Volume 19, Issue 2 - October, 2019

Volume 19, Issue 2 – October 9, 2019

The Sputnik, We Orbit Around You.

LAURIER BRANTFORD SLAMS IT HOME FOR HOMECOMING Campus celebrates 20th anniversary with weekend of events for students and alumni

News, pg. 3

ETHAN MILLS | HOMECOMING PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE CARNGIE, LAURIER BRANTFORD’S YEARBOOK

News, pg. 4

ANNUAL SOCIAL JUSTICE FORUM

Community event looks at campus and local activism

Photo Spread, pg. 6

O, WHAT A WEEK IT WAS

A snapshot of Brantford Orientation Week 2019

Arts pg. 8

REVIEWING HUSTLERS (2019)

Movie surprises audiences, subverts gender norms

Opinion, pg. 11

BREAKING AWAY FROM TOXICITY

Learning to fight against harmful friendships

Sports, pg. 12

LAURIER HITS IT HOME HARD

Women’s fastpitch ends with a strong season, 14-1

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CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF LAURIER BRANTFORD ETHAN MILLS | HOMECOMING PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE CARNGIE, LAURIER BRANTFORD’S YEARBOOK

Homecoming celebration brings together students, faculty, alumni, for reflection on the campus’ growth AARON HAGEY PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER

Last month marked a significant milestone in the history of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus, as the community celebrated its twentieth anniversary with Laurier’s Homecoming on Sept. 21.

The satellite campus, which was founded in 1999, kicked off its birthday with a series of events and weekend fun, including a “Party Like It’s 1999” Brantford BBQ at Harmony Square, a showcase varsity game with the Laurier Golden Hawk men’s basketball team, post-game party at Hudson Public House Kitchen + Bar (formerly Devlin’s Advocate)and finishing off with a dinner celebrating the criminology program’s fifteenth anniversary.

“Laurier’s Brantford campus exists thanks to the efforts of the Grand Valley Educational Society and support from the City of Brantford, which provided us with our first home, the Carnegie Building,” said Deborah MacLatchy, Laurier’s president and vice-chancellor, in an official statement.

“Community partnership was essential to our establishment here, and to this day that spirit of collaboration remains a constant at the Brantford campus. It’s only right that we celebrate our success with our friends, partners and neighbours who have been with us on this exciting journey.”

Combining the two events into one allows for the campus to reflect back on 20 years of progress, allowing students, faculty and

alumni to mix, mingle and see the extent of the growth that Brantford has experienced in that time.

“We started in 1999 [with] 39 students in one building, and now we have 17 buildings, over 3000 students and over 20 programs — so we’ve gone quite a long way in a short amount of time,” said Derek Szilaygi, alumni relations officer for the Brantford campus.

We started in 1999 [with] 39 students in one building, and now we have 17 buildings, over 3000 students and over 20 programs.

- Derek Szilaygi, alumni relations officer for the Brantford campus

“One of the deans was saying that she found some document from 1999 where the goal was, within 20 years, to reach 1000 students — so we’re over 3000 right now.”

In surpassing the expectations of growth by a factor of three, this year’s Homecoming celebration marks a turning point for the university, as well as the potential that the future holds.

With the purchase of the Market Square property in 2014, and conversion into what is now called One Market, the space will allow the population of enrolled students in Brantford to grow to

over 5000 — with a further goal of reaching 8000.

The events themselves were an outstanding success, with two fully-sold out events: the postgame celebration — with over 120 present — at Devlin’s Advocate, and the criminology anniversary dinner.

“Our numbers are through the roof … it’s well beyond what it was in the last few years … Harmony Square had over 250 people preregistered, and a whole bunch of people just showed up on the day of, so the numbers were really good,” Szilaygi said.

“I’ve heard really good reception from students, from community and from senior leadership as well.

The student athletes that came down for basketball were pumped, because they got to be the [main] show.” “[It really felt] like Homecoming, rather than just a one-off dinner: it was just a whole day of programming, and purple and gold everywhere,” he said.

For a close-knit community and campus like Brantford, where it is not uncommon that faculty and students are familiar and know each other by name, as well as the interwoven nature of Brantford clubs and associations, celebrations such as Homecoming offer a chance to really centralize the campus and demonstrate the importance of these connections.

