Volume 127, Issue 5

Volume 127, Issue 5

Quality interviews since 1895

October 25, 2018

The Xaverian Weekly

News: Andrew Beckett Interview...

Opinions: #Heretoo...

A&C: Lawrence Hill...

S&H: Cannabis in Sports....

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News The Xaverian Weekly

XAVERIAN October 25, WEEKLY 2018 Volume August127, 30, 2018 Issue 5 Vol. Our 127;Team: Issue 1 Editors-in-Chief: OUR TEAM Editors-in-Chief: Bowen Assman and Yanik Gallie Bowen Assman and Yanik Gallie

News Editor:

Managing Evan Davison-Kotler Editor: Phillip Elzein

Thursday, October 25, 2018 Editor: Evan Davison-Kotler

Open contributor meetings are held Sundays at 6:00pm in the

xw.news@stfx.ca

newsroom. Newsroom located in Bloomfield Centre 111D.

Q&A with the President of The U Students’ Union president speaks with The Xaverian Weekly Bowen Assman and Evan Davison-Kotler Co-Editor-in-Chief and News Editor

Multimedia Opinions Editor: Coordinator: Caleb MacIsaac News Features Editor: Editor: Lewis MacLeod Evan Davison-Kotler

Arts & Community Editor: Salome

Opinions Barker Editor:

Features Distractions Editor:Editor: Kenneth

Doiron

Arts & Community Editor: Salome Barker Sports & Health Editor: Kathleen

Haggarty

Distractions Editor:

Photographers:

Sports Hannah & Health PetersEditor: Kathleen Nora

Phoebe Cseresnyes

Senior Reporters: Dayna Staff Writers: Smockum

The Xaverian Weekly

Evan Davison-Kotler and Bowen Assman interviewed Rebecca Mesay on October 11, 2018. Read the full interview online at xaverian.ca.

*** BA: Why did you decide to put out your statement yesterday, in comparison to earlier on in the week, as I was hearing from students that they were waiting for a response from Rebecca. I understand it takes time to garner input from people,

but why was the decision made to put it out yesterday?

RM: Well, the statement from the Students’ Union isn’t done unilaterally, so Tuesday was the first day that all of us were back in office, so you could say in terms of timeline, Monday was when the decision was made that a statement would need to be released, the statement was then written in the evening, and then we need approval from the executive team. We have to show the student representative council, because obviously they are the ones who are the voice of the students, on the table and elected to do that job. Once the student

representative council has received the statement, it is set to the marketing team and released immediately after the fact. Part of it is the process in and of itself, but we needed to be together in order to make a statement like that happen.

In order for a statement to be representative of the students, the councillors need some time to oversee and review whatever is being put out on behalf of the Students’ Union as well EDK: Have you been following the X-Resistance page, or the X-Resist movement?

RM: In fact, I was at their meeting last night.

VP External Affairs

Melissa Aycock

Clancy McDaniel discusses upcoming changes to policies

Aaronique Hepburn

Salome Barker and Evan Davison-Kotler Arts & Community Editor and News Editor

Staff Addy Writers: Strickland Addy Bailey Strickland DeEll Melissa AshleyAycock Fullerton Ashley Douglass Fullerton Hook Kaitlin Keegan Dryden McNeight

Photographers: Nikan General Ghafari inquiries: xw.eic@stfx.ca

EDK: How did you find that?

RM: The meeting was very interesting. I think that it was indicative of a broader sentiment among the student body, the discussion was really important; I mean I would have attended as a student at large regardless, because in moments like this there needs to be an ability to support. It also provided me with an opportunity to see that perspective. There was a lot of survivors in that audience, there was a lot of experts, in terms of sexualized violence prevention, this type of thing, who all offered their perspectives during the course of that meeting.

Continued on page 4.

Advertising: xw.advertising@stfx.ca Salome Barker and Evan DaviWeb ________________________________ Developer: son-Kotler interviewed Clancy MacDaniel on October 23, 2018.

Distributions ABOUT US Manager:to print submitted *** The Xaverian Weekly material and to SB: As someone who works with General is the official inquiries: studentxw.eix@stfx.ca edit submissions the Students’ Union, how would Advertising: newspaper of Saint xw.advertising@stfx.ca for length and/or you like to see the U move forwards Francis Xavier Unistyle. The Xaverian with helping students after the reThe versity.

Xaverian The Xaverian Weekly is the Weekly officialwill student not cent uproar over sexual violence newspaper Weekly is published of Saint Francis print Xavier material Univerthat is on campus? sity. on Thursdays The Xaverian

by The Weeklyracist, is published misogynistic, on CM: I think the whole purpose of Thursdays Xaverian Weekly by the Xaveriansexist, Weekly homophobic, Publicaour organization is to support stutions Publications Board. and Board, is editorially and/or autonomous. libellous. dents and be the best voice for and is editorially OPINIONS them that we can, because we do The autonomous.

Xaverian Weekly is a Opinions proud member expressed of have multiple avenues that we can the TheCandian XaverianUniversity Weekly Press. in The Nort Xaverian America’s hopefully press our influence. largest is a proud cooperative memberof student Weekly newspapers. are those I think that was laid out well in FREE of the Media Candian is Xaverian UniWeekly’s of the author national and the recommendations that we put adveritising versity Press,agency.

North do not necessarily out because you can kind of see America’s largest reflect those of The when you read them that they’re The cooperative XaverianofWeekly’s production Xaverian nd Weekly distri- targeted at different audiences bebution studenttake newspapers. place in Mi’kma’k, or Thethe Xaverian ancestral cause we want to reach as many and FREE unceded Media terriorty is The of the Weekly Mi’kmaq Publications stakeholders with this issue, bringpeople.

Xaverian Weekly’s Board. ing forwards that student voice. national adveritising COPYRIGHT The best way we can support stuSUBMISSIONS agency.

All materials appear- dents is to listen to them; we’ve had The The Xaverian Xaverian Weekly welcomes ing in The submissions Xaverian a lot of really amazing momentum of Weekly’s articles,production letters, photos,Weekly and graphics. are copyright on campus, it’s been absolutely inSubmissions and distribution musttake be received to their

by Saturday creator(s)at credible. We’ve seen multiple 3pm placethe in Mi’kma’ki, week prior to publication. and may not Submisbe used groups come forwards in solidarity sions the ancestral should be and send to xw.eic@stfx.ca without permission. or to with recommendations that mirror the unceded relevant terriorty sectionofeditor.CONTACT US each other in a lot of really wonderthe Mi’kmaq people.

Twitter: @xaverian- ful ways, and really complement Our SUBMISSIONS editors reserve the right weekly to refuse each other. Bringing that perspecto The print Xaverian submitted material Instagram: and to edit @xaveri- tive to the conversations that we’re submissions Weekly welcomes for length and/or anweekly style. The having and continuing to apply Xaverian submissions Weekly of will not Faceboook: print material @xaverithat pressure - making sure that this is articles, racist misogynistic, letters, pho- sexist, anweekly homophobic, momentum is kept up and continuor tos,libellous. and graphics.

Spotify: thexaverian- ing to offer students spaces to be Submissions must be weekly involved at the same time and help OPINIONS received by Saturday www.xaverian.ca represent themselves is also imOpinions at 3pm theexpressed week in Xaverian FIND US Weekly are portant. For example, we had our those prior of to the publication. author and doRoom not necessarily 111D, Bloom- open forum on the weekend - that’s reflect Submissions those of should the Xaverian field Weekly Centreor the only the beginning. We wanted that Xaverian be sent toWeekly xw.eic@Publications 902-867-3732 Board. to be an initial step to get student stfx.ca or to the relePO Box 924 feedback, but as we continue, we COPYRIGHT vant section editor.

StFX University don’t want it to be like, “We spoke All Ourmaterials editors reserve appearing inAntgonish Xaverian Weekly NS, B2G to students once, we’re going to are the copyright right to refuse to their creator(s) 2W5 and may not close the door and go on our own.”. be used without permission.

Especially in recognition of the

wonderful efforts put forwards by students and their bravery in coming forwards, we want to make sure that it’s a student led process throughout the whole thing.

EDK: What do you hope to achieve in your capacity as VP External with your outreach to CASA and Students NS? CD: One thing that we’re really working on with Students NS, and this was mentioned in our recommendations, is - currently, the province, through the department responsible for post-secondary education - they’re trying to develop guidelines for what should be included in sexual violence policies, which is obviously very topical. They’ve hired a consultant, so my role as both a delegate to Students NS but also as the Chair, is to make sure the guidelines that are developed are survivor-centric, are trauma-informed, and have a student voice at the table. We sit on a sexual violence prevention committee that’s very similar to the one at the school, but it’s at the provincial level. We are one of 33 stakeholders at the table - it’s very large - so it’s very important that the decision-making around what is included in these guidelines and what is not is reflective of the needs that students have brought forwards.

My role has been trying to do as much literature review as possible; there are a lot of great organizations that have published what survivor-centric asks would look like.

So that’s around confidentiality; that’s around making sure the survivor has full-reigns of the reporting process - and that they can choose to bow out at any time or return at any time; making sure that there are clauses that state if a survivor was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, that it doesn’t change what the conduct would be.

Bringing all of this to the provincial level would not only help the policy at StFX, because it would be a standard that we would be expected to reach, but also be a standard that

other universities in the province would be expected to reach as well.

The reason we have a sexual violence policy is through an agreement called the Memorandum of Understanding between the province and the universities. In 2015, the current one (which is expiring), stated that all universities had to have sexual violence policies - if they didn’t have a policy, it meant that the province could pull their funding. So, we put out one in that timeframe, but there are other universities that don’t even have one, period. The government has never repealed funding for that, it’s never been that serious, so another thing we’re advocating for is better accountability to make sure “Well, if we have those guidelines in place, if we’re saying we need to do this, lets hold other institutions accountable for doing that.”

Within the VP External portfolio itself, getting those guidelines set, making sure they’re comprehensive and survivor-centric, and then that there’s accountability and follow-up to make sure that institutions are actually implementing those standards, that would be my number one goal within this role.

SB: That actually partially answers my next question - what would you like to see changed about the sexual assault policy at StFX? CD: Absolutely, well, I think the more we get into the review process and go line by line through the policy, the more we’re going to find that can be amended. Obviously, the knowledge that we have from the Students’ Union, we’re 21 and 22 years old, we can do a lot of literature review. I think it’s going to be really important to look towards our community partners who are experts, and I really hope that folks such as the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre are able to play a role. I know that they sit on the school’s sexualized violence prevention committee, I think those are folks who will be really helpful.

Overall, I’m really looking for-

wards to a very holistic, comprehensive review, not only at the policy but also at how it’s applied.

For example, you could have a policy that gets graded A+, you tick all the boxes, but if it’s not applied appropriately, and it’s not followed through on, then there’s still room for the survivor to not receive the outcome they’re looking for. So, I think that’s also a piece that’s important to the puzzle as well.

