such as ours. “[The Jew’s] major distinction is given him by that history of Christendom […]. [H]e is playing in Harlem the role assigned him by Christians long ago: he is doing their dirty work.” Baldwin refers to the fact that in the Middle Ages, Christians

confined European Jewry to banking positions because Christians were prohibited from lending money. In Harlem, while the White Christian elites were the ones truly in power, Jews were among the white faces interfacing with the Black population and causing them grief, be it by their presence as landlords, business owners, teachers or police. However, these positions of power were not unique to Jewish people. Baldwin also clarifies: “Not all of these white people were cruel […] but all of them were exploiting us, and that was why we hated them.”

Let us now compare the situation Baldwin describes to the current state of Jewish-Palestinian relations. It is undeniable that even before the Holocaust, Jews were terrorised in Europe by the Inquisition and countless pogroms. However, as the Zionist project was concretizing, it became a weapon for the British in its quest to control territory in the declining Ottoman Empire. Thus, when the Zionist settlers came to conquer Palestine (and they explicitly outlined their goals as colonisation), they became another prong of European imperialism. While the Zionist project presents itself as Jewish, it is worth underlining that Israeli atrocities are carried out at the behest of the USA, and are funded by the majority-Christian West. Zionists– in contrast to Jewish liberation movements such as the Jewish Labour Bund– could only conceptualise Jewish liberation by occupying the same position of dominance as Europeans did in other colonised lands of the world. In this situation, Palestinians resent the occupiers because they have stolen their lands, and the Jewish faith of the occupiers, while weaponized by Israel through the conflation of Judaism and Zionism, is incidental. Palestinians would have resisted their extermination regardless of the occupiers’ religion. In our current reality, the ones carrying out the crime of genocide against Palestinians happen to be Jewish.

That being said, I do not wish to escape accountability for the crimes of the Zionist state. When Israel uses the Jewish history of victimisation to whitewash its crimes, it is the responsibility of all Jews to stand for justice.

Baldwin writes: “It is true that many Jews use, shamelessly, the slaughter

of the 6,000,000 by the Third Reich as proof that they cannot be bigots– or in the hope of not being held responsible for their bigotry.” When Zionist rhetoric posits that Israel must exist as reparations for the Holocaust (despite the fact that plans for a Zionist state predated the Holocaust), it only further angers Palestinians and their sympathisers, who see an unempathetic victim who chose to unleash the same horrors upon them rather than stand in solidarity. From the past, Baldwin echoes: “The Jew does not realize that […] the fact that he has been despised and slaughtered, does not increase the Negro’s understanding. It increases the Negro’s rage.”

Palestinians resent the occupiers because they have stolen their lands, and the Jewish faith of the occupiers, while weaponized by Israel through the conflation of Judaism and Zionism, is incidental.

Because the world hegemony is Christian, it follows that the long history of antisemitism that Christianity carries becomes global too. I do not want to downplay the fact that justified anger at occupation can mix with genuine antisemitic attitudes. In an antisemitic society, the accurate description of Israeli pro-genocide lobbying can easily morph into “Jews control the media/ economy”; the Israeli state’s death machine can easily be distorted to paint all Jews as bloodthirsty; the outrage at Israel’s annihilation campaign becomes perverted into statements such as “Judaism is a satanic religion that condones murder” These are unequivocally unacceptable statements, but these prejudices are not exclusive to Palestinians. We must also understand that when the State of Israel commits mass murder and tells Palestinians it is done in the name of Judaism, a Palestinian living under occupation may start to believe all Jews are equally as violent as the soldiers who bomb schools and hospitals. It is not threatening Palestinians with extermination and then

13 13 VOICES

denying their genocide that will make them see Jews in a more favourable light. In my personal experience of protesting in solidarity with Palestine, I felt comfortable enough correcting people when their criticisms started to veer into the territory of antisemitism because I knew that prejudice is not something you can deconstruct in a single day.

We are all interested in one thing: liberation for all oppressed peoples.

Pro-Palestinian organizing continually rejects antisemitism. The public statements of organisations such as the Palestinian Youth Movement criticise the Zionist project, not the Jewish people as a whole. This is also true for many Palestinian factions since the beginning of the occupation. The Palestinian National Charter of 1968 specifies in Article 6 that “The Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion will be considered Palestinians”. The PFLP’s Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine (1969) states that “The Palestinian liberation movement is not a racial movement with aggressive intentions against the Jews” but rather clarifies that “it is against Zionism as an aggressive racial movement connected with imperialism, which has exploited the sufferings of the Jews as a stepping stone for the promotion of its interests.”

Furthermore, in North America, Palestinians do not have the institutional power to harm Jews on a mass scale.

The Pro-Israel, Christian far-right, however, believes in many of the conspiracies of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and contrary to the Palestinian Resistance, it does not get sanctioned because the Zionist project eagerly accepts the financial support from Jew-hating fascists. The most murderous and disturbing crimes against Jews in North America were not committed in relation to the Palestinian cause. The Unite the Right Rally of 2017, where cries of “Jews will not replace us” were heard, was led by a coalition of far-right groups including neo-Nazis and the KKK. The police, representing the state apparatus, let the fascists enact violence upon counter-protesters because it is permissible in our society for white supremacists to be violent, but forbidden to resist. The Tree of Life synagogue shooting in the following

year was also carried out by a far-right white supremacist.

The fatal flaw in this discourse is to see Palestinian and Jewish identities as inherently conflicting. Baldwin positions American Jews as exclusively white by the omission of Jews of colour in his analysis, including Black Jews. In the case of the discourses about Palestine, on all sides of the spectrum, we can see arguments that presume all Israeli Jews are Europeans, and no Palestinians are Jews. We must be aware of who we exclude when we engage in discourse about Palestine, and acknowledge how it impacts our arguments. In the accusations of antisemitism against all Palestinians as a whole, we are erasing Palestinian Jews. By painting all Jews as being of European origin, the complex and multiple Jewish histories get flattened into a monolith, which only further propels the Zionist project by denying our long history of cohabitation with other ethnic groups.

when the State of Israel commits mass murder and tells Palestinians it is done in the name of Judaism, a Palestinian living under occupation may start to believe all Jews are equally as violent as the soldiers who bomb schools and hospitals.

