Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
INside:
ISW Coverage Inside!
News and Comment Student Group On the Colleges Space Threatened
Info about The TCSA
Crash Course In Local Music
Contents This Page: All About Arthur 7PMVNF ] *TTVF ] 4FQUFNCFS
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Clarification: The map of downtown Peterborough that appeared in Issue Zero has been described as “flagrantly biased.� Of course it is! Every “recommended place to go� was designated as such by the editors based on their personal preferences. That said, we recommend everyone go downtown and determine their own favourite spots for themselves. You can’t go wrong in downtown Peterborough! units to students. This Issue in History: Volume 10 (1975), Issue 1 theirArthur reported 1 in 15 units were open to students in Student housing was much different in the Seventies. Today it’s not hard to find landlords who cater specifically to students. In fact, many seem to prefer student tennants. Few students seem to have a tough time finding somewhere to live. Even if it’s not your dream apartment, there’s likely somewhere for you in Peterborough. But this was not so in 1975. Arthur reported that 200 students were without a place to live in the fall of 1974, and that at least that many would be in the same situation again in ‘75 when all heads were counted. Keep in mind, at this time Trent’s enrollment was 2780 for both full- and part-time students. There were several reasons cited for the housing problem. First of all, many local landlords flat-out refused to rent
1975, down from 1 in 2 in 1971. This all sounds very illegal, but at the time students were not protected by the Human Rights Code, meaning it was perfectly fine to discriminate against them. In fact, they weren’t protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act of the day either since they were considered weekly or monthly boarders, not proper tenants. Second, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities had frozen any construction of university residences, despite increasing enrollments across the board, meaning each year more and more students were forced to live offcampus. Finally, and perhaps this one is still true today, OSAP didn’t provide enough money for students to actually live off of—only a maximum of $32 per week.
Campus: News
New year brings restructuring of Trent’s college system By Ayesha Barmania
This summer, long discussed changes to the model of college management were put into effect. On a grand scale, these changes will alter the functioning of the colleges and involve a throwback (in principal if not practice) to the original intention of the college system at Trent University. The college system is integral to the mandate of Trent University. Modeled after British universities like Cambridge and Oxford, the founders of Trent sought to bring a sense of community to the student body, alumni, and the faculty by having every student and faculty member affiliated with a college within the larger university. The goal was to foster conversation and networking between members of the colleges. The result was a very intimate university experience, one which in some ways persists today but in other ways has faded. Concerned discussion for the diminished role of colleges in student life elicited the recent changes in the model. According to the vision of Trent’s founders, the majority of students (first-year and upper-year students) would live on campus alongside many faculty members. Living in close quarters througout their academic careers would fulfill the colleges’ primary function of building community. In Trent’s early years, when the student
body numbered less than a thousand, this vision was reality. Students naturally made acquaintances and sparked conversations with each other and their professors. Today, with the university population at more that seven thousand and the majority of students and faculty members living off-campus, the college system must adapt to a new reality. Trent’s Associate Vice President Students Nona Robinson stresses the changing function of colleges in students’ lives. Greater numbers of students live offcampus; therefore, the role of residences as a focal point of community must give way to innovative methods for fostering community, she told Arthur earlier this summer. The colleges need find new ways of engaging upper-year students, off-campus students, faculty, and alumni as these are demographics that have increasingly disengaged from college life. “We need to create the spaces, create the opportunities, go out and ask people what they want,” said Robinson. Leveraging college physical resources and reaching out to make sure they are being utilized are key components of this new college model. The plan is to create a support structure for students through the colleges that is consistent across the four Symons campus colleges while enhancing college differentiation.
“You need to have a standard for the types of service and care each student is going to get. That’s where you want to have consistency. How you do it, with the college events and traditions, you need more of that—more differentiation,” she explained. A key component of this renewed vision is the changes to the position of College Head. College heads are responsible for the success of the student body in the college: academically, emotionally, and spiritually as a whole. This includes frontline programming, college cabinets, ISW, faculty liaising, and representing the college at interdepartmental meetings. Formerly, the positions were part-time posts held by faculty members of the college who, in addition to their regular classroom duties, picked up the position on a part-time contractual basis. Beginning this year, the college heads will now be full-time positions, a move which is aimed at providing consistent support for students by enhancing and expanding the role of colleges. This summer saw four new college heads hired and a new position, director of colleges, created. Barry Townshend, the new director of colleges, comes to Trent with a background in student life management from University of Guelph. His passion is to reach out to under-
represented elements of the student body and bring them into the fold of college life. “Community is built into the DNA of Trent, it’s entrenched in the way that Trent exists and was created,” says Townshend. “When change happens people want to protect that place where students belong,” The new College Heads for Gzowski, Otonabee, Champlain, and Lady Eaton colleges are as follows in respective order: Lindy Garneau (Gzowski), Ashley Wall (Otonabee), Melanie Sedge (Champlain), and Lindsay Morris (Lady Eaton). Garneau is a Trent graduate and current Trent Master’s student. Wall is also a former Trent student of OC, and former employee of Trent Accessibility Services. Sedge has worked for Trent in a number of capacities in Canadian Studies, Athletics and Recreation, and Continuing Education. Morris has worked in the Office of Student Affairs at Trent and at Wilfrid Laurier University. Finally, former head of Lady Eaton College, Dr. Michael Eaton will be taking over as the principal of Traill College. Whether the evolution of the college head position will be a force that reunites the college community, or is simply an encroaching expansion of university administration has yet to be seen. Keep an eye out for new college programs that you can get engaged with to find out the success of this new model firsthand.
Student co-op moves into former PR College townhouses By Matthew Davidson
Twelve years after Trent University sold the Peter Robinson College, a student initiative is hoping to reclaim the old campus. Already, the buildings that once housed new Trent students have become the home of the Peterborough Student Co-operative. Within the next five years, those buildings may be student-controlled. Established in 2009, the Peterborough Student Co-operative is looking to establish a co-operative-based student and community residence in downtown Peterborough. An agreement with the current landlord of the Peter Robinson (PR) properties has moved that project forward, giving the Co-op a home. With Sadleir House now intending to purchase the PR properties, members of the Co-op are hoping that the dream of having a student-controlled residence will be realized. “The Co-op initiative began in response to Trent closing residences at Traill College and then over-booking the residences on Symons campus,” explained Elizabeth
Thipphawong, the Coordinator of the Coop. “There was a need for affordable, quality student housing which retained the sense of community that came with Trent’s college system. We’re very pleased that we are able to provide this at the very site of one of Trent’s founding colleges.” Thipphawong likens the Co-op initiative to the project that led to the purchase of Sadleir House by the student community
in 2004. Under the tutelage of then-President Bonnie Patterson, Trent University had moved to sell off the historic PR campus during a major neoliberal restructuring of the school. The university community strongly opposed the plans and, following a long campaign of protest, the student body collectively purchased the focal point of the campus. “The Student Co-op initiative operates
within the same spirit of student activism as the campaign to keep Sadleir House within the university community,” Thipphawong told Arthur. “Not only do we hope to expand the student and community controlled space within the historic PR College, but we will be working closely with Sadleir House to do so.” Sadleir House recently announced plans to purchase the PR townhouses, and are hoping to raise a million dollars over the next five years to do so. Though Sadleir House and the Co-op are separate entities, if Sadleir House is successful in purchasing the properties adjacent to it, it will mean a secure location for the Peterborough Student Co-operative. “Sadleir House has been a strong supporter of the Co-op, and they have indicated an interest in seeing the Co-op permanently based out of PR,” Thipphawong noted. “It was our dream when the Co-op started to take back this campus for our community.”
Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
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Campus:NEws
Student groups feeling the squeeze on Symons Campus By Ugyen Wangmo
Is the student group space dwindling on Trent campus? Or is there even enough group space on campus to begin with? This is a question that has surfaced due to the recent instance whereby Absynthe lost their space on campus. Absynthe Magazine, Trent’s alternative press very recently lost its office in Champlain College, which had housed them for about 15 years. The situation arose due to a restructuring of the college by which the college office space was altered to accommodate more student staff and house some Trent International Program (TIP) staff for one year. They were, however, given the option to share space with the Frontier College, but saw that it would be realistically impractical and decided otherwise. “It is not just about office space being lost for students, its about all space is being lost for students,” explained Editor in Chief Caitlin P. Jones. They shouldn’t be forcing student groups to look for other options when the university should be home to at least some of them, she added. All over the university, Trent has lost space for student groups. Further, it is now trying to get the students to pay for the creation of new space through the student centre plan. “I thinks that it is a slow deterioration, but now coming to think of it, there is no one on campus,” Jones pointed out. Caitlin is not angry about the current situation, but she is frustrated at the lack of student space available. According to her, this frustration is felt by lot of the student body, which has nowhere to be on campus and feels the lack of both group and student space in general. She understands why the idea of student center was brought forward but at the same time questions why the students are the ones paying for it. Further, Jone says that instead of taking over student space maybe the university should be building new space for its administration. “Universities are for the students and to have space for student groups missing from campus is disconcerting,” she added. When asked about the situation with Absynthe, Champlain College Head Melanie Sedge explained that the magazine was offered space in the college office, but that they decided the space wouldn’t meet the needs and preferred to look elsewhere. In response to the situation of student group space on campus more generally, she said that she couldn’t comment on the other colleges but that it would be great to have more space on campus for groups. The problem is that in Champlain Col-
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lege, like most of the buildings at Trent, there isn’t physically the space for more of anything. Sedge feels like there will always be changes the ebb and flow of clubs with student interest, but said it is important that what’s relevant and current is represented on campus. Not being on campus makes it challenging for these groups and they have to be more creative in the ways they make their presence felt, or to be accessible to students. On the other hand, Sedge said that she “can’t comment on as to if the space on campus is dwindling since the space has not necessarily changed at the college.” Trent probably has some spaces available but needs to promote them to make students aware. Further, there could be opportunities to share spaces amongst student groups with similar needs or ones that need office only during certain times of the year. Further evaluating who has space and finding out if its being used to the fullest potential are some of the ways in which this issue can be addressed. However, Sedge questioned how these spaces got allocated in the first place and stated that there should be an entire inventory on how it works. “I am going to work as hard as I can here to make the space I do have physically more attractive for students, more accessible and try to promote those and I am open to ideas if students have ideas as to how to make more space with the physical infrastructure that we have,” she said. Ultimately, she wants to have more students feeling connected on campus and that her role is to connect students to Champlain college and Trent for that matter. Director of Colleges Barry Townshend agrees that student groups should have places to meet on campus but cautions that it is a common problem among Ontario universities to not have enough space for student groups to have their own separate offices. Townshend explained that the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) has established guidelines for how much space would ideally exist for various purposes on a university campus, including different types of student space (study space, space for student groups, etc.) As universities expand, though, he said, the problem becomes how to fund additional facilities - funding has not been forthcoming from the Province for this. Therefore, the creation of additional space for student groups has historically come from capital projects driven by student unions and paid for largely by student fees. The referendum to create a new stu-
dent centre here at Trent is in keeping with this tradition. Townshend also noted that the process for determining which groups get space and how they qualify is beyond the scope of the colleges as there are many groups on this campus that are not affiliated with a specific college and there are many spaces where the colleges have no influence. For the spaces within their influence, if there is to be a change in where a group is located, that would happen in the context of a conversation with those who would be affected. “My top priority as the director of colleges is building a strong sense of community and a rich learning experience for students.” Within the colleges, we are working on assessing how student-funded spaces in our areas are being used and what we can do to optimize their usage,” he added. Student groups promote involvement on campus, help create a more diverse and vibrant campus, and play a vital role in creating a sense of community, said Mayra Asmar, vice president university and college affairs at the Trent Central Student Association. But, student group space does not necessarily need to be housed on campus, as there are different locations that groups may want to have an office space, she explained. There are both advantages and disadvantages to having student space both on and off campus. Being on-campus means being closer to
students and giving students the ability to stop by in between classes, also being close to other student services. But on the other hand, the ability to access space is restricted as it is limited to only when the university is open. Being off campus has its own advantages, bringing it closer to where students live. Having a space downtown may also promote more community involvement and access to larger spaces for events. Asmar sees that Trent has an interesting relationship between students and available space. “As a current student at Trent I believe that Trent should make student space a priority,” she said, but noted that students do have access to room bookings, even if they can’t have a dedicated space. Asmar wouldn’t say that there is no group space for students, as spaces do exist, but with the increasing student population at Trent the available spaces simply is not be sufficient. The establishment of a completely new student centre would help create the space that Trent’s current buildings cannot accommodate, she opined.. The space could be dedicated to student groups and would be a great way to create another student focused space and atmosphere. In the meantime, most of Trent’s groups and clubs are housed in the Sadleir House, which used to be part of Peter Robinson College. As for Absynthe, the magazne is still looking for a space to call home.
Campus: Academics Shelagh Grant Joseph Boyden
Trent’s highest honour By Ayesha Barmania
Clouds roll peacefully by overhead. The sun shines down on the amassed collection of graduates, faculty, staff, and parents. They sit and listen to the advice and wisdom of the orators who have just received their honorary degrees from Trent University. It’s Convocation 2014 and 1732 former Trent students are reaching the finish line of their degrees and graduating. Each convocation ceremony, five in total, hear from a different honorary degree holder who offers singular advice to graduates on this occasion. Each year, Trent University gives honorary degrees to those individuals who have contributed to the life of the university, the Peterborough area, or to society as a whole. This year’s convocations featured a diverse range of individuals who represent many of the university’s core values. Arthur had the immense privilege of sitting down with each honorary degree recipient for an interview to discuss their work, their honorary degree, and their connection to Trent. Continue reading for excerpts of these interviews and a brief biography of each individual.
Joseph Boyden Author and novelist, Joseph Boyden received an Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLit.) for his impact on the international literary scene. His nomination cited the effect of his works on deepening the understanding of the complexities of Canadian culture. “I’ve been involved with Trent University for a number of years. I’ve had friends who went here when I was an undergrad at York University and I always felt very envious of them coming to this campus, especially while I was going to York. It’s such a beautiful campus and you can tell that the professors are really amazing. It’s great the close relationships so many of [the professors] have with the student body. “Then, professionally, when Three Day Road was published, I was chosen as Trent’s inaugural ‘One Book One Community’ event for incoming students, and that was my first real introduction. That was 2007 or 2008 and I just fell in love with the campus and the people even more. “People say sometimes my books act as a bridge between cultures that otherwise might not necessarily always see eye to eye. It’s kind of a role I’ve adopted in my life, and has been given to me actually by elders. So that’s really important. Trent’s philosophy and my philosophy really dovetail together. Our worldviews are very similar.” Do you have any advice for anyone who is struggling to graduate? “Stick with it. I took an extra year, five years to graduate for my undergrad and there were times when I really struggled. But I knew that as tough as it gets you have to look beyond the course that’s tough or the time that is tough. You have to know that it
gets better and it gets easier eventually and it’s really important to not give up. As cliché as that sounds, you can’t give up. Failure is not an option in that case. It’s a tough thing but look today with all the graduates and how proud they all were. You have to look forward to that day.”
Wade Davis Independent anthropologist, explorer and activist Dr. Wade Davis received a Hon. DLit. for his passionate and interdisciplinary approach to such issues as indigenous and environmental rights. “To come around at my age—I just turned sixty—and to be recognized by the academic world with an honorary degree is affirming. If you know how they’re chosen, how could you not think of it as a high honour? It has to go through the faculty and the senate and the president so I really do consider it an honour. I consider it an honour to speak at the convocation too. Who doesn’t love convocation anyway? “I went through the academic training and I got my own Ph.D. But at that time in my life I never really wanted to be a professor. And that’s one of things I always say to young people who are considering graduate school is don’t worry about going to graduate school as if you have got to get a job right out of grad school in your field. In a way, the PhD that I actually got became a calling card, which gave me a lot of inherent credibility when it came to what I was doing as an independent scholar and journalist. “Education is liberation and that’s why I’m such a big fan of it. I say to any student, “when in doubt go to school.” Even if they don’t know what to do in life, get in there and get the structure around yourself and start poking around. A smorgasbord of knowledge is to be found in the education system. You can learn much from the wild—it’s a different kind of learning, but one should never use that attraction to shift oneself from actually learning through scholarship, I think. Education made my life. 100%. “I’ve always described myself as a storyteller. I became a storyteller because I couldn’t imagine becoming an academic who specialized in a narrow subject—in anthropology it’s an indigenous society or one issue. I felt that the stories of culture and of ethnobotany, I was looking at the two biggest problems of our time which is the erosion of culture and ecology. It was very clear to me from a young age that the forces that were eroding one were affecting the other. And Anthropology is essentially pointless if we weren’t prepared to speak out for the rights of the people anthropologists had traditionally studied. I felt story telling was the way to do this.”