“I think [Homecoming] is definitely a celebration of campus, and a celebration of community.

Especially in Brantford, the community is very tied to the campus: our buildings are very interspersed

throughout downtown … it’s definitely a chance for students to see how far the campus has gone, and to appreciate where we are now, but mostly it’s a fun celebration that brings people together, and you get to hang out with your friends and have fun,” Szilaygi said.

With the coming together of alumni, faculty and current students, brings the chance for the sharing of stories, like the dramatic changes that the campus has seen in just 20 years.

I think [Homecoming] is definitely a celebration of campus, and a celebration of community ... to see how far the campus has gone.

- Derek Szilaygi, alumni relations officer for the Brantford campus

“You hear stories — alumni love telling stories with the students — like ‘oh we worked out in Wilkes House when it was a single gym and now you have the YMCA,’ or … the bookstore would bring down a cart of textbooks and there would be a day, you’d show up between 8:00 [a.m.] and 5:00 [p.m.] and there would be a wardrobe-type thing that would open up, and there would be books on it … and now there’s a bookstore,” Szilaygi said.

Homecoming also gives a chance to reflect on the importance of Brantford’s generosity for its donation of the Carnegie Building to the university: the campus’ first official space.

“I think the story is we paid a can of coke and a dollar for the Carnegie back in 1999 … some of the long-time employees refer to the campus as ‘the little campus that could’, which I don’t know how I feel about that, because we are pretty large now, but there was that mentality in the early days that everyone works together to move ahead,” Szilaygi said.

But, at the end of it all, this celebration — and Homecoming as a whole — is an opportunity for the university to thank the students, and alumni, as well.

“It’s definitely a chance for staff to come back, founders to come back [and] alumni that took a chance on this school when they could have [gone] to any school, and they took a chance on this campus, with one building, to get their start,” Szilaygi said.

When Szilaygi moved to Brantford, a mentor of his — now a dean at another school — told him this: “for a university to be great, you need to have a great city; and for a city to be great, you need to have a great university.”

“So making it to 20 years is really a testament to the staff, and former students, alumni and current students, on how much they worked hard to make this, the “Brantford experiment,” as they called it in the early days, work,” he said.

“And it hasn’t just worked — it’s thrived.”

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NEWS

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COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Annual “Social Justice Forum” looks at activism efforts tokenism, systemic racism, racial profiling and cultural insensitivity.

The forum promoted a call to action, asking for a safe place for students to speak openly about personal issues in partnership with Diversity and Equity Office (DEO) and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (O.I.I), anti-racism equity training to all staff members, strategies in classrooms and on-campus to overcome oppressive racial issues and using the DEO and O.I.I. as tools of support on every syllabus to provide a resource to students who face racism on campus.

RASHIDA POWANKUMAR SPUTNIK NEWS

From Monday, Sept. 23, to Tuesday, Sept. 24, students and scholars collected in the Carnegie building for the fifth-annual Social Justice Forum on Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus.

Attendees of the forum were able to listen and engage with researchers who discussed their thoughts and findings regarding social justice activism, the current state of racism and discrimination on Laurier’s campuses, as well as what is currently being done to overcome these issues.

This year’s Keynote speech was given by Rosalind Hampton, a scholar and activist who works within the Department of Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto.

Her talk, entitled “Racialization and Resistance: Black People, Black Studies, and (Anti)Blackness in Canadian Academia,” took place on the second day of the forum.

Hampton was also responsible for facilitating the three-hour long workshop on Monday.

A number of researchers who were present at the event, including Paige Grant, Azka Choudhary and Joey Lee, expressed their alleged disappointment and concern due to the minimal impact and change resulting from the annual forum.

“We worked very, very long on this research study and no action is in effect,” said a member of the research team.

A number of these researchers were once students at Wilfrid Laurier University, and upon recognizing the disproportionate number of diverse faculty members at Laurier, had decided to do

We want Laurier to know that administration is aware of the racial discrimination that exists on the Laurier campuses.

- Research team member

ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

research in hopes of creating social and systemic change.

Grant, Choudhary and Lee went out to conduct interviews and gather surveys, producing a hard copy of a “Research Study,” and shared their findings with faculty members and students in Monday’s workshop.

Grant spoke about the overwhelming amount of international and domestic students who have faced racism on the grounds of Laurier.