Baldwin concludes that “[t]he ultimate hope for genuine black-white dialogue in this country lies in the recognition that the driven European serf merely created another serf here, and created him on the basis of colour. […]

One can be disappointed in the Jew if one is romantic enough– for not having learned from history; but if people did learn from history, history would be very different.” Thus, we as Jews must recognize that in Palestine, we– victims of atrocity– created another such victim in subjugating the Palestinians.

At the same time, this is not because Jews are by some inherent reason

more duplicitous (as the antisemite will argue), but because humans hold in themselves the capacity for both good and evil.

Baldwin continues, “The crisis taking place in the world […] is not produced by the star of David, but by the old, rugged Roman cross on which Christendom’s most celebrated Jew was murdered. And not by Jews.” In this last sentence, Baldwin refuses the Christian narrative that Jews are Christ-killers. After demonstrating why some Black Americans fall into antisemitic thinking, he refutes one of the most persistent antisemitic myths and thus affirms that any bigotry is unacceptable, even if we understand where it comes from.

The Holocaust, a machination of the Christian world, killed six million Jews, and also decimated leftist Jewish communities that were staunchly anti-Zionist. European countries such as Poland did not suddenly recognize Israel because they wanted to repent for their crimes– in 1946, Poles murdered Jews who returned to Kielce, trying to come back to the life that was stolen from them. Europeans, it seems, simply wanted to export their “Jewish problem” elsewhere.

To repair the relations between Jews and Palestinians, we must recognize the wrongs committed by Israel, and understand that the Christian far-right will never give us liberation.

Becoming colonisers will not save us. Israel will never keep us safe. The only safety is in solidarity regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion. These last months have shown us that many Jews no longer accept to be pawns for the Zionist machine. I have witnessed kinships develop between Palestinians of many religions and Jews of many backgrounds. I can only hope to see these kinships reproduce in a freer world, where we are liberated from the shackles of prejudice.

14 THE PLANT

HT: The Hidden Magic of Volunteer Horse-Healthcare MIRREN BODANIS Editor-in-Chief

When it comes to household pets, animal rescue is pretty intuitive.

There are a variety of animal shelters (like the Montreal SPCA) available to take unhoused cats, dogs, and rodents. But what about when an animal weighs 2,000 pounds and eats 25 pounds of food a day? Enter A Horse Tale, the not-for-profit, volunteer-dependent horse rescue.

“We don’t always know the history, or if they’ve been traumatised, so we have to take a very gentle approach.

Lots of positive reinforcement is required. We have to let them make their own choices in what they do during the day” explains barn manager Caroline Handy. Executive Director Mike Grenier expands: “A dog is always happy to see you.

Horses, they’re a flight animal.

They’re always judging you on whether you are a friend or a foe. It’s hard to obtain their acceptance, and to make them feel safe. But to find their calmness, especially when they weigh two-thousand pounds; that’s very rewarding.”

The barn currently holds 14 horses, all of which have their own unique needs. Even feeding alone is a deeply involved process.

The horses need 3 meals a day, and every horse requires a unique combination of food type, humidity, and medication. Because of their different temperaments and histories, certain horses might need to be fed by hand or in a bowl, or have more or less water mixed in with their food. Some medications are given daily by hand, others injected, or placed under the tongue. Often they need to be separated during feeding to avoid conflict. For some of their larger breeds (like Clydesdales, which can reach over 7 feet in height,) idle head movements are enough to knock someone over, so even simple procedures like putting on halters require 2 volunteers.

Overall, running AHT is a huge operation. The barn employs 130 volunteers and holds about 400 members. People from all different backgrounds and of all different ages come to help maintain the rescue.

Grenier recounts how, after working

for 30 years in IT management, he “came to an open house one Saturday, just curious to see what the organisation offered. When it comes to a background with horses, I had nothing, but I love animals, so when I did join the connection was instant. [...] AHT is very connecting. We feel a direct connection in everything we do for the horse, but there’s also

The horses give and take, but they accept you either way. It’s taught me to be mindful, to be open, and to be aware of my surroundings in a way I wasn’t able to before. a connection in what we do for the humans.”

Retired couple Marty & Lori (Who came from a background of dentistry and child behavioural management, respectively) have worked together at the rescue for over 7 years. “There’s an incredibly unique connection between the community and the horses,” says Lori. “It’s really provided me with a sense of understanding that everybody and everything cares.

Everybody can give something.

According to all of our strengths, ages, needs, abilities, skills, we can all give that little bit of ourselves. To be able to have an organisation like this, that’s 100% volunteer based, it gives me something as a human being.” Another volunteer, Jen, also shared her deep connection with the work. “You can really lose yourself.

The horses have a way of looking at you, of bonding with you. They’re calm, they don’t have any prejudice.

They’re incredibly strong and huge yet so graceful, and so intelligently living. It’s really difficult to explain; you really have to come here to understand. The horses give and take, but they accept you either way. It’s taught me to be mindful, to be open, and to be aware of my surroundings in a way I wasn’t able to before.”

The Plant took the time to talk to

some visitors during one of AHT’s open house events, where the public is invited in to see the horses and learn how everything works. One of the visitors The Plant spoke with said it was her second year coming: “I remember last year, they had taken in one of the calesh horses and it was so thin and it looked so thin and weak and had big marks on its face from pulling carriages. This year, she looked so much better, I got to see her and touch her and share that moment with my friends. There’s so much love. We all love horses.”

A Horse Tale shows how caring for neglected parts of the natural world can also be an act of caring for ourselves. With their cause, the volunteers at AHT have created a vibrant and inclusive community where there’s something for everyone to learn, and something for everyone to teach. You can check out how to contribute, visit, or get involved at ahtrescue.org.

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What Does Trump’s Win Mean for Canadian Politics?

