Volume 127 Issue 9

Volume 127, Issue 9

Editorially autonomous since 1895

January 31, 2019

The Xaverian Weekly

News: Bre O’Handley Interview...

Opinions: We Are Queer...

A&C: Flourish @ X...

S&H: StFX Swim Team...

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News The Xaverian Weekly January 31, 2019 Volume 127, Issue 9 Our Team: Editors-in-Chief: Bowen Assman and Yanik Gallie News Editor: Evan Davison-Kotler Opinions Editor: Caleb MacIsaac Features Editor: Lewis MacLeod Arts & Community Editor: Salome Barker Distractions Editor: Kenneth Doiron Sports & Health Editor: Kathleen Haggarty Photographers: Phoebe Cseresnyes Hannah Peters Staff Writers: Melissa Aycock Addy Strickland Bailey DeEll Ashley Fullerton Douglass Hook Keegan McNeight David MacLean Cover Artwork: Jessica MacLean _____________________________ ABOUT US The Xaverian Weekly is the official student newspaper of Saint Francis Xavier University. The Xaverian Weekly is published on Thursdays by The Xaverian Weekly Publications Board, and is editorially autonomous.

The Xaverian Weekly is a proud member of the Candian University Press, North America’s largest cooperative of student newspapers.

FREE Media is The Xaverian Weekly’s national adveritising agency.

The Xaverian Weekly’s production and distribution take place in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded terriorty of the Mi’kmaq people.

SUBMISSIONS The Xaverian Weekly welcomes submissions of articles, letters, photos, and graphics.

Submissions must be received by Saturday at 3pm the week prior to publication.

Submissions should be sent to xw.eic@ stfx.ca or to the relevant section editor.

Our editors reserve the right to refuse

to print submitted material and to edit submissions for length and/or style. The Xaverian Weekly will not print material that is racist, misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, and/or libellous.

OPINIONS Opinions expressed in The Xaverian Weekly are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Xaverian Weekly or The Xaverian Weekly Publications Board.

COPYRIGHT All materials appearing in The Xaverian Weekly are copyright to their creator(s) and may not be used without permission.

CONTACT US Twitter: @xaverianweekly Instagram: @xaverianweekly Faceboook: @xaverianweekly Spotify: thexaverianweekly www.xaverian.ca FIND US Room 111D, Bloomfield Centre 902-867-3732 PO Box 924 StFX University Antgonish NS, B2G 2W5

Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Xaverian Weekly

Editor: Evan Davison-Kotler

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

xw.eic@stfx.ca

newsroom. Newsroom located in Bloomfield Centre 111D.

Bre O’Handley Interview Gender and Sexual Diversity Advisor Addy Strickland Staff Writer

Bre O’Handley was interviewed by Addy Strickland on January 26, 2019.

O’Handley is a StFX graduate from Guysborough, Nova Scotia with a B.Sc. Honours in Psychology.

A paper based on her Honours thesis research was published online by Psychology and Sexuality on May 22, 2017.

O’Handley is the Gender and Sexual Diversity Advisor at StFX. Her goal is to create a queer community that is celebrated.

Photo: Facebook @Bre O’Handley *** AS: Can you give me a little bit of history on pride at StFX? BO: Chris Frazer would probably be the person to go to when it comes to Pride at StFX! I started as a student at X in 2012, and while I remember Pride Week happening each year and there always being a Pride Week issue of the Xaverian, I actually wasn’t very involved as a student with the happenings of Pride during my undergrad! Chris Frazer has been at StFX since 2004 and has really been the person to spearhead much of what now happens as Pride Month at X, along with the help of the X Pride student society of course!

Chris spent about 15 years working as the LGBTQ advisor on a volunteer basis, my position, of the Gender and Sexual Diversity Advisor at StFX, was just created in 2017. Before then, different faculty members, particularly Dr. Chris Frazer and Dr. Rachel Hurst, did the heavy lifting when it came to supporting LGBTQ+ issues and students at StFX! AS: Have you noticed any changes in what pride month looks like since you started working here?

BO: Absolutely! As I mentioned above, before my position was created Pride happened every year, but often took the form of “Pride Week.” One of my main goals my first year on the job was to expand that into a Pride Month, so 2018 was the first time (to my knowledge) that StFX had a full month of Pride events! In the past, when it was

Pride Week, many of the events were primarily student centred and happened at the Inn, which was a fantastic way to celebrate! But now that we have a whole month to jampack with events, X Pride and I have been able to organize quite a variety of events. We kick off the month with the Pride Flag Raising, as a way to think about how far the queer community here at X, and everywhere, has come but also to acknowledge how far we have to go. Then the month is peppered with engagements like lectures, panels, coffeehouses, film screenings, games nights, LGBTQ+ inclusive church services, Sex Toy Bingo and we always finish off with the always incredible Priscilla: Queen of the Highlands drag show.

AS: Why is pride month so important? What does pride month do for the StFX and Antigonish community?

BO: Pride Month is important anywhere, but especially on the StFX campus because the campus climate here is so heteronormative and cis-normative. During my time as an undergrad, I found it really hard to find the LGBTQ+ community at StFX and really wish that I had had more of that support as a student. When you’re LGBTQ+ at StFX, a school that does still lack diversity and has a long history of homophobia, in part due to the rural context, it’s easy to feel like an outsider.

While I met so many incredible people and learned so much during my time as an undergrad, it always felt like I was missing something when it came to engaging with and celebrating my queer identity.

Having a month where we celebrate and actively engage in queer culture is so important for LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty as it sends a signal that we’re here, we’re queer and everyone else is going to have to get used to it. I think Pride Month also offers a space to the Antigonish community of LGBTQ+ folks. While I will admit that our events are mostly catered towards StFX students, staff and faculty, community members are always very welcome at any of the events that X Pride and I host and we love to have community members come and engage with us! Again, the rural context of Antigonish can make for a difficult time as a queer person, as there is still homophobia, biphobia and transphobia on this campus and in this town, and not as many resources as you would find in a place like Halifax.

AS: There have been so many great events this month - do you have a favourite? Why?

BO: I think my favorite new event this Pride Month would have to be the What I Love About Being Queer film screening and panel discussion. I first discovered the What I Love About Being Queer book and film by Vivek Shraya last year when I was shopping for resources for my office at Venus Envy in Halifax. I had never seen a book like it before and instantly knew I needed to have it in my office. The purpose of What I Love About Being Queer is to focus on the positive narratives of being queer, something that too often we overlook as we still have many struggles and discrimination that we must focus on.

The book and film contains answers from a diverse group of queer Canadians to the question, “what do you love about being queer?” The first time that I read the book was in a café in Halifax right after I bought it, my partner and I started reading and blew through the book within half an hour. I’m not a big public crier, but there was no way I could hold back the tears while reading this book, not because it’s sad but because it was so incredibly moving to see so many people celebrating being queer and it was content that I, like the author, can attest to having needed so many times before in my life. So being able to share this message and film with the StFX queer community and allies at the screening was really special for me, and to have the incredible panel of queer professors and community members was so refreshing and fascinating. Even at StFX, the queer community proves to be more diverse than you might think.

But, I think my all-time favorite Pride Month event has to be Priscilla. I know I sing its praise every year but it’s true when Dr. Frazer says that it’s the best drag show east of Montreal and it is just such an engaging and wildly fun event every single year. We’ve already sold over a third of tickets for this year’s Priscilla, so if you want to make it to the show this year (and trust me, YOU DO) you’re going to want to snag a ticket ASAP! They are being sold in the third floor SUB Lobby 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday until Feb 1st!

AS: Pride month is, obviously, just one month. What suggestions do you have to help the StFX community celebrate pride all year round?

BO: There are lots of events that folks can go to celebrate pride all year round! My office and X-Pride organize events every month, like the X Pride Coffeehouses and Spill the Tea

sessions! X Pride coffeehouses happen at the Tall and Small café and are a chance for folks to perform music, spoken word, whatever they want, Sadie Goering organizes those so if anyone ever wants to perform, they can contact them to get involved! Spill the Tea sessions happen monthly which I organize with X Pride, it’s an informal discussion group and we pick a topic each month, like coming out or gender identity, and just talk it out with each other. I run an annual lecture series: The Gender and Sexual Diversity lecture series, so there will be talks monthly for the rest of the year that folks can attend! February 26th, spoken word artist, Kavi Ade, will be performing on campus! X Pride releases a calendar of events each term, so if you want to stay up to date on ways to celebrate pride year-round, definitely get involved with them or join the Facebook group “X-Pride 2018-2019” to stay in the loop!

AS: Evidently, representation is really important - do you have any thoughts on what needs to be done to ensure that the queer community is fairly represented by student government?

BO: I believe there is a possibility that an LGBTQ+ Representative will be added to Council this upcoming academic year, although I’m not 100% sure, and I think that that would help to ensure the queer community is fairly represented by student government. We’ve been lucky the past two years to have a union that was fairly educated and cared about issues of equity, at least with regards to the LGBTQ+ community, and so I hope to see the same in coming years. I think that having members of student government complete training around LGBTQ+ issues and gender inclusivity is a fantastic way to move towards being more aware of how decisions may impact LGBTQ+ students, so I would certainly recommend members of student government to seek out Positive Space training and similar programs to stay informed.

News 3

Charging Stations on Campus for Electric Vehicles Electric vehicles’ charging stations $1 per hour now functioning Yanik Gallie Co-Editor-in-Chief

Two electric vehicle charging stations in the Bloomfield Centre rear parking lot and one in the J. Bruce Brown Hall parking lot installed on November 20, 2018 are now functioning.

Faculty Management’s Energy & Utilities Supervisor Kevin Latimer, leader of these installments, said the stations are part of the Mulroney Hall project. The charging stations earned Mulroney Hall points to qualify as a Gold building on the LEAD (Leadership Energy and Environmental Design) ranking.

At the cost of $1 per hour, an electric vehicle hooked at a charging station on campus will get its battery charging and the payment is easily processed through the FLO app.

When asked about profitability, Latimer commented “It isn’t profitable at a buck an hour. A buck an hour will recover our energy cost. Three units cost close to $25 000.”

“I was talking to Kevin Latimer about stations since I got the car. Some charging stations are free,” Frank Comeau said referring to the stations at Halifax Library, Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University. “I was arguing with Latimer

to make them free.”