Their study noted that 70 per cent of responding participants

have experienced racism and 71 per cent have witnessed racism.

It also noted that racism was experienced in various locations and places within the Laurier community, including walking to class, on residence, talking with professors, in the classroom or in various student associations.

The study revealed how these experiences with racism impact an individual’s mental health, relationships, productivity and daily interactions at work and school.

As researchers spoke about the recurring severity of the

overly oppressing nature of racism, Hampton asked a question to the listeners: “Put up your hand if you are currently a student at Laurier.”

After every student in the room put up their hand, Hampton then asked, “now, how many of you have had black professors?”

To this question, no students raised their hand.

Lee categorized a number of different types of racism that students have and continued to experience and witness on other university campuses, like Laurier’s, including: street harassment, stereotyping,

“We want Laurier to know that administration is aware of the racial discrimination that exists on the Laurier campuses. The administration at Laurier is extremely lacking in terms of their dedication to the racial injustices faced by students, staff and faculty,” said a member of the research team.

“Hire racial diverse groups in our school, in our libraries, offices and in classrooms. Just do it. Hire more Black folks. Hire more Indigenous folks. Hire more people of colour,” said a member of the research team.

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COLOURING - HAPPY HALLOWEEN

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Cartoon Scarecrow coloring page | Free Printable Coloring Pages

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COMIC STRIP

DEBORAH G-WHYTE | SPUTNIK GRAPHICS

A fresh student, unsure of themselves, is encouraged to try one of Laurier’s many clubs — no pressure!

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PHOTO SPREAD

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A WEEK:

AT BRANTFORD N-WEEK 2019

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FILM REVIEW blinded by the love they had for each other.

Both Destiny and Ramona were shown as the breadwinners of their families throughout the movie, which played into the traditional role reversal. The entire movie also showed women as the stronger gender, because the women were able to deceive the men with ease.

ment.

It definitely lived up to that expectation.

The movie is set during the 2008 recession, and tells the story of Destiny, an inexperienced stripper who teams up with Ramona, one of the most popular strippers at the club they both work at.

They band together with many other strippers, including their new protégées Mercedes and Ana-

belle, and begin targeting rich men at bars, escorting them to the club they work at, stealing their credit card numbers and charging them to their credit limit.

At first, it seems like the ladies are greedy and “typical women” who just want money to go shopping, but as the movie progresses, the details of every character’s personal lives come out in the open, and it is shown that this money is the only and the best source of income they can receive during this time.

At the beginning of the movie, it was comedy filled, and one could see the constant theme of women supporting other women — which is not something that is seen in the film industry often.

There were also many beautiful moments captured between the women where their relationship was developing from being girlfriends to a family. All the way until the end of the movie did the women support one another and made sure that they were all successful enough to go home and support their families.

Female empowerment and gender role-reversal were the two major themes that caught my attention during this movie. Lorene Scafaria, the movie’s writer and director, did an amazing job of keeping the relationships between the women positive and uplifting, rather than creating a drama-filled movie, which is what we usually see in theaters.

Throughout the entire movie, you can witness the swell of acceptance between the women, and in the end, they realized that all of the conflicts were caused by being

the artist with the perceptions that may accompany it, workshopping a relationship often distanced by a viewing of art without knowledge of where it was derived.

This relationship extends into the community of artists themselves, who gather throughout the

year to connect and plan the event and create a system of support.

One such artist is Jennifer Budd, who also helps to orchestrate the event and works with felt in order to create “woolscapes” using natural fibres to illustrate the beauty of the surrounding world, with the

individuation of the wool making each piece especially unique.

One piece of advice from Jennifer, who has both attended the tours as both an audience member and a participant, is to give yourself enough time to wonder about and consider the pieces.

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE | HUSTLERS MOVIE, 2019

It’s called a hustle, sweetheart: Hustlers impresses audiences KOYAL VYAS SPUTNIK ARTS

At first glance, the movie Hustlers looks like a movie about strippers — and who would not want to see that?

After just two weeks in theaters, the star-studded movie received an 88 per cent positive review from Rotten Tomatoes and a 67 per cent positive audience score. However,

the trailer does not do this movie the justice it deserves.