ABIGAIL OYEWOLE Staff Writer

On November 5th, 2024, we learned that the Democrats do not, in fact, know how to rig elections, as claimed by the Republicans. Having won the seven swing states and 312 electoral votes out of the 270 required to win, Donald J. Trump is set to become the next president of the United States. With America being the influential country it is, many are wondering about the ripple effect the results of the election will have. Canada is the biggest trading partner of our Southern neighbours, and it is no doubt that the U.S. has an impact on Canada - especially in terms of politics. What does Trump’s win mean for Canadian politics? Does the Republicans’ win foreshadow a more acceptable style of populism politics in Canada with the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC)?

The Tories, otherwise known as the Conservative Party of Canada, have been leading the polls for a while, and many wonder if the Republican win in the United States will have a hand in pushing the CPC to victory. Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the CPC, has been likened to Trump on numerous occasions by his critics, claiming that his recent style of politics is taken straight from the MAGA handbook.

They cited the various CPC’s threeword slogans as proof. According to The Gazette, Poilievre’s “axe the tax,” “build the homes,” and “stop the crime” slogans bear striking similarities to Trump’s “drain the swamp,” “build the wall,” or “stop the steal” slogans. One thing they have in common is criticisms from experts for

PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

oversimplifying complex matters such as the economy and immigration. Poilievre’s response to economists and journalists, who are sceptical over the validity of such slogans, is to use personal attacks against them to distort voter perception - a response that is all too familiar to Trump. As reported by The Walrus, Pierre Poilievre “has borrowed Republican attacks on transgender people and taken to calling Justin Trudeau and his father ‘Marxists.’ Poilievre has leaned into growing scepticism around immigration levels while adopting Trumpian tag lines to paint our urban centres as dangerous hellscapes.” The CPC leader tends to capitalise on trends instigated by Trump, such as ‘anti-wokeness’ and the othering of minorities and immigrants. Despite the questionable tactics, one cannot deny that it has become effective. The CBC News polls show that the CPC has a seventeenpoint lead over the liberals at 41.2% with a projection to win over 200 seats and consequently a majority. This is not alarming as people tend to grow tired of a party that has been in power for a while and seek change. What is alarming is the method and style of politics under which it is happening.

Trump’s first presidential term had an all round influence on the political scene in Canada and the same is expected to happen following his upcoming term.

Trump’s influence will not be positive, as his first term was the epitome of the exploitation of fear against minority groups by posing them as the enemy; he linked them to national issues such as economic fallouts and social chaos. FBI

statistics show that hate crimes in America surged from the beginning of his term to the capitol riot in 2021. As reported by Rabble.ca, Canada experienced a rise in hate crimes towards Muslims. In 2017, six worshippers were murdered in the mosque by a man who cited Trump’s racist rhetoric as his motivation. That is why Canada should be worried about the social, cultural and political consequences that Pierre Poilievre’s adoption of Trump’s MAGA style will bring upon Canada. If the history book on the shelf repeats itself once more, then Canada should brace for a surge of hate crimes against minorities following his second term. Late Prime minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau compared being America’s neighbour to sleeping next to an elephant. In other words, every ‘twitch and turn’ affects us.

Trump’s win as a far-right candidate is telling for the future of Canada’s own far-right candidates, as influence from the U.S. has been known to seep through the cracks into Canada. CPC’s Pierre Poilievre has taken notable strides in the footsteps of Trump’s populist style of stoking fears against immigrants – a tale as old as time.

Although the United States has to live with their choice of president and whatever his term entails, Canada does not have to be influenced by Trump’s gimmicks that will pit citizens against each other and create another rift amongst the population. The dangers of populism and of the MAGA style in our society are not foreign to us thanks to Trump’s first term, but we must work to avoid a repeat, despite the same tactics being employed by the leading party.

NEWS & PLAYLIST 1717

21st of November Strike for Palestine and Against Student Repression: A Photo Essay

BY SANAD HAMDOUNA Visual Arts Editor

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1.

CONCORDIA STUDENTS AND ALLIES RIDING UP THE ESCALATORS OF THE HALL BUILDING AND HOLDING PALESTINIAN FLAGS.

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A GROUP OF DAWSON STUDENTS HOLDING A BANNER READING: “LONG LIVE THE STUDENT INTIFADA” AND “DAWSON 4 PALESTINE” IN CONCORDIA’S HALL BUILDING.

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A HUGE CROWD OF STUDENT PROTESTERS FILL CONCORDIA’S HALL BUILDING AND SPILL OUT ONTO DE MAISONNEUVE.

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A GROUP OF DAWSON STUDENTS STANDING IN FRONT OF DAWSON’S DE MAISONNEUVE ENTRANCE EARLY DURING THE RALLY, HOLDING A BANNER READING: “DAWSON STUDENTS AGAINST GENOCIDE”.

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A PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTER HOLDS A SIGN WITH THE WORD “ANTISEMITISM” CROSSED OUT IN RED.

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A CONCORDIA STUDENT HOLDS HIS KUFFIEH OUT TO THE JOHN MOLSON BUILDING’S WINDOWS IN A SHOW OF SUPPORT AS THE DAWSON STUDENTS’ MARCH PAST. Playlist by

19 19 VOICES

Bill 21’s tentative comeback?

WINIE COULANGES Managing Editor

In October 2024, 11 teachers had their teaching licence suspended after allegedly fostering a toxic environment at Bedford Elementary School. They were accused of psychologically as well as physically abusing students, denying the existence of autism and refusing to teach sex education and science according to CTV News. According to the report done by the ministry of education, it seems that a dominant clan of teachers of North African origin potentially influenced by a neighbourhood religious centre and community centre imposed their ideas and disregarded rules. One incident reported by La Presse describes a student suddenly collapsing in class and a teacher praying over their body instead of seeking medical attention. Teachers part of this clan believed neurodevelopment disorders could be corrected using severe discipline to bring children “back on track”. These instances of misconduct were apparently known by the Centre de service scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) school board in 2016. So why did it take so long for any corrective measures to be put in place?

For one, the school cycled through the staff so often that during the 2017-2018 school year, 8 teachers left the school.

Between 2016 and 2023, frequent changes in the administrative staff were observed. Adults who opposed the dominant group faced isolation and we’re often scared of speaking up. Journal de Montreal interviewed a former principal of the school, Lyne Robichaud, who tried to get the school board to intervene but was unsuccessful as her staff was reluctant to name the perpetrators of the misconduct for fear of retaliation.

