Issue 9, Volume 123

ISSUE 9

XAVERIAN THE WEEKLY xaverian

Thursday Mar 29 2012

Volume 120 Issue 20

EDITORIAL STAFF

Friday, Thursday, February March 21, 6,2012 2015 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Volume Volume 123 Issue Issue159 Sean McEvoy121 xw.eic@stfx.ca | (902) 870-9431

OUR STAFF OUR STAFF

PRODUCT ION MANAGER Emma MacPherson EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF xw.product@stfx.ca

Sean Ron Jeremy McEvoy MANAGING EDITOR xw.eic@stfx.ca Peter North Joe T hibault

xw.managing@stfx.ca | (902) 867-3732

NEWS Student Life investigation

Multiple students share their stories of administrative apathy

xw.eic@stfx.ca

COPY EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Alexandra Adams Graham PRODUCT ION Haynes MANAGER xw.copy@stfx.ca

JULIA O’HANLEY | News Editor &

xw.managing@stfx.ca Jesus ART IST IC COORDINATOR Marie-Eve Pomerleau xw.product@stfx.ca xw.photo@stfx.ca

For the protection of sources whom have requested anonymity, certain names, specific activities, residence names, etc. have been omitted to ensure their privacy .

ARTISTIC COORDINATOR

NEWS EDITOR Lindsay ART IST IC COORDINATOR Hatt Lewis Forward xw.news@stfx.ca x2012cdi@stfx.ca Fanny McToaster

xw.photo@stfx.ca CULTURE EDITOR Kennedy Murphy COPY EDITOR xw.culture@stfx.ca

Molly MARKETSchreiber ING MANAGER

SPORTS & HEALT H EDITOR xw.copy@stfx.ca Burt Simmons Micha Saade xw.sports@stfx.ca

xw.managing@stfx.ca

FEATURES EDITOR NEWS EDITOR Annie Ewing Julia BUSINESS O’Hanley MANAGER xw.feature@stfx.ca

xw.news@stfx.ca Dolores Umbridge OPINIONS EDITOR Amanda Daignault xw.managing@stfx.ca xw.opinions@stfx.ca

OPINIONS EDITOR

DIST RACT IONS EDITOR Emily COPY EDITOR MacGregor xw.distract@stfx.ca

xw.opinions@stfx.ca J.K. Rowling

SENIOR REPORT ER xw.copy@stfx.ca Seth Rutner xw.report@stfx.ca

FEATURES EDITOR

SENIOR REPORT ER Lewis NEWS EDITOR Forward Ellen Crosby xw.feature@stfx.ca Larry King xw.report@stfx.ca

xw.news@stfx.ca

DIST RIBUT ION MANAGER Adam Ross& CULTURE ARTS

EDITOR

Devon OPINIONS Contact EICGreene atEDITOR xw.eic@stfx.ca for information xw.culture@stfx.ca Bob Marley

Allegations of sexual harassment within StFX Residence Life staff have gone unanswered according to multiple sources who have come forward to The Xaverian with stories of injustice by senior and lower level staff members of the Residence Life wing of StFX Student Life. Over the course of our investigation, The Xaverian has heard testimonies from insiders who claim that some of the staff members employed by the university to ensure the safety and well being of its students might be doing just the opposite.

xw.opinions@stfx.ca

DISTRACTIONS EDITOR Kurt FEATURES Brothers EDITOR CONTACT US General xw.distract@stfx.ca Nas inquiries (902) 867-5007 Advertising inquiries (902) 867-3732 Fax (902) 867-3941 xw.feature@stfx.ca E-mail xw.eic@stfx.ca

SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR Aaron CULTUREThornell EDITOR FIND US xw.sports@stfx.ca Big 111D, L Rm. Bloomfield Centre PO Box 924 xw.culture@stfx.ca St Francis Xavier University Antigonish NS,REPORTERS B2G 2X1 SENIOR

Angela DIST RACTMacKenzie IONS EDITOR

The Xaverian Weekly is the official Rachel Oprah Winfrey Revoy student newspaper of St Francis Xavier xw.report@stfx.ca xw.distract@stfx.ca University.

The Xaverian Weekly is published on Thursdays by the Xaverian Weekly Publications Board and is COLUMNISTS SPORTS & HEALT H EDITOR editorially autonomous.

Laura Jared “Subway” Aloisio Fogel

Coltan xw.sports@stfx.ca Thompson The Xaverian Weekly is a proud member of the Canadian University Press, North America’s largest cooperative of student STAFF SENIOR REPORT WRITERS ERS newspapers.

Campus Plus is the Xaverian Lindsay Peter ParkerJohnstone Weekly’s national advertising agency.

Cassia Clark KentTremblay

xw.report@stfx.ca opinions

Opinions expressed inMANAGER the Xaverian DISTRIBUTION Weekly are those of the author and Devon DIST RIBUT Chisholm ION MANAGER do not necessarily reflect those of xw.eic@stfx.ca T heXaverian Flash inquiries the Weeklyfor or the Xaverian Weekly Publications Board. for more info contact EIC at xw.eic@stfx.ca

CONTACT US CONTACT US

copyright

Email: xw.eic@stfx.ca All materials appearing in the Xaverian Weekly copyright their creator(s) Twitter: Generalare @xaverianweekly inquiries: (902) 293-4366 and may not be used without Facebook: Advertising The inquiries: Xaverian (506) Weekly 378-3326 permission. www.xaverian.ca Email: xw.eic@stfx.ca

submissions

FIND FIND US US

The Xaverian Weekly welcomes submissions of articles, letters, photos, Room Room 111D, 111D,Bloomfield Bloomfield Centre Centre and graphics.

Submissions must be PO Box Box924 924 received

by Friday 5 pm the week prior to Submissions St.publication.

Francis FrancisXavier Xavier University Universityshould be sent to xw.eic@stfx.ca or to the relevant Antigonish, Antigonish, NS NS B2G B2G2X1 2X1 section editor.

The editor-in-chief the section Opinions Opinions expressed expressed are areand solely solely those those of of their their aueditors reserve the right to refuse to thors and do not necessarily reflect the views of print submitted material and to edit The The Xaverian XaverianorWeekly Thelength Xaverian or The Publications Xaverian Weekly Board. submissions for and/or style.

The Xaverian Weekly will not print mateAll Publications materials Board. appearing in The Xaverian are copyrial that is racist, misogynistic, sexist, right All materials those of their appearing in The andXaverian may not be Weekly used homophobic, orcreator(s) libellous. without are copyright permission. those of their creator(s) and may not

Contributors Editors be used reserve without the permission. right to refuse to print sub-

mitted Editorsmaterial reserve the andright to edit to refuse submitted to print material(s) submit-

JAMES for ted length/style. materialMALLOV, and to The edit Xaverian submitted MAYS willmaterial(s) not CHAMI, print mafor LAURA terial length/style. that is O’BRIEN, The racist, Xaverian misogynistic, Weekly LIAMsexist, will PROST, nothomoprint BREANNA phobic, materialorthat libellous is racist, MITCHELL . The misogynistic, Xaverian is sexist, editorially homoautonomous. phobic, or libellous.

Residence Assistant Shares Her Story A second year member of the StFX residence life team says she has been experiencing sexual harassment in the form of “inappropriate” text messages, request for naked photos and the unsolicited distribution of naked pictures via Snapchat from her co worker for more

SEAN MCEVOY | Editor-in-Chief

than a year.

She told the Xaverian that the alleged harassment began in November 2013 when she was a freshman; the male offender a sophomore who at the time was working as an RA in a residence outside of her own.

The two had met through a student society on campus, but remained merely peers - no formal relations (romantic, friendship) developed. She says the harassment, in the form of text messages and Snapchats, took place over the course of three months, and included the delivery of and request for nude images as well as miscellaneous sexual commentary.

Eventually she says the messages did taper off, and the pair went their separate ways until August 2014 when, after applying to be an RA, she was assigned to work on the same staff team as him for the 2014-15 school year.

With so much time having passed, she was not concerned that her work placement would be an issue, saying “[I thought] it won’t be a problem; he would never do this to someone on his staff team.”

Over the duration of their first semester working together,

he once again started sending texts she described as “inappropriate”: distributing and requesting nude images on a regular basis. She told him that she was not interested in pursuing conversations of the like, and eventually cut off all personal communications with him maintaining and enforcing that their relationship was strictly professional, hoping that the messages would end.

In Dec. 2014, over a year after the preliminary texts and Snaps, what had been simply telecommunication escalated to instances of face-to-face interaction: she speaks of two situations in particular she says took place on two evenings in December.

In the primary instance, she describes a situation in which the third-year RA came into her room while she was getting changed before going to bed.

Following the numerous requests she had received in months past from her co-worker to see her in this vulnerable state, she was immensely uncomfortable, and pleaded for him to pass her her clothes. After continuous refusal to do so, she decided to approach her clothes to put them on, further

exposing herself to the alleged offender.