SB: Last year on campus, when the sexual assault case happened in November and it was very public, students felt as though they really got somewhere. There were forums held, it felt like we were moving forwards. Now with this, it feels like students have been betrayed in a sense, they don’t know who they can trust given the amount of back and forth. Do you have any words of comfort to offer students who are feeling, thinking, “Can I trust my university,” given it feels like we’ve taken one step forwards and five steps back?

CD: I can say that The Union is dedicated to continuing to press on this issue throughout the year. It’s not a reactionary topic, it’s something that we want to see as a priority, not even this year, but continually.

For example, our first recommendation is that we create a subcommittee, which is something that we did towards the end of August, between Rebecca, Tiffany and I; we’re looking to see that become a permanent part of our organization.

The reality is we’re looking to make change, it’s something that is going to take a while. There are some very immediate steps that are very obvious, and I thank students for bringing that to the forefront, because it does take a lot of bravery.

I want students to know they’re not alone, and we will be continuing to press forwards with this. Regardless of how many forums happen, we want to be on the ground getting at it - working towards some immediate, mid-term and long-term solutions on campus.

News

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Interview with Andrew Beckett StFX executive clarifies details surrounding sexual violence case Bowen Assman and Yanik Gallie Editors-in-Chief

Bowen Assman and Yanik Gallie interviewed Andrew Beckett on October 16, 2018.

Read the full interview online. *** YG: What has been your role and responsibilities since the incident of sexual violence that occurred last year?

AB: Initially, my involvement would have been as chair on the judicial board that heard the case in the first place. Certainly, this case is one that I’m familiar with. Since our decision with the judicial board, my involvement after that was more responding to stories that came out and looking at what are the next steps in our response to some of the concerns that were brought forward.

BA: Talk us through the process of how an accused student can return to campus?

AB: Was he able to return to campus? Yes. I can’t get into the specifics of a particular case. In general terms, the individual was found responsible of a violent offence by the judicial board. He then appealed that decision to an appeal committee. The appeal committee upheld the decision of the judicial board. The decision of the judicial board was a one-year suspension that was involved plus training around consent. Then, there is a third layer of appeal within the community code that goes to a Senate appeal committee. They can only hear an appeal of the actual outcome, not on the finding of responsibility.

The code as it’s now set up is one that I think will absolutely be subject to possible amendment as we’re going through discussions. While a matter is under appeal, as it’s set up, the penalties don’t come into play.

That’s one thing that needs to be considered. At the same time, when we got to the third layer of appeal, he had lawyers involved, our lawyers were involved, there was an agreement reached to suspend further consideration of the court case through our internal processes until the court gives way to the criminal proceedings. That’s where the suspension was put on hold, which then gave him the right to return to school this fall while the matter was still proceeding through the external processes in the criminal court.

BA: Many media outlets, and even professors, report that StFX mishandled this case.

Can you address StFX’s management of this case?

AB: The policy and procedural aspects that are there were followed but may have been

flawed. That’s different than mishandling. Anytime you’ve got a policy and procedures in place, until they get tested in practice, you don’t know where some of the gaps may be. Already, in terms of our processes, even since this case went through, we’ve made changes to our processes based on gaps that we saw and that will continue to happen.

The one mistake absolutely made on this was when the decision was made to suspend our processes. It put on hold any further action by the internal, therefore allowing the individual to come back to school this fall and we didn’t notify the victim/survivor. That was a mistake on our part. Part of our regular process is that yes, the victim/survivor should have been notified. Over the course of 8-10 months of dealing with the individual, we had been keeping them up to date with various things and we missed one. Again, I’m not trying to shy away from a significant piece of information that should have been passed along to the victim/survivor and we didn’t do it. We made a mistake.

YG: You talked about gaps in the code, what measures were lacking to ensure safety on campus?

AB: We took a series of amendments to the Senate in February of last year. If you look at those changes that were taken to Senate, they speak to the flaws that were there in the previous code of conduct. It all gets around fair process. Fairness for the respondent and the complainant.

One of the fundamental things that was in there was the respondent’s right to legal counsel throughout. Under the previous versions of the code, that wasn’t there. These are serious offences and matters that are being considered. The new version of the code in place makes it clear that they have the right to legal representation. The right of the respondent to ask questions through the chair of the judicial board of the complainant, to ensure that the judicial board has fair representation from both parties. In terms of fairness of process, there is that opportunity to not just have a statement from the complainant, but the respondent to be able to ask questions to ensure that there’s clarity in the presented facts and that wasn’t in the previous code. There was a number of changes made to tighten up the process. I stand to be corrected, but I’m pretty sure the February changes, it made clear a little bit more about the sharing of information with the victim/ survivor. Things like the outcomes of any pursuings and that sort of stuff. The victim/

survivor would normally be made aware of those things.

BA: Who, or what group, oversees drafting revisions for the university’s sexual violence policy and code of conduct?

AB: In terms of this, you have two main documents. You have the sexual violence policy and the code of conduct. The two separate documents have to work hand in glove. The sexual violence policy is ultimately approved by the president. In terms of overseeing that, because it deals directly with students, it involves head of Student Services as being a sponsor of that policy. It’s my responsibility in terms of the day-to-day administration of that policy working with groups like our Sexual Violence Prevention committee and others on campus who help inform the administration in an ongoing review of that policy. The ultimate signoff is through the president.

The code of conduct is a Senate policy. Changes to the code of conduct have to be approved by Senate.

BA: The Students’ Union advocated for seven changes to policy. Are you going to be making these revisions?

AB: There’s been a number of suggestions put forward that I don’t think were to a specific point in terms of this revision has to be made. There are themes that have been put forward and lenses that we need to look at policy through.

There’s absolutely a commitment from our standpoint to engage in that review and look at what changes we can do.

They were never meant to be static documents. From that standpoint, we’re absolutely open to input and exchanges that will lead to improving those documents going forward.

YG: What are your thoughts regarding backlash from professor Donna Trembinski about your email?

AB: I respect that everybody’s entitled to have different and varying opinions. From the standpoint of the university, I think my email on the weekend explains our concerns. From an institutional standpoint, that kind of vigilante response is possibly criminal endanger.

Therefore, we felt it was very important to issue a statement that condemns that part of it in the interest of getting us back to speaking about ongoing pervasive issues that we know we got to address. We don’t think that’s an appropriate response, and again it is a potentially criminal response.

I have seen a variety of responses from Donna and other faculty members. I respect them, and we are in an environment where these things

should be debated and tossed around. I absolutely respect others having concerns and not agreeing with it, that’s part of the environment.

I would never want to shut that down. If you can’t do it here, where can you do it? In a university environment, we should be having those types of exchanges. I would hope that it’s done in a respectful way. I didn’t take offence to Donna challenging the viewpoints, that’s great and I respect that.

It’s been interesting. If you look at it from a personal standpoint, sometimes you have to take it on the chin in the interest of moving forward. I recognize from my standpoint that I’m on the privileged side of things. This is something that in my four plus years of university, I have become increasingly, through various conversations, aware of. I’m a white, middle-aged, male. A lot of privilege goes along with that.

When I listen to victim/survivors and people of different racial backgrounds or different gender backgrounds, me being able to take it on the chin and having to feel uncomfortable about some of this, I think a lot of people would quite frankly say, “It’s about time.” Because they felt uncomfortable for a long time. I don’t see that as a bad thing, it’s part of learning.

BA: Moving forward, how do we reclaim safety on campus in light of the situation?

AB: If I were following along the lines of the victim-centric approach, which I think that’s something people are advocating for, I don’t think that the university can decide what that looks like. I think we need to engage with people on campus who are not feeling safe and allow them to tell us how they may be able to feel safer. I met with a group of students yesterday. Things like the campus environment that may play into this, maybe it’s lighting on campus. There’s some of those environmental considerations.

The real deeper conversations that have got to take place, and we are working with the Antigonish Resources for Women Centre, is trying to unpack cultural questions. To me, the tougher questions to get at are what in our culture is contributing to all this? We’ve got a culture, and it’s not just StFX, it’s all universities but we have to start with StFX. What in our culture is promoting sexual violence taking place? We know it’s taking place and it’s unacceptable. What’s contributing to that? Is it things like the studies of the connection between alcohol and sexual violence? Is the party culture that we’ve got contributing to this?

Is our residence culture contributing to this? We need to

unpack that more and better understand what in our culture may be playing a part of this sexual violence pervasiveness.

We need to include a lot of people in this conversation, not the least of which should be to include males in the conversation. The statistics are pretty clear in terms of males causing 94-95% of sexual violence cases. That doesn’t mean 94-95% of males are perpetrators.

When violence happens, a majority of time it involves males.

When you look at things like Take Back the Night walks and things organized by females to speak about sexual violence, the audience is largely female.

We’ve got to look for ways to get more males involved in the conversation. We have to figure out what aspects of masculinity are playing into this and understand that better. They are the tougher conversations that we have to get people engaged with. Hopefully, with all the attention that’s been here in the last ten days, it’ll have more people join in the conversation.

BA: Do you have any other concrete plans besides partnering with the Antigonish Women’s Resources Centre?

AB: We’ve got some recommendations from the Students’ Union and there was the protest on the weekend and a series of calls to action associated to it. A large number of female faculty members put out a letter with calls to actions attached to it. We’re filtering all that through our Sexual Violence Prevention committee that has representation from faculty, staff, students and community. We use that as a place to synthesize all that over the next six to eight weeks.

Some of this is gonna take some time to go through. We know it’s important first and foremost to deal with the emotional aspects of this and allow some space for people to be heard.

We’re looking at a variety of things that could be done in that regard. The committee had a meeting today where they’re starting to map out a timeline over the next six to eight weeks of different things, like the AWE project is doing a series of focus groups in November. The Students’ Union have planned a session this Saturday. We’ve got a talkback session in the next two or three weeks to give people an opportunity to feel that they have been heard. Then, we can start to look at all of the themes that come from all of that and say let’s prioritize in an orderly fashion in the next while to improve.

YG: What’s your opinion of the protest at the Open House?

AB: This is an environment that should promote freedom of expression and speech...

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Thursday, October 25, 2018

The Xaverian Weekly

Active Measure and Active Blind Spots Documentary fails in its critique of the Trump and Putin presidencies Douglass Hook Staff Writer

On October 11, in the Schwartz building, room 215, the Antigonish Film Festival screened the documentary, “Active Measures,” about the confusing and complex ties between President Trump, Russian oligarchs (and mobsters), and Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

There is a lot going on in this documentary, and in the parlance of Online™, it possible has the most going on. It is a mix of legitimate concerns about Russian interference and ties to the American President, but much of this information is received uncritically from ghoulish American apparatchiks with a history of loudly calling for war against any nation brave enough to denounce American imperial and commercial interests.

It provides a very superficial history of the end of the USSR, making connections between the state asset sell-off to Putin and, completely and bizarrely, ignoring completely the involvement of American interests and advice on how to sell off assets of the Russian state.