The biggest reason to go see this movie is because of the queen herself: any role that Jennifer Lopez is given she dominates. With her leading the charge, followed

by Constance Wu, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B, it was obvious that this movie was going to be packed to the brim with women empower-

At the beginning of the movie, it was comedy filled, and one could see the constant theme of women supporting other women — which is not something that is seen in the film industry often.

Another major point that stood out to me was the fact that there was no major roles in the movie that were portrayed by men, a factor I found that set the movie apart from the others in the same genre.

To wrap it up, I highly recommend checking out Hustlers in theaters. All I will say is amazing cast and award-winning acting.

This movie will make you laugh, scream and think you can be a stripper that scams Wall Street bankers as well.

Also, even if these reasons do not appeal to you, or maybe you just do not want to see a movie about strippers, the soundtrack is incredible, from start to finish — so at least give that a listen.

CREATIVE COLLABORATION

Behind the scenes: Brant Art Tours SHELBY EDWARDS STAFF WRITER

In conjunction with the Culture Day events happening throughout the province, the Brant Art Studio Tours look to further the relationships between artists and their consumers by offering a behind the scenes look into the methods of their craft.

From Sept. 28 to 29, artists from Brant County and Brantford opened their homes and studios to the public so that their art could be shared along with the story of its creation, exploring their work in the place it was created.

This not only provides a behindthe-scenes look into the processes involved in the cultivation of creating art, but also provides the opportunity to purchase directly from the source of its finished product.

The registration process involves that of a studio tour as well as an establishment of self, whereby the artist is accessible to the public and founded in their own practice as evidenced through their portfolio. The application process is further accompanied by a juried voting from the event’s current members.

Now in its nineteenth year, the Brant Studio Tour has garnered a wide audience from all over the province, some traveling 40 kilometers away.

The tours act as an incubator of the craft, with an array of mediums and techniques from printmak-

ing, ceramics, sculptures, textile arts, conceptual, photography, metalsmith and jewelry, as well as paintings, drawings and mixed media.

[The event] not only provides a behind-thescenes look into the processes involved in the cultivation of creating art, but also provides the opportunity to purchase directly from the source of its finished product.

The works are two and three dimensional and encompass both finished and in-progress pieces, as well as those that are visual or even practical pieces, such as jewelry, scarves and purses.

Making public the private cultivation of various forms of creation, artists were present to answer any questions and provide insight and detail behind the conceptualization of their pieces and the methods and processes that accompany it.

In buying not just the art, but its story, the audience is able to connect further with the product and

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE | UNSPLASH

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

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ARTS & CULTURE

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COMMUNITY

Orange Shirt Day opens the conversation for reconciliation Woodland Cultural Centre organizes “healing walk” to confront the history of residential school system AARON HAGEY PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER

Attempting to find reconciliation in regards to one of Canada’s darkest periods of its history is a difficult and complex process of acknowledgement, confrontation and healing.

On Sunday, Sept. 29, in acknowledgement of trauma faced

by Indigenous people through the residential school system in Canada, Brantford residents took part in a healing walk to the former Mohawk Institute, one of Canada’s oldest, still-standing residential schools in the country.

The former Mohawk Institute, which was operational from 1885 to 1970, saw the forced enrollment of thousands of Indigenous youth — approximately 90 to 200 per year — most of whom were forcibly separated from their families and culture and many experienced other forms of violence within the residential school system as well.

The “Survivors Gathering” walk, facilitated by the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, has been organized annually for the last three years, and falls on the weekend of Orange Shirt Day, the national event that began in 2013.

It’s important that we all understand the depth of the trauma, that we listen and truly hear their stories ...

-Layla Black, marketing coordinator, Woodland Cultural Centre

CONTRIBUTED IMAGE | IAN MARACLE

“Orange Shirt Day is a national awareness campaign for survivors of residential schools, and we all wear orange to honour those that survived and the many children who did not,” said Layla Black, marketing coordinator for the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, in an email statement.

“It’s important that we all understand the depth of the trauma, that we listen and truly hear their stories, and it creates that recognition of the Indigenous culture this country was built on.”

The history of residential schools and their long-lasting impact on Indigenous cultures throughout Canada have been very tough for the country to grapple with.

Similar to the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, there are a number of infamous examples of under-discussed aspects of Canadian history that have only recently begun to be acknowledged by Canada’s federal government and educational system.