Eventually she was successful in convincing him to leave her room, but not before he made his way to her bed where he is then said to have started masturbating, telling her that she “turned him on.”

In the second instance, the sophomore told The Xaverian of that one evening shortly after being on duty with her alleged offender, she accidentally locked herself out of her building, forgetting both her swipe key and cell phone in her bedroom. Unable to call someone else for assistance, the RA says she reluctantly called to her coworker to ask him to open the door. He said that he would, but only if she promised to send him a naked picture of herself in return. In desperation, she said that she would, although she insisted to The Xaverian that she had no intentions of doing so.

As the night progressed without her provision of a nude image, he repeatedly sent her nagging Snapchats, insisting upon how angry he was that she hadn’t held up her end of the bargain.

Story continued on pg 8.

StFX Enactus gets thrifty Student group opens consignment and thrift store

RACHEL REVOY | Senior Reporter

The StFX Enactus’ group has began a new initiative by opening a consignment and thrift store where students can drop off their unwanted items, or to shop for themselves. The proceeds with go towards providing a full time job for a student in financial need by employing them at the store, called XDenn.

XDenn will accept donations or items to be sold on consignment. The store will take 25% off of the sale of a product in order to fund a student to be a full time manager of the store. Once the project receives involvement, StFX Enactus will work towards training a student to become a self sufficient full time employee.

“There are students who need certain basic items, so our goal is to not only provide them with a job but teach them, but also helping the community through an entre-

preneurial point of view, that’s what Enactus is all about. So we're trying to provide them with the skills to learn how to run the store and to make it a more sustainable venture, [it will be] helping a lot of people at one time,” says Megan Fixter, the project manager of X Denn.

Rebecca Waterhouse, President of StFX Enactus, came up with the project idea after working on a similar project back in her hometown of Ottawa. She worked on a project with her father on a similar consignment thrift store in a high school and realized there was a huge demand for students to have a place to sell items and to get new items on a budget. Another positive aspect of the project for Rebecca was the value of helping people first hand.

After the success in the high school setting, Rebecca knew that with the help of the

StFX Enactus group XDenn would have a great impact on campus. Megan Fixter took on the project with the help of Enactus members Graham Haynes, Matt Froh, and Jessie Dawe.

XDenn would facilitate the StFX Buy & Sell process in the future to cut out the intermediary of negotiating with a stranger. With X Denn, students would be able to drop their items off for sale and interested buyers would be able to go and see the item whenever it is convenient for them.

This creates a safe and time manageable option for buying and selling items between campus and community members.

“The number one goal is not to make money, it’s to help people out. We will work with people, but if someone comes in here and they are in financial need and if they can’t pay we’re not going to shut the

door on them, but we do want to support a job,” says Rebecca Waterhouse on the positive goals for XDenn.

To put items on consignment at XDenn, when the item is sold the seller will be notified. Once notified, the seller will receive the amount predetermined between yourself and the person working at XDenn. 25% of the price of the item will fund the initiative to help the student in need.

“We need involvement, we need active participation, the sooner that happens the sooner we will be able to help people in need,” says Waterhouse.

The stores hours in the coming weeks will be Friday and Saturday 12-4, located on the first floor of the SUB beside the bookstore. Stop by the view the collection of Xaverian yearbooks from the past 80 years, to shop, or to drop off your donations.

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9

NEWS

3

Bishops Hall for #BellLetsTalk Burke, Fraser, and Plessis team up for Mental Health awareness video JULIA O’HANLEY | News Editor

On Jan. 26, Bishops Hall released a video as part of Mental Health Week at StFX. Organized and edited by Jenna Kennedy and Kyla MacDougall, house presidents of Fraser and Plessis, the video featured students from all three houses in Bishops Hall sharing facts and advice for raising awareness of Bell’s annual ‘Bell Let’s Talk’ campaign.

Fraser President Jenna Kennedy noted that releasing the video on to YouTube two days before Bell Let’s Talk day was intentional, explaining “We wanted to do it during Mental Health Awareness week just to kind of give it more hype and also to make people aware of what [events] were going on throughout the week.”

The duo expected a positive reaction from the video, but were surprised attention it received across campus.

“The first night it went super viral.

Jenna and I kind of went crazy and just shared it everywhere. I tweeted it at StFX and also The U and Kent Mac-

Donald and they all reposted it. The U ended up posting it on their Twitter and Facebook page, same as StFX, which was really nice because we kind of did it completely on our own without any outside help so we weren’t really sure how it was going to go over.

So that was really exciting,” expresses MacDougall, Plessis HP. On Jan. 28, the video reached a national audience. After sharing the video on her Facebook page, first year student Emma Swaine from Plessis aided in expanding the videos reach after her cousin, an employee of Bell, saw the clip and showed it to the event’s corporate sponsor.

“It went far - all the way to Bell. For people to see it at Bell, I was surprised personally. I thought maybe it would go around res and perhaps theU would retweet it or whatever. People are talking about it days after,” notes Jenna, pinning much of the credit for the video’s outreach to Swaine’s Facebook share.

Swaine however humbly denies responsibility for her role in the video’s reach saying “Anyone could have seen it with all of the shares that it had. I think that when my cousin saw it in particular it kind of hit home because of the mental illness that our family has dealt with.”

Instead, she gives house council kudos on their work on the issue. “I think that Jenna and Kyla deserve the most credit. It is such an important day and topic that everyone should be talking about,” she says, adding “It’s people like Kyla that have so much passion for this topic that will change things around the stigma of mental illness.”

MacDougall’s passion for fighting the stigma around mental illness was also shown in her Twitter efforts on the annual day of action. Each year, Bell makes a commitment to donate five cents to mental health research and outreach efforts from every text and long distance call from a Bell cell phone and tweet using the hashtag

#BellLetsTalk on the corporation’s day of action. After a close friend of her lost his battle with depression last summer, MacDougall dedicated 4000 of her tweets to the cause. Each tweet included the sponsor’s hashtag, as well as the monetary amount she had raised up until that point - five cents at a time.

“I wanted to tweet a lot, but I didn’t really know how. I didn’t really know that many inspirational things to say or quotes or facts or anything so I just decided that I would start tweeting and for fun keep track of how much I could do if I was pretty persistent with it. I started at midnight and went until four in the morning.”

With Twitter’s policy to suspend an account after 100 tweets are generated in an hour or 1000 in a day, MacDougall had to create two alternate accounts to keep up with her initiative.

For the second year though it was worth it, after raising $200 in twentyfour h

Clara’s Big Ride

Antigonish resident Dexter Nyuurnibe stars in documentary as part of #BellLetsTalk JULIA O’HANLEY | News Editor

On Jan. 28, local mental health advocate Dexter Nyuurnibe made the trip to Toronto for the premiere screening of ‘Clara’s Big Ride’. Clara’s Big Ride is a documentary about six time olympic medalist Clara Hughes’ 110 day, 110 000km bicycle ride across Canada last summer to raise funds and awareness for mental illness and spark the conversation surrounding mental health.

Not only did Nyuurnibe have the opportunity to see the opening show, but he was also chosen as one of ten everyday people to be featured in the film alongside Hughes. Nyuurnibe had the opportunity to meet with the Olympian and mental health advocate as she passed through Nova Scotia and in doing so was inspired to share his own battle with mental illness with her - the summary of which is featured in the documentary.

Although the trip was short - just two days - Nyuurnibe was kept busy with interviews, guest appearances, and meet and greets with some of the event’s four hundred esteemed guests.

Notably, Nyuurnibe was featured in interviews with CTV’s CP24 and was a guest star on the network’s daytime talk show, “The Social,” where he was asked to share his struggle with metal health with the show’s audience both in studio and over the airwaves.

On The Social, Nyuurnibe spoke about his focus on not only mental health overall, but specifically men’s mental health.

“I decided that I would go head on against society’s own definition of masculinity and how I think that should change. It’s something I find that needs to be looked at because you have all of these people who are not talking [about their mental illness], but men in particular don’t think that they have the right to do so because in speaking about their own mental health they are showing their own vulnerability, that they are ‘weak’ and therefore they are not a man,” Nyuurnibe explains.

As for the highlights of the trip?

Nyuurnibe says having the opportunity to spend time with Ontario Premier Kath-

leen Wynne, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and the CEO of Bell George Cope was exciting, but more than anything he said the atmos p h e r e throughout the entire duration of his trip was most inspiring to him.

“I felt like I was in the presence of some amazing people. And its true - from composers to the director to the cameramen to the producers - there was so much invested in it and there was such a passion behind what they were doing and what they had done. Everything from the music to the cuts that were made to just how unbelievably strong some of the peo-

ple were, or all of the people were to speak out in the documentary was awe inspiring.”

Clara’s Big Ride aired on CTV during Bell Let’s Talk Day and is currently available to watch at ctv.ca. Nyuurnibe says he has been in conversation with university President Kent MacDonald to try and set up a screening somewhere on campus in the near future.