Shelagh Grant Retired scholar of Canadian studies and the polar North, Dr. Shelagh Grant received her honorary degree as recognition for her long-
standing service to Trent University and the Peterborough community. “I started university at the University of Western Ontario that was a BSc in Nursing and when I got into the hospital of my choice, it was great—but I was a square peg in a round hole. “When my husband and I moved to Peterborough—I love Peterborough, and I hated Toronto—but I was so restless and initially I had wanted to do a degree in International Affairs at Glendon College [at York University]. They took me with open arms but I would have to do my TA-ing in Toronto. “I was playing bridge one night and talking about going to Glendon. I heard there was going to be an exciting professor at Trent University, which is how I ended up in Prof. John Wadling’s Canadian Studies 200 course. I think he inspired everyone about Canada. What I got out of that one class was to think critically and to compare and to think in interdisciplinary ways—in other words, to look beyond the written words for the answers. “The second class I took was Hodgins’ ‘The North’ course. And that turned my head due North. It’s been arctic research and arctic life since.” What do you find to be the most rewarding part of your work? “I was the inveterate Curious George. Doing research, not just at Trent, but when you have a question and you find the answer, it’s great but then you find five more questions. [laughs] It’s a bit like a rat race, but each answer was like a shot in the arm for me.” What has it been like to watch Trent evolve over the years? “It was 1975 I guess when I started and there was just one convocation. It’s amazing. Watching professors come and go. But what’s really incredible is the way in which the student population has multiplied— times 100. It’s extraordinary. I used to really sweat getting the names right in my classes. I don’t know I would ever get them right now. “Trent means a lot to me. There’s no question about it. It’s a great university. For me, the students were what made the university.”
Richard Johnston A member of the founding class at Trent University, Dr. Richard Johnston received an Hon. DLit. in recognition for his involvement with the university for over fifty years. Dr. Johnston has worked in politics, activism and currently operates a vineyard. “I was always talked about as being the first student registered for Trent, but really I was the second. The Peterborough Examiner wanted a photo of the registrar with two students from Peterborough. They had no problem getting a photo of the female.
But none of the boys would come in. None of them wanted to do it they all had their heads down. So my mum was in the registrar’s office and she said to me, “You! In!” So I went and I had a scowl on my face. I really did not appreciate the importance of that moment as the beginning of the university. “It was partly a mistake [that brought me to Trent]. We lived in the area, just outside of Warsaw. I had a flock of sheep in high school and so I sold them when I went to university. And with the money I had the choice of going to Trinity College at University of Toronto or I could go travel the world and then stay in the area and go to Trent. I’ve always thought of that decision as representative of who I am. [laughs] “Because we were so small, just 105106 of us [in the inaugural class] we got to know each other really well. It was really a great time. It’s been wonderful to see the changes [of the university over time] but it’s also sometimes hard to see the compromises to the initial visions of the university as a small collegiate institution were just not practical.”
David Patterson Also a member of Trent’s inaugural class, Dr. David Patterson received an Hon. DLit. Currently, he is the CEO and founder of Northwater Capital Management Inc. “I’m quite honoured by the university and a bit embarrassed by it. There were so many incredible people that were getting honorary degrees and then there’s me! But I’m delighted to be a part of it. “There was a twenty year or so period when I wasn’t in touch with the university. I was in the 1966 starting class and then I was out of touch with the university. Then some people came by and said it’s time to get back in to the university. It’s really nice to come back to the university and be back here. “My first year, I majored in English. My second year, I majored in Philosophy. My third year, I majored in Politics. And in my fourth year I majored in Political Philosophy. You may not be able to get away with that today, but I was able to. “I pulled out of my fourth year to become an activist for the Nigeria-Biafra War. Some of us thought it could be stopped with enough pressure. So we organized a group of people in Peterborough and across the country. Right from early on engendered in the university, there was a sense of responsibility for the world around us and that was have a capability of doing something about it. “I think I would have been lost in a large university. This was a more human-scale university. The ethic of the university was just something that I very much related to. “My life would have turned out totally differently if I hadn’t come to this school. It was great the attention that professors gave to individual students and Trent still has that aspect to it. “It was a great time to be at Trent, but it sounds like its still a great place to be.”
Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
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Campus: Orientation
Three days a week: How effective is three day ISW? By Caliegh Boyle
First day of school! First day of school! Nothing’s as overwhelming as the first day of school! Trent, like many other universities begins the school year with Introductory Seminar Week (ISW), a time for new students to adjust to and get excited about the next four years of their lives. The events taking place during ISW range from campus orientations to Build a Batmobile, showing university is not just about work, it’s about having fun; and fun always makes things seem a little less scary. What might surprise students, however, is that until 2011, Trent’s ISW used to be a five day event, beginning on Labour Day Monday and running until the following weekend. “As Trent was expanding the amount of courses that it had, it meant that exams went later and later [into December]” explains Braden Freer, president of the Trent Central Student Association. When the decision was made by the university administration in March 2011 to begin classes on the Thursday after Labour Day—instead of the following Monday— so that exams could end earlier, it meant that ISW was cut by two days. At the time, many students, including those involved in running ISW, spoke out against the shortened “week,” arguing that three days would not give students enough time to get accustomed to life at Trent. However, in the three years since the
change came into effect it seems that the three day ISW has been well received. “Since this decision was made we have seen many benefits … new students feel supported by the leaders on campus,” says Sako Khederlarian, Trent’s Orientation Co-ordinator. One of the main concerns of shortening ISW to three days was that incoming students would be missing out on the full experience of a five day week, but that has not been the case. Not only are students getting the same experience of a five day ISW, there are actually more events in the three days than ever before. “There haven’t been any activities that were cut with the change,” says Khederlarian. Five days is a long time to be participating in a Triwizard Tournament and to be
cheering like you’ve never cheered before. So it comes as no surprise that students were exhausted after five days of constant fun. “Students often felt burned out by the time the week was over” shares Khederlarian. Having a three day ISW has meant that students have some time to themselves to come down from the excitement. According to Freer, “incoming students get homesick and are anxious to start classes. A three day ISW means they don’t have to wait another week to begin class.” One of the benefits of having three day ISW has been that there are now upper year students on campus Thursday and Friday which means that arriving students have a chance to interact with upper years and vise versa. “I don’t know if that was the desired ef-
fect, to get them involved with first years, but it has been a nice change,” says Freer. “First years can talk to older students from their majors.” Though the three day ISW has been well received by some, others still believe that a five day ISW would be better for new students. Ishu Sekhon, a psychology student going into his fourth year says that he thoroughly enjoyed his five day ISW. Sharing some of the same concerns as those opposed to the change, Sekhon recognizes that it takes time for students to digest their move to university. “Five days, I think, gives you open space to get acquainted with Trent, gives an easier transition,” he says, describing five day ISW as having a different level of comfort, allowing for a soft transition to Trent. Every new student entering Trent is completely different than their resident roommate or the individual down the hall. Some people are outgoing and some people are shy; some are loud and some are quiet. Though there will always be benefits to having a five day ISW, the fact of the matter is that no one wants to be writing their last exam on Christmas Eve. The switch to a three day ISW is the best of both worlds; exams will end earlier and first year students still have the opportunity to experience Trent for everything it has to offer both academically and socially. “I was around to see the change and it was shocking; not bad shocking, just different” describes Freer.