The resulting oligarchic make up of Russian commercial and financial classes are a result of American support and involvement. The privatization drive

by American interests, a deeply neo-liberal austerity ideology, would be replicated again and again against other nations by the International Monetary Fund to significant damage to those nations. So much damage in fact, that the IMF later apologized for their blinkered ideology to Greece for worsening their economic situation.

To be sure much of the information contained in the documentary has already been re-

ported on by various news outlets in varying amounts. Active Measures, is among the first to put the information together into a single documentary that runs about two hours, end to end. It rushes at a breakneck pace, often introducing a talking head for split seconds, hardly enough time for the audience to know their name and their connected organization (at one point I looked down to take a note and when I looked back up there was a brief mention of Chilean President, Salvador Allende, but had appeared so quickly that I failed to understand his connection to the narrative, and the documentary failed to note that he was assassinated by CIA-supported operatives and ushered in an era of extreme authoritarian violence that Chile struggles to reconcile to this day). It struggles to find a place to end the documentary and, like an undergrad with too many sources for a short essay, continually shovels lesser and lesser information near the end of the film.

The documented ties between the Trump Organization’s minions, like Paul Manafort, and Russian business men and criminal enterprises, are myriad. The sheer amount of paperwork, from a wide variety of sources, legal, financial, and personal, is staggering. However, had the documentary restrained itself by focusing on the paper ties between the two groups would have been a full-feature film in itself, it may have been engaging and more easily followed.

Instead, the director reaches and makes a concerted attempt to include, not only the vast volume of paper trails together, but also, interviews with a surprising number of American politicians, ambassadors, think tank fellows, political junkies, and, improbably, CIA employ-

ees and directors waxing richly about foreign involvements and the danger of Russia. With all this information, including background and a detailed biography of Vladimir Putin, the film loses focus and directive and becomes about everything.

The thrust of this film is that Russia is a dangerous, unpredictable actor that threatens the world stage with war.

About which there is some truth. Russia invaded George under false pretenses in 2008, has backed Ukrainian separatists from 2014 onward (even providing soldiers and arms), and invaded and annexed Crimea in the same year. However, it’s hard to take seriously the warnings about interference and the dangers of war from men and women who represent organizations that have, not only called for unilateral warfare against a staggering number of nations, but have also been involved in regime change around the world (and this is only counting from the end of the Cold War).

The documentary takes to task the confusing game of shell corporations that the Trump Organization has used to hid, obfuscate, and launder money into the United States from foreign nation and businesses. However, this critique is not particularly strong considering this problem is not unique to the Trump business or to Trump himself, but is widely prevalent across financial interests in America. This critique would be much stronger if it did not limit itself to Trump but was widened to include American neo-liberal capitalism. Trump is just one of many bad faith financial actors facilitating foreign influences and money into American politics and economics.

This is not a “what-aboutist” review of the film, but an earnest critique of the wide

and considerable political and ideological blind spots of the director. What good is a critique of President Trump if you do not also critique the system that made it possible for a person like him to become wealthy, powerful, and influential? In the quest to portray Vladimir Putin as having flawlessly executed some Machiavellian scheme, the director has actually portrayed the American government and its institutions as hapless, naive simpletons, which, in actuality, is a form of twisted and unintentional macabre comedy.

Putting aside the fact that America has exercised nearly unlimited covert and overt operations to destabilize nations it deemed problematic through violence, murder, and propaganda. The reality is that American political establishments have, for the last 50 or so years, been so bent on undermining the basic regulations and legal protections that prevent economic and political abuses, that they have allowed the system to produce ever increasing wealth disparities and allowed business interests, of which Trump is but just one of many, to gain power and influence and, all in the name of misanthropy and gluttonous personal greed.

But, is it worth watching?

If you’re curious about the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and not sure what’s all the fuss is about and you want to know, you will probably enjoy the

film.

Although, if you’re already knowledgeable about that relationship and are looking for a deeper critique of the world at large, watch anything by Adam Curtis.

Stray Observations: The documentary takes Russia Today television to task for having on conspiracy theorists (like Orly Taitz and Alex Jones) and rightly so, however, it makes no mention that many American media outlets boosted their image and status much more so than Russia Today ever could have. Taitz herself had appearances across American media during Obama’s time as president.

Criticizes the role that men like Paul Manafort and Roger Stone had with Donald Trump but makes no mention that these men have been closely tied to American politicians and the GOP since the Nixon administration.

Mentions the “troll farms” and “fake news” that pushed anti-Clinton and pro-pro-trump messages but ignores the, arguably, best bit of propaganda, which featured a psychedelic cartoon of a very muscular Bernie Sanders in a speedo.

Suggests that “Pizzagate” and Seth Rich murder conspiracy was a Russian operation, but more likely they boosted American right-wing conspiracy theorists and let the American Media continue the job they do best; providing uncritical coverage of sensational news.

Photo: Twitter @actmeasuresdoc

Q&A with the President of The U (Continued) Students’ Union president speaks with The Xaverian Weekly Bowen Assman and Evan Davison-Kotler Co-Editor-in-Chief and News Editor Continued from page 1 So, I think it was very important for myself, and my Vice President Academic, we were also there - sitting, listening and trying to get a broader understanding of what the students would like to see to come, the steps they would like to see moving forward.

EDK: There’s talk of a planned call to action or protest. Will

you, the union, be assisting them at all with some of their protest movements?

RM: I think right now, we are waiting to hear back from the group in terms of what they would like to see from the union specifically. We have already published our list of recommendations and there were a lot of students in that room that would like to be a part of that broader involvement. It will really depend on what the group would like to see from the union moving forward.

EDK: So, if they reach out?

RM: We will definitely have a

conversation with them, of course. I mean, there is a reason we were in that room, right?

EDK: Can you speak to any discreet changes you would like to see within the sexual assault policy as it stands right now, because the university published its sexual assault policy as something that they deem was survivor centric, and a much better policy that they had previously. The response from the students and the Union’s release that was just published makes clear that people would like the universi-

ty to review the policy. Can you point to anything discreet within the policy that you would like to see changed?

RM: I do not think that I can speak to it yet, our working group is set to be established, well, let me correct myself, we already have an internal working group, myself, the vice president academic whose purview this is, and the vice president external. once we have the scope of professionals, once we have the university administration, once we have students at large of our committee, I think I can speak to that more

broadly.

EDK: In your opinion, was the university negligent in the way they dealt with this?

RM: Again, I am not certain that it is my place to comment on that, you know, in keeping with cohesion of the statement that we released, we are looking at a survivor centric approach, so the comments I make have to be in considering what the harmed party would want at this point in time. So again, it would be to the harmed party to speak as to whether or not they felt they were dealt with fairly...

Opinions

Opinions

5 Editor: Caleb MacIsaac xw.opinions@stfx.ca

Dear StFX

Sexual Violence happens #HereToo Addy Strickland Staff Writer

Content warning: The following stories contain information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors. Following this collection, a list of resources has been published. Please do not hesitate to contact any of these resources if you find yourself struggling.

The following stories were collected to demonstrate the extent to which sexualized violence is an issue #HereToo. One in four women will experience sexaulized violence in their lifetime - but it isn’t just a statistic. It isn’t just something we read about in the news, or hear about on TV - it is a real, far too prevalent issue on this campus and many others. Thank you to everyone who was able to find the courage to share these stories with us. *** As someone who has been sexually assaulted– I believe that institutions, students, faculty, and community members should work towards creating a more informed policy so that victims of sexual violence can feel more secure about coming forward.

A student who was taken advantage of last year who did, in fact, come forward was let down by her OWN university. StFX did not inform her that her rapist’s suspension was lifted and that he was to be returning back to campus for the new school year. She felt unsafe, as would anyone. She left this province–– she left this campus–– she returned back home. The university took away her voice. The school failed to protect her because he, a student who decided to take advantage of another, has the RIGHT to his education. The school failed to protect ALL students because we still do NOT have a name, ID picture or a clue who this sexual predator is.

StFX… did you not think that having that student back on campus wouldn’t trigger the girl who went through something no one deserves? Do you think the rapist is more entitled to his education here at StFX than the victim? Do you think he won’t do it again just because he’s “learned from his mistake?” I can honestly tell you that this is and will never get easier for the victims. I used to be proud of this university but your actions towards this makes me nothing but disappointed and full of anger.

It only takes one individual to force themselves onto another. It only takes one pill and a blink of an eye to drug someone. It only takes one individual to rape more than one student. Many students have come forward but due to putting the blame on the victim, hearing out the sexual predator and favouring in their favour or the lack of evidence they were turned away.

THIS. IS. WHY. WE. DON’T. COME. FORWARD. #IBelieveYou #IStandWithYou #IAmHer - Anonymous A common story that I hear around campus is women speaking about being sexually assaulted on campus and not reporting it. Why? When someone is a victim of crime, wouldn’t the logical progression be to seek justice? I can’t speak for everyone, but I am a survivor. Last year, during my very first week on campus I was raped in my own room in residence. I don’t really have any desire to relive this experience, even in print. I decided to not report my assault for a few reasons. The first being that I had no idea how it would be done. Throughout orientation week I was never clearly told how to report or what the difference was between reporting and disclosing.

There was a lack of clear education and information. It seemed to be hidden by discourse about the policy and the progress that the university was making. On top of that, I was terrified about how a report and investigation would influence my education. I was so excited to finally be at university and I knew the sacrifice my parents have had to make to send me to StFX. I did not want to go through a process that I had already heard, one week into my time here, was not supportive of survivors and seriously detrimental to survivors’ right to education. I can only say that I felt sheer terror at the thought of the university administration and going through the reporting process. This university’s administration has done nothing to date to demonstrate to me that they would protect and support me. There is no evidence that there is any compassion for the trauma survivors that go through at the upper levels of this administration as evident by their actions over the last weeks and their response to criticism in emails that were tone deaf and disappointing. This administration has to demonstrate that it is dedicated to providing safe spaces for survivors. Improvement of the sexual violence policy is necessary, but also improvement in the education of the administration about how to support them during and after their interaction with the university justice system and show this community their dedication to real action. The administration has a responsibility to keep members of this community safe.

They continue to fail. For all the people on this campus who are survivors and all those who could become survivors because of this administration’s inaction: wake up and face this issue with real preventative action. I am ashamed of this university. I want to be able to be proud of my X-Ring, not embarrassed for wearing a symbol associated with a school that doesn’t support survivors.

- Anonymous I’m a Part-Time Instructor at StFX. Some time ago, at a reception, a faculty member asked me about my racial background. Not really knowing what to do, I answered candidly. The faculty member then said that those of my race and skin tone were “the better looking ones.” They then offered some of the reception food to me, by dangling it over my head and beckoning me to eat. I felt completely humiliated and powerless. The room was also filled with other faculty members and students. It’s not possible for me to report anything like this (or anything worse), because I would lose anonymity through the process, and this could endanger my job. In my case, it would be as simple as not being offered another contract.