Comeau added, “There’s no point in charging my car here because it costs me two to three times more than it costs at home. For that reason, I don’t use them that much.”

Comeau was the first user of the charging station at J. Bruce Brown Hall. Comeau and I did the math to compare the charging and fueling costs between our vehicles. Comeau’s Volt travels 60 kilometers for $1.5 to $2.5 while my Grand Prix travels the same distance for $8 to $8.25.

As part of the Maritime Link Project, Nova Scotia is shifting from 28% renewable energy to 40% renewable energy. Latimer notes, “Nova Scotia Power has promised to have 40% renewables by 2020. When that happens, electricity will be more environmentally friendly than gas. Right now, electricity in Nova Scotia is close to breaking even with gas in terms of carbon footprint.”

Latimer started fidgeting with his safety glasses when he mentioned, “We could easily go to 50% renewable energy, but Nova Scotia is going to sell 10% for profit to the States where energy will go at a much higher rate.”

Comeau, electrical engineer and professor at StFX, questioned the research that concludes electric vehicles have a similar carbon footprint as gas

vehicles, “Studies have shown that electric vehicles in Nova Scotia emit the same carbon footprint as gas cars and other studies have shown that it’s about half of the carbon footprint. I can’t seem to get to the bottom of this. If we had 100% renewables, it’d be better.”

Comeau has been fascinated with renewable energy since he was a youngster, “I’ve been interested in electric cars since the oil crisis in the 1970s. There were big, long, lineups at gas

stations and people started thinking about renewables then is what I remember.”

“I have plans to put solar power on my house to charge my car,” Comeau asserted.

Solutions to the carbon footprint issue seem to be generating electricity with renewable energy sources like solar panels, windmills, or hydropower instead of mining lithium.

Comeau is one of two professors at StFX who have electric vehicles. Few students, if

Photo: Yanik Gallie

any, have electric vehicles. Latimer hopes that tourists visiting campus with electric vehicles this summer will increase the use of charging stations.

Electric vehicles will have to be actively charging at the station on campus or they will get a ticket, and they can stay charging in the station for up to four hours per parking session.

Electric vehicle charging symbols will be painted in the designated parking spots this spring.

4

Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Xaverian Weekly

2019 Class Presidents Interview Sarah Comandante and Carl Miller discuss the legacy project Bowen Assman Co-Editor-in-Chief Bowen Assman interviewed Sarah Comandante and Carl Miller on January 24, 2019. *** BA: Can you explain to me what the bursary is and how much money is involved in it as of right now?

SC: The emergency mental health fund is essentially a bursary that can be accessible to students in every year concerning mental health problems or mental health difficulties. It’s going to be distributed under the purview of the Health and Counseling Center. This isn’t going to be a bursary that people apply for and we’re trying to eliminate that third party in there because one of the biggest problems with mental health is breaking down that stigma. For a lot of people just applying for something to say, “I’m having a hard time” is something that’s going to deter them from even wanting to go and get help. This is something that the psychologists, the doctors and the nurses can distribute as they see fit within the Health and Counseling Center.

The bursary is intentionally very open-ended, and we purposefully did not put strict stipulations on it so that it has the potential to reach as many students as possible. We’re kind of using the same examples.

They’re very arbitrary but it could range from someone who is having a really hard time and isn’t able to work so they’re having to take some time off of work and this money is giving them a grocery card because they’re not able to pay for their groceries right now or if someone experiences a death in the family and needs to fly home, it could potentially cover the cost of a flight. It’s something that we’re really trying to make very open-ended. We got off to a bit of a slow start around X Ring and the Day of Giving but just in the past week and a half we’ve gotten some pretty substantial private donors and we’re speaking to all of the local businesses in town, as well as Bell Alliant, so I don’t have a number right now because there’s so much in limbo.

BA: How will the Health and Counseling Center distribute money?

CM: Yeah, so it is tough because you say, “What is mental health?” With an emergency fund, people immediately think, oh it is for counselling or therapy sessions. What it is intended for is, let’s say you broke your leg, or something really serious happened physically, ok, we have resources for that. If somebody dies in your family or you get into a really tough situation

which you know everybody does, this isn’t going to fix it but it could be one more support for people who find themselves in a situation where it’s just not going to work. If income is limited in a specific time span or something you know personal happens and they just need a hand, the councilors will have access to that funding.

SC: The money is going to go into an endowment fund, and it is going to be paid out on the interest rate. The money that’s going to be given to the Counseling Center every year is going to be the fixed amount from the interest coming out of that endowment fund, and that will be the money that they can work with for the year. Essentially, they can use it on one student or they can use it on ten. If there is a rollover from year to year, then maybe the next year will have some more money.

The intent is that all the money going in right now is going to go into that endowment fund and the money coming off annually is going to be from that interest rate so that the bursary is sustainable for itself.

BA: And you don’t have to specifically ask for it? Is it given out?

SC: It’s a tricky thing that when we were discussing the terms and conditions with the Health and Counselling Center, one of the hardest things was how do we assess who to give this money to and we kind of came to the conclusion that physicians and psychiatrists and psychologists are going to be the people that are going to be best able to assess the need of individuals and so we’re hoping that by people knowing that this is a potential support for them, it can also encourage people to go get some help and to go in there. We don’t know yet if it’s going to be people going in and saying that they think they need help, but a lot of times, things that get disclosed in counseling sessions can be a trigger for a counselor to say maybe this is something where I could help make this person’s life easier. It is tricky because you really have to be careful that people aren’t going to go in and ask for this money and take advantage of it. But because it’s not going to be done by an application basis, it’s not like anyone can write themselves up a story.

BA: It’s kind of tough to balance?

CM: Yes, it is broad enough but not enough to abuse it.

SC: Yeah, this was really the best way that we could find that it was going to be distributed appropriately under these professionals. If you had a committee for bursaries and scholarships where there’s a committee of people who decide who gets what, we didn’t think it would

be appropriate to have people have to disclose personal details of their life and then who are those people on the committee to decide whether or not they deserve the money right?

BA: Yes, so why the focus on mental health, especially in 2019 today?

SC: Over our last four years at least here, I think we really spoke about how this campus has seen a lot of change. There’s been a lot of major events that have happened here, and we wanted this legacy project for the class of 2019 to be something that really encompassed what we’ve experienced.

Breaking the stigma around mental health as well as sexual violence has been a huge thing that’s plagued our class. We wanted to find a way to kind of bring those two things together and really work towards it, because as much as there are a lot of efforts towards breaking down the stigma of mental health, it’s something that is constantly prevalent and no matter what everyone has mental health and everyone will experience a mental health problem in their life whether or not that be a mental illness but that is how statistics are shown. If it’s not you, it’s your roommate or it’s your best friend. It really can be applied to everyone.

CM: Yeah. I think the strong point is if you’re lucky enough to get to university without it happening to you directly, it is happening to one of your friends who have found themselves in a situation where there isn’t really a noticeable change in behavior so you just hope they can kind of tough it out. I think it resonates with a lot of people, if not on the personal scale then definitely somebody close to you.

SC: Yeah, we were talking about for X-Ring is that the idea of students contributing to this bursary is a way for students to directly give to other students and to show their support to other people. So, how much more positively we can affect others when they’re going through something like this is to show that our community is behind them and that money coming from the students is going directly back to the students.

So, it’s a way to keep it within where it matters.

BA: Branching on that, the decision to start the mental health bursary was from whom?

SC: It was from us, we made the idea. There was a lot of just like trying to bounce off ideas and we had a couple ideas for the bursary. This was the way we could meld them all together.

Then, we put out a poll and we put out a form asking, “this is an idea we have right now. Do you support it or not support it or do you have another idea?”

So that was like our best way to grasp it and we had almost unanimously people support it.

We probably got around ten responses of people that had other ideas, but it was like nine out of the ten other ideas were actually for this. It was just that we hadn’t explained the bursary well enough or we weren’t able to explain it well enough in those stages. So, it was kind of a common theme.

CM: Yeah, and I think one of the good things about me and Sarah’s presence is that we had the two perspectives of a student who lives far away and a student who comes from here. I think this was a good center point and something that everyone understands because if not, it’s kind of like focused towards one or the other, but I think this really applies for everybody SC: We found that we wanted to make a bursary for literally everyone because a lot of the scholarships or the bursaries, there is such specific criteria that it’s almost like some groups are just always not able to access it. We were like, how do we make something that has the potential for everybody to actually access?

BA: Last year’s was for refugee students?

SC: Yeah, and that was with WUSC (World University Service of Canada).

BA: Does that one continue on and then this one will continue as well so there’ll be numerous bursaries?

SC: Yeah, so this is the fourth year of the legacy project and it’s basically like they’re all always there. So, the whole point of the endowment is that in 30 years there will be 30 bursaries for 30 different things. This got started by the class presidents I think four years ago and they had the idea of leaving a legacy project. The idea was that you could do a capital project or you can do like a bursary and it’s just happened that all of the classes have found that the bursaries are most successful.

They’re still even fundraising for last year’s bursary. The amount of money that bursary is providing every year is going specifically to that bursary and then when people donate, they can direct their donation. When you go to the StFX website, you can direct it to a certain year’s bursary.

BA: How long are these bursaries expected to last for?

CM: If you take the interest year-by-year it’ll always be there.

SC: The whole goal is to have as much in that endowment fund as possible so that the yearly payout is as high as it possibly can be.

BA: What are your other roles as class presidents?

CM: Right now, that was kind of

the big thing (bursary), that and X-Ring really had been the first semester of, “Whoa, okay let’s get these things under control.” But now, second semester we are really trying to plan some activities for the senior class to come together one last time and meet some new people.

SC: We are having a grad fair, it’s going to happen hopefully at the end of March. We’re working it out with Alumni Affairs right now. We are doing a grad fair that’s going to be just a little thing probably in the McKay room one afternoon and it’ll be things like getting fitted for your gowns, photos, selling tickets and stuff for all the events for the weekend. Another thing we’re working on is the time capsule. All of the classes have a time capsule. We’re going to put it out pretty soon, but we were going to enlist the help of hopefully some seniors to create the physical box because it is a cool artsy project, but we’re both science students so that’s not going to work (laughs). We need people to do that.