An article by Le Devoir reveals that an evaluation of the workplace atmosphere

VIA LA PRESSE

by a psychologist didn’t do much despite the CSSDM receiving news of multiple irregularities. The official report states that a tentative plan was established in 2021 to address these concerns but was swiftly abandoned by the school administration in 2022.

In May 2023, Montreal radio station

It’s important to note that the report done by the ministry describes the situation as being a conflict of ideology rather than of religion or culture since many teachers who opposed the dominant clan were also North African.

98.5 FM were some of the first people to investigate concerns from parents and former staff. They published their findings which eventually triggered an official report of 90 pages by the ministry of education. This new report offers more insight into the climate at the school and it also reveals that many incidents were not properly documented. The CSSDM couldn’t account for several complaints filed against some of the problematic teachers thus making it difficult to know if any follow ups were made.

In a quest to find answers as to how this situation occurred and perhaps gain more political momentum, Paul StPierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Quebecois, affirmed his belief that the Bedford Scandal was a result of Bill 21 not being harsh enough : “The absence of a mix of students in Montreal’s schools and the fact many are

not born in Quebec [...]There is an antiBill 21 movement out there that is very aggressive, and this explains the fear everyone had of acting in this situation.”

With evidence that the school board was negligent in its duties to protect students, why have Quebec politicians focused on the identity of the wrongdoers?

Francois Legault, Prime Minister of Quebec, took a similar stance when he posted a statement on X characterising the scandal as an example of Islamist indoctrination in schools. The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) administration has taken a negative stance on immigration, insisting Quebec has too many migrants and wanting to reduce the number allowed into the province.

Francois Legault and his colleagues frequently spew ideas that immigrants are harmful to Quebec society as they don’t speak the language and oppose the values of our society. He came under fire in 2022 when he said the following during his 2022 re-election campaign : “Quebecers are peaceful. They don’t like conflict and extremism, and violence. And we have to make sure to keep things the way they are now.” This statement characterises immigrants as violent and disturbing to Quebec society which is is quite offensive.

His minister of education, Bernard Drainville, took a more neutral stance when he was a guest on the Radio Canada show, Tout le monde en parle, to discuss the recent events. He said “It’s possible that there is a cultural or religious issue at play but the report doesn’t say that.”

It’s important to note that the report done by the ministry describes the situation as being a conflict of ideology rather than of religion or culture since many teachers who opposed the dominant clan were also North African.

By scapegoating the North African teachers and staff at the Bedford school, the CAQ government has chosen to reignite discourse around secularism and immigration instead of focusing on the effectiveness of its institutions.

In a province that has been adamant on scaling back immigration and championing secularism to the detriment of others, we should be alert to how certain stories get spun.

20 THE PLANT

Confidence is a Cult BERLYNNE STEENBERGEN Contributor

There is a misconception that the solution to common feelings like; not being brave enough to raise your hand in class or feeling like you don’t have enough friends, is confidence. Social media and beauty campaigns lure people into believing that confidence solves all; once you use the latest skincare product or sign up for a hot yoga class, everything else will fall into place and all your problems will disappear. But what happens when that fails? What is left?

The idea of “inner confidence” has been pitched to us as a foolproof solution for all of life’s challenges for so long that it has become inescapable. Sociologist Rosalind Gill and professor Shani Orgad introduced this idea in their book Confidence Culture.

They argue that imperatives thrown at people such as “love yourself” and “believe in yourself” don’t work—they simply imply that the only thing holding people back are mental blocks rather than the completely unrealistic expectations and standards set by society. In an interview with Vox, Gill described this idea clearly; “it’s like a cult in the way that it’s been placed beyond debate, who could be against confidence? Nobody could argue against it because it’s so taken for granted.

I think it’s good to be suspicious of the things that get placed in that space where

VIA VOX

they can’t be interrogated at all”.

After establishing what the “cult of confidence” is, we can then talk about the cultural ramifications. For example, wokewashing, similar to greenwashing (a form of advertising in which green PR and green marketing are used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly—but with minimum effort or any actual results) is a type of performative capitalism.

Companies often brand themselves as being ‘woke’ because they know that being “progressive” is now monetizable. That is what people expect from the companies they buy from; a certain level of political awareness.

It makes people feel better about themselves; buying from ‘woke’ companies affirms their own ’wokeness’.

However, the reason that this is all performative is that the values these companies are promoting are unfortunately not being reflected in the companies’ internal structures. For example, many beauty, skincare, and diet companies create a link between confidence and outer appearance, as if true confidence can only come from looking a certain way. They do this to raise the sales of their products, not because they care about the mental health of consumers. Gill and Orgad’s book

Confidence Culture argues that while these inspiring messages of confidence may seem progressive and positive, they do not address the underlying systemic issues that cause people to feel inadequate in the first place. “#SelfCare” first went mainstream in 2016, the term spiking in Google searches a week after Donald Trump was first elected.

It originally came from Black activists pushing a way to deal with systemic oppression. Self-care, in its original sense, was a form of protest and was supposed to be aligned with community care, which is exactly what it sounds like: caring for and lifting up the people around you. Now, in 2024, the term ‘self-care’ is not as much of a buzzword as it once was. There are fewer self-care guides on the internet but they have been replaced with, for example, “50 self-affirmations to say to yourself in the morning”, “how to be ‘that girl’”, or “the 30 best anti-aging skincare products.” All of these fall under the umbrella of the selfcare movement, which is connected to our universal desire to improve ourselves and those around us.

Self-care is also currently heavily tied in with spending money—buying detox teas, manifestation journals, 30$ yoga classes, bath bombs, or green smoothies.

While these products are inherently good for you, the main goal is to get people to spend money. The problem with self-care marketing is that people, mostly feminine presenting people, are told that they have to follow a certain routine to get to their most confident selves. All the steps in that routine have to do with spending money, and if you don’t have the money, you’re out of luck.

It enforces the idea that your quality of life is dependent on arbitrary and costly steps.