- Anonymous “Do you want to go upstairs?” He asked while we danced in the basement of MacPherson. I went to MacPherson consistently, most of my friends were from there. And in my drunken state, I said yes.

We go upstairs where I met his roommate. We spoke for a little while and then he left the room. Now it was just me and him. “Drink this.” He gave me a drink, I don’t remember what it was. “Do you want to smoke?” He let me have some of his vape. I don’t know what was in it. I remember coughing.

We spoke for a little while. Then he started kissing me. We kissed and it was fun. Then he started taking my clothes off as he pushed me down. I asked if we could slow down because I didn’t know him. “We’re not strangers. We spoke for a little while.” He said as he kept undressing me. I was falling in and out of consciousness. I don’t remember exactly when he entered me. But I remember the laughter of my friend and the look on his face when I looked towards the door and saw him. “Close the door!” He shouted and my friend left. I remember their laughter even after the door closed.

In and out of consciousness. I remember my legs above his head, limp. The pain of him ripping inside of me.

I don’t know when he finished, but I remember laying on my side, exhausted, naked, tired. “Do you want me to walk you back to your residence?” I said yes.

So I got dressed and walked out with him. Halfway back to residence, I saw a friend. I ran to him and hugged him, began to cry, “I want to go home.”

The next day my friend laughed at me and informed me of what he saw in the room. “You were so drunk,” he laughed. I nodded and tried not to let it bother me. It took me months to realize he should’ve stopped what happened. I don’t know who I’m angry at or if I’m angry at all. I’m not friends with him anymore. He doesn’t understand why. Sometimes he’s offended I don’t talk to him anymore. Maybe he doesn’t even realize what happened that night. I didn’t for a long time.

But I don’t hang out in MacPherson anymore.

- Anonymous Antigonish Women’s Resource StFX Health and Counselling StFX Student Life Office Antigonish Men’s Health Centre Victim Services Emotional SupCentre and Sexual Assault Ser- Phone number: 902-867-2263 To report sexual assault or sexu- Offers health care services for port vices Association Address: 3rd floor, Bloomfield al violence perpetrated by a StFX males 12 years and older.

Emotional support for victims of Provides services to women and Centre 305 student or faculty member, con- Phone number: 902-863-2358 sexual violence. No police inadolescent girls including crisis Hours of operation: Monday and tact Student Life reception to set Address: 275 Main Street, Suite volvement necessary to get supand ongoing problem-solving Thursday, 8:30AM - 8:00PM up a meeting with Matt Gerard, 103, Antigonish port. support, information, advocacy, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, student conduct officer, to leave a Hours of operation: Tuesdays Phone Number: 1-902-490-5300 accompaniment and referral.

8:30AM - 4:30PM. statement. (*note that disclo- 8:30 to 6:00 or by call/appoint- Hours of operation: Monday to Phone number: 902-863-6221 The Sexual Assault and Harass- sures to other staff or faculty are ment.

Friday, 8am to 4pm Address: 204 Kirk Place, 219 ment Phone Line not considered formal reports) Main Street, Antigonish Phone number: 1-902-425-1066 Phone: 902-867-3934 Hours of operation: Monday to Hours of operation: 12pm - 12am, Address: 306A Bloomfield Centre Friday 9:00 to 4:30 7 days a week.

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Thursday, October 25, 2018

The Xaverian Weekly

Dear Kent and Andrew A message from faculty Faculty Members Contributors

October 16, 2018 Dr. Kent MacDonald, President and Vice-Chancellor St. Francis Xavier University Mr. Andrew Beckett, Vice-President Finance & Administration, Head of Student Services St. Francis Xavier University Dear Kent and Andrew, Recent press reports have brought to light the StFX handling of the sexual assault case of a woman student. We, the undersigned faculty, are deeply committed to insisting on the solution-focused change that is necessary to decrease and halt the sexualized violence culture at StFX. We are specifically speaking to the experiences of women faculty. Collectively, we have taught at StFX for over several hundred years. Many of us have, along with students and staff, consistently born witness to students’ accounts of being sexually assaulted and harassed. As faculty, listening to even the generalities of these harrowing and violent stories, and helping students navigate possible paths to justice, has involved an exceptional amount of emotional labour—a burden that we bear in honour of our students. However, the time has come to shift this burden of responsibility to the StFX Administrative level. Although we very much appreciate Administrative efforts thus far, we wish to avoid the policy hamster wheel that may result when flawed policies, however well intentioned, are ‘reviewed’, rather than replaced with evidence and expertise-informed documents.

In this case, expertise-informed can be defined as it generally is in an academic setting—individuals with long-standing and recognized (i.e., inside and well outside the confines of X) content and policy expertise in a specified area. To this end, we expect the following specific solutions. These solutions are closely informed by the student and community member gatherings that took place last week, and the student-led petition that was initiated yesterday.

1. Initiate a Community Forum within two weeks (by Oct 30), so that you too can hear students, faculty, staff, and community members’ perspectives on this issue.

2. Immediately (as of Oct 16), initiate an Anonymized Sexual Assault Reporting System, whereby the campus community are informed of the occurrence of sexual assaults on campus. There are policy templates from universities in Canada and in the US. The time is well past for X to step up.

3. Create a Sexualized Violence Task Force at StFX by December 1, 2018. Members must include: a) at least three experts in sexualized violence and trauma-and-violence-informed policy-making (these experts are readily available in the Antigonish Community and among faculty at StFX); b) at least three student survivors of sexual assault at X (students are already well organized to provide first voice expertise); c) the President of the Students Union; d) the President of the University; e) the Human Rights and Equity Advisor; and, f) the Head of Student Services.

The purpose of the Task Force is to inform policy change—to provide a cohesive voice that can rectify fragmented approaches to sexualized violence, where numerous, and not necessarily congruent, documents, approaches, and policies are implemented at X. Although these approaches provide a ‘suite’ of options for students at X who have been sexually assaulted, there is substantive evidence that in times of extreme trauma such as sexual assault, service fragmentation is decidedly re-traumatizing. The mandate of the Task Force is the mapping of all existing sexual assault related policies and the timely creation of a new and evidence-informed approach to sexual assault at StFX. The resulting approach must: a. Pass the test of being trauma-and-violence-informed (see expertise comments above). b. Circumvent the current maze that traumatized students must navigate. c. Provide clear mandates for training and education in sexual assault and trauma-and-violence informed policy-making. Currently, there is no expectation that any individuals involved in policy-making, reporting and appeals processes have any core education to guide their decisionmaking. An ‘interest’ in the issues, and/or institutionally mandated membership in a group or panel, does not necessarily constitute capacity to make evidence informed decisions. d. Be congruent with the Canadian Criminal Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As evidenced by recent events, there may be a disconnect between X policies, such as the Community Code of Conduct, and these two pivotal federal documents. It is important to note that university processes are ‘quasi-judicial’, not judicial; therefore, although they of course must adhere to the laws of the land, they can be changed in-house, to reflect more up-to-date processes and procedures that are already in place at other universities.

4. Create and strictly maintain a Sexualized Violence Report Card for the StFX Community. This Report Card would trace/track incidences of Sexual Assault, and StFX responses, and outcomes. The purpose of the Card is also to inform progressive, evidence informed policy change.

We are copying the Deans of all Faculties at StFX because we know that sexualized violence is hampering the academic mission of the university in its profound impact on the everyday academic performance of the numbers of students who have been sexually harassed and assaulted.

We stand with her. We will not be silenced.

Respectfully,

Dr. Elizabeth McGibbon, Professor Dr. Rachel Hurst, Associate Professor Dr. Rhonda Semple, Associate Professor Dr. Donna Trembinski, Associate Professor Dr. Ranke Devries. Associate Professor Dr. Erika Koch, Associate Professor Dr. Mary Oxner, Professor Dr. Sharon Gregory, Associate Professor Dr. Margo Watt, Professor Dr. Erin Austin, Associate Professor Dr. Donna Halperin, Professor Dr. Christina Holmes, Assistant Professor Dr. Linda Darwish, Associate Professor Dr. Maria Paz, Associate Professor Dr. Amanda Casey, Associate Professor Dr. Ornella Nzindukiyimana, Assistant Professor Dr. Maureen Coady, Associate Professor Prof. Sionnach Lukeman, Assistant Professor Prof. Jacqueline Van Wijlen, Assistant Professor

Dr. Isabelle Bauge, Associate Professor Dr. Angela Weaver, Associate Professor Dr. Jen Jamieson, Associate Professor Prof. Marion Alex, Associate Professor Dr. Joanne Tompkins, Professor Prof. Marie Arnott, Assistant Professor Dr. Karine LeBris. Associate Professor Dr. Katarin Macleod, Associate Professor Dr. Jennifer Mitton, Associate Professor Dr. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell, Professor Dr. Lynda Harling-Stalker, Associate Professor Dr. Claire Fawcett, Associate Professor Dr. Norine Verberg, Associate Professor Dr. Sue Vincent, Professor Dr. Tara Taylor, Associate Professor Dr. Jessica Husk, Assistant Professor Dr. Johanna Black, Assistant Professor Dr. Kailin Wright, Associate Professor Dr. Melanie Lam, Assistant Professor

Dr. Patricia Cormack, Professor Dr. Nancy Forestell, Professor Dr. Rejeanne LeBlanc, Associate Professor Dr. Kim McLean, Associate Professor Dr. Karen Blair, Assistant Professor Dr. Katie Edwards, Assistant Professor Dr. Charlene Weaving, Professor Dr. Christie Lomore, Associate Professor Dr. Laura Estill, Associate Professor Dr. Riley Chisholm, Associate Professor Dr. Maureen Moynagh, Professor Dr. Leona English, Professor Dr. Catherine Aubrecht, Assistant Professor Dr. Doris Gillis, Professor c: Dr. Petra Hauf, Dean of Science; Dr. Karen Brebner, Dean of Arts; Dr. Tim Hynes, Dean of Business; Dr. Jeff Orr, Dean of Education

Opinions

7

Brett Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court The consequences of a controversial confirmation process Melissa Aycock Staff Writer

On October 6, Brett Kavanaugh became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, after going through a controversial confirmation process. The question is, what does his appointment to the Supreme Court mean continuing forward, both politically and across society?

Kavanaugh’s nomination and confirmation process was fairly smooth until several sexual assault allegations emerged in late September, which delayed the vote of the Senate Judiciary Council; however, the key hearing of the confirmation process was when Dr. Christine Ford came before the council to answer questions about an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the early 1980s when both her and Kavanaugh were in high school. Despite the allegations against him, Kavanaugh was sworn in with 50 votes for and 48 against his appointment during the final vote in the United States Senate.

Immediately after Kavanaugh was sworn in, the message from the Democrats, to disappointed individuals, was to vote. Since the American midterm elections are November 6 and Republicans currently control the Senate by a slim majority, voting is a chance for those against Kavanaugh to voice their discontent with the Senators that voted him in.