We’re also working on developing a digital time capsule where every senior has a chance to put in a 30- second video or some pictures or something of themselves. We’re working on that and the time capsule is like a whole event during Xaverian farewell. We’ve raised some money from first semester from some different events like one-month raffle tickets and X-Ring tickets.

We’re really trying to find ideas for stuff that people would be interested in doing and planning events, but essentially from here on out there will be new senior class presidents in like a month and we will have to help plan grad. Grad is pretty low key compared to X-Ring.

BA: I hear that it is not a big deal (grad).

SC: It’s just that it happens after the fact but there’s some really cool events happening. I had no idea there was like a lobster dinner. They put on a big lobster dinner, as it is hard to get dinner reservations. If we can put some money towards subsidizing the ticket, everyone can go to that and there’s like three nights at the Inn. The last night of grad you stay up all night at the Inn as the party doesn’t even start until late and then they serve breakfast at 4am there. There’s actually a lot of cool events. The hard thing is that it happens after we have all left. The only reason I know this stuff is because I work at the Inn, so we worked grad weekend and it has the potential for a lot of cool stuff.

Anyone interested in donating to this year’s bursary can visit the website stfx.ca/ class0f2019.

Opinions 5

Opinions

Editor: Caleb MacIsaac xw.eic@stfx.ca

We Are Queer and We Will Not Be Silenced I love being a queer at StFX Megan Waddington Contributor When I was in grade school, I was bullied by my peers for being too loud, for wanting to answer the teacher’s questions, for being overly attached to anyone who showed me kindness. When I was seven, my classmate told me I was ‘gay’ for having a close female friend that I spent all my free time at school with. I didn’t understand what the word meant at the time, but the way he said it made me ashamed. I thought I was doing something wrong.

That shame only got worse after my parents explained what it meant and my best friend would kiss me behind closed doors when her parents were home.

When I got to high school, I had a better understanding of what it meant to be gay or lesbian, but everything was selflearned from the stereotypes I saw on TV. My school was in a white and Christian neighbourhood; you never talked about homosexuality unless it was gossip, shame-inducing gossip. I never talked about it, but I thought about my own sexual identity a lot and I was so confused.

On TV, any non-heterosexual character was either strictly gay or lesbian and their relationships always involved sex.

But I wasn’t like that. I knew I liked boys, but I also liked girls, and I had no words to explain who I was or what I was feeling. It is so damning to grow up in a space where the only words that I had to describe myself were ‘unnatural’ and ‘broken’.

It wasn’t until eleventh grade when my understanding expanded again. During a latenight conversation with a friend, I laid out all the frustration I was feeling about my identity crisis and he replied with three words: “Are you bisexual?” That question was a game changer for me.

On one hand, a weight had been lifted off my chest. I finally had a word to explain why my heart would leap out of my chest when the pianist in jazz band would talk to me and why I got flustered whenever my friend asked me to spend the night at her place.

On the other hand, it left one question unsolved and created a new problem. Why did the idea of having to be in a physical relationship scare me so much? What would happen if I came out to my peers and word got back to my dad, a teacher at our school that everybody loved? He always told me liking

Photo: Facebook @StFX girls is okay, but whenever he would talk about my little brother’s friends who didn’t participate in typical ‘boy’ activities, he would always ask me if I thought they were gay with a hint of disgust in his voice. In the end, I graduated high school with a secret known to only four people: one was the girl I had loved for years, and another looked at me with pity every time he saw me holding her hand and comforting her over the last jerk of an ex-boyfriend.

Coming to X has changed my life in more ways than I can express and a lot of that is because of the people I’ve met through X Pride. Here I was at a traditionally Catholic university surrounded by an amazing group of queer peers who were proud and unashamed of who they were.

Their influences goes deeper than most people understand; their pride helped me be open about who I am and love the person I have become, and because of that I came out to my mum and brother, the two most important people in my life.

I love being queer. And I love being a queer at StFX. X Pride has also exposed me to the diversity of the queer community that I had been missing throughout my life.

Through conversations, events, and amazing celebrations such as Pride Month, I learned more about each letter in LGBTQ+ and I got to learn about the sexual and gender identities encompassed by the plus. Not only did I learn about the diverse identities in this community, but I also learned that each person had a different experience and these experiences shaped how they viewed their identity.

I thought about myself, my

history, my aversions and desires, and I asked questions. In 2019, I wake up every morning proud to be a panromantic, asexual woman who is a part of one of the strongest, most loving, and more diverse communities at StFX. In June 1990, an organization called Queer Nation circulated a pamphlet at the New York City Pride Parade title “Queers Read This.” There’s one line from it that encompasses where I am now in my life and how important the diversity in the queer community is: “You’re immeasurably valuable, because unless you start believing that, it can easily be taken from you.” Each person finds value in themselves in different ways, but these different ways are all expressed through the language and labels we use.

Language has a special meaning in the queer community. As X Pride president Robert Chatterton said recently, “language has significance within our community and labels are what help us identify who we are and how we can celebrate our differences.” To someone who is cisgender and heterosexual, these differences aren’t obvious and they can be confusing. Trust me, they can even be confusing for queers.

But this is why we ask questions, so we can better understand the people around us and avoid misgendering and making assumptions about the people we encounter on a day-today basis. In the queer community, we are all different people coming from different backgrounds, with different fears and aspirations. One common aspiration is that we be heard and accepted by the people around us.

Recently in StFX politics, Students Union presidential

candidate Cecil VanBuskirk stood up and talked about the positives of queer label erasure, stating that the way to solve LGBTQ+ issues on campus is to do away with labels entirely. To a cisgender heterosexual man, queer label erasure may look like a way to end discrimination. As a queer woman, I am not afraid to call this what it is. Whatever his intentions may have been, candidate VanBuskirk’s remarks present “oppression in its politest form” (Chatterton).

In a Facebook post to X Pride, Chatterton states that “the removal of labels only masks the oppression that has been faced by marginalized communities for centuries.”

The last thirty years have been an incredibly powerful time for the queer community. After the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s that claimed tens of millions of lives, the queer community came together in solidarity of the brothers and sisters they lost to a disease that was perpetuated by the Reagan and H. W. Bush administrations in the United States. They did more than fight for the acknowledgment of the epidemic facing their community; the 1980s also represented a time when the queer community reclaimed the names thrown at them by homophobes for centuries.

Queer, lesbian, and gay were no longer words to shame people acting outside the gender and sexuality norms; instead, they became the labels used to proudly identify a community of fighters.

As a collective, we are queer.

As individuals, we are gay. We are lesbians. We are bisexual.

We are pansexual. We are transgender men and women.

We are non-binary. We are aromantic. We are asexual. We are intersex. We are two-spirit. We

are all different people with different experiences and identities, and when we come together we are fierce and we are proud and we will not be silenced. Our labels reveal our diversity, but our diversity makes us stronger, and any attempt to silence us will be met with a pride that we have because of the sacrifices made by the millions of members of our community that came before us and created a space for us to exist.

I have spent too many years ashamed of who I am to let someone tell me that I’m too queer to exist. Discrimination against the queer community is not a result of too many labels, and it cannot be solved through queer label erasure. Discrimination happens because people don’t want to share space with people who are different, who challenge the status quo, and who will not be shamed into submission.

I love being queer. And I love being a queer at StFX. I love being surrounded by a community that accepts my differences. I love living in a community where I am not judged for my labels and am instead celebrated for them. I use my labels to define a part of myself; my labels do not determine my existence.

I am a panromantic asexual woman. I have diagnosed anxiety and depression. I love politics, queer literature, and Star Trek. I love the family I’ve found in X Pride.

I love being queer. And I love being a queer at StFX. A leaflet distributed at pride march in NY published anonymously by Queers in 1990, “Well, yes, “gay” is great. It has its place. But when a lot of lesbians and gay men wake up in the morning we feel angry and disgusted, not gay. So we’ve chosen to call ourselves queer. Using “queer” is a way of reminding us how we are perceived by the rest of the world.”

“It’s a way of telling ourselves we don’t have to be witty and charming people who keep our lives discreet and marginalized in the straight world.

We use queer as gay men loving lesbians and lesbians loving being queer. (…) And when spoken to other gays and lesbians it’s a way of suggesting we close ranks, and forget (temporarily) our individual differences because we face a more insidious common enemy. Yeah, QUEER can be a rough word but it is also a sly and ironic weapon we can steal from the homophobe’s hands and use against him.”

I love being queer at StFX.

6

Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Xaverian Weekly

A Tale as Old as Time The cold hard truth about group projects Ashley Fullerton Staff Writer

One of the inevitable parts of classes is group work. When you don’t have a group project requirement on a syllabus – consider yourself lucky. Here’s the thing – are group projects helpful? Is group work valuable? Based on my own experiences, I’m inclined to say no.

Group work usually results in this situation: you’re put together with three other people you might not be acquainted with. Before the class ends, you’ll rush around finding everyone in your group...you’ll to flag them down before everyone leaves, to get emails or to exchange facebook profiles.

Weeks pass and eventually someone in the group realizes that the presentation date is looming.

Someone must take initia-

tive and start a group chat. You might meet up a couple times, but there’s always one person who doesn’t show up, always with an excuse. See, the thing about group projects is they are just individual projects hastily strung together at the last minute.

You know I’m right – and I’m sure plenty of professors get that vibe as well. It’s stressful to be in a group project when you know that nobody is thinking about the actual group. It’s every person for themselves, and with so many group projects having only one grade (not individual marks), that mentality is a pretty bad one to have.

You meet, awkwardly, with people you barely know, do your part of the presentation (and maybe even someone else’s if you’re unlucky) alone, and the night before one or two members put everything together in hopes that it’ll be a passable final product. During

presentation day, having to rely on each other’s differing public speaking skills can be just as stressful as the work that came before it.

Group projects overall just feel like a waste of time. You’re not really learning any teamwork skills because there isn’t much teamwork involved. The final product is usually inconsistent. PowerPoint presentations are particularly botched in group work; I’ve seen group presentations where it looks like four separate presentations loosely stitched together.

When presentations are cohesive, it’s usually one person who does that extra work to give the work that final, polished touch. Chances are that it is the same person who got everyone together in that group chat!