4 NEWS

Friday, February 6, 2015-The Xaverian

SuperSUB, super struggles

Large scale events in Bloomfield Centre plagued by ticket shortages RACHEL REVOY| Senior Reporter

For many students, events at the SUB have evolved to be assimilated with sold out tickets, overcrowded areas, and long lines.

Last semester, the X-Ring SuperSUB ticket sales had graduating students waiting in line for hours in order to pick up extra tickets for friends and family. People began scalping extra tickets on StFX Buy & Sell, where sellers were making a profit.

Two Years Eve this year mirrored the issues from the X Ring event.

The Two Years Eve event at the SUB left people struggling to find tickets after they were initially sold out, just to discover tickets would be on sold at the door.

“In years past, [Two Years Eve] has never really been a successful event. This year we decided to issue tickets [in advance] for the first time in order to gauge the demand

for the e v e n t .

Amazingly, we sold out within 48 hours, something that only happens for events like X-Ring and graduation,“ says Troy Mrazek, S t u d e n t s’ Union Vice P re s i d e n t of Activities and Events.

The information that tickets would be sold at the door was withheld from students until after ticket holders sold their tickets for upwards of $50 on StFX Buy & Sell. Selling tickets for a profit is against the rules on the StFX Buy & Sell’s Facebook page, which states: ‘No re-sellers.

No money making. This group is for people helping people.

Not for people to sell products they make/own for profit.’

For Isabel Foster, the last person in line to buy a Two Years Eve ticket before they were initially sold out, she noted that no one was informed that more tickets would be sold at the event. “I

thought it was terrible that people asked the person who was selling tickets if any would be any sold at the door after they sold out and she confirmed there wouldn't be as it was at capacity... And then there was.”

This was not the fault of the staff working at The U Info Desk. They were unaware that tickets would be sold at the event as they were told the tickets they sold would mean that the event would be at capacity. Usually tickets are sold at the door when they don’t sell out beforehand.

“For Two Years Eve, we completely sold out of tickets well in advance of the night of the event. The VP Activities and Events worked hard with the university to add another venue to the event in order to secure more tickets. This wasn't approved by the university until the night before the event, hence more tickets being sold at the door,” says an employee of StFX’s Students’ Union.

On Jan. 9 - the night of Two Years Eve - the restricted ticket sales did not result in a less crowded event. Lineups to get into coat check, the line up to The Inn, and lastly the lineup to get drinks left students uncomfortable with the amount of time spent waiting.

While students were waiting for up to 45 minutes outside, some individuals became rowdy and began pushing and shoving to try and get closer to the warm indoors. Questions arose on why there was only one line when two lines, one for ticket purchase and one for people who already had tickets, would have made the process of getting students inside quicker.

“The single line was due to arrival of students in large groups that needed to purchase a ticket, be signed in as a guest or check their coats.

The weather made for unpleasant conditions for those who were not properly dressed to wait in line,” says

the Manager of StFX Safety and Security, Robert Proctor.

“We were wearing dresses and heels because Two Years Eve is a semi-formal event, so yes girls were wearing dresses and heels, that should have been thought about when they planned the lineup situation,” mentions a student who attended Two Years Eve. Students reported that the Keys N’ Krates concert, an event held just in the MacKay Room, resulted in excessive pushing and shoving against the barricade beneath the stage. Some attendees were left in tears due to the pain from the weight of the crowd.

Ultimately this, could be said to be the result of those within the MacKay Room, and not necessarily the fault of event organizers. The Keys n’ Krates Twitter officially posted this statement during the concert in the Mackay room: “Seeing 90lb gals get crushed up against front barriers with a bunch of oblivious dudes wilding behind them is so uncool,” and “Have fun and be rowdy, but be considerate of others and spread love.”

Ultimately the question lies in the facilities. Is the SUB no longer equipped to sustain the growing number of students at StFX? Is the MacKay room capable of holding events such as concerts, X Ring, or Two Years Eve? Patrick O’Connell, the Bar Services Manager for the Students’ Union, and Troy Mrazek commented that they believe the issue for busy lines stems from the issues with coat check.

“We just don’t have enough space for the amount of coats we check at those events. We have large wooden coat check racks, that don’t exactly use space wisely. As an organization, we’ve already began the hunt for better quality coat check racks. With new racks, we believe that the bottleneck you see at the coat check line, will hope [that will] diminish.”

OPINIONS 5

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9

OPINIONS Generation Netflix

How the Internet is ruining our university experience ERIKA KINACH | Contributor

If you’re anything like me, and by that I mean a 20-something year-old university student with access to the Internet, you’ve probably been lost in the scroll at least once in recent years. You know exactly what I am talking about: Facebook to Instagram to Twitter and now more recently to Yik Yak, Tinder and Snapchat. It’s so easy to be caught in this mindless scroll: in line at Mini Moe’s, at the library, even in class. Like it or not, it’s ruining us, one social media platform at a time.

The first issue I want to address is the most obvious, which is having access to social media in class. In the last two years I’ve really tried to make a habit of putting my phone away for the fifteen-or-so hours each week I spend in class. I’m doing this because in first and second year I wasted too much time catching up on the lives and ideas of people I could care less about while I should have been learning directly from my professors. Social media is making it hard to be a good student because this distraction is essentially impossible to escape. No matter how many

hours I set my “self control” app on my laptop, all my mobile apps will always be available on my iPhone.

Short of leaving your phone completely that home, which completely defeats the purpose of owning a cell phone, the temptation of the Internet activity of others is always an invitation to distraction.

flix. Yes I just used Netfix as a verb, because for many people, especially university students with a lot of free time, it is becoming a way of life. The Internet creates a whole new variety of excuses to not leave your bed, and it’s easy to get sucked into.

Social media is ruining social lives. Of your Facebook friends, or

Social media is ruining our school involvement. In the last four years, I’ve noticed a decline the involvement of students on campus. After an insightful conversation about this with a faculty member, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a result of social media. Why join any school societies or attend school events when you can just lay in your bed and Net-

Instagram followers, or Tinder matches, how many of them do you actually know? How many people would you actually spend time with?

It’s so easy to toss someone a “like” on Facebook or Instagram or swipe right to on Tinder, but in reality how many people do you genuinely like?

Why has it become necessary to be in constant communication every min-

ute of the day? Why have we allowed Snapchat to become a legitimate form of communication? Dunbar’s number is a proposed cognitive limit to the number of people that one can maintain social relationships with, at about 150 people. I know I’m not alone when I say that my number of Facebook friends greatly exceeds this number. It’s hard to determine who exactly are these remaining individuals we choose to associate with.

It’s never easy to break a habit, but I think we all need to take a step back from our smartphones, tablets, and computers and start living our lives a little. They say life begins at the end of your comfort zone and if that means trying a new sport, joining a society, or visiting your professor’s office hours, so be it. Give social media and Netflix a break so that you can take longer showers, have time to workout, socialize over a few more beers, go on a date, or maybe even read a book that isn’t on any of your course syllabuses. And if you do that last one enough times, you might even start to be able to tell the difference between you’re and your.

SU election thoughts

Two steps forward one step back for The U when it comes to elections

SEAN MCEVOY | Editor-in-Chief

Two steps forward, one step back. That is how I would summarize how The U and the respective candidates for President and Vice-President handled this year’s election compared to 2014 Positive steps forward included having a strong roster of candidates for the Presidency.

Frontrunners for the entire two week process, Troy Mrazek and Isaac Turner were neck and neck throughout the campaign in popular support, with Turner's Facebook campaign page garnering more support than Mrazek's. In the end Mrazek pulled out the win by a small margin of 36 votes, which leaves me wondering what if it had only been a two horse race instead of three? The 85 votes cast for third place finisher Kevin Sweet (who offered a breathe of fresh air throughout the campaign as the lone candidate not holding a position presently within The U) could have swung the final outcome Turner's way, as Sweet's supporters were likely in favour of a new voice, instead of recycled union executives.

Mrazek will bring experience and professionalism to the role, as he was the most polished, and well spoken during both debates.

In the Vice-President race, if you could even call it that, all we can wonder is what could have been. Hannah Stordy ran unopposed and garnered 83% approval in a yes/ no vote, while potential candidate Ryley

Erickson was left out in the cold unable to run due to circumstances beyond his control. The Xaverian interviewed Erickson prior to knowing he would be unable to run in the election, and I was lucky enough to listen in. Erickson gave thoughtful, detailed, and creative answers all the while remaining calm and professional.

While Stordy was impressive in her own right and will no doubt make a suitable Vice-President, the student body should have been given the chance to decide for themselves between the two. A one candidate yes/no vote can lead to, as it has in year's past, the majority of students voting yes by default, or to be polite and not voting yes because they truly believe the candidate is the best person for the job.

That said, Stordy brought forward a lot of fresh ideas in the debates, while Erickson will hopefully re-offer to be elected in 2016.

Some other thoughts from this year's election: Mrazek clearly won the poster war by having his signs up around campus days before Turner and Sweet. This gave him an early advantage that he never relinquished. So let that be fair warning to those about to run in councilor elections; have your posters ready to go on day one.