Furthermore, changing what party controls Congress can act as a safeguard against right-leaning Supreme Court

hearing over the sexual assault allegations also represented the imbalances in which men and women are treated during such cases. Dr. Ford, a highly educated woman, answered every question during the hearing calmly with the use of some scientific explanations, passed a polygraph test, and after all that, received death threats for going public with her accusations.

Kavanaugh, on the other hand, did not answer all the questions, became extremely emotional and aggressive, attacked Democrats for trying to undermine him, and ended up on the Supreme Court. Even sexual assault allegations at the top level in America reflect that even if a woman does everything in her power to en-

sure her credibility, her accusations can be brushed aside in favour of an alleged perpetrator of sexual violence.

That is not to say that there were only faults with how Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh’s testimonies were presented and then weighed during the hearings.

There is also the issue that the members of the Senate Judiciary Council are predominantly men, which undermines their ability to decide if Kavanaugh’s final Senate vote should occur since they do not represent the actual proportion of men and women in the United States.

Women are at a higher risk of sexual assault and with limited representation on the Senate, they may be biased when it comes to sexual assault allegations. Furthermore, the FBI investigation that was ordered after Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh’s hearing was limited by which witnesses and evidence it could find in such a short period of time, which for some people, leaves it unable to prove Kavanaugh’s innocence.

Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court is sure to cause ripples for years to come politically and across American society. The greatest lesson that Kavanaugh’s confirmation process can teach is how much more work there is to do on how sexual assault allegations are examined, especially with respect to how victims are treated. Perhaps that lesson can be applied a bit closer to home at StFX, since the university is currently facing the complicated task of learning how properly address sexual assault on campus.

of the flag’s removal telling CTV “That’s disgraceful. This is discrimination against straight people.” Bishop claims he is considering legal action against the village.

In an interview with Global News Helen Kennedy, executive director of human rights group Egale Canada, states that the choice to raise the flag “likely stems from the lack of

understanding of the real symbolism of the pride flag, as well as a lack of understanding about the hardships faced by Canada’s LGBTQ community” Kennedy continues, “I think it’s really unfortunate that the community has done this because it further marginalizes LGBTI people and it makes them feel really unsafe in their communities.”

Photo: time.com decisions that are probable with Kavanaugh’s appointment since Congress can pass bills that override court rulings.

There are also worries about how Kavanaugh will vote when important cases involving issues like the right to bears arms and religion come up.

Particularly, there are concerns that Kavanaugh might vote to overturn or weaken Roe v Wade, the case that establishes the right to access legal abortions. While Kavanaugh has stated that he acknowledges the case as precedent, he has sided in the past with dissenters to the outcome of the case. In general, Kavanaugh poses a political threat since he brings the number of right-leaning justices to a majority in the Supreme Court, which could

mean the future rollback of rights.

Kavanaugh’s appointment has caused political concerns, but the messages from the way the allegations of sexual assault were handled during the confirmation are having a far greater impact on society. The contrast between the crowds of protesters outside the hearings versus President Trump’s strong convictions of Kavanaugh’s innocence shows that America is clearly divided over Kavanaugh. While some might see the sexual assault allegations as a distraction to voting in a Supreme Court justice, many others want to make sure that judges appointed for life will make decisions that are fair and just to all members of society, particularly women.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation

Pride Matters How a New Brunswick community lacks understanding Caleb MacIsaac Opinions Editor

Earlier this week, a small village by the name of Chipman in New Brunswick gained notoriety for flying a flag developed for “straight pride.” The flag was lowered the following morning in response to public outcry.

This comes mere months after Sussex, NB encountered complaints for implementing rainbow sidewalks and Woodstock, NB had their rainbow sidewalks vandalized.

The pride flag was initially developed in 1978, where Gilbert Baker was pressed by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, to create an emblem of empowerment for the queer community. It consisted of eight colours but would later be re-

designed to include six.

In an except from Gilbert Baker’s memoir “I had considered all flag-waving and patriotism in general to be a dangerous joke. But that changed in 1976. The American Bicentennial celebration put the focus on the American flag. It was everywhere, from pop art to fine art, from tacky souvenirs to trashy advertising. On every level, it functioned as a message.

I thought how most flags represented a place. They were primarily nationalistic, territorial, iconic propaganda – all things we questioned in the ‘70s… The rainbow came from earliest recorded history as a symbol of hope… Now the rioters who claimed their freed at the Stonewall Bar in 1969 would have their own symbol of liberation.”

The importance of the rainbow pride flag denotes the dif-

ferent plights suffered by the LGBTQ+ society. From common discrimination, to larger hate crimes and murder, the flag is often interpreted as the freedom for individuals to express themselves in a welcoming space.

The Chipman council issued a statement saying, “Council’s decision to allow a straight pride flag to be raised in the community was based on our desire to support all groups in our municipality and to respect everyone’s right to freedom of speech in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedom.” In their statement they address the understanding that “The straight flag is being seen as a flag of privilege and anti-minorities which our community and our council does not support.”

Glenn Bishop, the developer of the flag, was shocked to hear

Photo: Justin G C Fudge

8

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Features

Editor: Lewis MacLeod xw.features@stfx.ca

Scratch Art Fun with pastels, paint and toothpicks Youth Leaders Contributors

The Xaverian Weekly

Features

9

Bauer Stage transforms into a Large Pool of Water Play by Mary Zimmerman featuring StFX students starts November 7 Reema Fuller and Hannah Peters Contributor and Photographer Something magical is happening on the Bauer Theatre stage. The popular venue for live theatre has been home to several hundred different plays, set designs, and theatrical elements over the years, but staging a play set entirely in water is an exciting first!

In November, Theatre Antigonish will open its 44th season with the Tony-award winning play Metamorphoses, by Mary Zimmerman. This play is a spellbinding adaptation of the classic myths of Ovid. It is storytelling at its best, with a series of short stories told in and around a shallow pool of water on stage. With its evocative images, visual exuberance, and exquisite costumes, this play is a clever juxtaposition of the ancient and contemporary as it explores the theme of transformation. And since the entire play is set in water, audience members will even have a chance to catch a fun splash or two, if they choose to sit up close to the stage!

Metamorphoses begins with a pay-what-you-can preview on Wednesday, November 7, and opening night on Thursday, November 8. Performances will take place November 7-10, and November 17-18, at the Bauer Theatre, located on the campus of StFX University. The show begins at 7:30pm and doors open at 7pm. The play is directed by Theatre Antigonish’s Artistic Director Andrea Boyd, with set and lighting design by Ian Pygott and costume design by Martha Palmer. The stage manager for the show is Ashley Pettipas. The cast includes a large group of community members and StFX students, some of whom are veterans of the Bauer stage and some who are new to the joy of acting. The prospect of performing a play in water poses unique challenges for all aspects of the show – set design, costumes, direction, acting, backstage work, audience seating, climate control – but it also brings excitement, exuberance, and the joy of creative discovery as the cast and creative team work through rehearsals.

Boyd says “I am so excited to direct this play. The stories will provoke laughter, tears, grief and joy. It will surprise us and draw us in. The actors are all amazing, and the creative team is working wonders to bring the play to life. It is a beautiful play with stunning visuals. And who doesn’t enjoy playing in water?”.

Advance tickets for Metamorphoses are on sale now – online at www.theatreantigonish.com or by phone at (902) 867-3333. Tickets are $15 regular, $12 seniors, and $10 students. Season passes are also on sale, providing a saving of up to 30% on all five shows for the season.

Now entering its 44th year, Theatre Antigonish is a professionally-led community theatre organization, offering high quality productions at the Bauer Theatre during the fall and winter months. As a non-profit organization, Theatre Antigonish brings together StFX students and members of the local community to work together on all aspects of the plays, including acting, designing, set-building, sound and light, and promotions. For more information, contact tickets@stfx.ca, call (902) 867-3333, or visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/TheatreAntigonish.

Name: Nicole Zambrano.

Year of Study/Program: First year Bachelor of Art in Political Science.

Where are you from? Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? Metamorphoses will be my first play!

Name: Michael Gillis.

Year of Study/Program: Second Year, English Major.

Where are you from? Georgetown, Ontario.

The first that that you’ve been in? Goodnight Desdemona Good morning Juliet, a Shakespeare parody.

Name: Devon Side Walker.

Year of Study/Program: Third Year Business, Management advanced major.

Where are you from? Grande Prairie, Alberta.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? First play I was in was at Theatre Antigonish: Eurydice.

First play ever: a Christmas play in the 8th grade.

Name: Tyler Kingston.

Year of Study/Program: Second year, Nursing.

Where are you from? Miramichi, New Brunswick.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? Snow White and the 7 dwarfs.

Name: Salome Barker.

Year of Study/Program: Fourth year, Women and Gender Studies.

Where are you from? Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? The Nutcracker.

Name: Madison Kendall.

Year of Study/Program: Second Year, Arts Program.

Where are you from? New York City, USA. The first play that you’ve ever been in? Solidea Island.

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Thursday, October 25, 2018

Arts & Community

The Xaverian Weekly Editor: Salome Barker xw.culture@stfx.ca

Interview with Lawrence Hill Get your heads out of the sand!

Aaronique Hepburn Staff Writer

Can you think back to time where you were given an opportunity to meet your idol or your hero… How would you feel in that moment about the things you would say to them and how would your interaction be?

Well your girl had the chance to meet the renowned, brilliant and enthusiastic author, Lawrence Hill. I was honored and grateful for the opportunity to be in his presence.

Hill is a Canadian novelist and is famously known for his award-winning book, The Book of Negroes, and other significant contributions to the canon of Canadian literature, including Black Berry, Sweet Juice and his 2013 Massey Lecture entitled Blood: The Stuff of Life, just to name a few.

I was invited to a private dinner with Hill and others including faculty and teachers within the community. This dinner created an intimate space allowing me to communicate with Hill on a more personal level. It was tremendously fascinating to watch the engagement between Hill and everyone seated at the table, his openness and willing-

ness to be included in the conversation gave me a sense of comfort. Let me not forget to add how comical Hill is, and it did not require much effort to keep us entertained.

After dinner ended it was time for me to have a one-onone discussion with Hill to gather further information about his success and his views on identity and belonging. It is evident that we live in a world that is not shy of displaying extroverted disapproval to those who do not fit their criteria of what a person should be.

Despite being emancipated from slavery, abolishing segregation, and activist fighting for equality, it is important that these issues still exist today. Individuals, specifically of African descent had to and still are enduring many trials and tribulations because of the color of their skin; Hill addresses these issues that people of color may come to face. I wondered how Hill would respond if he were to be racially discriminated against, this brought forth my first question. He states, “I was raised by an African American father who was a solider in the American army and a white American mother, who then moved to Canada a day after

Photo: Yanik Gallie their wedding, and at this time segregation was at its apex. My father informed me if I was to ever be insulated racially, I should respond with violence or oppose it in some way, but I refused to respond with violence. I believes if someone has the right to call me repulsive things then I has the right to tell them they are disgusting individuals.”