The experience of being in a group project is radically different if it involves friends. If you can pick your own groups

and you have some friends in the class, group projects will not only be less stressful, but maybe even fun! However, being able to pick your partners in a class where you don’t know people often results in the same situation of professor-organized groups. Often, groups are predetermined, and four total strangers end up with the aforementioned loosely connected PowerPoint presentation. I don’t think that removing group projects from a class would remove anything particularly helpful or necessary.

Taking all of this into account, professors should try and incorporate them into classes as little as possible.

There are certain exceptions to the standard group project outcome. One of the times where I feel like a group project works as intended is when the group is required to do something perfor-

mance-based. Obviously, this is not the kind of project that applies to all classes... but skits and performances can apply to many different subjects and utilizes the group work requirement properly. Clearly, a group performance requires so much more planning and group participation than a PowerPoint, and to perform at even a mediocre level everyone has to be on the same page. So performance group projects?

Absolutely fine. It’s a good way to work on team skills, something that traditional group presentations lack.

Group projects are weird.

Everyone thinks that they did, “the most” for their group, and everyone underestimates how much the other group members did. Maybe this huge imbalance of work and payoff is a sign that group work just isn’t worth the fuss. The less group projects in a class the better, as far as I’m concerned!

tion bylaws or amend them to be fairer to all.

A big issue during the recent Students’ Union president election was slander and attack ads. Candidates in elections can discuss other candidates’ policies, but the election bylaws forbid slandering other slates or candidates. While no candidate should be personally attacked for their platform, candidates should be careful when making accusations of slander if the claims are verifiable and legitimate statements that they’ve made in debates or posts on their campaign page.

Words matter enormously during elections, so it is best for candidates to make well-informed statements before other students, the Students’ Union, or the campus media hold you accountable for them.

Students are also barely engaged with Students’ Union elections, as is evident from the approximately 23% voter turnout for the Students’ Union president elections this year. While many students are aware of elections on campus, most simply don’t care enough to cast a vote until it’s someone they know or unless they already follow campus politics. If this trend continues, Students’ Union elections are likely to follow mainstream politics in which elections become a quasi-popularity contest, instead of having those in power actually represent, in this case, what is in the best interests of StFX students.

Some of the lack of involve-

ment from students may stem from the fact that many don’t know what exactly the Students’ Union does, and how much their advocacy, or lack thereof, affects our everyday experience at StFX. The Students’ Union has taken the initiative to recruit volunteers and students at large to try to inform students about the election and the importance of elected Students’ Union representatives, but the tables they’ve set up are few and fairly easy for students to walk past.

Perhaps investment in a website or providing a file to all voters that outline the duties of all Students’ Union positions along with a brief overview of all the candidates for specific positions during elections could remedy the issue and create a more informed campus.

No electoral system or election is perfect, and the Students’ Union elections are no exception. The Students’ Union should seriously contemplate how to increase student engagement in elections, make sure that their bylaws are inclusive, and make sure the electoral system is easy to understand and access. After all, having election results that reflect the interests of the majority are crucial when the Students’ Union is the primary organization advocating for students on issues with university administration, all levels of government, and other societies.

Does Your Vote Count?

Problems within the Students’ Union elections Melissa Aycock Staff Writer

On Wednesday, January 23, Cecil VanBuskirk was elected as the incoming Students’ Union president with 741 votes.

While VanBuskirk was all smiles cutting cake at the Inn after his victory, his election win may not be an accurate representation of what StFX students want, but rather a representation of the advantages to running for president in a flawed Students’ Union electoral system.

Elections for Students’ Union positions have been plagued over the last couple of years by a multitude of problems. Elections have suffered from low levels of engagement, inability to find candidates for positions like VP Academic, and flaws in the electronic voting system itself.

As the Students’ Union presidential election results become official and elections for other representatives get underway, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate whether the Students’ Union elections are run in a way that ensures the best candidates are elected to some of the most important positions for representing students on campus.

While casting ballots electronically has its problems, such as making sure the Students’ Union elections are equitable, it is one of the few areas of success for the Students’

Union. By having an electronic voting system, they’ve avoided the costs that running a paper ballot system incurs, such as staffing polling booths. While paper ballots are feasible on such a small campus, the Students’ Union’s decision to stick to electronic ballots means that they don’t need to worry about the organizational capabilities they’d need to get students to physical ballot boxes. However, the emails with links to the Students’ Union electronic voting site have been known to get filtered into spam folders and are easily buried under the numerous other emails students receive in one day from the university.

Electronic voting systems can also be susceptible to hacking or electoral fraud, although the Students’ Union voting system claims that “voters who bypass authentication or have already voted are denied access to the ballot.” The Students’ Union should ensure that the way they email students voting links aren’t impeding participation in elections.

Another aspect of the Students’ Union electoral system that may be discouraging, or confusing students, is the ballot itself. The Students’ Union uses a ranked ballot system, except in the case of a single candidate running for a position, in which case students must vote yes or no instead.

This means that if no candidate receives a majority during an election, the candidate with the least amount of first place

votes will be eliminated, and those who voted for the least popular candidate will have their votes reallocated to their second-choice candidates, and so on until a candidate has a plurality.

Given that most students are probably more familiar with first-past-the-post or simple majority ballots, it may be worth sending an explanation of how ranked ballots work during the election season, especially given that there has been confusion over the wording on the ballot instructions in the past.

The Students’ Union has extensive bylaws for when campaigns and nominations can open, but they have been a bit lax on them especially with the presidential election this year. The call for presidential nominations opened two days late, and since nomination deadlines were extended due to a lack of applicants, the candidates were announced three days after the beginning of when campaigning should have started.

Any potential B.Ed. students who wished to run were also at a disadvantage, as their classes started several days after the deadline for nominations, impacting their ability to gather signatures needed for nomination forms. If the Students’ Union truly wants to attract the widest range of candidates and give them the best chance to engage with voters during campaigns, they should make sure they follow their own elec-

Opinions 7

Juul Tones Smokers in the new generation Caleb MacIsaac Opinions Editor E-cigarettes have been around for years now with Juul taking the helm “with the goal to provide a satisfying alternative for adult smokers” according to their website. Are the effects of an e-cigarette that much lower than regular cigarettes? Current research from publications in the England Public Health suggest no, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t risks.

If burn temperatures are increased there is the risk of what is commonly referred to as a dry puff, where the smoke released is harsher than that of a regular puff. The dry puff occurs when the e-cigarettes are placed at maximum power and puffs are set to last approximately 4-5 seconds; it can also occur when liquid levels are low, and the temperature is high. The liquid in the cigarettes when burned at these high temperatures releases formaldehyde which can be dangerous in large quantities.

Seasoned smokers of e-cigarettes know to avoid these harsher puffs, but people who are new to the products may be at risk to inhale.

This is important to note because Juul has become under fire for their targeting of youth, who would have no experience.

From young people in their advertisements, to launch parties, social media influencers, flavoured pods and bright colours, these things are what market advisors claim to be associated with targeting younger people. There has been a surge of new young nicotine smokers and although that cannot be directly connected to Juuls, it appears that they are the most prominent e-cigarette on the market which causes suspicion. The dangers of young people not familiar with smoking these devices is real; though they would come to recognize the difference of a dry puff with practice, they will still inhale dangerous chemicals while learning.

As someone who has never smoked but has lived in multiple households of tobacco

chewers and smokers, I can’t speak to the personal benefit of switching from smoking to vaping. I can, however, say that while there isn’t the same lingering stench and thick smoke that once came with cigarettes, there is a distinct smell that goes beyond the different flavours of e-cigarette liquids. It’s artificial smelling, with something akin to essential oils lining the stale water vapor. It does not promote confidence that these are a healthy alternative. I have also witnessed that while the nicotine quantity can be reduced to minimal quantities (even zero) in some devices, the act of smoking often increases drastically because it appears healthier and more puffs are needed to satisfy the nicotine addiction.

The people who smoke these devices also promote it as an aesthetic, a similar tactic used by the big tobacco brands for years. I’ve had people come up to me saying, “Watch what I can do!” and blow smoke rings.

The difference being that water vapor is longer lasting than the smoke from cigarettes and

it is often used for tricks. Trick competitions have begun and gained sizeable notoriety which only further promotes usage. As we approach the release of shorter long-term studies and we’re seeing early effects of these devices and it is minimal, but it will be years before any conclusive evidence will show what impact these devices have and how we will change our perception of them.

These devices are dangerous in my opinion, because we don’t know the long-term effects of the chemicals used, but we do know the effects of things like nicotine. To boot, watching important people in my life increase their puff count and have it so easily switched to cigarettes when drinking alcohol, does not incite confidence that these products have the intended effect. As a preservice teacher, I do see my students, some as early as 12 years old, smoking e-cigarettes and it breaks my heart. Some parents aren’t phased and say “well, it could be cigarettes” as if that excus-

es the behaviour. Policies have since been implemented banning the devices from schools, but if my youth taught me anything, kids are crafty, and they can always find a work around.

It begs the question of companies like Juul, who are under fire: why don’t they release pods that don’t have any nicotine? That way if kids do manage to get a device, they have the option to be nicotine free.

The war on drugs was not an effective tool in substance management and educating kids with limited research won’t have the same result to inform, so why not educate them on the substances we are familiar with such as nicotine. By offering them this information, any young people who are smoking can make an informed decision on what they put in their bodies.

From what I have seen, when e-cigarettes are used with the intended purpose and are monitored by users, then they are effective tools to reduce the damages of smoking. I don’t like them, but they are the lesser of two evils.

Moose Hide Campaign End violence against women and children Yanik Gallie Co-Editor-in-Chief

The Moose Hide Campaign (MHC) is a movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys who are taking a stand to end violence against women and children. The campaign is not limited to men and boys, women and girls are encouraged to wear the moose hide and take roles in the campaign like ceremonial witnesses for events, keynote speakers, and cultural leaders and advisors.

MHC was started by Paul Lacerte and his daughter Raven in 2011.

Lacerte is from Cariboo Clan and the Carrier Nation.

There are many avenues to participate in the campaign. Wearing a square pin made of leather or non-leather is an option. The Xaverian Weekly will provide pins (leather or non-leather), information about the campaign, and other resources about local services in the newsroom (Room 111D, SUB) each Friday of February from 11am2pm.