Canadian woods receive visitors from around the world By Renzo Costa
The Trent International Program (TIP) Camp took place last weekend at the beautiful Timberlane camp placed in Haliburton. TIP camp serves as an introductory long weekend for the new international students arriving at Trent University. Throughout the weekend, students from all around the world meet and are introduced to the Canadian context as well as the structure and characteristics of Trent University. Students take different workshops and participate in diverse activities oriented to facilitate their adaptation to Trent. They build connections and make friends with people that are undergoing the similar experience of crossing the world to study in a different country. There are a wide variety of students at TIP camp and even though they are all international students, there are different types. For instance, there are undergraduates, exchange and ESL students. They all have a different spin on how they experience TIP camp. Three years ago, I had the chance to be one of those students. The exciting and overwhelming nature of the camp is an experience extremely hard to describe. The different perspective I gained by virtue of being part of the Cultural Assistant (CA) team this year informed my own TIP camp experience as a first year. Throughout the weekend, my anthropology studies kept on knocking the door, and concepts such as cultural appropriation and cultural shock kept on coming in. Every time culture, and more specifically, cultural diversity are discussed, it is indeed important to be clear of what we mean by it. What does diversity mean? Is it just the
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number of countries represented? Or is it the different perspectives on life that international students bring to the university community? My position was named Cultural Assistant, but what does that mean? Do I assist in the cultural adaptation of these students to the Canadian culture? In fact, my role was a more pragmatic one since we were in charge of workshops and helping with the running of the overall camp program. We were also responsible for the students in our cabins. Anna Nikolaeva, a fourth year Forensic Science and Politics student, was also a CA at camp. She explained that the experience was “stressful but fun and that although it was for the most part well organized, there is room for improvement.” Anna expressed that she enjoyed being
part of the CA team and that camp is a very important part of the international student experience since it provides students with their first tools to succeed in university and also in Canada. First years often feel overwhelmed and sometimes shocked, which is completely understandable. We need to consider that they are not only transitioning to university but also leaving everything they knew behind and going to a place they know absolutely nothing about. TIP camp offers a framework to guide those students and provide support networks that would help them in their university career. After camp, these students get introduced to the general ISW and incorporated to the larger university community. ISW is an excellent opportunity to learn
how to get involved on campus and to make the most of the university experience. It is perhaps in some instances not inclusive of certain students that are not so “cheer” inclined, but for the most part ISW and its staff have made an important effort to improve its inclusivity in order to appeal to a larger part of the student body. Trent University is extremely lucky to have such a diverse body of international students. For some, it may be somewhat intimating to meet international students due to diverse reasons. Therefore, sometimes it may be a challenge to break the cultural barrier. Luckily, universities are places that challenge the way we think not only in an academic level but also on a personal one.
Campus: Orientation
Photos by Kevin Ross except where noted
ISW in Pictures
Photo by Keila MacPherson
At Trent, first year students are no longer DisOriented By Matthew Rappolt
Throughout the academic careers of Trent students, there are few weeks more important than orientation. For many, their first taste of higher education is the raucous, over-the-top, and overwhelming screams, hollers, and chants of college led Introductory Seminar Week. However, for eight years, from 20042012, Introductory Seminar Week (ISW) was one of two orientation weeks at Trent University, the other being the student planned and student run DisOrientation, which provided first-year and upper-year students with an alternate perspective on student life, higher education, and the Trent community. DisOrientation week, or DisO as it was affectionately called, was started in 2004 by a collective of independent student groups whose goals were to provide incoming students with access to progressive programming and to introduce them to the political aspects of university life. Based out of Sadleir House at the former Peter Robinson College, the concept for DisOrientation was born out of the prolonged institutional conflict that surrounded the university’s 1999 decision to try to close Trent’s two downtown colleges. “The original idea was that DisO could be a way to ‘disorient’ students out of the official line of the Trent administration,” explains Matthew Davidson, co-ordinator for OPIRG Peterborough, one of the founding groups of DisO. “The week would bring them into the culture of resisting the privatization and the neoliberal structure of the university.” While DisO was in large part created as a response to unpopular actions of the administration, the week was also cast as
an alternative to the perceived hypocrisy of the usual ISW festivities. “To have the official ISW be so apolitical, so ‘rah-rah college spirit!’ but not talking about the actual significance of the college system within Trent...” remarks Davidson. “DisOrientation was an opportunity to bring that narrative into the conversation and build off of it.” For eight years, the Dis-O co-ordinators and the affiliated groups worked together to run grassroots programming that challenged corporatization of higher education and attempted to grow the culture of social and political justice within Trent University. Popular events, such as the community vegan barbeques, radical film screenings, and anti-oppression workshops, were initially well attended as students sought to broaden their educational experiences and learn more about the issues facing their campus and community. However, the changing of the guard within the Trent administration, marked by the 2009 departure of controversial president Bonnie Patterson and the hiring of the more conciliatory Steven Franklin, signalled a broader culture change within the within the student body. With students no longer viewing the administration as a primary antagonist on campus, student activism dwindled as those who had cut their teeth in the struggles to save PRC and Traill College gradually moved on from Trent. “There’s been a complete turn around in the student body politic” says ki, who attended DisO in its early years and now works as Co-ordinator at the Centre for Gender and Social Justice. “Part of it is due to how successful the administration was at changing the university.”
For the organizers of DisO, this new political reality on campus was exacerbated by the fact that by the late 2000s several of the week’s founding groups were mired in political turmoil. OPIRG, which was at one point the primary organizer of DisO, pulled out of the event in 2010 due to interorganizational tensions. That left much of the planning and co-ordination to the smaller groups. By 2012, the co-ordination of DisO was in disarray and there was widespread uncertainty over whether or not the week would be able to be held. Responding to these concerns, the Trent Central Student Association, under the leadership of then-president Brea Hutchinson and vice-president Tessa Nasca planned a series of political and socialjustice based programs under the banner of ALT-O that was intended to compensate for the absence of alternative orientation programming during September. However, due to a miscommunication, ALT-O and DisO were in fact both run that year, which sowed confusion amongst students over which programming was run by whom and whether the two alternative week were connected or separate. When the dust finally settled after that tumultuous September, DisOrientation was in shambles. As for ALT-O, which Nasca and Hutchinson had said would become annual TCSA event, the new executive elected the following spring decided to concentrate its energy and resources on the more traditional Welcome Back Week events. The result was that whereas in 2012 there were two alternative orientation weeks, by 2013 there were none. Now, two years removed from the final
DisO, first-year students are more-or-less left to stumble upon the counter-culture of Trent themselves. While there are exciting events being run by individual groups throughout the month of September, such as OPIRG’s Free Vegan Barbeque, the TCSA’s annual Clubs and Groups Day, and the Trent Queer Collective’s Queerientation, there is no longer a unified alternative orientation program at Trent that deliberately challenges ISW and the broader narratives of frosh culture on campus. Just as significantly, at a time when the university administration is implementing a dramatic restructuring of Trent’s traditional college system, there is no coordinated effort from student organizations to resist these changes and promulgate the university’s original collegiate vision. Finally, at a time when student activism is arguably at its lowest point in Trent’s fifty year history, there is no longer the solidarity and co-operation amongst grassroots student and community organizations that earned Trent its reputation as a school with a vibrantly political student body. In terms of whether or not students will see DisOrientation make a comeback within the next few years, ki says that this will depend on whether there is still an appetite for alternative programming within the student body and, more importantly, whether or not the groups can once again band together to pull it off. However, given all that’s occurred at Trent over the past several years, from the construction of the private residence, to the increasing professionalization of academic programming, to the continuing centralization and bureaucratization of key university services, I say its high time someone brought a little disorientation back to Symons Campus.
Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
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Campus
So ... what exactly does the TCSA do? By George Perregudov
The Trent Central Student Association is one of the most important organizations at Trent. It performs a wide variety of functions, from meeting new students to running the campaign against university tuition hikes. In Volume 48, Issue 21, Arthur covered some of the organizational problems and inconsistencies of the TCSA’s policies and questioned whether they meet the needs of the students. However, I thought that sometimes those articles might have been too emotional. The organization is much wider, and people should know a bit more about it. To find out more about this organization I conducted an interview with TCSA representatives and I was surprised to learn a couple of interesting things. For example, the buses used go one after another every 20 minutes, so students had to wait longer to get to Trent. Now, each Trent Express route sees a bus leave downtown every 10 minutes. Meeting new students is also one of their responsibilities, which I could see on the first days of September. Organizing many events during our time at Trent is actually their responsibility. You can imagine that those things do not always go as smoothly as they could. Sometimes, the TCSA has to seek additional funding or impose some restrictions, which makes it hard to plan the overall budget. Finding new sponsors is also not such an easy thing, especially if the sponsors have already helped out before. Besides, the TCSA has to balance the time of its staff and its money. Students, who work there, have classes as well, and sometimes their concern for TCSA problems can become harmful both for academic and organizational success. On the other hand, the TCSA does have
some problems. First, I could not find any particular answer as to whether the student union actually creates any academic value for students. Colour Run, movie nights etc. are not what every student wants from their student union, and for those who do not wish to spend time doing these activities, there are not many other options. So, why should only some people enjoy using our annual levies for TCSA events? I barely contacted with the TCSA during my studies at Trent, but was happy to find out that students can have a voice as well. For instance, students can run for a position on TCSA Board of Directors. For that you need to have “commitment”
and be ready to become “an active voice of students”. At the same time, students can influence the TCSA by coming to one of the board meetings, or the general meetings (the next General Meeting is September 17, 3-5pm, at Gzowski 110). Currently a motion is being put forward to decrease the amount of board meetings the organization holds per month. Although, there are concerns that decreasing the the amount of meetings would affect feedback, the Board of Directors believe that they are still open to new ideas and willing to listen to the opinions of students. They are proposing to get information
via other sources, such as getting “field feedback”, which includes what students say or write about the TCSA events. That information can be biased and another source of feedback – board members’ opinions can only make that bias stronger. What can a student do, if they want to be heard by TCSA? The student union started a program called “Campus Action Team”. The idea is that you volunteer for TCSA and get useful experience, and you leave feedback based on your observations. In the end of interview, I asked to send a message to all Trent students. It turned out to not an easy task because I asked for it to be as short as one sentence. “You are the TCSA” – the executives finally agreed.
Trent-Fleming School of Nursing to host CNSA regional conference By Melissa Zubrickas and Meaghan Gutenberg
On October 24-26, 2014 the Trent-Fleming School of Nursing will be hosting the Canadian Nursing Students Association (CNSA) Ontario Regional Conference. The CNSA is the national voice of Canadian nursing students. Their goal is to increase the legal, ethical, professional, and
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educational aspects which are an integral part of nursing. The CNSA is actively dedicated to the positive promotion of nurses and the nursing profession as a whole. Each year a CNSA regional and national conference is held for nursing students across Canada. Conferences bring students together from different backgrounds to network, learn about many different avenues of nursing, and have fun with students from a variety of different nursing schools. Trent will be hosting the Ontario conference and will be welcoming hundreds of nursing students from across Ontario. The theme of our conference is Reach For The Stars: Go Where No Nurse Has Gone Before! This conference theme reflects subthemes of leadership, advocacy, pride, and creative themes of super heroes and space. In turn, these reflect on how nurses are often the super heroes of health care, taking on leadership roles and advocating for patients. It also reflects on how nurses often dive into aspects of society and health care that most people do not dare to jump into. For all of these wonderful things that nurses are, the nursing population should be proud.
These sub-themes together comprise the overall theme of the conference, and what we hoped to be instilled in attendees throughout the conference. This theme will be incorporated into the various workshops and keynote speakers being offered to attendees, social events, and conference atmosphere. We are excited to be welcoming ONA as our platinum sponsor, Otonabee College and Pocket Nurse as gold sponsors, Rob Fraser as a silver sponsor, and Gaumard, RNAO, Elsevier, and Hopital Montfort as bronze sponsors. We will be offering three simulations
which include the unresponsive patient, labour and delivery, and spot the hazards. Speakers will be coming from across Ontario to speak on a variety of topics which include the NCLEX registration exam, social media in nursing, smoking cessation, assisting new RN’s, caring for children with autism, and many more! Trent is very fortunate to host this amazing event! We hope that many Trent nursing students take advantage of the opportunity to be involved in the nursing community and Trent nursing. We look forward to welcoming Ontario nursing students to Trent!
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Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
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Local
Peterborough and climate change; rally September 21 By Dr. Al Slavin
The results of human-induced climate change are apparent in the melting of Arctic ice and the increasing frequency of extreme climatic events. For example, in 2004 in Peterborough there was a flood that would be expected to occur only once in three hundred years. While no individual event can be attributed directly to climate change, statistical studies show the increasing frequency. A baseline for climate in the United States from 1950 to 1999 established a norm that gave an equal number of hot and cold record temperatures for that period. For the years 2000-2011, this shifted to twice as many hot records as cold records, and for the first half of 2012 hot records outweighed cold records ten to one. Such changes are having wide-ranging effects on the world and its populations: from heat-induced health problems, to wide swings in food production, to changes in wildlife survivability. So what is Canada doing about this global problem? Locally, the City and County of Peterborough (with all townships and the two First-Nations communities on board) approved in 2012 a Sustainability Peterborough plan. This plan addresses the areas of economic, environmental, social and cultural sustainability for the area, and sets goals in each area.
Several working groups are continuing to set specific targets. For example, through the Climate Change group (chaired by Professor Stephen Hill), the City and County have just received a $435,000 grant to develop a Climate Change Action Plan. This study will develop an inventory and forecast of greenhouse gas emissions, an emissions reduction target, and a local action plan. Provincially, the Ontario government has introduced a feed-in tariff to encourage the development of renewableenergy electricity from solar, wind and hydroelectric installations. This tariff guarantees the developer a fixed return per unit of electricity that is above the current cost of about 10 cents per kwh (kilowatt-hour), because of the risk and expenses of a new technology. The higher rate at least partially recognizes that Hydro One prices do not include the cost to health and the environment of our production of electricity. The Wynne government has also eliminated coal-fired electricity generation. However, it has not yet followed BC’s lead of a revenue-neutral carbon tax (the money is returned to the taxpayers as tax credits), that has reduced CO2 emissions there by 16% without hurting the economy. The tax has a 64% voter approval. Federally, the picture is not rosy. Canada makes up less than one half of one percent of the world’s population, but
is the world’s eighth largest producer of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, Canada has no coherent national policy to address climate change. The world’s atmosphere is almost at the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) to cause a 2 degree Celsius increase in the average global temperature. Beyond this point of “dangerous climate change”, higher temperatures, violent storms, and more serious droughts and flooding will occur. Yet the known fossil-fuel reserves, much of it in Canada, would produce between three and five times the amount of CO2 required to reach this 2 degree Celsius critical point. We cannot allow the burning of this carbon! This is why Sustainable Trent’s goal of having Trent divest its investments in fossil fuels must be supported. Divestment before fossil-fuel prices collapse also makes good business sense. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recently released a report, entitled “Deflating the carbon bubble”. “The study estimates Canada’s share of a global carbon budget and finds that at least 78% of Canada’s proven oil, bitumen, gas, and coal reserves, and 89% of provenplus-probable reserves would need to remain underground.” Canada has promised to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020. However, forecasts show that, in 2020, Canada’s GHG emissions will be well above the 2005
level instead of 17 percent below. The switch to more conservation and renewable energy must occur eventually, bringing with it a greener, healthier, lesspressured society, so why aren’t we moving more quickly towards this goal? What can we do as individuals? Switching to low-energy lightbulbs is not enough. We need serious policy changes at all levels of government—and particularly the federal one—that will significantly reduce our carbon footprint over the next 20 years. However, this will happen only if enough citizens tell all our politicians that we will vote only for those with a coherent plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two things you can do now to make a difference are (1) sign the Peterborough Declaration on Climate Change and pass on the link to your friends, and (2) attend the Climate Change Rally on Sunday September 21, from 1:30 to 2:30 in Millennium Park (King St. at Water) The rally will be fun, with local musicians and politicians’ answers on climate change. If everyone coming brings two friends, this will be the largest rally in the last 40 years in Peterborough. The rally is part of the Purple Onion Festival promoting local food and culture, also at Millenium Park, 11am to 4pm. Alan Slavin is Trent University’s Professor Emeritus in Physics and Astronomy. He is a member of the Climate Change Working Group, and For Our Grandchildren.