On the topic of racism, Hill adds “if I were to see someone else being racially insulted, I believe that it is my moral obligation to step in and speak up.

You must be careful about how you intercede because things can escalate in ways that may

reverberate back on you in negative ways racially.”

I recently attended a forum, where I acquired Angela Davis’ (American political activist) beliefs and opinions on what it would take to create a world where we all feel like we belong. I wanted to get Hills’ views on this subject matter, “I do not believe that we will reach that point anytime soon. Canadians tend to assume they are morally superior to other people in different parts of the world who are experiencing racial injustices. They would disregard these problems within Canada by putting their heads in the sand, but will not hesitate to

point out current problems in other countries. We would have to look within ourselves, look at our current injustices, look at our current life and not be afraid to acknowledge where we do not measure up.”

He concludes, “everyone should not strive to be the same or look the same, instead individuals should be accepting of differences and learn to live together. We as humans must be committed to abolishing racism and committed to accepting people for who they are. The Book of Negroes touches on the vast majority of these issues, hence its success.”

Why was this book such a success? Hill believes his book gives readers comfort in reading past injustices that were triumphed. It also introduces readers to a history that individuals might have been oblivious to, giving insight and information about Black history in Canada. I concluded by asking Hill for advice for aspiring authors, he said “in order to become something or achieve a goal you must put in the work to get desirable results. The opinions of others should never supersede your aspirations in life, you only have one chance at life so make the most of it.”

The Best Stories Live in Hell Tips on how to write good drama and more from Lawrence Hill Yanik Gallie Co-Editor-in-Chief

Renowned novelist and screenwriter Lawrence Hill spoke in Schwartz auditorium on Friday, October 19. Hill opened by speaking of the latest novel the professor of creative writing at Guelph University is currently writing. The release date of his book, announced to be titled Midnight Men at the event, has yet to be made official.

Hill was warmly welcomed to the stage by Kalista Desmond and the Strait Regional Drummers band. Desmond performed some new spoken word.

A particularly moving line was “ # p owe r f u l n o t p owe rl e ss” encouraging women to own their empowerment.

The drum group led by Morgan Gero performed three songs. Gero left her seat to distribute instruments to colleagues in the audience for a collaborative performance while her skilled drummers held the rhythm. Drummer Isaiah Williams spoke with The

Xaverian Weekly post-show.

Williams spoke about his favorite moment on Friday night, “I liked when I played the drums to welcome him here. One of the songs we played tonight was ‘Fonga’.”

Hill made the point of showing his appreciation for the drumming performance. Williams, who has been drumming for two years, remembers how after their performance, “Lawrence said it reminded him of drumming he heard when he was in West Africa and being

welcomed to villages.”

During his time at the lectern, Hill read excerpts from The Book of Negroes and spoke in detail about imagery and other realistic or fictional literary elements in the novel. One thing he mentioned was that the novel is not about slavery; it is about the resilience of a woman.

During the question and answer period, Hill said that while his parents were not thrilled he desired to become a writer, they were instrumental in his upbringing as an author.

Photo: Phoebe Cseresnyes

Referring to some of the nonsense poetry that his mother read to him as a child, Lawrence recited from memory the first verse of “Disobediance” by A. A. Milne to a laughing audience.

Williams asked Hill how long it took to write The Book of Negroes. Hill answered, “It took me five years. I rewrote the book eight times. That’s not as ridiculous as it sounds. To spend the time researching, writing, and rewriting, editing, rereading, and publishing over five years before I was satisfied.

“I wrote some other books along the way, it wasn’t the only one I did. Most writers have to do two or three different kinds of writing at a time to get money. Sometimes things you really care about that are really difficult take time. You have to let them gestate. Let them have the time that they need and they will take over from there. You are ill-advised to rush something if it’s coming along well. If you give it some time, it has a chance to get better.

By the way, unless you’re born with the genius of Mozart,

chances are the first time you write something it’ll stink. That means you have to write it again, again, and again until it’s good. One of the reasons The Book of Negroes took five years is because it was so bad the first time. You have to keep working on it. Thank you for your question and your drumming.”

Emcees Addy Strickland and Rebecca Mesay brought the event to a close by asking Williams to come back on stage for the presentation of a gift to Hill.

The author stuck around post-show to meet the audience and sign everything from books to a case for glasses.

Prior to speaking publicly at StFX in the evening, Hill spoke privately at Dr. John Hugh Gillis high school with 80 students from neighbouring high schools in the morning. The intimate student-led discussion was held with students who had read and researched a novel of his in the classroom.

Even though Hill has travelled back home to Ontario, his authenticity and wisdom remain cherished in the community.

Arts & Community

11

Youth Leaders on Water Crisis in Paq’tnkek Water shortage is an ongoing issue in neighbouring community Youth Leaders Contributors

While the boil advisory in Paq’tnkek has been lifted by Health Canada as of October 19, the community faces an ongoing water crisis.

Several community members report that shortage of water is an ongoing issue while quality control has been established again.

Paq’tnkek has previously suffered from a water shortage due to construction this past July.

Dennis Pictou has been active in spreading the message to community members on social media. On October 18, Pictou made a public announcement that details some of the community collaboration that led to the lifting of the boil advisory, “We are asking for all community members to con-

serve water until further notice. We can’t give an exact timeline at this moment because the many factors that go into all of this (water consumed, most active timeframes, available water pressure, etc.).

We will also be under a boil water advisory until Health Canada says otherwise. Like water conservation, the end date is subject to all of our community factors.

Petow residents will experience low water pressure this afternoon and every second day from this point forward.

This is due to water consumption on the main reserve side.

Every two days we will be sending water from the Petow pump house to Saqamaw pump house at night for everyone’s convenience.

If we all do our part in conserving water we can get a better read on what possible timeline we are subject to. To put it

simply, the less water we consume, the less time we’ll be in this predicament.

This coming Monday there will be a phone conference meeting with Water & Waste Water operators, contractors and other parties to discuss construction of Well #4 in Petow. Construction is in place to be fast tracked due to our circumstances.

If I haven’t touched on any of the questions from community members, get me the question and I’ll try my best to get the answer. Thanks for your patience.”

The note by Pictou calls for action by community members to limit their water use. During the water crisis, Richard Perry delivered 25 four-litre jugs of water on his pickup truck at the band office for community members.

Lack of access to quality water in Paq’tnkek is a serious

issue.

Youth leaders from Paq’tnkek spoke with The Xaverian Weekly on how the water crisis has, and continues to, affect them. Danika says, “It’s kind of hard to live without water. It sucks because I sweat a lot and I can’t shower. My mom goes to grandma’s house to get some jugs of water for our house and I have to go to my grandma’s house to shower.”

Ryan Stevens adds, “We get bad water. It’s orange and brown. I want people to stop wasting water. We have not been able to boil food or anything. We have to go all the way to town for water.”

Casey mentions the ongoing crisis, “When we don’t have water, we don’t have anything.

The water came back a little, but it’s not fully come back.”

Amara emphasizes the severity of the issues, “Well, the

water you have to boil because it has I don’t know what in it.

We have a huge jug, but it’s very old and has no water. I put a Barbie sticker on it a while ago. The worst part is some houses had their water cut off.

Make sure to boil water in a crisis.”

Everyone, including the youth, has been impacted by the water crisis. It is important to address this problem and think of ways to be supportive.

Advocating for water rights in the Mi’kmaw Nation is an avenue that could lead to change.

The water crisis is not only prominent in this community, it has also been a pervasive issue across Canada.

Water has also been a crisis in Attawapiskat, Northern Ontario, Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, British Columbia and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, Quebec.

Change needs to happen because water is life.

media, it sends a bad message.

This kind of last-minute notification makes StFX feel like a university that only cares about sexual assault when reports of it hurt its, “premier undergraduate experience” reputation.

Two more important events have happened between Beckett’s first email and today. Firstly, a student-formed X RESIST Facebook page was formed.

This closed group with more than 400 members has been the central hub for organization of protests, meetings, slogans, petitions and more. Secondly, the controversial @whispersatX twitter account (initially named @rapistsatX) was created and accused two students of sexual assault before it was condemned by Beckett himself.

While this account did not have much time to make a dent in the overall campaign, StFX addressed this account in an extremely definite manner, calling its actions, “not acceptable.”

While it is true that name-dropping students with no context is damaging to the overall movement on campus, the tone in which Beckett addressed this account is unsettling. Nowhere in his previous two emails were the words, “not acceptable” used.

Referencing sexual assault is met with caution, but referencing accusations is met with immediate action.

The school is quick to strike down a small twitter account which named two male students, Hurst noted that, “in my gut feeling is that if the person [who created @whispersatX] is

found out that they will be punished to the full extent that they can be punished.” If this does happen, could it send a negative message to other students who are trying to fight sexual violence on campus and come forward with their own stories?

Either way, the creation of this account adds another level of complexity to this ongoing fight.

Something that really sticks out with X RESIST, the open house protest and the overall response is the small amount of male action. Tons of women, many of whom who are survivors themselves, are speaking out against StFX and coming up with possible solutions. The lack of reaction from the male student body is disappointing to say the least.

Hurst notes that, “In my opinion both male faculty as well as male students need to step up and organize themselves...I would absolutely encourage male students to get involved and I know that there certainly are some that have been active and vocal and I think that that’s fabulous, I see that as the responsibility of men [to organize themselves].”

While it is unlikely that an X RESIST-type group will be created by male students and faculty, it would certainly add even more to the discussions among campus.

This story is far from over.

The Student Union planned an open forum on sexual violence held on Saturday, October 20. It is an avenue for community opinions and ideas to be heard.

X RESIST will not be silenced anytime soon.

Far from Over Hundreds of people respond to sexual violence on campus Ashley Fullerton Staff Writer

Recently, Global News published an article about a sexual assault case at StFX. The survivor, an 18-year old first-year from Toronto, was assaulted by a man five years older. The perpetrator was suspended, but returned to school this fall – something the survivor was not made aware of. Re-traumatized, the student left StFX for good.

Her experiences have sparked outrage among students, faculty, members of the Antigonish community, and even other universities across the country.

With outrage comes collective action, which is exactly what has been going on over the past week and a half on our campus.

Since the report, a lot has happened. Two email statements from Andrew Beckett, Vice President of Finance and Administration & Head of Student Services, were sent out. The first was a rather vague paragraph which essentially said that the school, “cannot comment about the specifics of this case.” In addition, several bullet points were included, detailing that StFX has a sexual violence policy, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), a Health and Counselling office, and a Student Life office. The second email references the Global News report. He acknowledges the communication errors that caused the student to leave, and makes a mention of the, “system in place that strives to uphold both the victim’s and the re-

spondent’s right to due process.” He stresses that, “we recognize that there is always room for improvement and we welcome feedback regarding how to make our processes stronger.” He also makes a mention of the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, an institution that not many small university towns have.