“If we don’t have an acknowledgement, the stories will never be heard, and this history will be forgotten. It’s not an easy thing to talk about or even think about, that the founders of this country were so cruel and violent to Indigenous children,” Black said in the statement.

“Admitting that it was an attempt at genocide is not an easy pill to swallow, but the truth has to be told so that Canadians can learn from past mistakes, grow in understanding, and build a stronger foundation and partnership with Indigenous people of Canada.”

Despite acknowledgement from the Government, there is

still a long and important process of healing and reconciliation involved. Included in that process is the efforts of organizations like the Woodland Cultural Centre, which seek to preserve the former Mohawk Institute for educational purposes. “[Our goal is to take] a place that for 150 years was designated to eradicate the identity of Indigenous people, and [transform it into] ... a hub for showcasing, promoting, teaching and preserving,” Black said in the statement.

Participation in the process of acknowledgement and reconciliation for Canadians, and those who wish to be effective allies, is a complicated process, especially given that a lot of these events precede many of us. The question of “how can I help?” can be a difficult one to navigate.

However, Black offers a simple suggestion to combat this problem.

“In my opinion, one of the first things you must do is listen. Listen to the stories,” Black said in the statement.

“This not only helps you [better understand] the depth of trauma and intergeneration[al] trauma, but also is healing for survivors to speak about their experience.

Many have lived in silence with it for most of their lives.”

Approaching that dialogue, for some, can be equally as difficult as acknowledging the traumatic circumstances surrounding events like Orange Shirt Day. “It is easy to fall back into the stereotypes of Indigenous people that most of us are familiar with, [but] when you start to truly learn and acknowledge the trauma that was forced upon them, you start to understand WHY there are so many social issues,” Black said in the statement.

“It’s not an easy conversation to have, and can be difficult to speak about and also to hear … [what the Woodland Centre does is provide] a place where you can truly learn and listen to the experiences and genuinely take a sense of what happened and the impacts away with you into the world.”

For those who have been

The more education and awareness we can create around this, the more we can make an impact for change.

-Layla Black, marketing coordinator, Woodland Cultural Centre

personally impacted by the effects of residential schools, including survivors and their families, the Woodland Cultural Centre offers their support in finding the proper resources that are needed, including their active role in the education and awareness surrounding Orange Shirt Day. “Before solutions can be initiated the most important step is listening … educate yourself,” Black said in the statement.

“The generational trauma of hundreds of years of these operational schools has affected many, and is still holding a grip on many Indigenous people and communities. The more education and awareness we can create around this, the more we can make an impact for change.”

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HEALING

No benefit in doubt: how narcissists evoke the empathic

SHELBY EDWARDS STAFF WRITER

Narcissism is considered to be a fixed personality disorder, one where the feelings of others are not considered or cared for in any reasonable sense. This is quite a contrast to those with a more empathetic personality, who attach to the feelings of the community through their personalizing of them.

If it were not for the fixation of the narcissistic condition, then perhaps these contrasts could create a balance rather than a deadly consumption of self. The empathic can often focus on the feelings of others to a point of deficit, and although well intentioned, this trait can quickly be seen as a means of control for a narcissist.

The trouble comes in believing that we all feel the same, let alone that we all feel. Through trauma and conditioning, many individuals disassociate in order to escape the pain of the present or make sense of what is unexplainable: “I said no, so therefore this can’t be

GRAPHICS BY ANUJ KAPAHI/GRAPHICS EDITOR

happening, this can’t be real — I can’t be present.”

Whether or not this is the reason for which narcissists become conditioned out of the experience of their emotions is a topic of further debate, especially considering that many experience trauma and disassociation, but may teeter to the opposite side of the spectrum and become encumbered with their feelings and those of others.

The empathy for which they lack is sought after in their victims, as the empathic quest to heal gives way to an addiction to the cycles of abuse, whereby the victim believes that if they just do enough, are kind enough or caring enough, the anger will be quelled and the affection bestowed.

However, it is not love the narcissist craves, but rather the void of empathy that they cannot feel,

they will shame you out of doing so in order to avoid confronting their own discomfort or detachment.

In trying to cater to the emotions of a façade, the empathic erode their sense of self in favour of their narcissist partners, casting away what is criticized of their character until only their name is all that remains.