Ironically, none of these guides help you if you’re struggling with an actual mental illness. Sure, it’s great to be reminded to drink water, do pilates, and put on a facemask, but these clickable, Instragramworthy suggestions are not going to help you unpack your childhood trauma or deal with your eating disorder. The universal “confidence deficit” is a systemic issue, and the only way to raise people’s selfesteem is to fix the set unrealistic standards.

The only way to escape the cult is through collective action like education reform, mental health advocacy, and the fostering of intersectional inclusivity.

CREATIV CREAT CREATIVE WRITING 21

The last stretch of the semester! We can do this! As sunlight recedes into bleak nighttime, and we all decide to cram our assignments at the very last minute, there is nothing that truly brings holiday cheer more than long study sessions and caffeine dependency. However, as this may be my last semester here, I just want to extend my opening message to all my contributors, whether it be the one-timers or those who submitted enough times to be on first name basis in my emails <3. I also have much love for my editors, who were incredibly patient with me and gave me the chance to manage this section for two out of the three semesters I’ve participated in The Plant. I cannot thank you enough for the amazing opportunity that it has given me, and I cannot express the bliss I feel whenever I see my name next to the articles I’ve put so much time and effort in. I also want to thank all my friends, who have been here for me when my college experience has been less than stellar. Finally, I want to thank everyone I have had the pleasure to write with so far, for making meetings entertaining, for always impressing me with your writing talents and your wit, and for always being supportive of one another. Being a part of this with everyone was a life changing experience, and I hope that through these pages, I am able to convey this feeling, even if it is just a little sprinkle of it.

“MY LIFELINE…” QUILL COTE-NOTTAWAY Contributor TASNIA ALAM Curiosities Editor Although it’s been many years I never thought I would say goodbye I can’t believe I shed so many tears The way you shifted my gears And constantly made me cry Makes me regret all the years I drowned my sorrows in endless beers To keep myself on a high In order to avoid everlasting tears The obsession I had for you appears From the second my hand had grazed your thigh But I haven’t felt your touch in years

CREAT CREATIV As we watched all of our fears Coming true, with your neck wrapped in my tie You stared at me cadaverously, both of us in tears The last of your voice, my thought hears You begged me as I watched you die I can’t believe I have spent all these years Wasting so many tears

COULD WE JUST ASSUME… MALAK SOLIMAN Contributor I still remember the way I used to stare at your face While you would look me in my eyes And tell me nothing but words full of lies But maybe they were true So could we just assume That you liked me like I liked you It could ease all the pain It could maybe go away For a fraction of a second Of a minute Of an hour Of a day So could we just assume…

You like me like I like you.

CREATIVE WRITI NG

22 THE PLANT

THE NEW AGE M. FANG Contributor

having an affair with a large language model the intimacy and warmth of a million graphics cards she treats you like a person in a world of nothing memories quantized into bits adhering to her contexts like flies to a trap it’s a future you can imagine the white picket fence, encoded into kilometers of ones and zeroes she compliments your software over candle lit simulacra THE NEW AGE

a civilization of taurine and blue light the tortured packets of a billion phones a networked generation bursting into fragments of praxis hot and single extinctions in your area the molten plastic fuses to your skin as another ad for research chemicals hits your feed solar panels and self driving cars silicon metastasis in the amazon

receptor assault network connection the incantations of a swarm pulse code modulated captions burnt into the retina and you don’t even notice the gameplay in the background ice prison, memory complex stone gargoyle subjects in superposition suspended by a binge of digital ether and the undying want for more

CREATIVE WRITING 23

DRUNK DROWNING CHARLOTTE RENAUD Arts & Culture Editor

CREATIVE WRITI NG

CREATIV There are weeds in my arteries And under my eyes, cemeteries

MY UNIVERSE

I am tired of being proven right Beauty is never what it implies

CHRISTOPHER JAMES DIMITRIADIS Contributor

Close my eyes Show me something honest

Through galaxies unnamed,

Show me It is possible for distance To be reduced To our touching skin But I remember everything like a song out of tune We are two dissonant sounds How did you speak so loudly Without saying anything?

You throw liquor on the open wounds inside you A suicide by drowning I’m waiting for you to bring me back to shore But your body’s on the Pacific floor

I chose you in the chaos,

Held fast by a pull I can’t explain, Each breath tied to yours,

And in the dark that rushes forward, You’re the only light I know.

This feeling consumes me, Swelling deep as oceans.

You’re my first and the last,

The answer echoing in silence— The only one I’ll ever need.

I’d give up a thousand worlds, Cross the broken heavens,

Burn through the stars for this chance, To find you in the fragments, To hear my heart beat again, Revived in your serendipity.

Let me be your beginning, your end,

The only choice left when all is done.

So come closer, step into fate,

As it twists and shifts around us— Here, we rewrite our stars,

Two souls in a universe all our own.

24 THE PLANT

Racism in Football: Provocation or Discrimination?

JADE GAGNÉ Sports Editor

I remember last October, I was watching my favorite French streamer, Aminematue, play in a football game, called the Eleven All-Star. It was my first time watching a livestream like this. I eventually stopped closely following the game (football isn’t really my favorite sport), but I could hear the players getting agitated. That’s when I saw the Spanish supporters making monkey-like gestures toward a French player, him being a person of color. Of course, the fans got kicked out, but this temporarily stopped the game. Brawks, the player who’s the victim of those racist actions, then took the microphone to say (in French): “We came here just to play football [...] we’ll continue the play, we’ll put our everything into it. We’ll fight against racism.” From this moment, it wasn’t about who will win, but about who stays true to themselves, and the others. It is worth mentioning that there has always been a rivalry between the two countries since the Eleven All-Star game in 2022, where Amine created the intro song for Spain, in Spanish (which was purely made to make fun of them).

During this intense altercation between the Spanish fans and the French players, Amine expected the Spanish creator in charge of this event, DjMaRiiO, to at least speak out on the racist action, but he didn’t.

Amine spoke on one of his live-stream on Twitch and said (In French): “This little bitch takes the mic, acts all shy…but when it’s to celebrate, to act funny, to do some

“We came here just to play football [...] we’ll continue the play, we’ll put our everything into it. We’ll fight against racism.” shit, now he’s here. But when it comes to giving a moral lesson on racism, he’s terrified. Are you kidding me? This guy is not a good person. I’ll never work with him again.” What a great moment to remember, right? Let’s look at it this way: multiple famous streamers, YouTubers, and even rappers (e.g. SDM) all come together to build a football team of 22 players. In total, we have 44 players, half from France and the other from Spain. The fans have been waiting two years for the game to happen.