Following these two emails, student response was striking.

In fact, the news of the article in question spread like wildfire on Facebook, and it can be wagered that most students were already aware of or had heard of the article, and the details of the survivor’s situation, before any StFX emails were sent.

Last Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, two collective action meetings were held at St. Ninian’s Place, organized by students and Women’s & Gender Studies professor Rachel Hurst. This week, I sat down to talk with Hurst about the progress StFX has made since she began teaching here in 2009. We talked about what still needs to be done, the collective action of students, social media accounts, and more. One of the greatest concerns of protesting students, who have been using the hash-tag #IStandWithHer to raise awareness, is the school’s lacklustre sexual violence policy.

The policy itself is quite concerned with acknowledgement of resources and definitions, and not enough information about putting trust in survivors and being a trauma-sensitive institution. Obviously, the poli-

cy should be examined, and change based on the input of students. However, Hurst revealed to me that in 2009, a StFX sexual violence policy did not even exist, “There was no policy, and there wasn’t even information on who to report to in the university and what should happen if someone has been sexually assaulted. So that’s another thing that has really changed is that we do have a policy we do have information online that is a lot easier to find than previously.” It’s shocking, isn’t it? That only nine years ago, information about sexual assault and basic resources were unavailable through the school’s website. However, this in no way means that we should just sit back and be grateful that StFX has made strides on that front.

So much work can be done, and perhaps adopting practices of other universities or colleges could be helpful. According to Hurst, “In the United States by law all publicly funded universities and colleges are required to notify the campus community when a sexual assault has happened...it notifies the student body that sexual assault is not tolerated and that they will act when sexual assault has been reported.” These bulletins are vital in making invisible work visible and could make huge contributions to sexual violence awareness on campus. A transparent sexual assault bulletin could change the face of this campus. When news of sexual assault only reaches the students through outside news

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Thursday, October 25, 2018

The Xaverian Weekly

Jeremy Dutcher is a Leader of Indigenous Renaissance Tobique First Nation brings the prestigious Polaris Music Prize home Yanik Gallie Co-Editor-in-Chief

Jeremy Dutcher takes home the 2018 Polaris Music Prize award and declares the nation is in the middle of an Indigenous renaissance. The musician, who grew up in Tobique First Nation, is at the forefront of this renaissance having contributed what is arguably the most notable Canadian album of the year.

Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa is the name of the album that has swept the nation off its feet.

The album preserves and revitalizes a fragment of Indigenous culture in the voice and piano playing of a classically trained operatic tenor.

The name of Dutcher’s album translates to Our Maliseet Songs. The vocals and melodies feature Dutcher’s singing and musical interpretation of wax cylinder recordings from over a century ago.

Dutcher studied 110-yearold wax cylinder recordings of his ancestors that were kept at the Canadian Museum of Histo-

ry in Gatineau, Québec. The recordings were preserved by anthropologist William H. Mechling who lived with the community for seven years between 1907 and 1914. On top of recording songs, jokes, dialogues and various social interactions between the Wolastoq people in wax phonograph cylinders, the following photograph was taken by Mechling at Tobique in 1911.

Photo:William H. Mechling While speaking with Exclaim!, Dutcher admits that more than 20 percent of 100 songs had deteriorated to the

point of being indecipherable.

Most had been forgotten by his community, due to lack of access to the materials since the Indian Act of 1876.

The language of the Wolastoqiyik, whose ancestral territory is all along what is now known as the Saint John River in New Brunswick, is now spoken by fewer than a hundred fluent speakers.

Dutcher is a graduate of Dalhousie University with a BA in Music and Social Anthropology. Research for Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa had begun long before graduation from the program in 2012. Respected elder Maggie Paul inspired Dutcher to pursue the transcription of these cylinders which eventually developed into the studio album.

Chief of Tobique First Nation, Ross Pearle, commended Jeremy for preserving the language of the Wolastoqiyik, “The chief, council and community of Neqotkuk are very proud of Jeremy receiving the Polaris award. Taking wax recordings in our maliseet language that survived the years

of forced assimilation of our people and adding his musical talent to showcase internationally is very admirable. Jeremy deserves this recognition for all his hard work.”

Dutcher’s talent is reaching audiences all over the globe.

After the traveling musician played the Halifax Pop Explosion at The Marquee Ballroom in Halifax on October 17, Dutcher took flight to Las Palmas, Spain to play at The World Music Expo (WOMEX).

WOMEX is the biggest conference of the global music scene attended by thousands of professionals in the field. There is a trade fair, talks, films, a showcase festival at each annual conference.

Over 2,600 professionals (including 303 performing artists) come together every October from more than 90 countries, making WOMEX not only the number one networking platform for the world music industry, but also the most diverse music meeting worldwide.

A collaboration with pop artist Casey MQ led to the “Pomok Naka Poktoinskwes”

remix of Dutcher’s water rights’ anthem. MQ’s spin on the tune has a much faster electronic beat. While it honors the precedent, it strays away from the mellow distinguished piano and powerful vocals of Dutcher.

The Polaris Music Prize was last won in 2016 by Colombian-Canadian electronic musician Lido Pimienta and in 2017

by Louis Kevin Celestin who is a Haitian-Canadian DJ and record producer. Dutcher’s victory harkens back to the 2015 Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Power In The Blood win. Dutcher’s album is up to par with the albums of these greats and available for purchase at Sunrise Records, iTunes and Spotify.

that they seem quite commonplace today.

Additionally, Strickland, a Canadian, is the first woman since 1963, and the third woman ever, to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Medicine - James Allison and Tasuku Honjo shared this year’s prize in medicine for their discovery in the ability to inhibit “negative-immune regulation,” which is a way cancer cells stop certain white blood cells from attacking them. By inhibiting their “immune negative” abilities they open cancer up to be attacked like regular viruses or bacteria would be. It should be noted, however, that this therapy has only efficacy over some types of cancer and side effects can be severe. Regardless, their research is widely considered groundbreaking.

Literature - This Nobel Prize will not be awarded this year following a series of scandals, not the least of which includes, financial malfeasance, infighting, confidentiality leaks, resignations, and most seriously, accusations of sexual assault. The crisis stems from one of the members of the committee, Katrina Frostenson and her husband, Jean-Claude Arnault, being accused of leaking names of the nominees to friends and relatives in order to profit from placing bets. Furthermore, Arnault has been convicted of

rape after 18 different women accused him of sexual misconduct in both France and Sweden, though he has appealed the verdict.

Peace - Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad have jointly won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for their continued efforts to “end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflicts” around the world.

Mukwege has used his position as a doctor to bring awareness to the terrible use of sexual violence in conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, condemning the DRC government as failing to do enough to put an end to the use of sexual violence. His activism has put him and his family at risk and he has fled the Congo for Europe.

Since 2015, Nadia Murad has spoken out about the extreme abuses and sexual violence brought upon women by soldiers of ISIS after having been captured, enslaved, tortured, and repeatedly raped herself, only escaping with the help of sympathetic neighbours who helped smuggle her out of ISIS territory. She was the first person to ever brief the United Nations Security Council on the issue of human trafficking, in which ISIS has even used social media platforms, like Facebook, as slave marketplaces that still exist.

Read the full article on our website at xaverian.ca.

Photo: jeremydutcher.com

Winners: The Nobel and Ignoble A rundown of this years prestigious and zany research Douglass Hook Staff Writer

Each year there are two organizations who dive into the wide world of academics and published research and draw from the very wide and wooly world of research, nominate a number of people and teams, and then award prizes to most deserving people or teams of people. This year is no different. The best and strangest minds have been revealed by each committee, so let’s get started with the strange.

Founded in 1991 by editor Marc Abraham of Annals of Improbable Research, this magazine is dedicated to finding the humour and satire inherent in the world of science. Before the list of Ig Nobel winners is revealed, it must be stressed that not all winners are contributing useless science, sometimes, it is the route or the way that scientists uncover their data that is the laughable aspect. Indeed, at least one Ig Nobel prize winner would later go on to win their own Nobel Prize; first for levitating a frog, second for advances in graphene research.

Medicine - Marc Mitchell and David Wartinger for research on rollercoasters and passing kidney stones.

Anthropology - Tomas Persson, Gabriela-Alina Sauciuc, and Elainie Madsen for their re-

search on how well zoo-housed chimpanzees imitate humans (conclusion: just as well as humans who imitate chimpanzees).

Biology - Paul Becher, Sebastien Lebreton, Erika Wallin, Erik Hedenstrom, Felipe Borrero-Echeverry, Marie Bengtsson, Volker Jorger, and Peter Witzgall for discovering that wine experts can accurately smell if a fly has fallen into their wine.

Chemistry - Paula Romão, Adília Alarcão and the late César Viana, after discovering how well human saliva works as a cleaning agent (conclusion: not too bad!).

Medical Education - Akira Horiuchi for researching the efficacy of sitting colonoscopies through self-colonoscopizing.

Peace - Francisco Alonso, Cristina Esteban, Andrea Serge, Maria-Luisa Ballestar, Jaime Sanmartín, Constanza Calatayud, and Beatriz Alamar for their research on swearing while driving.

Economics - Lindie Hanyu Liang, Douglas Brown, Huiwen Lian, Samuel Hanig, D. Lance Ferris, and Lisa Keeping for researching the efficacy of using voodoo dolls in the workplace to retaliate against bosses (conclusion: it might help the victim, but they don’t recommend it).

Further information on the Ig Nobel Prize can be found at www.improbable.com The Nobel Prize, in contrast,

was created by the inventor of dynamite, who created the explosive after witnessing the disastrous effects of unstable explosives, like nitroglycerine, which killed some of his associates. Later in life, Alfred had the experience of reading his own obituary in the newspaper, in which he was labelled a “Merchant of Death,” for his work in armaments manufacture. Since 1900 the Nobel Foundation (split between Sweden and Norway) has awarded the prizes below (except the economics prize which was created in the 1960s, although with some controversy, perhaps most notable by a living relative of Alfred Nobel, and human rights lawyer, who claimed that the Nobel Prize in Economics is a “PR coup by economists to improve their reputation”).

Physics - Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou, Donna Stickland for their inventions and groundbreaking work related to the use and study of lasers. While this may seem quite staid, Ashkin’s work allowed lasers to be used to precisely move and hold molecules and even small bacteria. While Mourou and Strickland discovered the method by which a high-frequency laser could pulse in extremely short pulses without destroying the materials that make a laser work. Combining these two discoveries unlocked the massive potential of lasers, so much so

Distractions

13

Distractions

Editor: Kenneth Doiron xw.distractions@stfx.ca

Game of Squares

Source the Alumni Quotes

- Two players or more take turns adding one line from dot to dot.

- A player who completes a square initials it & earns an extra line.

- The player with the most initialled squares is the undisputed champion.