Another interesting moment of the campaign was when Mrazek and Stordy could have potentially been in violation of the Students' Union Elections Act. On Monday,

January 26th at 9:00pm, Mrazek and Stordy attended a floor meeting for Lane Hall 4A. At the meeting, attendees confirmed to The Xaverian that the pair talked to the room about the election process, with Stordy also discussing to the room of female residents the importance of having females involved in student politics and the lack of female politicians within The U. At the time of this meeting, while the chair’s office [Hilary Perry] had been made aware of Mrazek and Stordy’s intentions and had discussions about the legality of their actions under the Elections Act, they had not yet come to a final decision one way or another as to whether attending house meetings in that manner was a violation. As a VP Executive with The U [Mrazek], and a sitting Student Senator [Stordy], it seems to me that the pair should have known better then to take actions that could have cost them their respective election wins all for a few extra votes cast in their name.

On the surface it looks suspicious that the two candidates currently holding positions with The U may have bent the rules, but at this point for all we know no rule was broken as an official decision on the matter was never made public by the chair’s office. Whether the meeting was legal or not, I hope that candidates Turner and Sweet were offered the same opportu-

nities as their counterparts simply in the spirit of open and fair elections.

One final point on this Presidential election; please please never again hold what is supposed to be a serious political debate in The Inn. The first debate of the campaign was held in a classroom in the Schwartz School of Business. The event was well attended and in a professional quiet atmosphere where candidates could give their views to attentive listeners and students could easily ask questions of the candidates for all the room to hear without distraction. Having a debate in The Inn is the polar opposite of professional. It’s an atmosphere for drinking, partying, and socializing, not for serious political debate. Having a debate in The Inn gives off the impression that the election is a farce, an afterthought, a decision that should be made whilst drunk.

Even The Inn’s social media pages added to the embarrassment by promoting the debate and ‘mug club pricing’ all in the same sentence. By basically saying, ‘come get drunk on cheap beer and listen to candidates debate over what will be the most important political decision we as students will make this year’, you lose a lot of legitimacy.

So please, keep the debates out of The Inn if you want student politics at StFX to be taken seriously.

6 OPINIONS

Friday, February 6, 2015-The Xaverian

Examining mental health activism How effective are awareness campaign’s targeting the stigma of mental health?

COLTAN THOMPSON | Psychology Columnist

The stigma against mental illness, a hot topic of late, was recently addressed by StFX’s own Mental Health Week and the Bell Let’s Talk campaign. But how effective is the typical “awareness” campaign, university-based or otherwise?

It is a hard thing to find someone who scoffs at the idea of reducing stigma towards any group or thing.

While good, it is ironically a symptom of a problem: it is not out of conscientiousness that many people agree to a protocol of acceptance, embracing minorities, the marginalized, and the stigmatized—it is out often out of self-presentational goals that this is done, not moral reflection. There is much talk, much uninspired sentiment, and much head-nodding; the progressive collective charmingly accepts everyone who suffers stigma or prejudice such as race, culture, sexual orientation, mental illness, etc. It is the mannerly, socially appropriate thing to do, after all. How just to oppose stigma, and prejudice, professed enemies of progress! Too bad we often oppose these things to feel better about ourselves, reaffirming moral self-views.

There are many emptyheaded notions of moral progress, perception of successful movements where there is none. Group agreement without measurable

change is, for lack of a better word, masturbatory. We look to one another, seeking selfsatisfaction in the knowledge that our attempts at fighting the stigma are effective and well-based. But programs do not create meaningful change; education and appeals to social conscience do (and, admittedly, a touch of propaganda). A rally might make people think; Bell Let’s Talk might get people sharing; but these bandwagon approaches are vacuous and incomplete. They are starting points only, and their effectiveness and meaning must not be overestimated.

Stigma, that “mark of disgrace,” according the Oxford English dictionary, unjustly applied to any person or group—it is laudable to see it removed. Yet the fervent campaign to end the stigma against mental illness ignores the etiology of the stigma itself: it ignores the underlying, and I argue, immutable factors on which the stigma is built.

The physical illness comparison that people try to draw is frustratingly incomplete. The medical model of mental illness falls short because mental illness is more complex, in etiology and in its implications: mental illness interrupts the smooth functioning of the social fabric, creating awkward interactions, miscommunication, and fear of contraction by as-

sociation. Consider: the individual with cancer or multiple sclerosis is no threat to me—their affliction does not excite threat, and therefore does not excite stigma. Moreover, an element of personal responsibility for the contraction of these diseases is missing.

A truer physical illness analogue to mental illness is found in diseases like HIV, AIDS, or leprosy, because stigma has surrounded them too, and for similar reasons.

These diseases are a physical threat to me if I am exposed to them under certain circumstances and sometimes but not always, personal responsibility is implied in the contraction of these diseases. In a similar way, mental illness actually does effect the healthy individual and it excites fears of contraction by association in healthy individuals.

Even when compared to infectious diseases, mental illness is different from physical illness in that mental illness more easily effects those around us: I can share a room with someone with leprosy, make no physical contact, and be confident in my continued health; but mental illness, because it sends ripples through healthy mental functioning, and because minds meet in social interaction, it becomes possible for individuals to sense unsettling social cues,

behaviours, and attitudes.

Depending on the way an individual expresses his or her mental illness, others may be able to sense that something is wrong. Excessive anxiousness can leave everyone in the room feeling on edge; the lethargy of depression has the potential to, with time, bring down the mood of close others; loosened links to reality experienced by schizophrenic or at worst psychotic individuals can make others feel awkward and confused.

All mental disorders take place in the social arena, and our social interaction with people lacks the absolute barriers of the physical world: my body is physically separate from yours, but our emotions, thoughts, feelings, ideas—they all meet in the immediacy of social interaction. And without becoming too abstract, if social reality is created by social consensus, mental illness can seriously disrupt the continual process of reality consensus...

The other motive we have for treating mental illness differently than physical illness is brief but profound. It is easy to see how the physical illness of someone else will not effect me, but depression or anxiety are invisible and illusive. We like to assume that individuals are responsible for their mental illness. We like to victim blame. This belief is comfort-

ing because it allows us to think that we are less susceptible than others. Projecting responsibility for mental illness onto the suffering individual gives us confidence that we won’t suffer the same way. We project our imagined fear of contracting mental illness onto the mentally ill person, though actual contraction is unlikely.

The stigma surrounding mental illness has a functional basis. People are wired to sense and react to negative or dysfunctional social behaviour, and people seem to be extremely good at intuitively sensing mental disturbances. A stigma has therefore developed, in part, because of the way humans socialize and how easily smooth social interaction is spoiled. Other factors, such as media portrayals or multiple mental disorders in the same person being common are not denied. We can reduce the stigma, and we will, but short of a revolution in how humans socialize, mental illness will never be perceived the same way as physical illness. We must be critical of the effectiveness of our progress and of how we conduct our campaign to reduce the stigma. And we must stop looking to an imperfect medical model, complaining, “See here, mental illness is still not looked upon like physical illness.” We should not expect it to.

Why can’t we be friends?

House rivalries are burning up the StFX campus ANGELA MACKENZIE | Senior Reporter

Whether it’s BurMac, Chillis/TNT, Laser, Tri Macs, OCP, or New Res cup, house hockey tournaments are a long-standing tradition that have been around for decades. Students from first to fourth year get dressed up and pumped up to support their favourite house. Each year they make an important decision as to which team they’ll give their support.

People go nuts over one game, but is it really worth it?

The answer to that is absolutely yes! It’s worth it. We get a thrill from dressing up in orange, blue, purple, red, green, or yellow and showing off our pride. The tickets sell out and the stands go wild. These hockey games demonstrate how close the StFX community really is.

We can demonstrate pride for not only our school, but individual houses as well.

We share a unique bond with our houses that other universities don’t quite understand.

Alumni continue to feel a connection to their Frosh houses--my mom, a Chillis frosh, still says to me, “Once a Chillis Chick, always a Chillis Chick.” What other universities lack is not only the Lane bandanas and the MacIsaac snapback, but a social connection to the house they once called home during their years at StFX. We share some drinks, bring our friends along, get dressed up in crazy outfits, and cheer our team to gold.

I’ve been to BurMac all four years cheering on the Brawlers. I drank, I wore orange, and I cheered louder than

anyone else. Unfortunately there are some individuals who take it too far when friends become enemies and fights break out between houses. Trips to the hospital with black eyes, sprained ankles, and worse are a result of the games. The rivalry between MacIsaac and Burke is probably the biggest rivalry on campus--so big that it is held off campus putting the burden on police to monitor.

Drinking starts as early as 6:00 in the morning for a game that will not start for at least 12 hours. I often think, “I wonder how many people will get thrown in the drunk tank tonight?” It’s normal to see people falling over before the game has even begun.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love drinking as much as the next person. I’m all for hav-

ing social drinks, enjoying the game, and hanging out with friends. If I happen to get drunk in the process then that’s great!