The desire to extend yourself to others in the hopes of their

healing is admirable but not to be done without discernment, for you cannot heal that which denies it is broken.

We are all deserving of love and healing, but not at the expense of others. Rather than attempt to convert the narcissist in the hopes of eliminating the “purposed” problem, it seems of more use to extend your care towards the hearts that crave it.

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OPINION

11

MENTAL HEALTH

JAMIE MERE | THE CORD

Breaking out of toxic friendships JACKSON CARSE STAFF WRITER, THE CORD

Losing someone you love and care about is always difficult. We create ties and bonds with people, expressing our joys and heartaches.

We rely on these people in difficult times and they rely on us. But a harmonious friendship of both honest razzing and genuine care is the ideal, that’s not always the reality. Sometimes these friendships we’ve built aren’t what is best for us and it’s important to recognize when this is the case.

Some friendships are only meant to last so long. Consider these learning experiences. Sure,

that old friend from high school binge drinking Old Vienna’s in the driver’s seat of his Pontiac Sunfire is fun to screw around with on weekends but do you really want him at your wedding? You can love these people for what they were to you, what you did for each other, but don’t mistake that for long-term chemistry. Some of the greatest relationships of my life only ever lasted a few months. It doesn’t always matter how it ends.

What’s really important is how this relationship bettered you, what you took from it. Yes, it might hurt initially, it’s never easy losing a friend, but remember what you learnt and let it influence your

future.

A bad friendship can be dangerous for your physical health. Late into my second year of university an old friend moved into the vacant room of my apartment. We hadn’t talked in years and I was oblivious to what I was getting myself into.

I began picking up his unhealthy habits. He unemployed and not attending school, me having just finished exams, we began drinking almost daily, sleeping less and eating foods with no nutritional value. I took up my retired, disgusting habit of smoking and I began to notice the quick deterioration of my mental and physical

TECHNOLOGY

Learning to break away from technology, for our own good

In a world that is rapidly becoming more reliant on technology, what can we do to stop it from taking over our everyday lives?

JADE HOSICK OPINION EDITOR, THE CORD

I love technology and I am going to admit that I might let it rule my life more than I should — the other day I literally texted my roommate even though we were sitting in the same room.

Of course, technology definitely makes our lives easier, but as a society I think we have gotten to the point where the power technology gives us, harms us more than anything.

Technology seems to be making people have lowered emotional intelligence, something that is so needed in our society.

I think that we are in a day and age where communicating over technology allows people to be two different people online and in person — even just private messaging and texting allows a someone to do that.

People can be mean or rude to you through a text, but then in front of everyone else act super

nice. I think we are all guilty of not wanting to start a confrontation, so we just send a message instead when we know the content will potentially upset the receiver.

Everyone now has the power to hide behind a screen and say whatever they want without the consequences of having an actual hard conversation.

People can hide behind fake profile pictures and post hateful, racist, or derogatory content and not have to worry about people in their real lives knowing that they comment like that.

People need to be able to have difficult conversations in person, not hide behind a screen ... no more hiding behind a screen so you don’t have to be mean in person.

It’s a little trickier when the person is not hiding behind a personae but rather just using their phones as a device to hide.

People need to be able to have difficult conversations in person, not hide behind a screen.

Communication is a key aspect of everyday life that relying on hiding behind texts is not a good idea when entering the real world.

Sometimes hiding behind a screen to get your point across isn’t going to fly, one day your boss might call you into their office and now you can’t hide behind a screen.

I get it, some conversations are difficult to have in person, and I am guilty of sometimes texting when I should have had an inperson conversation.

But, in the long run those conversations are going to make you a better communicator overall.

What I ask of you guys is this; if you have a difficult conversation, have decency and do it in person.

No more hiding behind a screen so you don’t have to be mean in person.

Deal with the people and their reactions in person, that is the most effective way to communicate. Don’t text and then leave the messages for long periods of time.

Or, at least, try to make faceto-face conversations more real, where you aren’t hiding. *This article was originally published in The Cord*

health. This is just an example of how surrounding yourself with the wrong people can seriously harm your body as well as your mind.

Although my friend at the time was no direct harm to me, indirectly his habits began drastically changing how I operated on a daily basis.