- Draw a line from the Alumnus/Alumna to their respective quote.

John Tewelde

Allene Goforth

“One thing is certain, being part of the StFX community has taught me that family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are.”

MacPherson “After graduation I plan to return to my hometown to teach our younger generations.”

Tega Sefia

“On Saturday, I and two others will be piped into the auditorium at St. FX by my sister, pipe major Janette MacPherson Gillis, and I’ll be able to hear her play the pipes. How cool is that?”

Devann Sylvester

“Choosing StFX to play football and earn a degree was by far the best decision I’ve ever made, working at the Golden X Inn was my second.”

Sudoku - Each of the horizontal rows and vertical columns should contain numbers 1-9.

- Each of the 3-3 squares should contain numbers 1-9.

X-Rings in a Jar - Guess how many X-Rings are in the jar.

- Submit your prediction, name, and student email on the ballot below for a chance to win $50. The monthly winner can pick up their prize courtesy of Cameron’s Jewellery at the store location 239 Main street, Antigonish.

X-Rings in a Jar Ballot

Prediction: Name: Student Email:

Submit your ballot to our newsroom in the basement of Bloomfield Centre, Room 111E.

Spot our Mascots in... Chile - Find and circle Captain X and Super Xavia.

14

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Sports & Health

The Xaverian Weekly Editor: Kathleen Haggarty xw.sports@stfx.ca

Athletes Unaffected by October Legalization No change in U Sports substance policy after cannabis legalization Kathleen Haggarty Sports & Health Editor

October 17 marks a huge change in Canadian legislation regarding the acquisition and use of cannabis. Legalization of cannabis has been the talk of the country for many years, and in recent weeks has become reality for all Canadians.

Other conversations that have taken place were those regarding how the legalization will affect Canada’s athletes, particularly members of the USports community. It is important to comment that members of this national brand and those competing in university sport are not off the hook in recreational use of cannabis.

Despite being legalized by the Government of Canada, cannabis remains one of many substances that appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Prohibited List. Cannabis is not the first legal substance to be on this list, as the list includes both illegal and legal substances.

Photo:U Sports The Canadian Anti-Doping Program’s (CADP) prohibited list follows that of the WADA, as it is held to international standards. Because cannabis remains illegal in other countries around the world, WADA and subsequently CADP’s policy remains unaffected by its legalization in Canada. Just like before legalization, a positive test for cannabis can still result in a sanction.

Cannabis is listed on the prohibited list as a threshold substance. This means that in the event of a test, if it is detected under a certain concentra-

tion then it will not be reported.

This threshold does not permit regular use and despite the threshold, positive tests are frequent.

Currently, cannabis is only prohibited in competition. That being said, there is no verified way of knowing how long cannabis takes to clear out of one’s system.

Cannabinoids like THC are fat soluble and can be stored for long periods of time depending on metabolism. Frequency of use is a huge factor in determining how long the clearance time would be.

One question worth posing is whether the use of medical marijuana would also be banned? The answer is yes.

The use of cannabis for medical purposes is no different than use of other prohibited medication. If an athlete subject to the CADP has a prescribed need for medical marijuana, he/she should must apply for a medical exemption.

This process entails an submission of an application in addition to supporting medical information.

Sports’ departments across the country are well aware of USports’ stance on cannabis use. Nonetheless, they remain wary that their athletes could assume the league’s policy will correspond with the country’s change in legislation. It will be up to the student athletes, coaches, and athletic departments to clarify the rules amidst these changes.

Here at StFX, an annual student orientation takes place near the beginning of the academic year. All 12 varsity teams are present, including their

coaches and the rest of StFX athletics staff. At this year’s student orientation, presentations by Director of Athletics Leo MacPherson and his staff including Head Athletic Therapist Tara Sutherland, made it very clear that cannabis will remain banned for all athletes participating under the StFX and USports Banners.

Another reminder of the status of cannabis regulation in sport is included in a mandatory e-Learning program provided by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES). All USports athletes must complete this program before any competition, and should therefore be aware of the continuing prohibition of cannabis in their sports.

CCES also has a Cannabis in Sport resource which includes a page for Frequently Asked Questions, Quizzes, an Education Kit, and more resources regarding medical marijuana. Student athletes are encouraged to use this resource to sort out any possible confusion.

Calgary 2026 Winter Olympics?

City hopes to bring back the Olympics almost 40 years later Bowen Assman Co-Editor-in-Chief

Who can forget the illustrious 1988 Olympic Winter Games. Hosted in Calgary, Alberta, Team Canada achieved a whopping zero gold medals, two silvers and three golds. Despite Canada’s shortcomings, the game was a turning point in to injecting viability and legitimacy in the winter games.

Now, 30 years later, Calgary is one of the three remaining bids (along with Stockholm, Sweden and the combined Italian bid of Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo) for the 2026 event.

A part of their bid centered around the ability to have transferrable facilities that can transform into affordable housing, or other attainable market housing. They also wanted to utilize the remaining buildings and structures from the 1988 games.

However, Even if the Olympic facilities are transformed to a usable state at the end of the games, that will cost more money then what the budget anticipated.

In Canada’s first foray in hosting; Montreal 1976, the burden on the city led to a thir-

ty-year battle to repay the 1.2 billion in debts. Since 1960, no Olympics has ever been under budget. The preliminary numbers are always lower than the final cost.

Some may perceive that an Olympics is a boon for the tourism sector. In fact, Olympic tourists take over for the regular tourists who want to stay away from the excessive congestion. The city’s itself that host are already well known, so a large surplus in tourism revenue is hardly reached.

Calgary’s initial budget is set at $5.2 billion. Sochi’s 2014 games cost $51 billion, the most ever in history. Perhaps a more accurate comparison for Calgary would be South Korea.

The most recent winter games, held in Pyeongchang, had an overall cost of $13 billion. Curiously, the county has a population of over 40 000, so the extravagant infrastructure is rendered almost useless once the games ended. The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, has already been torn down. Its cost? A ho-hum $109 million.

It is clear the immense burden that cities have during the games, and the amount of money they are in debt for. So, an

idea that has been floated around is of having an island that hosts the more expensive summer games every Olympics. With an island, which can operate as an international city-state, each country competing would contribute to the construction of it. The result would lead to an Olympic village that can stand for years on end. Economies being destroyed, and poor individuals being displaced (Rio: 2014) would no longer happen.

As well, these games could be more flexible with regards to ideas being tested and the

ability to pursue environmentally sound options.

However, for at least the next ten years, the Olympics will be held in cities. The allure of bidding for them have greatly subsided. The International Olympic Commtitee (IOC) jointly announced the recipients of the 2024 and 2028 games last year as they were worried no one would be in the bidding process for 2028.

What’s encouraging is the successful bid in 2026 that wins the right to host the games will be getting 1.2 billion CAD from the IOC. This will help mitigate

Photos: calgary2026.ca

costs, but is nowhere near enough.

November 13 is the day all Calgarians vote in a plebiscite whether they want the city to host the Winter and Paralympic Games.

Premier Rachel Notley, along with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi have been arduosly supporting the bid, and their political influence may cause many to vote yes. It is important for all in Calgary to be educated with regards to the bid, as it will be their taxes that would inevitably be funding this event.

Sports & Health

15

A World of Upsets: League of Legends 2018 Millions tune in to watch world championship Bailey DeEll Staff Writer

Let me ask you something, do you know what Esports are? Essentially, Esports is competitive gaming. Throughout an array of different games, both new and old, professional players around the world compete in leagues and competitions for enormous cash prizes.

From CSGO and DOTA 2 to new titles like Rainbow 6 Siege and of course, Fortnite, the pantheon of Esports titles range many genres of games to suit any player’s skills. The most popular genres are Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs), first-person shooters, and sports games, with League of Legends leading the charge. Until the arrival of Fortnite, a third-person battle royale game, League of Legends consistently held the number one spot for viewers on Twitch, the primary streaming site for video games. These Esports almost always model themselves after traditional sports, especially when it comes to playoffs and major tournaments. Naturally, a game with as much popularity as League of Legends holds a landmark tournament each year to celebrate the talent of each region to determine which team is the best. Enter the League of Legends World Championship.

Taking place October 1st to November 3rd, 2018, the top three teams from the five major regions, North America, Europe, China, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as ten teams from various “wildcard” regions compete to determine the best team in the world and win the Summoner’s Cup (and an

incredible monetary award).

The first Worlds tournament for League took place in 2011, culminating in a historic final between Fnatic and All authority in which Fnatic took the victory. Since then, when “only a few hundred fans watched live,” the popularity of the game has skyrocketed and millions tune in to watch the World Championship each year. The season 3 World Championship was held in the U.S. and resulted in a sold out Staples Center in LA, California. Increasing in popularity year upon year, last year’s tournament peaked at 80 million concurrent viewers during the semifinals of the tournament, where players competed for a total prize pool of $4,946,970. Now on its eight iteration, the viewership and prestige of the tournament is certainly set to impress in 2018.

After that historic inaugural tournament, there have been certain trends that have been established in League of Legends history. Asian teams have won six of seven championships, Korean teams are the most dominant region, not missing a single worlds final match since 2012, and North American teams traditionally underperform, with the last NA team to reach the semifinals occurring in 2011 when the tournament was only between North America and Europe.

Today, October 21, 2018, stands as a historic day in League of Legends history as all of these facts have been broken. The tournament to date has been a year of upsets, where kings fall and underdogs reign supreme. For the first time since their entrance into the tournament, the Korean representatives have all been knocked out of the tour-

Photo: riftherald.com/lol-worlds

nament prior to the semifinals.

Also a North American team has reached the semifinals for the first time in seven years, and only one Asian team remains in the tournament. After the series of upsets that occurred this past weekend (Oct 20-21) where tournament favourites RNG and KT Rolster have fallen, the semi-final matches feature two European teams, one North American team and one Chinese team.

The matches will take place October 27th, with European representative G2 Esports taking on the Chinese team Invictus Gaming, and on October 28th with the original champions Fnatic taking on North America’s remaining hope,

Cloud 9.

But, aside from the immense feeling of community and entertainment that Esports offer (just like any other traditional sport), why does Esports matter in university? Universities around the world offer scholarships and incentives for varsity athletes to play traditional sports, but some universities are adopting Esports teams as well.

Some prominent Canadian universities, including the University of Toronto and the University of British Colombia, along with an expansive list of American universities, offer scholarships for Esports. Interestingly, Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends,

holds a collegiate league for university players to compete for prestige and substantial scholarship dollars where UBC stands at the top of the pack. In 2015, the team beat out Simon Fraser, Texas A&M, and Robert Morris University on their way to winning the $180,000 in scholarships. While this community is certainly niche compared to the massive audiences that traditional sports draw in, both in universities and throughout the rest of the world, it is becoming ever clearer to the general public that Esports are not only real, but are a medium of entertainment that should be remembered as it continues its growth for years to come.

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