But the point is to see the game, not to get thrown into the drunk tank or beat up someone cheering on the other team. You shouldn’t be scared to walk home and be harassed by drunk students yelling various expletives your way. The point is to drink, dress like crazy, and be as loud as you can all while staying safe and peacefully enjoying the

game. The rivalries between houses are fantastic as long as they stay healthy. People should focus on supporting their own team rather than tearing down the fans of the other team. We’re all here to have fun and not get harassed in the streets.

OPINIONS 7

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9

‘Dont make youself a target’ StFX University SVU: these are their untold stories ASHLEY DUGUAY | Contributor

The DAL Gentlemen’s Club has been all over social media and Maritime news outlets. It is clear that the young men’s verbal actions were nothing short of barbaric, and many have been baffled by Dalhousie’s almost passive approach to this incident of sexual harassment. Personally, I don’t know which to be more offended by: the comments made by the young men on the Faceook group, or how poorly the rest of the academic community has responded to not only this event, but numerous others over recent years.

The issue at DAL is much larger than a handful of misogynistic dentistry students. The big picture that our universities want us to ignore is how a university’s reputation is more important than a victim’s right to justice. Would it surprise most of you to know that Canadian universities do not publish rape statistics? Maybe yes, maybe no, but take a second to think about it. How raunchy is frosh week? How many of your peers went all-out and got blackout drunk, at least once? How many of your peers bragged about a wicked hook up they’d had that night, or how the person they’d been wheeling played hard to get? It’s this mentality that

perpetuates what many activists and academics refer to as rape culture, and it is very much present on our campus as well as DAL and SMU. According to statistics posted by campus sexual assault centres across Canada, no fewer than one in five women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape by graduation. The student population at StFX is 5,127 (as of 2011). If one assumes that half the population is female, then there are some 2,564 women on campus. Of those women, 513 will have been raped by the time X-Ring comes around, if distributed over four years of schooling.

Since Canadian universities do not publish their rape statistics, an American university did it for them.

According to statistics on Canadian campuses published on the York University website, 29 per cent of female undergraduate students in Canada report incidences of sexual assault.

The majority of rape victims are between the ages of 16 and 24. The baggage that comes along with these assaults include but are not limited to: post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, depression, flashbacks, and sleep disorders, accord-

ing to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network. And to add insult to injury, the university tells victims to keep their stories hush-hush, as to not tarnish the StFX brand.

The university has taken some jabs at serving justice. Partnering up with the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, it’s made some adjustments to policies and resources on campus. Unfortunately, many of the programmes and policies implemented on campus are band aid solutions. The focus is more on how to meet the needs of a victim rather than how to prevent victimization.

However, there are numerous ways for the university to stop privileging the attackers by telling the victims how to avoid making themselves targets. The “Safety and Security Reminder” in December perfectly demonstrates the university’s inadequate attempts at making the campus a safer place. More recently, the university sent out an email warning of a peeping Tom on campus, providing a vague description of the assailant and campus security’s phone number. While I was reading that email, a quote from Cheri Huber came to mind: “Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear.”

My call to action is for StFX to stop telling its students how to not become a target. We shouldn’t have to be concerned with turning ourselves into targets, as if it’s some conscious decision we’re able to make for ourselves. As a female student, I want StFX to provide me with rape statistics annually. I want StFX to provide a known sexual assault centre equipped with sexual assault counselors who are well trained in the process of approaching the police as well as in counselling the survivors. I want StFX to implement a sexual assault education program during orientation week that would include information such as the laws on consent, the legal definition of sexual assault, and the difference between sexual assault and sexual harassment. I want StFX to make Bystander Intervention conventions a mandatory event during frosh week.

I want StFX to create comprehensive websites that provide information on resources available on campus and in the community.

You want me to stop being a target? I want U to stop perpetuating an environment that allows fellow students on campus to turn me into a target.

8

Friday, February 6, 2015-The Xaverian

continued from pg. 2 Complaint is Filed Until this point, the RA had withheld from informing her superiors of what was going on in fear that she might have to step away from one of their mutual activities if she lodged a complaint. “In my head I said there’s nothing in my life that I want to give up [because of the harassment]: I don’t want to stop being an RA so I don’t have to see him, I don’t want to stop being in [extra curricular] because those are things that I really

enjoy doing. [I thought] how can I manage this situation and still do everything that I want to do?”

But the day after the swipe card incident, she made the decision to tell her RLC of the ongoing harassment between she and the male RA. She forwarded the RLC screenshots of conversations between herself and the alleged offender, explaining the duration and details of the ongoing events as well as her concerns for herself and her residents if things were to escalate further. In contacting his boss, Manager of Student Life Shannon

9

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9 Travers, the RLC coordinated a meeting the following week between the RA and Ms. Travers to officially begin the complaint process.

Meeting With Shannon Travers, December 17th 2014 The second-year RA notes that Travers spelled out what she deemed as appropriate action toward the alleged situation in their meeting December 17th. “She said either we [Travers, RLC] can sit down and have a chat with him [alleged offender], or you can talk to him about it,” the sophomore told the Xaverian.

“The way she [Travers] talked about it, she tried to play it down. She just made me feel like I was making a huge deal out of it if I chose to let her to talk to him about it,” the RA claims, which is why she decided to talk to her co-worker herself later that evening, following the semi-annual RA banquet.

While at the banquet, a coworker whom the sophomore had confided in with the details of the alleged harassment enlightened her that she had heard through the grapevine that another member of their staff team was going through a similar experience with the same male staff member. In conversing with the second alleged victim, the sophomore learned that her comrade was open to filing her own complaint to their administrators, which changed her plan of action*.

“I was like ‘F**k this, its not a thing for me to deal with. This is res life and he needs to be fired - this is not ok,” she explained to the Xaverian regarding her decision to recontact her RLC later that evening. In a text message, she told her RLC that she was no longer comfortable in dealing with the situation on her own, telling him that there was possibly another victim involved.

Eventually she says she heard back from Travers, telling her that she was going to suspend any investigation into her complaint until after the holiday break.

As of the time of print, the RA says she has yet to be updated on exactly what has been happening in terms of disciplinary action for the male accused. She was told informally by another member of the staff team that the Junior has been asked to write her a formal apology, and that eventually all allegations will be examined through the StFX Community Code at which point any further disciplinary action will be determined.

As for what she expects from this, she says “Whether them putting him through the Community Code means firing him, or they’re just going to slap a fine on him, I really don’t know.”

But one thing we do know is that the RA in question has not been suspended from his position with Res Life for the duration of the internal investigation.

A Pan-Campus Perspective “There have been instances this year of sexual harassment and bullying among the RAs that have come to her attention and have not been dealt with,” we were told by an RA living across campus from the house where the incidents of harassment are allegedly taking place.

This information is taken from an

interview for an unrelated article about a shortage of Residence Assistants for second semester that was posted in the last print edition of The Xaverian.

This RA was concerned not only for the female staff members required to work alongside the alleged offender, but also for students and staff in residences across campus.

The overall shortage of RAs has led existing RAs obliged to take shifts in other residences to fill voids. “I know personally, the person that’s doing it [the alleged sexual assaults] is coming to work in our building in a couple days. We don’t want to work with him, that’s unsafe,” she told The Xaverian.

RLC and Fitzgerald], but from the sounds of it they’re still dealing with things in the same way - with blinders on, hoping they can ignore things and discourage reports which are basically extra paper work for them.”

For this reason, the RA decided to check in with her current RLC, the same staff member mentioned earlier as being the first point of contact when the alleged victim decided to come forward. “I spoke to [the RLC] about it and told him my concerns with it: as women we don’t want to work on a team with someone who is doing this to so many people, and I mean we know him [the alleged offender] too.”

Consulting Shannon Travers

‘They’re Still Dealing With Things The Same Way’

A second RA not directly involved with the situation has also come forward with commentary regarding her perspective on the situation. The female staff member works alongside the alleged offender as part of the same Residence Life team. She emphasizes that so far she has noticed a lack of action on behalf of senior Res Life staff not only in this incident but in one that took place last year.

Last year, the RA explained to the Xaverian that she was sexually assaulted by a student at StFX at a location off campus. Following the assault, she spoke with her RLC and Corinna Fitzgerald, then Head of Student Life at StFX. She described the process “awful,” saying that she had the impression that she was a burden to the system, just more paperwork for them to file.

“She [Fitzgerald] was kind, but the way she worded things made it sound very discouraging to go ahead with any reports. I recall her saying things like I’d have to go in front of a committee and tell my whole story all over again just to have them judge whether it was valid, as I never had a rape kit done after the assault. [The process made me] question if it was worth it [to proceed with report], which now of course I realize it would have been.”