They can also take a major toll on your mental health. A toxic relationship has the ability to warp your perception of social customs, what is right and natural. I acknowledge it isn’t always easy to drop friends you begin to recognize as “toxic”. At times these people have been in your life for years and you never understand that this is abnormal until exposed to new social circles. I never noticed this until I started university. It was not only okay but was encouraged for you to be yourself, to never suppress your personality regardless of how odd and different it may be.

This was a revolutionary discovery as I slowly met more and more people who didn’t just like me for my geographical convenience but for my whit and character. People that didn’t discourage me from voicing my opinions and preferences. Old friendships, only having flourished so long due to the location of our parent’s houses, began to take a lot of effort to maintain.

Your opinions and interests are not unjust or inadequate if they don’t match your friend’s. This may seem obvious but to some it’s something they’ve never been told.

It took me far too long to realize this and I was never truly myself until I accepted it. I found myself conforming and suppressing my personality out of fear of judgment and criticism. It hinders on your confidence in a major way when you feel you’re a lesser person for your character.

It’s becoming increasingly frustrating watching people feel

the need to conform to the masses, conform to their peers. Transformed into people they know they aren’t simply to please the people that don’t care. Individuality is such a unique thing and seems to be becoming a rarity nowadays.

Homogenizing your ideas limits your ability to create, withholding your ability to display your talents.

But I’m a hypocrite. There are times I conform to my friend’s opinions in an attempt to avoid judgment. Sure, I’ll admit that I think Tom Brady is the best quarterback of all time when I know Joe Montana is the G.O.A.T. I’ll jam along to Island in the Sun even when at heart I think Weezer is no better than a couple of deaf possums playing around with a bottle of prescription medication.

It’s healthy to have different friend groups. It’s okay to distance yourself from people that hold you back from your best. You don’t necessarily need to exile these people from your life, but if you’re at a point where you know they’re unhealthy for you feel no guilt in stepping away.

Sometimes you need to remove certain people from your life. It might not be easy breaking off a friendship, especially if you’ve been friends for years, but if they are suppressing your genius or degrading your accomplishments it might be time for them to go.

Don’t be wary of cutting off an unhealthy relationship. A person’s influence on you is just as important as your influence on them.

Know your worth and capitalize on it.

Just as you would do with a stack of assignments or a dirty kitchen, don’t hesitate to rid yourself of your stressors, even if some of them are your oldest friends. *This article was originally published in The Cord*

THE SPUTNIK

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 SPORTS EDITOR NOW HIRING - APPLY TODAY thesputnik.ca/recruitment

SOFTBALL

Women’s fastpitch finishes 14-1, heads into championships

After a strong season, and unfortunate loss during the provincial tournament, the team is excited for this weekend AARON HAGEY PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER

Wilfrid Laurier University’s women’s softball team is heading into the national championships, with a new hunger for a national title, following an incredible 14-1 season this year.

The championships will be hosted by Laurier University, from Oct. 11 to 13 at Budd Park in Kitchener, and will feature the top eight collegiate softball teams in Canada.

Their regular season finished on Sept. 27, with a win, 12-5 — and their first loss of the season, 3-4 — to the McMaster Marauders, as they headed into the season playoffs last weekend as the number two seed in the Ontario Intercollegiate Women’s Fastpitch Association (OIWFA) West Division championships, hosted by McMaster University.

Unfortunately, the team was not able to place during the provincial championships.

“We had a really successful regular season … finished second overall in the league, and many informal polls across the country were ranked — and still are ranked — number two in the country,” said Matt Allen, head coach for Laurier Women’s Softball.

“We had a really veteran squad, so they were really committed right from the get-go of finishing strong and it was not the end result we wanted last weekend, but we’re really trying to turn the tide and focus on this weekend and winning the national title.”

In the first round of the championship, Laurier faced an early defeat at the hands of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, 2-6, and were forced into the losers bracket to fight for a

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shot at the bronze.

In the first round of the losers bracket, they fought their way back to the top against the Queens Gaels, finishing with an impressive 10-2 victory for the team.

In the second round, Laurier continued its pursuit for redemption, beating the Brock Badgers — the number one seed and pre-playoff favorites, at 15-1 — in a crushing 7-1 victory.