Local Farmers’ Market a superstore for sustainable living By Lauren Roberts
For those of you who like challenges, I have a challenge for you: don’t buy anything from a store for one year. Was I able to do this? Not 100 percent, I gave myself a five item per month limit since I wasn’t sure how feasible this was. Everything else? The Farmers’ Market (with an occasional meal out at a restaurant, food shared by friends, and an item or two from the Free Market). What I discovered is that the Peterborough Farmers’ Market is certainly a gem within this city. Few other municipalities have a truly local, independent, and thriving market quite like this one. Back at the end of March, when I was doing this challenge, I still had access to apples, microgreens, carrots, beets, turnips, onions, spinach, cilantro, mushrooms, leeks, potatoes and sweet potatoes, shallots, garlic, and the list could go on.
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The farmers’ market is great for procuring truly local veggies but it also provides easy access to conventionally farmed produce like tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers and by buying food there you are still cutting out middle-men and supporting families directly. Asides from produce, you can find tons amazing things at the Farmers’ Market like locally harvested wild rice; stoneground heritage grains; goat milk, cheese, and yogurt; smoked fish; preserves (jam, pickles, relish, beets); meat from animals that have been shown great care from their farmer-friends; teas; herbal medicines; soap; even hula hoops. Yep, hula hoops! (And if this ever-cheerful vendor turns up with her hoops and you witness a 70 year old man reclaiming his youth and giving his hips a wiggle, well, it’s just great). From my experience with this challenge over the past year, here are some conclusions I’ve made.
There are some items that one would think are hard to find ways around, but actually aren’t. To begin: Dishsoap/laundry soap/shampoo: just shave a bar of homemade soap with a cheese grater and mix with water- et voila: liquid soap! Moisturizer: horizontally traded coconut oil is sometimes at the market and can last a long time. And there are some vendors that sell homemade ointments. But here’s a tip: the more soap you use, the drier your skin will get! Those natural oils on your skin are essential and supposed to be there! Spices and herbs: sometimes you can find these items here as well! Vendors have dried and ground their own plants. Although, I’ll admit, sometimes I run out and have to be creative with how to flavour meals. Salt: you can actually find this at the horizontal coffee and chocolate traders! However, there are some essential items that the market just does not have alternatives for. Toilet paper is one example (unless you want to get hardcore and use washable cloths like the No Impact Man from NYC). Non-animal-based proteins is another one if you’re on a vegetarian/vegan diet. There are unfortunately no beans, lentils, or nuts at the market (asides from peanuts from the bird-seed vendor... Yep, I eat these). Conventional contraceptives ,although these can be avoided by learning natural alternatives (check out Unlearn, Rewild by Miles Olsen); razors (if you shave); menstrual products (but there are alternatives for these as well which are much less wasteful including menstrual cups and reusable cotton liners); cleaning sprays (but you can make your own
vinegar-based cleaning agent); and then there are those guilty snacking pleasures... (cough-chips-cough). There are many reasons why it’s important to take up this anti-store challenge. First, you’ll be supporting local entrepreneurs and therefore avoiding middle-men costs and corporate profit. You’ll also be breaking down the corporate pyramid and promoting social justice and equality, and evading neoliberal trade policies. From an environmental standpoint, your diet will be much less dependent on fossil fuels and you can develop a sense of place and connection to the land and climate within which you live. For me, my sense of gratitude grew very strong for food from our local areas. Plus, you will easily find a variety of organic, pesticide, and GMO-free foods. Avoiding unnecessary packaging is another positive of shopping at the Farmers’ Market, as you are able to return your egg cartons, mason jars, and maple syrup bottles. In fact, many farmers will let you empty the produce from their plastic bags directly into yours so that they can re-use them for someone who wasn’t thinking as far ahead as you. At a community level, shopping at the market will enable you to develop relationships with the people who grew or made or prepared the food that will nourish your body. You will begin to run into familiar faces that you see around campus or town but don’t necessarily have time to stop and chat with; thus, it is a space to really strengthen your sense of community every week. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this challenge is incredibly healthy for your mind, body, and spirit!
Arts
A crash course in the Give stand-up comedy a try Peterborough music scene By Matt Douglas
By Gabe Pollock
Every night, in friendly little hippy bars and sketchy rock clubs with weird-smelling bathrooms; in coffee shops and on theatre stages, exciting things are happening in downtown Peterborough. Live music is happening. I’ve been covering the Peterborough music scene for the last couple years as head writer for Electric City Live, an online magazine devoted to live local music in Peterborough (check us out: www.electriccitylive.ca), and what I’ve discovered is a vital, creative, and amazingly diverse scene, full of talented people and endless opportunities to hear great live music
The Artists First off, Peterborough is a frequent stop for awesome touring bands (it’s nice being the biggest city between Toronto and Ottawa) who often play in tiny venues with ridiculously low cover. “$5 or Pay-What-You-Can” is the Peterborough mantra. But the city’s homegrown talent is just as impressive. In last week’s Issue Zero, Arthur featured three locals bands: indierockers The Lonely Parade, electro band Fire Flower Revue, and art-pop band hello babies. Here’s more: Mokomokai put on a heavy metal show better than anything else this side of 1985. Melissa Payne is a dynamite on the fiddle with a fantastic country band backing her up. Roboteyes play dramatic, high-energy synth pop, inspired in equal parts by David Bowie and Katy Perry. The Silver Hearts have been together since 2000, with a dozen members playing jazz, blues, swing, folk, and soul. Finally, slam poet Wes Ryan has a sharp political mind and an ear for rhythm. I could go on...
The Venues We also have a ton of venues in this town and almost all of them are downtown inside a three-block radius, mostly along George St. and down Hunter St. The main ones: Red Dog. The go-to space for touring bands. A little scuzzy and a little run down – as any good rock club should be.
Photo of The Spill by Andrew Tan
The Spill. This cafe/bar has the most eclectic mix of genres and shows. A great spot for up-and-comers, experimental acts, and awesome touring indie bands playing for six people.
The Garnet. The smallest, friendliest spot in town. Casual and intimate, perfect for solo singer-songwriters and new acts, with the occasional thrashing punk/metal show.
The Venue. Generally a dance club, but with a killer sound system and a massive capacity, it’s perfect for some of the biggest touring acts. Gordon Best Theatre. Above The Only Cafe, and with the same strange hippy-ish style, the Gordon Best has concerts at least a few times a month. Pig’s Ear Tavern. Hosts sloppy, fantastic rock and country shows every Saturday night, generally for $3. Market Hall. Located under the downtown clock tower, this place is mostly for sitdown shows for an older crowd. Still has some good (if pricey) shows. Jazz, blues, folk, and classical, plus dance, theater, comedy, and so on. Showplace. Similar to Market Hall, only with more red faux-velour seating. Then there’s the downtown pubs that host live acts (Black Horse Pub, McThirsty’s Pint, Riley’s Pub, etc). Moreover, shows tend to pop up at a lot of random venues: martini bar The Sapphire Room, art gallery Gallery In The Attic, record store Bluestreak Records, and so on.
Finding listings So, how do you find out about all these bands and shows? Well, the mainstream local papers and radio stations aren’t much help. Arthur and Trent Radio do a much better job of covering the local arts scene. I also recommend following some local bands and venues on Facebook and Twitter to show your support, get the latest updates, and tell them how much you love them. And then there’s the site I’m involved in, Electric City Live. (Begin shameless plug.) Electric City Live has pretty much complete listings of all live music in town. Every week we publish “What’s On,” which features our top picks for the best upcoming shows. We also interview local and touring bands, we review shows and local albums, we post news, videos, and basically anything else about what’s going on downtown. So check us out: www. electriccitylive.ca. We’re also on Facebook and Twitter @ElectricCityON. Browse our listings to find something fun or just come downtown; keep your ears open and wander towards whatever sounds good. You won’t be disappointed.