“The people I dealt with last year aren’t here anymore [both her then

With so many allegations of ill-action pinned against her by various

witness in our investigation, we offered Travers an opportunity to provide her side of the story. We sent three emails to Travers: First, on Wednesday Jan. 28 we reached out to Travers, asking if she could explain specific details regarding how certain incidents would be handled through the Community Code. She immediately declined, and suggested that we instead meet with Bob Hale as he was the staff member responsible for specifics of the StFX Community Code.

We reached out again one week later on Feb. 4. In this second email, we specifically mentioned that we had received allegations from multiple sources toward her in researching a story about Res Life and would like to offer her the opportunity to respond to these allegations. She responded quickly, and said “Thanks Sean for the opportunity. Unfortunately today is BURMAC so my priority is that. Please feel free to connect with Bob Hale.”

We responded shortly after, reminding her of the severity of the allegations against her. Again she pointed us toward Bob Hale, saying “Thanks Sean again for the opportunity. I defer to Bob Hale as the director of the department.”

Standard Procedure

So, to the advice of Travers, we sat down with Bob Hale, Interim Head of Student Life to discuss what protocol would be followed if a situation of sexual harassment between two+ members of his staff: “It would be the same as if it were any student, so not just an RA. Whether it was an athlete or just a regular student, we would meet with them; we would recommend that they go to the RCMP. That’s the first priority because that’s what they (the RCMP) deal with on a regular basis.

We would recommend that they go to the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) Nurse, the Health and Counselling Centre, and ask them if they would like to proceed to the Community Code. If they want to move through the Community Code, we would work with [StFX StudentConduct Coordinator] Tyson [Ball] and we’d do our investigation.”

As for the allegations of inaction on behalf of his successor Corinna Fitzgerald, he told The Xaverian “I can’t really comment on that because I don’t know about that situation. I can tell you what I would do. It’s RCMP, SANE Nurse, Health and Counselling [Centre], and Community Code. I would encourage them to do them all.” Hale claims the situation involving the student and Fitzgerald was not brought to his attention before the interview, but says it was “absolutely not” the reason why Fitzgerald left her post with StFX administration last year to accept a position at Humber College in Toronto.

When asked if a written apology would typically constitute as a legitimate disciplinary outcome in a situation of sexual harassment, he did not deny that although it could be an outcome, it would not be his first plan of action in the situation, saying “It could be an outcome but I’d want to do an investigation. It could be an outcome, but it’s not something I would ask for right off the bat.

As for any instance where a member of the Residence Life team was accused of breaking the Community Code in any way, he emphasises that “RAs are held to a higher standard so I think in actual fact sometimes it’s [Community Code process] stricter. They have more to lose: their jobs are on the line.”

Conclusion There are still multiple unanswered questions in this entire investigation. For one, we have not been able to receive commentary to confirm the multiple allegations against some senior members of the Student Life staff team, past and present. In regards to the story that launched this entire investigation, as the investigation is still ongoing, we have not been permitted access to up-todate information on the disciplinary process for the male RA involved.

However, what we do know for sure is that this member has not been suspended from his position has a Residence Assistant, and has actually been permitted to rotate between other residences to help compensate for the handful of RAs who have stepped down earlier in the year (for various, unrelated reasons). *we have been unable to confirm this information with the second al-

10 ARTS & CULTURE

Friday, February 6, 2015-The Xaverian

ARTS & CULTURE Charley’s Aunt at the Bauer

Cast and crew prepares for opening night of student selected and directed production LINDSAY JOHNSTONE| Staff Writer

Co-director’s Laura McLauchlan and Kierra Gallant of the play “Charley’s Aunt” are busily getting ready for their upcoming performances at the Bauer Theatre. This will be the Bauer Theatre’s first production in either the Fall or Spring season to be entirely directed by students at StFX says McLauchlan. McLauchlan explains that the idea of running a play that would be student directed was encouraged by the Bauer Theatre’s Artistic Coordinator, Ed Thomason last summer. During the summer months of 2014 the Bauer Theatre was looking for a new initiative and Thomason decided to ask if there was any interest in running a student lead production. “When we were asked if there was anyone interested in directing a student lead piece, both Kierra and I jumped at the opportunity. We both loved the idea” says McLauchlan.

It’s no wonder that both McLauchlan and Gallant were selected to co-direct.

McLauchlan explains that she has always had a love for theatre and was involved in various productions at her high school and even was stage manager of the Bauer Theatre’s production of Macbeth last year. Gallant explains that she was involved with the production of MacBeth last year as well and also worked at Festival Antigonish in the summer of 2014.

When asked if the two directors would ever consider working together again in theatre they both said they

wouldn’t hesitate should the opportunity ever arise again.

The co-director’s had a tough time deciding on what play they would direct. “We wanted to do something that was comedic and fun, but also something that the majority of the population would know including both community members and students” explains McLauchlan. It was the end of August before McLauchlan and Gallant agreed that the play Charley’s Aunt was the best option for their student lead piece. “We wanted a reasonable cast size. We didn’t want the cast size to be too small nor too large. We chose a cast of ten, and the cast is gender similar: six males and four females” explains McLauchlan.

“We are so lucky to have such talented individuals to work with” says McLauchlan. The cast is a mixture of local community members and StFX students. The StFX students range from first year to fourth year says Gallant.

What is Charley’s Aunt about? “It’s a farce! It deals with ridiculous love triangles” says McLauchlan. The play is set in the United Kingdom.

Two undergraduate males have their eyes on two young ladies and are eager to begin a courtship with them, but they need to have a chaperone to accompany them in order to see these females. One of the young men’s aunts from Brazil is supposed to be coming to be a chaperone, but doesn’t arrive on time. The two boys beg one of their friends to

pretend to be Charley’s Aunt, and the hilarious story goes on from there.

There is cross-dressing involved and one of the main characters plays an old woman. “Its very comedic in terms of action.

The main goal is to get lots of students out; that is what we are hoping for” exp l a i n s McLauchlan.

There is no doubt that it is a fun crew to work with. “I am in stiches of laughter at the end of some rehearsals” l a u g h s McLauchlan.

That is a sure sign the individuals involved with the production are there for the love of theatre.

Rehearsals are always fun and energetic and have been occurring five days a week since the Dec e m b e r break. “The cast always brings up my spirit” exp l a i n s

McLaughlan.

The Bauer Theatre has been very supportive ever since the idea of a student directed production came out. Both co-directors were quite pleasantly surprised that the director’s at the Bauer Theatre let them do anything they wanted, from choosing the play, to casting decisions. “Everyone has been very supportive, everyone has been totally on board, and everyone was so willing to help out with everything” says Gallant. “I thought they were going to be holding our hand throughout the whole production” but McLauchlan explains

that it has been very “free reign”. The co-directors are however getting helpful advice from the more experienced Bauer Theatre directors.

“In terms of understanding budget, and what we can and can’t do; we have had some helpful advice” says Gallant.

“It would be nice for students to come out and support their fellow students especially in the arts, because that often falls through the cracks a little bit. We have such an amazing school spirit already and it would be nice to see that translated into coming out and supporting StFX student actors and community members” explains McLauchlan. Charley’s Aunt will be performed at the Bauer Theatre in Antigonish from February 12-17, at 8 pm. For tickets call 902867-3333 or tickets.festivalantigonish.com. It is a perfect time of year to escape midterm season and will definitely spark a giggle.

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9

ARTS & CULTURE

11

A decade of drag decadence

‘Priscilla, Queen of the Highlands’ returns for a tenth year to StFX for Pride Week BROADY CARTER | Contributor

Okay so maybe it hasn’t been a decade per say, but this is the tenth year that our school will be hosting the event “Priscilla, Queen of the Highlands” so let’s just get to it. With last year’s hiatus, there will be many students in both first and second year that will be popping their drag show cherry this coming Friday the thirteenth, and even some upper year students. The event is a performance that you won’t soon forget and definitely won’t regret. So slap on your best shoes and let’s see what this is all about.

What even is a drag show?

Honestly most of us have never given it much thought. Many of us have this idea in our head of a bunch of flamboyant gay men who just really want to step into a fabulous set of heels and proceed to strut their stuff on stage. While the shoes are fabulous, this doesn’t at all encompass the idea of a drag show. The idea behind a drag show is to exaggerate what it means to be a female; to cross the lines of the gender dichotomy so deeply ingrained in our society.

You’ll see big hair, fab shoes, killer gowns, insane make up, and brow game will be on point, blocked out and you’ll see “big ol’ arches”. The looks are ever evolving and never

will you find men with better appreciation for the work it takes to put on your face. They’re not called queens for nothing, and by the end of their performance you’ll understand just why.

Performers will draw from a cornucopia of inspirations and ideals. You’ll find yourself seeing queens doing impersonations of famous women (with variety from Winona Ryder to Beyoncé) and you’ll see those who have their own political views to express on stage.

Queens will express anything from personal transformations to current political issues, but it will always circle back to a light and comedic show. As for music the range keeps on going with Top 40s hits, country, “old school disco”, and of course some Broadway style show tunes.