All moose hide squares come from traditional hunters who hunt moose for food and ceremonial purposes, or from animals who have died in road accidents. No animals are hunted specifically to supply hides for the Moose Hide Campaign.

The patches are produced with care by Indigenous women who are deeply committed to the protection of women and children and who value the living origins of the patches. Making the patches provides a valuable source of income for the women involved.

Another avenue for participation is the day of fasting and gathering on February 13, 2019. MHC provides a fasting guide for people who are new to the traditional practice. The guide is available in The Xaverian Weekly newsroom where the day’s events on February 13 will be livestreamed. If unable to participate in person, MHC has an online “Pledge Now” button that records a short 45 second video with phone, laptop or tablet. Photos and messages are also accepted as alternatives to video.

JOIN US AND TAKE A STAND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN “By speaking out, attending events, and wearing our Moose Hide patches, we become part of the solution.”

– The Hon. Scott Fraser, B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

About the Moose Hide Campaign The Moose Hide campaign is a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and boys who are standing up to end violence against women and children. It began in 2011 along the ‘Highway of Tears’ in British Columbia, where so many Indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered.

Wearing the Moose Hide pin signifies your commitment to honour, respect, and protect the women and children in your life and speak out against domestic and gender-based violence.

The campaign is founded on challenging men and boys to fast as a way to take a stand against violence. However, everyone is encouraged to join in the fasts and participate in all MHC activities.

Since 2011, over one million Moose Hide pins have been distributed with over 1,000 participating communities and organizations.

We have a vision of one million Canadians fasting together in ceremony to end violence against women and children.

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 DAY OF FASTING AND GATHERING Register online now!

8

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Features

The Xaverian Weekly

Editor: Lewis MacLeod xw.eic@stfx.ca

The Straight One Short story Natashia Gushue Contributor

There is something eerie yet peaceful about cemeteries. Especially on a day like today. The air is crisp, and the leaves have started to turn colour like the ripening of an apple. The light is bouncing off the polished gravestones, and of course, my friend’s laughter is tickling my ears. I wonder if dead people throw parties? Do they mind having us on their graves? Do we have some ghosts just chilling beside us? I couldn’t tell ya, but I like to think so.

I plop myself down on the blanket, immediately there’s dirt on my jeans.

“What’d I miss?” I ask.

“We’re talking about our coming out stories.” Ruth says with a mouthful of rainbow chocolate chip cookies.

They talk the way the wind blows, around me but not necessarily to me. Ruth goes on about how coming out is a continual constant. You never stop doing it. She’s still in the process of telling her family she’s pan. Before you make the joke, no pansexual doesn’t mean she’s attracted to pans it means she’s attracted to anyone, gender is thrown entirely out the window. She doesn’t admit it, but I totally think she likes women and non-binary people more than men. But, don’t tell her I said that.

“Aw fuck!” Alice drops a cube of cheese on the ground.

She’s bi, not the same as pan but similar and, as she loves to tell everyone, she’s our local raging feminist. My ears twitch right in time to hear Alice say the most badass sentence, “I’m not straight enough for the straights or gay enough for the gays. I’m 100% gay and 100% straight.” Seriously Alice. Put that on a t-shirt.

“Yass Queen, preach!”

There he is. My favourite guy, Sean. If you couldn’t tell from the “Yass Queen,” Sean’s gay. He’s sugar in black coffee. Sweet, yet strong and a total teddy bear.

Then there’s me, Kali, the straight one. I adore these people. They are the embodiment of pure sunshine. They get pushed behind dark clouds and have to fight through leaves, but they always manage to shine.

I wouldn’t say the same about me.

“Helloooo, Kali. You still with us?” Alice snaps me back to earth.

“Yeah, yeah. what were you saying?”

“Remember we’re going out tonight. Meet at 7, our place.” Sean pipes up.

“Gotcha. I’ll be there. I’m not square.” I say with a wink and some major finger guns.

It looks like the Tasmanian Devil just tore through my room. Slashes of red sequins, denim skirts, heavy wool, and black dresses are in every nook and cranny. There is nothing in my closet to wear. I know that sounds like the most melodramatic, stereotypical girl thing to say, but I mean it. Every sleeveless top shows the inflamed pimples on my shoulders. Every skirt makes my thighs look like jiggly tree trunks.

Every crop top makes me look like a bloated pregnant woman. It’s horrifying. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that bowl of cereal this morning. I see the scale in the corner, it’s begging me to step on just to laugh at me with the number. Just the thought of that number makes my stomach clench so much that a little vomit crawls up the back of my throat.

I have to put something on, seriously, I can’t go out in my bra and underwear. That would be even worse. I go full Narnia and find a black halter top and a green button-up skirt in the back of my closet. It’s good enough.

I make my way to the bathroom even though it feels like I’m walking through tar. I look in the mirror, and all I see is an ugly, worthless girl, who doesn’t fit in anywhere. My nose is huge and round, and my cheeks are like chipmunks. I open my makeup bag and pick up my foundation brush. I start painting my skin, making it even. Mixing and blending colour after colour around my eyes, adding glitter, making their blueness pop. It’s like getting lost in living art. I contour out the hollows of my cheeks and the sides of my nose. I’m creating a miracle on my face. My nose is slim and cheeks defined. I love that about makeup, I can look however I want. Manipulate whatever I want. I finally get to be pretty. I lean in close to the mirror and apply the final touch. I carefully swipe on a terracotta red lipstick. I don’t like much about my face but, I can at least say, I have very sexy lips.

I rush out the door and into what appears to be a light show. The sun is setting, and the sky is a wash of rosy pinks and vibrant oranges. I love this time of day. Right when the day begins to turn night, almost as if the world is switching persona just like the rest of us. My heels click on the hard pavement. I can already feel my feet getting sore around the toes. This might be a very long night. I stand to wait for the walk symbol to come on and spot a cute guy on the other side of the road. Long hair, tight shirt, very Jim Morrison and totally my type. I make a mental note to find him in the club later. I finally cross the street and walk a little further and get to my friend’s front door. I just go in, there’s no need to knock. The house is a bundle of energy. Sean is in the kitchen mixing what appears to be Malibu and Coke. Ruth is fussing about the music, “Shut up and Dance” by Walk the Moon is bumping away.

“Has anyone seen my other earring?” Alice calls out while coming down the stairs.

“Did you check the bathroom?” Sean yells back.

“Oh, hey Kali. Yeah, Sean, I checked there.”

Holy shit. Alice looks great. She’s in a skintight, sky-blue dress. It shows every curve, from her rounded shoulders to her firm thighs. She’s like the Goddess Venus just stepped out of a painting, round and soft. Wait, what am I thinking? I’ve never had such a thought about a girl, sure as hell not Alice. I think I need a drink.

We pregame hard. The drinks are flowing almost as much as the laughter is. Sean keeps bringing us drink after drink. I swear that boy thinks he’s a professional bartender. We’re up dancing on the couches, the room is swirling with pure, unadulterated joy. I don’t know how the club could be any better than this.

“We should get going if we want to get in, it’s getting late,” Ruth says. I look at my phone, it’s 11:30. The time has just slipped away, I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun. We stuff some money and our ID’s into our bras and head out the door. The club is literally a block away, so I won’t bore you with the details of the walk. Long story short, we giggled a lot and stumbled even more.

The club is going ham. The music is blaring, the bass is going like a hammer pounding a nail. “Anyone want shots?” I scream over the music, but my friends can barely hear me. They all throw their hands in the air which I guess means yes. The bar is swarming with people. Sean goes to the bar, throws some hardcore elbows and manages to get through while the rest of us go grab a table. I look out at the dance floor and it’s just a sea of people. I bet if there wasn’t any music, they wouldn’t look like they were dancing and look more like skankily dressed potatoes fighting.

A few minutes later Sean comes over with four hot pink shots. Leave it to Sean to be utterly extra and utterly predictable. I count down “One, two, three, GO!” We all down our shots and immediately get twisted expressions on our faces. That was like biting into a lemon. Ruth shoots up, grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor. Everyone else follows suit, and we join the mass of fighting potatoes. Something catches my eye. It’s Alice’s hair. It’s shining as the strobe lights pass over and bounce along with the beat of the music, just like Alice. Something is pulling me closer and closer to her. I’m all of a sudden stone cold sober. I just so badly want to be near her. She’s smiling, and it’s radiant. My heart’s pounding and our eyes meet. I just go for it. I kiss her. She kisses me back. The music fades into the background. The whole world seems to stand still. Her lips are soft and tender, and she kinda tastes like cherries. It feels so right. Then boom; it hits me like a brick wall. I pull away. Everything floods back. The music is deafening. I look around at my friends, and they’re dumbfounded. They look like someone just killed a cat in front of them or something. My heart’s racing and not in a good way. My hands are shaking like a baby’s rattle, and my breath is stuck in my lungs. I have to get out of here. I can’t stay. I need out. Then I’m running. Running. I’m freezing to death and burning alive at the same time. The streets become a blur, and somehow, I’m home.

I’m standing in front of my mirror and still shaking beyond belief. Get a hold of yourself, Kali. Don’t be such a wimp. I splash cold water on my face. I don’t recognize the girl staring back. Her face is dripping with black mascara. Her lipstick is smeared at the edges. I reach for my makeup wipes, slowly pulling one out of the container. Breathing heavy I rub at my eye, it stings a bit. Then I do the other eye and finally my lips. Barefaced with slightly stained lips I see myself. For the first time, I really see myself. My breathing has slowed down, and I’m still. Really still. But, I’m the straight one. I can’t be… I… maybe I’m not so different after all. Maybe.… maybe. Am I gay?

Features 9

Juul Tokes by Lady Justice It’s healthy to take a break Caleb MacIsaac Opinions Editor

StFX Shows Their Pride What I love about being queer X-Pride Contributors

10

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Arts & Community

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

A New Approach to Mental Health Flourish @ X Keegan McNeight Staff Writer When the discipline of psychology began, it was much closer to philosophy than a hard science. Early critics of the field stressed the importance of objectivity, for psychology to ever be taken seriously as a science. Of course, this was a positive change in many ways, as understanding the human mind requires rigorous and replicable study. Yet, there is something profound in the writings of the psychological pioneers like Carl Jung, Abraham

Maslow and Viktor Frankl. It is worth questioning where the old approach to psychology may have had merit, and whether anything is being overlooked in the current approach.