I didn’t think I’d make it up the hill. There’s a lot of talk of figurative hills in life, but this was an actual one. The hill on London St. heading to Trail campus had turned into an icy slope thanks to a relentless winter. A stop sign half way up the hill made matters worse because my Pontiac soccer mom van didn’t have the horsepower to push up the hill after stopping. A pair of friends and I were left one option: a running start up the hill and slow roll through the stop sign. With a hope and a prayer we made it. I went to the comedy show in BE at The Trend pub at Trail campus that night, the same way you might go over to watch a movie at someone’s house after midnight only half-heartedly believing you’ll just watch. I told everyone I was just going to watch the show, but I knew that I would be giving stand-up comedy a try. Doing stand-up is a crazy high. My palms got sweaty, my voice quivered and I shook in boots. It’s like public speaking with admittance that you want to be there and you want people to laugh. Up in front of everyone I became very self-conscious of every movement I did. It
felt like I stumbled through the gates, I told a couple jokes to blank stares, but when I found a punch line that people liked it was euphoric. The laughs, the validation, my narcissistic side felt satisfied. If you were ever like me and thought, “Hey I could do stand-up”, I would urge you to try it. If not just come and watch. Sean Quinlan, the event organizer, always brings good comics from the Toronto area and the Trend is a great place to spend a Friday night with some friends. The first comedy night of the year was this past Friday, but there’s one every month. Follow @seanquinlan17 or @ ptbocomedy on twitter for more information on local comedy shows.
It’s Artsweek in Peterborough By Simon Turner
It’s Artsweek in Peterborough—a weeklong showcase of the city’s many cultural highlights. The events run from last Friday to this Saturday, September 13, and include performances, art shows, a historic walk, and workshops. “Artsweek is a volunteer run, nonprofit, week-long celebration of the arts that began in 2005 as a way of showcasing the talent, passion, and diversity of arts in Peterborough,” explained Wes Ryan, this year’s Artsweek coordinator. Ryan explained the importance of Artsweek to all of Peterborough’s artists as giving “many a chance to present work they otherwise could not because of funding and logistical challenges. “Partnering with Artsweek allows some new and upcoming artists the chance to produce works and gives established artists the opportunity to pursue projects that will have longevity. For the community as a whole, Artsweek highlights the diversity, professionalism, and talent within our community and invites people to discover their own artistic tendencies through workshops and presentations.” This past weekend saw the start of events, including the Art Abandonment workshop series, held at the Art School of Peterborough, which runs until Thursday, September 11, with workshops in pottery, cartooning, drawing and painting, wire sculpture, book making, collaging, and other disciplines and art movements. The Art Abandonment Project “seeks to release newly created artworks into the community, encouraging people to share their art, to discover art in new places, and illustrates the positive effect of art in the community,” explained Ryan. The Electrick City Historic Walking Tour runs through the week until Friday, September 12, throughout the day and “offers a new perspective on Peterborough’s history and historic figures.”
Baba Yaga and the Lost Babushka, an Eastern European classic celebrating family and nature was performed over the weekend. Workshops will be facilitated by the Peterborough Poetry Collective on weeknights from 5pm until 7pm at the Spill. “Tapestry for Change is the Poetry Collective’s invitation to Peterborough residents to stitch together niches of resilience and hope as we create a stronger community, collectively,” said Ryan (who is also a member of this year’s Collective). Day Job is an exhibition that “strives to illustrate the struggles artists face in order to survive as artists, the sacrifices we make to afford an artistic life, and the importance of art in a balanced life.” It runs from September 9-13 (Tuesday to Saturday) from 11am-5pm at the Gallery in the Attic. Finally, Totally Multi: Dennis Tourbin’s World of Art and Performance is a “retrospective of Dennis Tourbin’s diverse contributions to our local arts scene, a chance for audiences to discover the origins of places like Artspace and many other organizations that have been spawned since his efforts took hold in the 80’s.” The event is Saturday, September 13 in Market Hall at 8pm. Ryan remarked that “the significance of art in Peterborough cannot be overstated. Art is a catalyst for change in our community, an income generator for local businesses and individuals, and most of all improves our quality of life through expression, shared narratives, and the creative process. “Artsweek is an opportunity for new students to discover the rich and vibrant arts scene in this city, and to investigate their own artistic abilities. Artsweek encourages students to realize the artistic heritage, both old and new, that Peterborough offers. Our city is a creative space with much to offer for all types of artists. And, it’s very affordable and inviting.”
Volume 49 | Issue 1 |September 9, 2014
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OPinonPages Editorial: Let’s get critical this election By Pat Reddick
With the municipal election quickly approaching, it’s no doubt that soon everyone’s favourite news outlets will be filled to the brim with election coverage. At Arthur we’ll be focused heavily on what’s happening in Peterborough. Our coverage will be critical of both the candidates and the major concerns of voters. In our next issue we’ll begin a five-part series that’s going to break down several concerns that are particularly relevant to voters in our community. The intent is to inform students of the issues this election, and get as many Trent students as possible into the voting booth. In Issue 6, the last paper that goes to print before the October 27 voting day, we’ll be publishing interviews conducted with the mayoral candidates, as well as all candidates in the three wards Trent students are most likely to live in (Town, Northcrest, and Ashburnham). There’s also going to be some more general How To Vote articles published sporadically to demystify the process for students. If you’ve been following our Twitter account you’ll have noticed that some coverage has already taken place, specifically coverage of two mayoral candidates— incumbent Daryl Bennett and Trent-alumna/local organizer Maryam Monsef. In fact, the tweet announcing Monsef ’s candidacy is our most favourited and retweeted tweet ever. This, along with the presence of 50-plus supporters who came out to watch the announcement, indicates to me that there’s going to be a stiff challenge for all candidates this election that will hopefully keep Peterborough voters from getting too distracted by whatever ridiculous antics
Doug and Rob Ford get up to in the next two months. One thing I hope voters pay attention to is how mainstream media outlets in Peterborough cover the women running in the election. Peterborough politics tends to be a bit of an old boys club. Council is currently comprised of 10 men and one woman, and most of those men have been around a while. Of course, I don’t mean to suggest you should only vote for the young, hip candidates. Far from it. In my ward, my favourite candidate so far is retired, and my least favourite is probably only a few years my senior (both are men by the way). I think it’s important to critically examine the conditions that would lead to a council with such a one-sided gender make-up. I think the track record of this council is a testament to the fact that it wasn’t always political merit. I write this because I was struck by something Monsef said to me while I was photographing her after her announcement. During Bennett’s announcement a week earlier, I snapped a wonderful blooper photo of him making a face at a friend in the crowd. It was well-received on Twitter, and I decided it would be only fair to snap a blooper of Monsef as well to run side-by-side in this very issue. However, when she saw me, Monsef said to me “no bloopers! Women in politics have it hard enough already.” Looking at Peterborough’s city council, it’s hard to disagree. So, I urge you to be critical of coverage that’s unfair to women running in this election, implicitly or explicity. Already I’ve seen articles in Peterborough go into unnecessary detail about the clothing and appearance of women at a political event, but fail to discuss the merits of
any of then men’s ties or blazers. Let’s let the candidates’ political ideas rule the day and inform our votes, not their gender. Rather than bloopers, below are the best photos I took of the two mayoral candidates I’ve photographed thus far.