Being at a Catholic university, Priscilla is a unique show that has grown substantially over the years. Performer Rouge Fatale has at-

tested to the fact that the audiences here have gone from a group of 40 to a crowd of 400. While Rouge has performed at many schools, X always stands out because of its location (and lacking drag scene) as well as the response. “I had an audience member come up to me and tell me ‘my grandmother was in the audience and absolutely loved it’” Fatale says “and she comes back every year” so it must be true that this show has something for us all to enjoy.

The event itself will be taking place Friday, February 13th in the

MacKay room of the SUB with tickets sold throughout the week in the SUB ($5.00 for students and $7.00 for nonstudents) and at the door the night of ($7.00 for students and $10.00 for non-students). All students are invited to come as this event is a wet/ dry event, however please note that non StFX students must be nineteen years of age or over in order to attend. The doors open at 8:00, the show starts at 9:00. We hope to see you there!

For more information please see the Facebook event page “Priscilla, Queen of the Highlands.”

www.xaverian.ca Follow us on Twitter @xaverianweekly and like us on Facebook!

12 ARTS & CULTURE

Friday, February 6, 2015-The Xaverian

Dealing with learning disabilities The important role of the StFX Tramble Rooms

JAMES MALLOV | Contributor

For StFX students with learning disabilities, and even those who don’t, there are a few things that you should know about the StFX Tramble Rooms (Learning Centre) Services.

When I was there the staff were very helpful in some ways. If I came in riled up and upset, they would talk to me.

Elizabeth Kell, the Tramble Rooms head, was available to talk nearly as often as other staff prior to 2009-on budget cuts. (After ’09 you could see her face-to-face in a pinch.)

The willingness of staff to talk to professors about students’ needs was excellent, and I have nothing but praise for the help they gave to students with different kinds of learning software and other technical assistance. For help with things like math they did a solid job.

There were also problems.

Students sometimes arrive unaware of their own needs, especially if they were diagnosed with a learning disability in high school or afterwards. Test results are explained to parents by school psychologists

who rarely have enough time, and there is no requirement that students themselves be informed of the different aspects of their diagnosis.

There is a fear that a student might have problems caused by suggestibility. Let’s say a student is diagnosed with ADHD in high school. People with ADHD are often good at focusing on things that capture their interest; if a student had a hard time focusing in Math they might have excellent focus on books and poetry for English, or vice versa. If a suggestible student was told that ADHD caused general difficulty focusing, it’s possible (though not probable) that they might start showing focus issues in English where there had been none. Worst of all for administrators, a student might decide they can’t do something, the fear of limiting someone’s potential that haunts some educators too much.

There’s a concern that counters this: if students don’t know what can come with their disability, they can’t take measures to minimize its impact. If

it’s hard to get organized – break down tasks, set priorities, keep track of multiple assignments and skills issues – you can feel overwhelmed, and this can lead to huge spikes in anxiety and stress. Strong anxiety scatters your thoughts and makes starting work difficult, especially since, as my psychotherapist noted, you must head towards the thing (work) that’s causing you to be very anxious.

(Anxiety has a spectrum; mild anxiety feels like a small concern, severe enough anxiety is essentially a panic attack.)

For some of us, the Tramble Rooms missed a very important thing: discussing a student’s learning disability - and its implications - with that student on arrival. When I arrived I knew I took longer to finish tests and figure out some assignments than is normal for my reading, reasoning and basic math scores on the WAIT. But higher anxiety/anxiety spikes weren’t even mentioned in my test printout (which I didn’t see until my 4th calendar year at X). Tramble Rooms staff were aware it’s generally

part of Non-verbal but it was not discussed with me until 4 calendar years in. Therefore, I had no strategy to minimize it.

I had a hard time organizing my work. Many students who needed organizational support did receive it thanks to Tramble Rooms staff; they arranged regular meetings with personnel who helped them organize their work and taught them strategies for doing it themselves. In my earlier years Tramble Rooms staff asked me if I needed such help; I said I didn’t think so, which was my mistake and based on incomplete information.

In my 4th and 5th years (calendar years) David Coyle, a staff member, offered to help me find organizing help. The problem is that it didn’t happen; either no one could be found, or it took too much effort, or funding wasn’t there. This didn’t seem to stress him; I haven’t been able to figure out if this was due to his perpetual calm or if he lacked urgency. With student loans he did go above and beyond normal duties and was a great help, so the prob-

lem may have lain elsewhere.

One more thing: there wasn’t enough coordination between support services. Students were referred to counselling services in a piecemeal way, figuring out what problems should be addressed, and by who, was a weakness. If you have real problems adjusting, then late in your second year is a little late to have a counseling appointment. (It is the student’s responsibility too, but figuring all this out while learning to be a student is pretty hard. It should be set up at the beginning.) The TR staff suggested this, but as depressed as I was, it seemed useless at the time.

To sum up, the Tramble Rooms does quite a bit for students with learning disabilities.

However, there are issues with a) Not giving a thorough grounding in already-present or probably difficulties, b) Getting organizational help, and c) coordination between different support services. I hope students – and perhaps staff – will take this into account and be proactive to decrease stress on StFX students.

DISTRACTIONS 13

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9

DISTRACTIONS KURT BROTHERS | King of All Nighters

Antigonish Unrated: Blizzard Blues

X Games Corner: Sudoku!

I think I can speak for all when I say on Tuesday around 10:08 am, students at X were given a devastating blow: school would reopen at noon. It was with eager excitement that Xaverians went to bed on Monday, the freezing rain happily pelting their windows. But the happiness was cut short as we all waited, not breathing, for that fateful email.

Social media sites were abuzz and yik-yak posts were astronomical. It had to be a snow day... right? Wrong. The plans of Netflix, popcorn, and bed were taken from us without a second thought, and replaced with strategies on how to battle the apocalypse outside. People played the snow day roulette by not studying for midterms, praying we would get a repeat of last week. Monday night parties raged as the snow came tumbling down. But this week we did not win. Keep the snow day rituals strong though fellow Xaverians, because Winter is Coming...

-Kurt Brothers

The Pros and Cons of BURMAC Weekday drinking (Pro): It’s hump day, and after that miserable attempt at a snow day, I think we’re all ready for some drinks.

The Weather (Con): The fact that Antigonish is currently a skating rink isn’t going to help us get to the game any faster.

The Rivalry (Pro/Con): The Burke-MacIsaac rivalry is strong but scary. Sometimes it’s a good thing; people cheering for their team. And other times it’s downright terrifying to be caught in the middle.

Picking a Side (Con): If you’re not from either residence, it can be a tough choice. It’s hard to pull off orange, but at the same time MacIsaac can be intimidating.

After-parties (Pro): The amount of after-parties that occur after BURMAC is insane. There will be no shortage of fun times, regardless of who wins.

Good Hockey (Pro): The BURMAC game is actually a good one to watch. So much anticipation makes for a nail biting hockey game!

The Morning After (Big Con): The hangover that is associated with BURMAC is a nasty one, especially for those with Thursday 8:15s.

Tuesday Februrary 3rd Expectations vs Reality 9:59 AM

12: 00 PM

SPORTS & HEALTH

SPORTS & HEALTH “Yay football!” “Go Superbowl!”

“This is the biggest game of the world.”

AARON THORNELL | Sports & Health Editor

The Superbowl. The one game of the year in which all can come together and talk pigskin. The athletes take the centre stage, and the fans, nay, the students of the game are able to control the conversation. During my Superbowl XLIX, I decided to take note of these athletically intellectual discussions, to see what was truly important to the followers of Brady and Wilson.

Quick disclaimer: These comments were made within the sanctity of a living room.

So, you know, grain of salt.

“Is this for Newfoundland?” said regarding a Carnival cruise ad. Just a startlingly inaccurate statement.

The next comments were made in regards to a commercial starring Kim Kardashian – who, in the ad itself, is described facetiously as a “famous person”. “What is she famous for?” “Her dad is pretty famous?” “He’s about to become her mother.”

This comment was made in reference to recent claims that Bruce Jenner has begun the process of a sex change.

Hard to tell from this close, but this ball is actually slightly deflated. Via Image After.

“That guy knows what I have riding on my Pro-Line.”

Allow me to interrupt right off the hop. Many of my fellow spectators had arrived just straight from purchasing their Pro-Line, in which they hedged their bets on the game’s final score (including the narrow one point spread given between the two teams), as well as more diverse prop bets, such as how many yards Marshawn Lynch would run for (the over-under was 96.5) and how many field goals would be kicked in the game. Anyway, many of these comments emerge from this reality.

“If Aaron Hernandez hadn’t murdered those guys, they would have made such a great combo.”

“That Brady bunch commercial tickled my fancy!”

Real quick: as could be expected when watching the year’s biggest night for advertising, much scrutiny was given to the commercials aired during the game. This comment is the first of many within this realm.

“Someone should execute Richard Sherman.”

Wow. Again though, remember some people had money on this game.

“Imagine Superbowl 50, played at the Oland Stadium.”

“Students get in for free no doubt.”

“Sherman’s wife is extremely pregnant.”