In many ways, the relatively new subfield of psychology, Positive Psychology returns to the disciplines roots while maintaining scientific rigor.

Though much of modern psychology is focused on retroactively treating those with mental illnesses and disorders, Positive Psychology takes a proactive approach to mental well-being. The study is concerned with identifying what it

Photo: Facebook @Flourish @ X

takes to lead a happy and fulfilled life.

In recent years, some universities across Canada have initiated programs which apply the findings of Positive Psychology to help the general student population maintain mental well-being. Now, StFX has launched a new concept which follows in that spirit. So, I sat down with Ivan Drouin, clinical psychologist here at StFX, to get the low-down about his exciting new project on campus this semester.

The program is called Flourish @ X, and it’s a large-scale approach to self-actualization.

It is made up of a variety of events, workshops and informative talks - for students, for free. In Ivan’s words, “Just like we try to have activities to promote a good physical health, we’re trying to now have activities on campus to promote a good mental health.” Currently, the first of many workshops for Flourish @ X are underway focused on mindfulness, stress, and procrastination management. Anyone interested should not delay!

At the core of Flourish @ X is a Positive Psychology literature review of world philosophies and religions which has de-

Photo: Facebook @Flourish @ X scribed 6 “cardinal virtues,” comprised of 24-character strengths which span cross-culturally, and which have direct impact on one’s happiness.

Flourish @ X is aimed at helping students identify and develop these character strengths within themselves.

As mentioned previously, workshops are only one small piece to Flourish @ X. In addition, there will be Ted Talk style presentations by students, for students, meeting on the second floor of Mini Moe’s cafe.

Ivan elaborates, “That’s kind of the basic of the flourishing program, offering exercises, workshops and events, to promote a better mental health for the students.”

These talks will take place on Tuesdays from five to six o’clock, on February 5, March 5,

and April 2. Conversations will revolve around three main topics as of now: 1) Healthy lifestyles, 2) Healthy relationships and 3) Success at X. Presenters will be current students and recent graduates. Anyone interested in giving a talk is encouraged to contact Ivan Druin at idrouin@stfx.ca with a short, half page summary of what they would like to speak about.

Flourish @ X is in practice, but it is still developing. Down the road there may be other offerings like a collective art project, among other things. Ivan recommends that those interested visit the Facebook page, Flourish at StFX, and drop-in on an upcoming workshop.

Dates for which include: January 31, February 7 and 14 from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in Bloomfield 427.

Where’s Our Flag?

It’s time for StFX to permanently install the Pride flag & the Pan-African flag Salome Barker Arts & Community Editor Back in September of 2015 StFX permanently installed the Mi’kmaq flag, which was long overdue. This land was and still is the traditional homeland of the Mi’kmaq people. StFX made the move forward for helping the process of reconciliation and indigenizing this campus with this act.

On January 7, 2019 the pride flag was raised outside of Morrison hall to celebrate the beginning of pride month here at StFX. It was a very blustery cold day, but still people showed up to show their support and celebrate diversity. Alongside the pride flag sits, the Mi’kmaq, Nova Scotia, and Canadian flag.

All of which are permanently installed. I think we can all agree that it’s time for StFX to permanently install the pride flag and Pan-African flag here on campus.

Bre O’Handley is the Gender and Sexual Diversity Advisor here at StFX. O’Handley is such an important figure on this campus and works tirelessly to

make a positive difference on this campus, this university is lucky to have her working here.

I asked O’Handley about the pride flag being permanently installed and what it would mean to the LGBTQ+ here on campus and she had this to say, “In the case of the flag at StFX, now that the Mi’kmaq flag is permanently installed, I definitely think the flag flown during African Heritage month should be permanently installed next as StFX has a long history of oppression with those communities. If StFX chose to fly the three flags (including the Pride flag), this would be a sign of respect and support for these communities which still experience discrimination. Flying the pride flag would indicate to students within the LGBTQ+ community that StFX is a space for them and that StFX as an institution acknowledges their presence on campus and welcomes them here. It’s really simple yet a powerful way that StFX can work towards being a more inclusive and welcoming campus to students who have historically been marginalized on cam-

pus.”

O’Handley made a very important point in her statement, the flag flown during African Heritage month should also be permanently installed.

February 1 will mark the beginning of African heritage month here at StFX, in which the Pan-African flag will also be raised for the month. I spoke with Summer-joy Upshaw, who is the Representative of Student of African Descent and asked her the similar question of why the Pan-African flag needs to be permanently installed at StFX. “The importance of representation across our campus lies solely in the diversity of the people we represent. Being situated on a campus that is the home to many diverse backgrounds and cultures means that it is important to devote the utmost effort into accurately representing these cultures in an equitable and prosperous way.”

“The celebration of any group of individuals holds such a powerful impact that can only strengthen bonds of solidarity amongst social and cultural groups. Given that we are expe-

riencing a time of extreme advocacy, on the behalf of many marginalized, stigmatized and oppressed groups, it only seems appropriate that our campus do its due diligence and continue creating an inclusive and culturally enriched environment for all that study here. The installment of a Pan-African flag holds extreme importance to me as I, myself, self-identify as African-Nova Scotian. Being the Representative for Students of African Descent on this campus, I witness many instances of injustice that still continue to affect our people.”

“I find it extremely crucial to continue advocating on behalf of my constituents, as equitable outcomes for all, on all planes, is a basic human right. With the installment of a Pan-African flag comes triumph and satisfaction. This flag not only symbolizes the great obstacles that our people have overcome, but it also gives acknowledgement to the point that regardless of the hardships we have been faced as a people, we have overcome it, and for that, we are resilient. The Pan-African flag is an emblem of strength and

courage and deserves nothing more than to be flown high above our campus grounds in recognition of all of our African peoples.”

This institution prides itself and always expressed how it’s a very inclusive campus and a positive space for everyone no matter their race, sexuality, gender or religion. It does not take much to install these flags, but what they mean to the individuals that identity with these flags means everything.

It does not matter how much the university advertise words about inclusivity, words do not mean anything if no action is taken. University is hard, no matter what year of study you are in, or what one’s program is.

The last thing that anyone would want to feel is not supported or the feeling of not being welcome. These flags represent parts of people identities, and how far they’ve had to come in life to get where they are today.

It’s 2019 and it’s time for StFX to make room for the Pride flag and the Pan-African flag outside of Morrison hall permanently.

Arts & Community

11

Karen Nembhard Interview Co-coordinator of B.L.A.C.C. invites students to get involved with their society Yanik Gallie Co-Editor-in-Chief Karen Nembhard was interviewed by Yanik Gallie on January 25, 2019.

Nembhard is a fourth-year international student who is pursuing a B.A. in Psychology (Concentration in Forensic Psychology) and a minor in Development Studies. Nembhard is one of the coordinators for the B.L.A.C.C. Students Society. Nembhard is passionate about social justice issues. She believes it is important that we all consider the role we play in making our university a more equitable social environment to live, learn and work. *** YG: Tell me about yourself and your philosophy as a leader.

KN: I am in my fourth-year major in Forensic Psychology concentration as well as a minor in Development Studies. I do as many courses on Women and Gender as possible because my area of interest is social justice.

I’m super passionate about it. I love seeing people do the work to get to a more equitable society. It’s very important and valuable work. Hopefully we get to a day where we don’t have to do that anymore, but for right now it’s good to be aware of it. That ties into my philosophy. As a leader, it’s about improving the conditions and understanding that words like diversity, inclusion, and equality have become buzzwords. We have to be realistic and set goals that are attainable. I believe in equity. Saying we’re equal and the same denies me of my individuality and experience as well as another person who might have a physical disability or be from the LGBTQ+ communities. I think we need to allow people to be individuals by seeing them as full people and

helping them in that way.

YG: What have been successes and challenges of your society?

KN: The successes are that we were able to get this thing off the ground and have people come out and like it, support it, and have a good time as well as having tough conversations sometimes. Tough conversations are required for growth.

The process of growing isn’t easy, there can growing pains; In anything, they’re inevitable. I would say challenges would be that we tried to have a B.L.A.C.C. society of some sort a few years ago and it didn’t really work out because not everyone felt like they were being included and represented in the way they wanted to be. Meaning, there is a lot of diversity within the African descent society. I’m of African descent, but I’m from the Caribbean. My experience will not be the same as someone who’s of African descent from Canada. If you’re African as opposed to African descent, there are also differences. I would say it has been a little bit challenging to really deal with and showcase that. A lot of the time when you look at someone of color, you just kind of tag past it. When you describe someone of color, it tends to be “Oh, I know that person’s Black.” If I am a person of dark skin, but I am from an African country I might not view the world as a Canadian would.

From the outside, we’re seen as one. If I am of African descent and do something bad like having a bad conversation with a police officer and everyone gets painted in the same light, that’s not fair to our community. We don’t get to have the same individuality as everyone else.

There is a lot more diversity within cultures, but we tend to focus on “Well, we have some Black people in this picture,” “Asians in this picture,” and

“LGBTQ+ people in this picture” but there are so many layers beyond that which we don’t look at. It has a been a challenge in terms of getting people to understand and acknowledge that. At the same time, there is strength in numbers. It’s better to be seen as a community for certain efforts. If you’re rallying for something like a representative of the Students’ Union, we want to do that and hold onto our individual identities.

YG: Describe your vision for the society’s future.

KN: My vision is increasing in its reach. By reach, I mean not just StFX but reaching out to students at Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University because there is more strength in greater numbers. I want for it to always remain true in that the first and foremost important thing is to be a safe space for students of color and to be representative of the diversity within the community. I definitely want it to be an advocacy platform too.

The name of the society is pronounced “Black” but it’s spelt B.L.A.C.C. and “B” is biracial, “L” is the Latin community, “A” is African, “C” is Canadian, and the other “C” is Caribbean because they are the different backgrounds and cultures that we come from. I’m sure we can add way more letters because it can be more diverse. I think it should stay true to being diverse and hopefully it will be a place where people go to for help and resources. I hope it can improve the race relations at StFX and improve people’s understanding of diversity and those buzzwords by creating a real meaning for them. It’s one thing to say, “We’re diverse and working on being diverse,” but people just don’t get up and go.