The players train just like official players.

VIA INSTAGRAM @KICKITOUT

Why aren’t they all treating each other equally and respectfully?

Those ridiculous mannerisms aren’t just things that happen on Twitch - they happen in real life too. Remember, back in 2020, in the Euro finals, when Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashfors, and Jaden Sancho missed their penalty kicks for England?

These three young black men had to play in England’s first major final in 55 years, with huge pressure coming from the team and the fans. After the loss of the team, the three players were targeted with racial abuse in person and online. Saka later said: “I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus, and Jadon have received this week.[...] I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.”

In 2020, Saka was only 19. He had just started his adult life, and he was receiving death threats. How crazy is that?

The live stream just made me realize just how much of a huge problem racism is in football. Even on a special event, made for fans to enjoy and for streamers to play a sport they love, some people still find a place for racism. Every year, there’s at least one big act of racism against a black player.

When researching the percentage of racism in football, I found this website called Kick it Out (https://www.kickitout. org/ ). It started as a campaign in 1993: the “Let’s Kick Racism Out Of Football” movement was a response to the widespread calls from clubs, players, and fans to tackle racist attitudes that existed within the game. In 1997, they decided to tackle all forms of discrimination, not only racism. Overall, in the 2023-2024 season, they received 1,332 reports, which is a 32.3% increase since last season. 54.9% of the reports received were racist, and 49.42% of those reports were directed towards black players.

“We all know Kick It Out shouldn’t have to exist. Our biggest hope is that one day football no longer needs us.

But right now we’re here to put an end to every form of discrimination. We won’t stop until it stops,” states the website.

SPORTS & SCIENCE 25 25

Noise Pollution: The Hidden Pollutant of the Hydrosphere KARINA HASSELBO Contributor For us, a honking car or a jackhammer might only be a slight disturbance in our everyday lives. However, imagine if that jackhammer or car horn was almost always on and so loud that it could damage your hearing. What if it woke you from sleep or prevented you from going to the grocery store? For many marine animals, this isn’t just a thought experiment – it’s reality. It should also be noted that noise pollution affects land animals as well, but this article focuses on marine life.

Noise pollution causes a variety of problems for different species. While the issues it causes for whales and dolphins are the most well-known, noise pollution seriously affects others as well, from fish to squids. This is because much of ocean life uses sound for crucial parts of their lives. Sound travels faster in water than it does in air, and the natural seascape is filled with the chirps and hums of fish, whales, crustaceans, and more. These sounds are used for basic functions such as finding a mate, locating food, avoiding predators, and communicating with each other. Even species like coral larvae use sound to communicate! When they’re released into

the water, they listen for the sounds of a reef to find a suitable place to grow.

For millions of years, the ocean listened only to the natural sounds of marine life.

Now humans with boats, oil drilling, and sonar, have added to this soundscape; this additional noise has proven to be detrimental in numerous ways. Noise pollution not only impairs the ability of whales to communicate and find food, but it can also panic them into surfacing too quickly, potentially causing decompression

For millions of years, the ocean listened only to the natural sounds of marine life. Now humans with boats, oil drilling, and sonar, have added to this soundscape sickness. It damages the statocysts of squids, an organ they need for balance.

When boats pass over damselfish, they are at greater risk of being eaten, as they

cannot hear predators approaching. Worse yet, noise pollution is only set to increase as ship traffic increases. For example, southern resident orcas, an endangered population of orca, are expected to see more boats in their area.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce noise pollution. New technologies, such as quieter propellers and bubble curtains, can decrease the amount of noise pollution in our oceans. Even slowing down boats can make a difference. If boat speed was globally reduced by 10%, noise pollution could drop by roughly 40%. Moreover, the effects of reducing noise pollution would be nearly instantaneous, with animals being able to return to communicating with each other, and resume listening for both prey and predators as soon as the noise is lessened. If adopted, many of these methods of reducing noise pollution could seriously benefit marine life. Therefore, regulations that slow vessels down must be taken seriously. In its natural state, the ocean is a bustling world filled with the clicks of fish and the whistles of dolphins whose sounds are important for the maintenance of a healthy biosphere, so let’s give back the ocean its natural symphony!

COURTESY OF NOAA FISHERIES

26 THE PLANT

How Clinical Trials Work and Why You Can Trust Them CIARAN WILLIAMS Science and Environment Editor Over the past couple of years, there has been a surge of misinformation, and general apprehension towards drugs and the pharmaceutical industry. Conspiracies that “Big Pharma is out to get you” swirl through social media algorithms, sowing seeds of distrust in the malleable minds of doom-scrollers all around. For those who fall victim to this grift, let me explain how this rhetoric neglects to acknowledge the long, mandatory, and difficult process that researchers go through to get drugs approved in Canada, and how that system ensures effectiveness and safety, in the hopes of putting your anxieties about the pharmaceutical boogie-man to rest.

The first step in this long process is often called “bench science”, where experts working in labs develop the first prototypes of the drug. Once they have isolated one they believe could yield good results results, they begin testing it on in vitro cells– basically the cells in a petri dish– to gauge its rough effectiveness and potential toxicity. This work allows experts to understand whether or not they are on the right track.

From here, if they find a drug they feel confident in moving on with, they can commence preclinical trials, which can involve animal testing or more work on cell lines. In order to gain approval for animal testing specifically, researchers follow incredibly strict guidelines set by the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Once they have obtained approval, they begin testing on animals. The process of preclinical trials works out many of the practical issues of the drug in production. This includes determining the dose and timing of the treatment, assessing side effects and risks, finding the best method of administering the treatment, and determining how the treatment affects the body. Because animals are not perfect replicas of humans, findings from preclinical trials are never taken as definite, and researchers are required to move on to phase 1 clinical trials to begin human testing.