Unfortunately, in the third round, Laurier was beat out in a

second loss to the Marauders, 2-12, taking their opportunity for third place in the provincial championship.

“It wasn’t the result that we wanted — we went in with the mindset of coming out provincial champions, and lost an early game Saturday morning to have to fight a long way back and lost a pretty emotional and deflating game on Sunday morning that beat us just out of the bronze medal games. So, yeah, it was a tough weekend for us

overall,” Allen said.

Despite last weekend’s lessthan-ideal outcome, the team is fired up for the coming championships — and are ready to bring it all.

“I’ve talked to a few of the athletes this morning and I think they’ve got an edge ... you’ll see that this weekend,” Allen said.

“They’re really hungry, they’re really disappointed, because we’ve been so close for five years and that wasn’t the finish that we

wanted. So, for a lot of them — we’ve got a really veteran squad — they want to end their university career on a high note, and I think the best way to sum it up is [that] they’re hungry for a title.”

With six of the team’s players in their final year of university, a number of these athletes have been playing together since their first year. For many of them, this weekend marks the culmination of their efforts, and they will be looking to prove it on home turf.

“We’ve said [that] since day one, this season especially, [that] this is kind of like our second family at Laurier,” Allen said.

“I think they really play for each other, and the bond that they have off the field is something that we share on the field, and I think improves our results — because they all want to play for each other — and a lot of the athletes are going through some personal things, and that’s what made yesterday’s defeat so emotional for them.”

Despite last weekend’s defeats, the athletes have not allowed themselves to be demoralized, and will be playing hard to represent Laurier in the days to come.

“For me it was a really proud moment for us as a staff because, at the end, when we got beat out, they all picked each other up and, to me, that’s what this program is all about — it’s about creating better people off the field and people who have each other’s backs,” Allen said.

“It’s a really tight-knit group: they’ve worked really, really hard, especially this season. They’ve just got so much drive and passion to represent the school, themselves and our alumni with pride.” *This story was originally published in The Cord*

HEALING

Relaxing to reclaim: using yoga to work through trauma SHELBY EDWARDS STAFF WRITER

In honor of “Take Back the Night,” the annual, international event focused on the idea of reclaiming power from domestic and sexual violence and healing, we must first acknowledge that which we are attempting to reclaim.

The method of reclamation is individual, but the union is universal, connecting to our body and breath in order to be present with our vital life force.

Yoga is a wonderful means of restoration, as it grounds and calms the parasympathetic nervous system, taking you out of your head and into your body.

This would seem of particular use for causes of trauma, where the individual often disconnects from their body and escapes into a black abyss of the mind in order to escape the present infliction of pain.

Tricia L eblanc, the yoga studio manager of Grand River Wellness, advises students to “connect with your vital life force in the body, be grateful for that life force that

surges through you because without it you are not alive,” evidenced by the fact that this is how we both begin and end our lives.

Though the complaint of not being able to meditate is common, we are all able, though none of us perfected in its practice. In order to avoid the pain or discomfort of our thoughts and past experiences, we busy ourselves in order to not sit in its silence for fear of being able to hear its echo.

However you need to get there, be that sitting still for a minute, sewing, running, taking a bath or drinking a glass of wine, finding that silent spot inside of you is the peace that comes from not being “busy”.

The existence of trauma can also be accompanied by a distrust of community, for it represents faith having been broken; and so the union of individual practise in a group atmosphere can promote a sense of community and belonging to something, while at the same time allowing yourself to be guided and supported in your quest of letting go.

The internalization of trauma,

which could be said to manifest in symptoms such as PTSD, can be lessened by not only expelling that which has become stagnant, but also by witnessing the humanity of others in order to validate that which in yourself has been previously denied.

It is also our expectations that must be healed, explains Leblanc, as a big part of going through difficulties is realizing the uncontrollability of that which is outside of us. Shifting this focus inward is much more malleable, as through the helplessness of extenuating circumstances, we learn that we cannot control what others think, feel or even inflict — and so our internal response becomes our external power.

LeBlanc’s final reminder is that of patience, as “you have to be patient with yourself, you’re not just going to get through trauma overnight.”

So while you are waiting in the present moment for the pain to pass, breathe and release into the cycles of healing, as we cannot see light until the dark has allowed its lumination.

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