Antigonish is a predominately white community. Saying to somebody from Antigonish,

“Hey, you should be more diverse.” How? You just stop at saying it should. People could use some help in understanding what that means.

YG: How is Agnes Calliste’s vision and pathway here at StFX meaningful to your society?

KN: It’s badass. She was the first person to create the African Student Descent office that Kelsey Jones occupies. I think that was the first step in creating a safe space for students of color who attend StFX because they have someone that I can go to for advice or help in a particular area. Even our society now relies on that office a lot. For students who might not be aware of what the office does, we try to connect students. If you’re a student of African descent and you need help or you’re facing a particular issue on campus, B.L.A.C.C. might not have all the answers because we’re students but you can go to the office to get more help. That office is instrumental and very important. I think we need to pay attention to the work that’s being done there.

Calliste did that years ago, and here we are now being grateful for it. It’s important to value that moment and the things that have come since. I think she’s an inspirational badass.

YG: Do you think the Pan-African flag should be permanently installed on campus?

KN: Absolutely. I’m not Black for a month. I’m Black 365 days a year. If it’s a leap year, add an extra day (chuckles). I think it should be there at all times as a symbol that this university is committed to working towards better relations on that front.

I’m not saying they aren’t, they definitely have made improvements, and I support and salute changes that are made outside of the Black community like the Indigenous and Pride communities. They’re not mutually ex-

clusive, because the system of oppression doesn’t decide, “I’m only going to work against this group.” It’s shared. I think raising the flag is a perfect next step for the university. The flag is a symbol that the university is committed. It’s not just let’s do this for a month. We’re Black students for the entire time we’re here and the rest of our lives. It would serve as a reminder. Let’s say we put up a flag. We can’t say that everything’s great now; The flag should be a reminder of more work to do.

YG: What is your message to students about your society?

KN: I know that some students think I’m not necessarily Black, I would want to know more, and I don’t know if I can participate. You absolutely can. We’ll add another “A” for allyship to the name. I think it’s important to have more voices looking at these issues and learning about culture. The general StFX community consumes Black music, culture, and art. How cool would it be to learn more about it appropriately? It’s one of the best spaces on campus to come, ask questions, and learn. We’re open to all students who want to join our society.

Photo: Tega Sefia

12

Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Xaverian Weekly

St. Ninian’s Development and Revival Nine saints await restoration to former glory Douglass Hook Staff Writer In five years, St Ninian’s Cathedral will reach the venerable age of 150 years old. In that time, the cathedral has seen many changes; renovations, resto- 1901 rations, and additions. For that 150th anniversary, retired StFX Photo Source: Ernst Schuegraf computer science professor, light and painted the twelve Ernst Schuegraf, is hoping that apostles (plus St. John the Bapthe most recent restoration will tist and St. Cecilia) down the be finished in time. Schuegraf is length of the main space, the a passionate advocate for the nave, ensconcing them in paintreturn of the work of the origi- ed faux-stonework niches, and nal artist, Ozias Leduc, a laud- painted shadows and highlights ed Québecois artist, whose into the faux stone niches as if work in St Ninian’s has been light from the apse was pouring altered, covered over, and al- in at early morning. Originally, most forgotten even in the time each of the niches were conbefore his death 1955. Schuegraf nected to each other with elabhas been deeply involved in the orate lines of faux stonework research, restoration advocacy, painting, but this was all paintand funding drives in hopes ed over and forgotten sometime that the public will be able to after the 1930s. see the illustrious artwork of Leduc in time for the anniversary.

Though lauded and celebrated in Québec, where his skill can still be seen in a number of Catholic churches across the province, Leduc’s work at St Ninian’s is only now being restored to some of its former glo- Photo Source: Ernst Schuegraf ry. When originally completed, the cathedral had a rear, The cathedral is the result of semi-circular space with a large a move of the diocese from stain glass window, the apse, Arichat to Antigonish. Built to which poured light into the improve a smaller church on length of the cathedral. Leduc main street, of which only the utilised this central source of cemetery still remains, which

st

1934 Photo Source: Ernst Schuegraf can be found behind the gas station and the Royal Canadian Legion building. The men of the time were expected by the bishop to provide one day of unpaid labour a week to help build, move, and quarry limestone and sandstone from North Grant. The unpaid labour was in addition to the charge of 89¢ a head, no small fee in the 1860s, levied on the parishioners to help pay for the cathedral. The cathedral still retains some of the hidden mementoes of Antigonish’s important maritime past; the church rests on timbers salvaged from a shipwreck at the time of construction, and the glass prisms that directed light into the lower decks of the ship are still in place directing sunlight into crawlspaces below the cathedral. Even with some attempts to control costs the diocese was left in debt to the tune of $40 000 (more than a million dollars in 2019), including the efforts made to move the fledgling university to Antigonish from Cape Breton. The cathedral also boasts the original organ that was installed during

in town, Leduc painted a number of landscapes and portraits, some of which can still be seen around the university. However, much of his artwork has been painted over, destroyed or, like his works in Xavier Hall, lost 1973 during renovations in the 1930s and 1950s, the niches and the Photo Source: Ernst Schuegraf apostles were completely paintits construction, a manual or- ed over, only now to be painsgan than Father Donald Mac- takingly restored. A large paintGillivray says is of such quality ing over the altar of God that “it will last another 500 carrying a book inscribed with years.” Once St. Ninian’s was the alpha and omega symbols, completed it was the largest has been so badly painted over stone building east of Montréal that only the beard remains and for some time and a good exam- the cost to restore the rest is ple of Romanesque architec- staggering, and no less made ture, which was rather in vogue worse by steam leaks, moisture, across North America and and soot damage from decades Western Europe. past.

Finished and consecrated in The work of raising money 1874, it would be almost 30 years to restore the cathedral is conbefore the interior would be siderable. The annual repairs to Leduc would be hired to paint the church and a 2012 settlethe nave, the ceiling, and the ment to victims of former Nova stations of the cross.

Scotia priest, Hugh Vincent MacDonald, have left the Diocese with few available resources to restore the saints, each with a $20 000 price tag. It has only been through the generosity of the parishioners of St. Ninian’s that Father Donald Photo Source: Ernst Schuegraf MacGillivray and Ersnt Schuegraf have been able to restore Although some of his art- five of the fourteen saints to the work would have been painted original glory of Ozias Leduc. in Montréal on canvas and Anyone interested in learntransported to Antigonish (to ing about St. Ninian’s cathedral be glued into placed in a pro- or donating to restoration efcess called merouflage), while forts can visit saintninian.ca.

Distractions

Distractions

Editor: Kenneth Doiron xw.eic@stfx.ca

Game of Squares

- 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.

13

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

Corrina Degen

“You’re planting little seeds each time, and they’ll blossom at some point.”

Kelsey Fahie

“Every moment can become the best moment of your life, cherish these moments, enjoy the X life.”

Kwame Osei

“Once you’re away you realize how much you miss it. #STFX helped to shape me into the person that I am today and I am forever grateful for the time that I had at my alma mater #Xfamily #alwaysX #myhome.”

Maggie MacDonnell

“I’ve been out of uni for 9 months now and spell a word wrong in every Instagram story I make.”

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 towards your X-Ring. The monthly winner can pick up their prize at the StFX Store in the basement of Bloomfield Centre.

X-Rings in a Jar Ballot

Prediction: Name: Student Email:

Submit your ballot to our office or newsroom in the basement of Bloomfield Centre, Rooms 111D & 111E.

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

14

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Sports & Health

The Xaverian Weekly

Editor: Kathleen Haggarty xw.eic@stfx.ca

StFX Swim Team Making waves in 2019 Evan Davison-Kotler News Editor For the first time in their history, the StFX Swim Team has fundraised to hire a dedicated, professional coach. I sat down with Craig MacFarlane, swim team coach, and Tyler Thorne, Swim Team president, to discuss their newly found partnership, and their aspirations for the future of the team. *** EDK: Thanks so much for taking some time out of your day to join me for this interview.

Why don’t we start with your name, and a little background on your own personal journey?

CMF: Sounds great. My name is Craig MacFarlane, I swam when I was a youngster many years ago – swam the 1500 averaging about 18 minutes, although we’re talking a long time ago.

Started with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. I did that by about 4 years and knew the grind. For instance, waking up on a Quebec morning at 4:30am and biking to the metro underground and catching the bus for practice at 5:30am.

It really helped me develop an appetite for better things.

Faster. Further. Higher.

EDK: That all sounds incredible. How did you manage to find your way to Antigonish?

CMF: I guess I’m blessed. I’m honestly elated and honoured to be here, to be part of StFX. It’s a good question – they say the long way there is the short way home. I suppose I returned to Canada – I was in the United States for a while – I transitioned into nursing it didn’t click, so I was certified in swimming. Fortunately, I met Tyler (Swim Team president) through recruitment. We had a good starting and it really worked quite well.

EDK: You arrived here quite recently, two days prior to the start of term. Are you excited for what’s ahead?

CMF: Absolutely. I graduated from St. Mary’s in Halifax, so I had a feeling for the Nova Scotian people. I suppose you can’t generalize people, but those that I’ve met have been nice people. They’re courteous, they’re pleasant, they’re generous. Just wonderful.

EDK: I absolutely agree.

Moving forward with the swim team, have you been able to gauge their abilities as a team, and could you speak to where you’d like to take the team in the future?

CMF: Well, keep in mind I’ve

Photo: Facebook @StFXswimteam only had two weeks with them.

The first week was really an evaluation, with the second week being my pushing them to see what buttons I could poke. I’m very pleased with the attitudes, very pleased with the efforts. Just a very positive group in general.

EDK: They seem very eager to learn.

CMF: It’s probably an attribute of StFX, of the young people here.

TT: We’re a very athletic school – it seems like we’re quite innately athletic.

EDK: I’d agree. And looking forwards, perhaps both of you could collaborate on this answer, but when you look forwards a few years from now, where do you hope to see the team?

TT: Sure. My whole goal with this presidency was to get the team essentially pushed in a direction where they were both a) more competitive and b) at a level where we could transition to become a varsity team.

That’s been the goal of every president on this team since its inception.

Normally we would hire education students that would coach for one or two years. Not to say they weren’t capable, but the idea is if we want to have a varsity team, we need to build it into one beforehand. When looking at a team, they would have a competent, consistent and stable coach, someone who would be able to dedicate more time to the team as opposed to being part time as a student.