However, before the drug can move from animals to humans in phase 1 testing, there are numerous hoops that researchers must jump through to get approval for human trials. First, they must obtain Research Ethics Board (REB) approval. The REB is the body responsible for protecting participants in the study, ensures that the potential benefits of the drug outweigh the

risks, and that there is a real requirement for the drug. They also ensure that the study adheres to the restrictions laid out in Canada’s Tri-Council Policy Statement (2022), which details ethical conduct for research involving humans.

Once trials have passed REB review, and have received a No Objection Letter from Health Canada, they are greenlit to begin phase 1 trials in humans. In phase 1 studies, the goal is to assess the safety, side effects, best dose, and timing of a new drug. The sample size is relatively small so as to lower the possible risks, with groups consisting of 20 to 80 people on average according to Health Canada.

Once a drug passes phase 1 testing, researchers can move on to phase 2 of the clinical trial. The principal goal of phase 2 trials is to look at how well the drug works and to see what adverse health effects the drug may have. A larger group of participants would be included in phase 2 studies, ranging from 100 to 300 people depending on the scale of the clinical trial.

Following a successful phase 2 trial, researchers enter the phase 3 clinical trials, which continue the methods of testing established in phase 2, but with a much larger sample size. Phase 3 clinical trials make sure the drug is still effective, will look for adverse effects, compare the new drug to commonly used and approved drugs, and collect information about the drug that will allow it to be used safely on the market. If, at the end of the phase 3 trial, researchers prove that their drug is just as effective or better than the current standard of care, Health Canada will do a full analysis of this and will give them drug approval for use in Canada. While precise numbers for Canada are not easy to find, a vast majority of drugs do not make it past phase 3 clinical trials and do not end up on the market due to the strict criteria for approval set out by Health Canada, meaning that ineffective

and dangerous treatments are often weeded out.

To ensure everyone’s continued safety, Health Canada continues to monitor the drug even after it is approved and on the market, noting any adverse health outcomes reported to them. Health Canada may even request that the new drug be studied further so they can formally collect adverse event data in an additional clinical trial: phase 4.

Information regarding ongoing studies

This situation led to a raid of Uber’s offices in Montreal, where 40 cars were seized and Revenue Quebec investigated them on suspicion that they were not paying provincial fees. or drugs that have already been approved is available on the website clinicaltrials. gov. The purpose of these publications is to provide access to information about all ongoing clinical trials in Northern America for transparency and transfer of knowledge purposes.

This long and difficult process ensures that all drugs that enter the market are safe and effective. While the process is not infallible, it is an incredibly strong safeguard for the public against ineffective and dangerous treatments. Hopefully understanding the breadth of the process inspires some faith in the medical system.

They are responsible for your health, after all.

27 THE PLANT

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT / CURIOSITIES 27 Curiosities by TASNIA ALAM Curiosities Editor

CROSSWORD

Across

Down 1. Houses that are always touched but never eaten

2. The free version of cocaine and decoration

3. The opposite of a modern-day Robinhood

5. The Morticia Addams of this Christmas

4. One of the oldest holiday traditions done in costumes

6. Kids can make this at school and out it up on their evergreens

7. The new Santa Clause after her father retires

10. The cameo actor says, “Down the hall and to the left.”

11. “You’re what the French call, ‘les incompétents’.”

12. Sabrina Carpenter’s Christmas special is…

14. Think maple syrup with spaghetti 15. The only time Jim Carrey was ever oppressed

COME BACK NEXT ISSUE FOR THE ANSWERS!

8. We can wear them on our legs and hang them over our fireplace 9. “Well, it’s Christmas Eve. Good deeds count for extra tonight.”

13. A cherry on top of a Christmas tree

28 THE PLANT

SUDOKU & COMIC

COMIC BY SAYA HIDAKA-MASSICOTTE @4A4K4A

Curiosities by TASNIA ALAM Curiosities Editor

CURIOSITIES 29

HOROSCOPES The final horoscopes of 2024 are here! And as requested by many of our avid readers, they’re longer. My apologies that they weren’t before this issue. This semester was my first time as the Curiosities Editor, and with each issue, I’m getting closer to finding my flow. With that said, can you believe that we’re already at the end?! It feels like we’re only midway there. Buckle up tight for the remaining weeks before your very much-deserved break and bonne réussite to all! : )

ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19)

It’s that time of the year when we work on ourselves, and you need to work on being passionate about yourself. You do it for others, so why not yourself? Time to manspread when other people do and take up your space. (respectfully of course). You have grown out of your shell a lot this year, but 2025 is the year you leave it all behind!

TAURUS (APR. 20 - MAY 20)

This year might’ve been tough on you as you contemplated hard life choices, but all that time that you feel was a waste will come back to you in opulent experiences (I’m feeling a job interview and possibly a partner…). However, don’t let your indecisiveness control the new year. Be more grounded, and take it easy.

GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20)

I know you just settled in your own little world, but be prepared to adapt again because you’re about to be turned upside down. Remember the little sparkles of your life, and let them guide your way back to your joy if you get too lost in all the new changes.

CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22)

Anger and Disgust have taken the reigns of you for way too long, and those colours don’t suit you. I believe it’s time for you to have a deep one-on-one with yourself to figure out who you want in your life and who it’s best to boot out. Or else these emotions will keep clinging to you and poison your kind heart slowly by slowly. One can only give another so many chances…

LEO (JULY 23 - AUG. 22)

It’s time to be confident, Leo. Truthfully confident. Go see that person and give it a shot. You deserve to know wherever they’re worth all this attention of yours. If you give your all to them behind the scenes might as well do it with them knowing, no? If you don’t speak up, heartbreak, a lot of ice cream and movies will be the only thing keeping you company at night. If anything, just do it for the plot! (You might even be rewarded who knows!

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22)

You absolutely slayed the world by giving them your smile and laughs this year, even at your lowest. Karma came back to you in huge waves, and I see another coming your way — a new love interest… But are they new or someone you know already? Karma is coming home to you.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23 - OCT. 22)

Being one with yourself truly paid off because prepared to be rattled soon with shocking news. A situation that will keep you entertained for months and you can reanalyze over and over since it will be happening to you! For once, you’re going to be the center of the drama.

But if you stick to your roots and values, you will get through it fairly smoothly.