This was true, and many comments were made to this effect - I’ve editorialized them out, because this is about as appropriate as they get.

One of the ads that came up was for avocados from Mexico.

That was, strangely enough, what was being sold. Consequently, I did check where the avocados I bought afterwards were from – you betcha. “We should #avocadosfrommexioc trending on twitter.”

“I use bitch to describe someone who was made a fool of... someone who didn’t step up.”

“I’ve touched a cactus before and fucked my whole day over.”

The two previous statements were made in rapid succession, and to someone engaged in the game, were seemingly part of the same conversation.

“This is guy (Danny Amendola) is like 6’0’’, 180, little white guy...gives hope right.

Gives hope.” “#withdad ruined the Nis-

san commercial.” “I would like to call it a short film actually.”

“My dad owns a Nissan.” That last comment really tied the whole conversation together.

Upon the replays of a horrid Tom Brady misthrow, someone remarked: “That looks like a flat ball.”

“Actually, WeatherTech floors are dope” “#wemakedopefloors.”

We had some big WeatherTech fans on hand.

“What are they gonna do to prevent your kid from going and eating chloride bleach?

What are they gonna do?” “All they’re trying to do is coax you into buying their bull insurance, so when your kid bites the bullet your get some quick cash.” “Same-day payment!”

“African kids are about to be clothed with one of these teams, the losing teams, but their both winners because of that.”

Some background to this – oftentimes the championship shirts of the team that loses the Superbowl, made up prior to the game, are donated to charity organizations operating within impoverished nations of the world.

“I just wanna get blazed with Jeff Bridges someday.”

“Why is Tom Brady the best player in the NFL?” “Because he throws nothing but chickenshit passes.” “I think Tom Brady should get 15 yards for chicken-shit passes.”

“Snap to pass: 1.79. Write that down.”

“Kyle Arrington just needs to be cut. Or killed.” This was said by a very die-hard Patriots fan, who was obviously quite upset with the play of Mr. Arrington.

“So many dad ads. What the fuck?”

“Clay Matthews is in Pitch Perfect 2...wow.”

As a side note, I am genuinely upset about this. I mean, why do that Clay?

Then, the halftime show started.

“She’s on a massive lion.”

“That thing is fucking crazy, is that real?” “I heard they had to put a pole up her butt so she didn’t fall off.” “Ya that is actually up her ass.” “This is such a low budget performance.” “I feel like I’m at the Inn.” “They should have Nine Mile River at the next Superbowl.”

“This reminds me of ‘SemiPro.’” This was in reference to the beach scene, during which it is safe to say that the

already-famous “Left-Stage Shark” stole the show.

What followed was an explanation of what “Daisy Duke with bikini on top” meant. Important stuff to clear up.

“She is doing some dangerous shit in this show.” “Just natural emotion.” “It would actually be pretty devastating if she dropped the mic.”

“You know your country is in a tough spot when they’re buying Superbowl ads.”

This was said following a commercial for tourism in Ecuador was aired.

“Fake field goal, pick six, Marshawn Lynch get injured.

The perfect storm,” said someone who didn’t want Lynch to run for 96.5 yards.

“Tom Brady’s not that old, he only 37.”

“Every time the Seahawks get a pick, a Seahawk gets injured.”

“Oh my god the ref. The fucking ref. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. The fucking ref. That is...wow. The refs have literally been fucking the Pats this whole game,” said the Patriots fan.

“I would just be chirping Sherman so hard out there.”

“Just a bunch shots of areas in the world where they can’t afford Jeeps.”

Seemingly true, as a Jeep aired a commercial in which Jeep vehicles were seen galavanting through rugged terrain and the unpaved roads of what one can assume was subSaharan Africa and Latin America.

“One time against the Car-

dinals Marshawn Lynch missed a whole quarter cause he had the shits.” Now you know.

“Maybe if Tom Brady spent more time practicing and less time making “Ted 2”, he wouldn’t have thrown two picks.”

“I’m a fan of the Patricks.”

“Yay football!” “Go Superbowl!”

“Why didn’t they on-side kick it?” “Because they know how to play football.”

“This is the biggest game of the world.”

“He should throw it as hard as he can at Richard Sherman’s nutsack.”

“The ball looks like an egg in Gronk’s hands.”

“This game is really up in the air.”

This was said with two minutes to play in a 4-point game, as the Seahawks began to march downfield. Needless to say, this comment was absolutely unnecessary.

In the confusion and excitement of the final two minutes of play, I must admit I neglected my journalistic duties, opting instead to start yelling at the TV screen and the others in the room. The final whistle saw the Patriots claim their fourth Superbowl in recent years – for many, solidifying their status as a football dynasty. While the game itself was incredibly interesting, I found my task to be equally amusing – and I think it goes to show that sports fans aren’t just a bunch of meat heads, right?

This was some analysis offered up following the conclusion of the game. Via kappit.com

The Xaverian-Volume 123 Issue 9

SPORTS & HEALTH

A healthy Valentine’s Day Some insight on a day worth sharing LAURA ALOISIO | Health Columnist

Emperor Claudius was not a looker, nor a ladies man.

Via Wikimedia Commons.

Valentine’s Day is a special time to show that important person in our life how much they mean to us.

Flowers, candy, cards and a romantic dinner are shared with loved ones to communicate how happy we are they are part our life. The tradition of expressing how much we care on this day started in Rome around 278 A.D. At the time, Emperor

Claudius II had forbidden his soldiers to marry. His reasoning was tied to what he saw on the battlefield.

Claudius had spent his entire adult life as a soldier and believed soldiers who were married or in love worried more about their own health than fighting and dying for Rome. They took better care of themselves and avoided conflict because they had a reason to return home. St Valentine, a priest, ignored the emperor and continued performing marriages of Roman soldiers. He was caught and executed on February 14.

The tradition centers on the romantic aspect of love and marriage. However, the background story does give us reason to reflect on why Claudius II forbade marriage. If he was right, then Valentine’s Day is more than a holiday to say “I love you.”

It celebrates our decision to stay healthy so we can be with that certain someone.

Now before you throw out that heart shaped box of candy or call Sobey’s to see if they offer gift-wrapping on fresh produce, let us explore some healthy ways to celebrate St Valentine’s Day. One idea, if you or your partner smokes, give up cigarettes for the day. Maybe this will lead to a longerterm commitment, maybe not but just one day can make a difference. You can see if anyone cheated by making that celebratory kiss a long one.

We are all aware being healthy is also about adopting a lifestyle that includes sufficient rest and exercise.

But how can we blend our desire to change with a holiday filled with chocolate, rich food and drink. This Valentine’s Day, why not try some small changes to the way you traditionally spend celebrating the holiday.

Call up someone special and make plans to work out together at the gym, take a long walk to get something

to eat. Try meditating for 30 minutes, alone or with your partner or friend or just allocate some quite time that allows you to recharge your batteries.

We all know the negative impact stress has on our health. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day can increase our emotional stress when we use it as a mandate to reassess all the relationships in our life. When we reflect on previous actions of our partner or missed opportunities to be with that special someone we can generate negative emotions reliving the past. When we look too far forward and contemplate our future we raise our anxiety level by turning potential hurdles and outcomes into a conclusive event. Worrying you will never find someone or that your current partner could not be your life partner is filled with incalculable incorrect assumptions about what the future holds.

By accepting that the

past cannot be altered and the future is truly unknown we can reduce stress agreeing that on Valentine’s Day, we will only live in the now.

Promise yourself, if for that day only, any past mistakes you made or grievances you have with others will be forgiven. You can decide if you want to extend this policy further the next day. Also, agree to the discussion of any long term plans, establishing of any expectations, or worrying of any kind regarding your future will be placed on hold until February 15th at 10AM. Residing in the moment eliminates anxiety and worry thereby opening the door to living verses anticipating or regretting life.

We are often told you cannot love someone else until we love ourselves. As we learned from the Romans, we cannot take care of our loved ones at home if we do not focus on our own health. Valentine’s Day is about love and health and no one deserves these gifts more than you.

BurMac 2014: In photos

ADVERTISING – MEDIA MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION EVENT MANAGEMENT FASHION MANAGEMENT & PROMOTIONS FINANCIAL PLANNING GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

business.humber.ca/postgrad

15

16

Friday, February 6, 2015-The Xaverian

$16.49 + tax

The right course, right when you want it.

What course are you missing? Find what you need with an online course from Acadia University. With over 100 undergraduate courses to choose from, you can pick up credits you want for your degree program or take courses that may not be available online at your home institution.

 Our courses are open-entry, not term-based: begin studying anywhere, anytime.

 You set your schedule: study at a pace that fits your commitments.

 Easily transfer the credits you’ve earned back to your institution by studying with a Letter of Permission.

 Also available: enhance your degree and open a world of possibilities with our online TESOL certificate.

rightchoice.openacadia.ca 1.800.565.6568

Congrats to macisaac for their 8-2 victory over Burke in #Burmac 2015!

-The Xav