Now that Craig is here, I’m

hoping that we can transform the next group of incoming swimmers and make them stick. Once they’re in there, we want to be as competitive as possible and training for meets as soon as possible.

An issue that we’re always had is no one is ever sure where they’re going, or what the level of competition was.

Now with this new atmosphere, we should be building a base of competitive swimmers to the point where we can make a decent case to advocate for varsity.

EDK: I suppose the assumption is once you get these people who have been swimming at a competitive level in high school, you can lock them in at the beginning of the school year, keep the skills up and ensure you have continuity over four to six years.

TT: That’s the big one. Getting those people from high school on the team and keeping them there.

EDK: Craig would you agree?

In terms of where you’d like to see the trajectory of this team in the future?

CMF: Yes. I think varsity is achievable. As a matter of fact, I was looking at some other universities, I won’t mention who, but some that are competing in U Sports, and there’s one that competes in U Sports that swims less than us. I’ll be very frank with you – the quality of the swimmers is better than I expected. Especially on some of the more difficult strokes like butterfly. Obviously, it needs improving, there’s always opportunities for improvement,

but I find that promising.

EDK: For those who will read this article and aren’t aware of the divisional standards in swimming, could you elaborate on the difference between club and varsity, as well as masters versus open.

TT: The difference between varsity and club is largely competition based; by that I mean are you able to compete with each other? Varsity teams will compete at a varsity level, whereas club teams cannot. As well, varsity teams receive more funding. That means they can afford more equipment, more pool time, etc. The club teams on campus, you can see they have that more social aspect to them. They do compete, but a lot of the time there’s not a big commitment, no contracts, you’re not getting recruited. So that’s the big divide.

With masters versus open – masters is 18+, and open is self-explanatory, open to everyone. The reason we swim masters is we want swimmers competing against people their own age.

When you get into open, you’re going to get into an area where there are really, really good swimmers who are a lot younger than you. It can be discouraging, especially for those who aren’t extremely competitive swimmers. Now, however, that we’re a lot more competitive, I think it’s definitely time to look at going back into open.

I think we can definitely compete at that level. That’s a better route, a more competitive route, which puts us on a better trajectory to varsity.

EDK: Do you see any issue with the transition from club to varsity, in terms of retention of current members on the team?

For instance, if you were to transition towards becoming a more competitive, varsity-aimed team, would you end up having to cut those who were less competitive on the team?

CMF: The term cut, I really don’t like. We have enough pool space right now that we don’t have to cut anybody. I would hope that we will be developing confidence to go to friendlies and eventually competitions, because we are moving to the next level. For the purpose of building confidence, rather than use the word cut, I would rather poke people and let them know that if they want to compete, they really have to go out and train.

And for that matter, there are some people who probably don’t need to grind too much more and could attend competitions right. Before any cuts, I want to enforce the idea of confidence building and preparation, allowing us to then go outside of our pool.

EDK: I do suppose it would be a gradual transition, rather than a hammer drop. Besides, you’d need competitors to be at a level of varsity competition before being given the name.

CMF: Yes. The only other dimension on that is that the more social swimmer will progress less rapidly than the competitive swimmer. So, there is more of a variability in the training and coaching, which adds a bit of a drag.

TT: I think we’ll definitely see a slow transition, rather than any sort of rapid name switch.

That just won’t happen. By the time we’re ready to do it, we’ll have very competitive swimmers who will be keen to demonstrate their skills.

EDK: That’s great. I’ve touched everything I wanted to cover, would either of you like to add anything?

TT: I’ll just say I think the team is in a really exciting place right now. If there are any swimmers on campus who are looking to keep up their training, now is a really exciting time to get in on it, because we are a lot more established than we have been in the past. This is the most competitive direction we’ve been going in since the inception of the team. So, overall I’m just really excited for their future.

EDK: Phenomenal. Thank you for joining me, both of you. It looks like the swim team has some exciting years ahead.

Sports & Health

15

Changes to Hockey House Cup Season How they are adapting with changes in Residence Affairs Kathleen Haggarty Sports & Health Editor As each new year is bestowed, StFX’s students leave their hometowns and cities to return to the quiet town of Antigonish for a second semester of the academic year. Other than courses and weather, not much changes about StFX in the new semester. One thing that proves to make the spring on campus so unique, however, is hockey house cups.

ferred after-party and more importantly, bragging rights.

Residences at this school have many unique traditions and dynasties, some of which had outlasted the very walls of the buildings they occupy.

These games have proven to be some of the biggest athletic and social events on campus. They bring together players and spectators alike to cheer for the houses that welcomed them into their first home and family at StFX. Since last year, there have

Photo: Facebook @The U Hockey house cups are a long standing tradition at StFX. House cup season often takes place over the span of three months, starting in January and ending in March. The season entails numerous hockey games amongst rival residences to vie for trophies, the pre-

been a number of changes to residences on the StFX campus. Residences Cameron and MacKinnon hall have become coed residences. Cameron hall, formerly divided into boys’ houses, MacDonald and MacPherson, and girls’ house, TNT. MacKinnon was formerly

made up of all-girls house, Chillis, and all-boys house, MacNeil. MacIsaac hall was reopened to first year students, and Lane hall has closed.

Due to these changes, there has been some major differences between this year’s house cup season and the ones in the past.

Because of the closure of Lane hall, the game between Lane and Fraser known as LaSer will no longer take place.

Those living in Fraser will compete alongside other houses in Bishops (Burke and Plessis) against Mount Saint Bernard. This game is set to happen on February 2 at 10pm.

Plessis has competed against Mount Saint Bernard in the past, however Burke has historically been known to compete against MacIsaac in the infamous BurMac. This year, MacIssac will instead play against Off-Campus on February 8 at 10pm.

The following night, February 9, will be the annual Bath Tub Cup between new res’ rivals Riley and O’Regan. This is the last hockey house cup to take place before reading week.

After returning from reading week, students can look forward to more action-packed hockey games with two tournaments.

TriMac, a three game tour-

nament between MacPherson, MacDonald and MacNeil will take place from February 28 through to March 2. MacNeil will face MacDonald on February 28 and MacPherson on March 1. MacDonald and MacPherson will face off on March 2. This year will be different for TriMac as boys living in TNT or Chillis will be able to compete for any chosen neighbouring house.

From March 12 to March 17 there will be a female tournament for all residences. Houses will be divided into an upper campus pool and lower campus pool. MacIsaac, Off-Campus, Mount Saint Bernard will compete in the Upper Campus pool and Bishops, TNT, Chillis will compete in the Lower Campus Pool. On March 17 there will be a Championship game between

the top teams of each pool.

Girls living in MacPherson, MacDonald and MacNeil will be able to compete for their respective neighbouring houses.

TNT second year and house president, Kyra Tessier was happy to comment on the upcoming tournaments. “We’re really excited because it’ll be cool to see all three of the houses in Cameron hall actively playing in TriMac!” Third year House Council Coordinator Sam Bardwell also cared to comment on the changes to the traditional house cups. “It’s also really exciting that we were able to preserve the tradition of a girls TNT/Chillis.” She added, “and it’s awesome that it was able to turn into a big tournament to give all the girls on campus a chance to play!”

Photo: G. La Photography

History Made at NHL All-Star Skills Competition First time ever a woman has competed in the event Kathleen Haggarty Sports & Health Editor

U.S. Women’s hockey star Kendall Coyne Schofield skated in the fastest skater competition, making her the first woman to compete in an NHL all-star skills competition. Not only did she participate but she also had an impressive time putting her in competitive standing with the others.

Earlier that day, Schofield learnt of her chance to compete in Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon’s place, as he suffered injury. She had already been invited to the all-star weekend with other women’s players, including Brianna Decker, but this was a huge chance to make history.

Known for her speed, she took on the challenge and impressed everyone in the arena.

Schofield raced around the rink in 14.346 seconds, a time that placed her 7th out of 8 players. She beat an NHLer and impressed all of her top competitors. Connor McDavid, who won the speed competi-

tion commented on her success. “When she took off, I was like, ‘Wow!’” He continued to commend her speed and said, “I thought she might have won the way she was moving. She was a really good skater and that was an amazing thing for the game to see her participate like that in an event like this.”

Schofield wasn’t the only female to be recognized widely by the media and public for her talent that night. Brianna Decker, another U.S. women’s hockey star, had an outstanding showing in the passing challenge on the Friday night. Her time, although unofficial, was 1:06 minutes, putting her three seconds faster than the best men’s time of Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers. The reason her time did not count was because it wasn’t recorded by officials, it was recorded by spectators at home who took to social media.

While this is an incredible feat to reach for a woman in hockey, her time did not count simply because she was only providing a demonstration of the event and not competing.

The male winner of this event

was granted $25 000 U.S.D. in prize money and this left many hockey fans unsettled. This prompted the trended hashtag, #paydecker.

The fact of the matter was that Decker was not a part of this competition. She, as well as other members of the WNHL were present at the all-star skills event in order to grow with members of the NHL rather than compete against them.

Where the public’s frustration may have rooted from was the lack of recognition for women’s athletic achievements in gener-

al, and large pay gap between the two different leagues.

American sportswriter and radio personality Greg Wyshynski was quick to defend the NHL and how they recognized the women at the all-star event.

Wyshynski clarified on twitter that players Decker, Schofield, as well as Rebecca Johnston and Renata Fast were commended for their part in the competition with $25 000 U.S.D. each to charities of their choice.

His tweet stated, “The U.S. and Canadian women’s players involved in the skills competition

Photo: CBC.ca

are honored at the game, and the NHL is donating $25,000 each to the charities of their choice #NHLAllStar.”

The well known hockey brand, CCM sent Decker a congratulatory letter highlighting her achievement. “The CCM Hockey family would like to congratulate you on your performance at last night’s skills competition. 1:06, that’s pretty fast!” the letter said. It continued by granting her the $25,000 U.S.D. prize money out of their own pocket. “We understand the importance of recognizing female hockey players and are pleased to give you the $25,000 that you deserve. You are an ambassador for growing the women’s game and we are so proud to have you on the CCM team.”

Schofield plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps in the Women’s National Hockey League (WNHL). Decker plays for the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).

The two women won an Olympic gold medal for the United States this past February in South Korea.