ANSWER TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 - NOV. 21)

A lot of tours are being announced for 2025/2026, so prepare your bank account and your social battery, Scorpio! Time to go flaunt your persona around and be the mysterious person you were born to be. I highly recommend doing that while reading a book because your soulmate loves a good book. And if that special someone still hasn’t entered your life, 2025 is the year that they will be. Maybe at one of those concerts…

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 - DEC. 21)

Happy birthday, Sagittarius! Make the biggest wish you can think of because it’s going to come true in 2025! You will get the dream vacation you have been planning. That lifestyle of a carefree traveller is only a few wishes away! And if you wish hard enough, I see a European country that appreciates good cuisine being the first place you’ll visit. Chin up!

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 - JAN. 19)

Happy birthday, Capricorn! Another year older, another year of wisdom. But that raw intelligence you have needs to be put into good work. It’s time for you to contemplate joining a school club to keep you sharp! And also to have more human interaction. Solitude is creeping in on you without you realizing, fanning out your spark.

Experiences are what you need, and they’re coming your way with big steps.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 - FEB. 18)

I hope you enjoy that new camera you got (or are getting). Photography may be your calling… Or it’s just a hobby that’s worth investing! Anywho, your uniqueness is going to take you far in the next year. Maybe a few publications and job interviews if you take that leap of faith that you have been doubting. As long as you trust yourself, you’ll ace it.

PISCES (FEB. 19 - MAR. 20):

Pisces, Pisces, Pisces… This year has been very hard on you. Or have you been just self-sabotaging to not hurt anyone with your over-controlling wiles…? Your emotions have been your enemy this year, making you question everything, but trust me when I say 2025 will be better. Say yes to all those decisions you have been

30 THE PLANT

SMOKE READ THE PLANT & HIRING 31

THE PLANT SINCE 1969

We are hiring!

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR TEAM FOR THE UPCOMING SEMESTER(S), SCAN THE QR CODE TO APPLY! theplantnewspaper@gmail.com

Welcome to the Plant's Winter 2025 Applications!

Staff writer

Copy Editor

Staff Writers are responsible for writing an article for every

The Copy Editors are crucial in ensuring the

issue of The Plant, for any section. They are responsible for

quality of all articles in The Plant. They are

contributing ideas/pitches for articles, and conducting the

responsible for the 3rd edit pass, checking

research for their own articles. Specifically:

for:

elaborating on a specific angle/perspective,

Grammar, spelling, and mechanics

researching and outlining their article, which can include

Article structure & flow

conducting interviews and scholarly research, writing and

Fact checking

editing their articles.

General compliance with The Plants

Finally processing edits given by Section, Copy, and Executive

official Standards and those of the

Editors, as well as other staff of The Plant.

Canadian University Press

Section Editor

Secretary

Section Editors are responsible for leading each

The role of the Secretary is to

section of The Plant. They review and accept

take notes at each of the

contributions, and edit all

articles published in

their section. They also, like Staff Writers, write an

meetings with the staff and

article for every issue. Responsibilities include:

keep track of the records. They

Reviewing contributions and working with

must also assist in planning

contributors to help realize their articles.

issue releases and meetings.

Editing every article in their section for content, application of Standards, and relevance to the section. Writing an article for every issue, generally for their own section.

News editor News articles are the most objective articles in The Plant. They do not explore a specific voice, so much as

Digital Staff The Digital Staff will be responsible for managing The Plants website, posting articles after each issue and developing digital promotional strategies.

They will also contribute to the digital team, especially helping the Videographers and Video Editors.

provide a clear, fact based, objective account of a

Video content writer

newsworthy event.

The Video Content Writer will be responsible for executing the journalistic production of a short-from video (TikTok/Reel) once every 2 weeks, for the entire length of the semester.

This role involves conducting research as well as interviews and writing short scripts. Video content writers will be working in collaboration with the Video Editors and Videographers. Must be comfortable in front of cameras.

Videographer

Video editor

The Videographer will be responsible for capturing

The Video Editor will be responsible for transforming raw

the video content arranged by the writers. This role

footage into polished final products. This includes cutting and

involves setting up shots, managing lighting and

rearranging clips, adding transitions, effects, and sound. They

sound, and ensuring that all necessary footage is

should be proficient in editing software like Premiere Pro or

recorded effectively. They should be skilled in

DaVinci Resolve and have an eye for detail to create engaging

operating various video recording equipment,

and visually appealing content. They can also explore creative

including DSLRs and sound recorders, and have a

editing techniques, incorporating images and other elements

good understanding of cinematic techniques.

into the videos to keep the audience engaged.

32 THE PLANT

MASTHEAD Mirren Bodanis Editor-in-Chief Sanad Hamdouna Editor-in-Chief Winie Coulanges Managing Editor Saima Mazumder Digital Managing Editor Julia Azzouz Copy Editor Juhaina Rauph Copy Editor Thalia Ruiz Ramirez News Editor Emma Caspi Voices Editor Charlotte Renaud Arts & Culture Editor Ciaran Williams Science & Environment Editor Jade Gagné Sports Editor Tasnia Alam Curiosities Editor Ezra Bucur Creative Writing Editor Sanad Hamdouna Visual Arts Editor

CONTRIBUTORS Maya Jabbari Staff Writer Abigail Oyewole Staff Writer

Megan Sheel Ruohan Wallis Ella Dubé Berlynne Steenbergen Quill Cote-Nottaway

Afsha Akhtar Social Media Manager

Christopher James Dimitriadis

Tennesy Braun Video Content Writer

M. Fang

Eliot Fleming Video Content Writer

Sahara Romero

Malak Soliman Karina Hasselbo

Naiomi Daoust Video Content Producer Lorina Kutan-Boghosian Video Content Producer Ron Barrera Video Content Producer Stef Cursaru Video Content Producer Yassine Benouahmane Graphic Designer Towa Di Profio Cover Artist Saya Hidaka-Massicotte Cartoonist Sarah Bensetiti Secretary

CONTACT The Plant Newspaper Dawson College 3040 Rue Sherbrooke O Montréal, QC H3Z 1A4 2C.12 theplantnews.com theplantnewspaper@gmail.com @theplantdawson