Above: Maryam Monsef stands next to the city hall sign Below: Daryl Bennett (right) shakes hands with city clerk John Kennedy
Editorial: Trent’s colleges are becoming C.I.N.O.s By Matthew Rappolt
When the news broke last spring that the Office of Student Affairs was planning a dramatic overhaul of Trent’s college system, members of the community, undoubtedly recalling the university’s spotty track record for collegiate preservation, reacted with suspicion. Over the past decade, and perhaps even longer, the college system has been steadily eroded to the point where many have argued that the college experience has become virtually indistinguishable from the conventional residence experience at other universities. Back when they were planning the university, Trent’s founders were clear about what differentiated the colleges from mere residences. First, the colleges were to exist as autonomously as possible from the university administration, which would give each individual community the space required to grow in its own unique direction, both structurally and philosophically. In turn, they argued, this would ultimately enrich the broader university and provide a truly distinctive educational experience for college members. Second, and most important, was the nature of the colleges as academic bodies. Whereas traditional residences are built simply to house students outside of their instruction, Trent’s colleges were conceived as being the nexus of a student’s educational experience. Every aspect of college life, from its leadership, to its programming, to its composition, to its architecture, is intended to foster academic growth and break down the boundaries of learning. It is because of these two defining features that, from the university’s founding until this past summer, the college heads have always been members of faculty. Colleges were intended to provide more than just student services and, therefore, leadership was to comprise of senior academics who could fulfill a mentorship role and provide overarching academic direction for the whole college community. Although the position of college head has long reported to some aspect of the university administration, there has always been an (albeit dwindling) degree of separation
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between college and administrative governance. With the recent restructuring this is no longer the case. The academic leadership of Trent’s four undergraduate colleges is gone, replaced by college heads who specialize primarily in administration and the provision of student services. These heads report directly to the newly created Director of Colleges position, an organ of the Office of Student Affairs charged with maintaining the consistency and quality of college programming across the board. The rationale for this type of restructuring is, of course, clear and logical. “The idea with any sort of centralization is efficiency,” the new Director of Colleges, Barry Townshend told Arthur this summer. “What little resources we have, we have to spend well so we need to look for efficiencies.” But while this argument may make perfect sense from an administrative perspective, it completely flies in the face of the very essence of the collegiate model of education. Are colleges cost effective? No. Are they administratively efficient? Not particularly. Are they structurally consistent? Definitely not. However, the colleges were never intended to be any of these things; they were created as the core institutional structure at Trent University in spite of their costly, inefficient, inconsistent natures because at their best
they provide students with an invaluable and irreplicable educational experience. Over the summer, Peter Robinson College, one of Trent’s two inaugural colleges, celebrated its 50th anniversary with an alumni reunion bash. Despite the fact that the college officially closed its doors more than a decade ago, over a hundred alumni traveled from across the country to reconnect with old friends, listen to speeches from their old professors, and celebrate PRC on the grounds of Sadleir House. It was a truly magical day that signified the incredible potential of the colleges as they were envisioned by Trent’s founders back in the early 1960s. It is no secret that money is scarce here at Trent, as it is at most of Ontario’s small universities. But with a stable student population and negotiations for a new post-secondary funding arrangement at least on the horizon, Trent should be returning to the original values of autonomy and academic spirit that once defined its collegiate vision. For more than a decade this university has been in danger of having a college system in name only. The recent changes, I fear, merely bring us one more step closer to that reality.
Do you have something to say about something you read in Arthur? Bust out a .doc, then send it to editors@trentarthur.ca We have some guidelines on page 2 that no one ever reads or follows, but hey, you should!
Opinion: Comment
Letters
50th anniversary letdown Hi, Three of us decided to go to the 50th anniversary weekend (August 7-10, 2014) coming from Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. We did an overnighter in Otonabee on the Saturday night as were were in residence together in 76-77. Though we had a great time visiting our old haunts, we were surprised that over the course of 24 hours we did not run into one person from this era - even at the pub crawl downtown! On campus, though there seemed to lots of effort put into signage etc. the book store closed on Saturday at 4pm for the weekend. The Campus was virtually a ghost town on the Sunday, and in many ways it felt like a non event. I didn't think turning 50 would look so tired. On Saturday, after we made a quick purchase in the book store before they closed at 4pm, we wandered over to the Bata Library to see the old furniture in the basement.
That also closed at 4pm but someone was kind enough to let us in. We then went to check out the BBQ and beer garden at the Athletic Centre – the BBQ was very unappealing – an assortment of salads baking in the hot afternoon sun and dried up burgers, chicken and wieners for $15. And to get to the beer garden one had to pass 4 police officers – WTF? Were they expecting us to all get drunk and trash the place? Sorry if I am sounding jaded but we have all grown up and I guess our expectations have as well. Larry Peloso '75-78
Combatting offensive language Dear Editors, Language is one of the most powerful ways of expressing ourselves. It can bring us to our knees or uplift us to the
heavens. Because we allow the use of certain words in our language, we keep people of the lower classes in our society belittled and without any self-esteem. We all use these words and we all know the meaning of our expression. Words such as loonie, retarded, bitch, squaw, old lady, whore come to mind. One is named after the dollar coin, it’s known as a double entendre, “a word with two meanings,” and we have done this deliberately in our own country. If we must, we should see about making laws to protect people of the lower class against this kind of discrimination. I know it’s against the constitution, but I feel we have gone too far with the use of language and we have made our society angry, depressed, and stressed. I would go so far as to say people commit suicide with this constant mood we have created. Thanks for your time, Robert M. Bowers
College restructuring raises questions about transparency By Duc Hien Nguyen
Contrary to students’ popular belief, summertime has always been the ideal season for important decisions to be made, notwithstanding the lack of student participation. This year was no exception, as Trent welcomed the arrival of a new president and a new leadership for all four undergraduate colleges. Compared to the relatively smooth process of finding a new president, the recent restructuring of the colleges seems to be much more opaque and raises more questions than answers. Structural changes to the college system were announced back in April, intentional or not, when students’ top priorities were occupied by final exams and summer jobs. Although the announcement disclosed few details and went largely unnoticed by most students, it articulated a new model
to revitalize the college system. Under this model, each college has one full-time college head instead of a parttime college head and a full time College Assistant. It also installed a Director of Colleges who will advocate for the system as a whole, and an assistant to support all four colleges. The strength of this model is in having specialized personnel who can devote all their time to administer and run programing within the colleges. On the downside, we now lost a respectable tradition in which members of faculties took up the role of college head - symbolizing the dualistic nature of living and learning in University. This loss means that the new College Heads will face even more challenges in their quest to re-establish the colleges as the nuclei of academic and political engagement. With the director position designed to
play a chief role in political advocacy for the whole college system, even preserving a unique collegial identity could be a difficult task for each head. Should the new model fail to work, what will happen to the most democratic, student-led and faculty-engaged aspect of Trent’s architecture? Would it become a bureaucratic machine providing student services? Student leaders, in conversation with the administration, had raised this concern repeatedly and yet it went unheeded. With hindsight, our inputs were for the sake of legitimacy more than for serious consideration, since a decision had already been made. Such failure of our collective voice raises some critical questions about Trent’s commitment to have students involved in a democratic exercise of power. Most returning students wouldn’t notice much different in the appearances of
things. Underneath that façade, however, is a turbulent sea of changes that could fundamentally alter the architecture of Trent. For all we know, we could be heading in the right direction, and those changes could be exactly what we need. Yet if they come at the cost of transparency and integrity, the ultimate result will be detrimental to all. To avoid this, the smoke and mirror must be dispelled. Students need to know how the colleges have changed and why. We must be able to shape the direction in which we want our institution to go. Last but not least, we must engage in a frank dialogue about how students can reclaim a central role within the decisionmaking process. It is not an easy conversation, but if we keep burying our head in the sand, how can we ever aspire to change the world?
#ALS, #icebucket, #goodcause, #yolo By Jack Smye
Initially, I really didn’t want to be the guy writing the article that slams the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Honestly, I didn’t. Just let people have their fun and keep your pretentious and miserable little nose out of it, I said. What harm could come from this trend, right? It’s for a good cause... Well, maybe not so much. It was actually that little good cause statement that inspired this article. It’s almost ironic that by the time this article is published, nobody’s going to care about the ice bucket challenge anymore. As it is with all of these trends, give them about a month and they’ll have run their course. Dare I say you’ve seen a lot fewer of these videos plaguing your walls? I don’t think I’ve seen one in about a week; which is actually relieving. But getting back to the issue with this latest trend, what is there to hate about fund-raising and awareness spreading towards a charity? Well, this is where my stance becomes hard to defend. If I were to have loose lips, which I may be guilty of, it could be insulting and offensive. Obviously, there are very good things about what the Ice Bucket Challenge has done. This campaign has a lot of people talking about ALS. Good. This campaign has raised over $100 million for ALS
research. Great. This campaign has so many people caring and doing good for the world. Amazing! Wait, what? Is that really true? Well, that’s what all of these videos would have you believe. They all say things like, ?’m doing this for a good cause! The philanthropist then proceeds to dump a bucket of ice water on their head: sacrificing their very comfort in the name of charity and in the name of good. They’re doing it for a good cause. It’s reminiscent of a similar campaign that spread across our social media like wildfire two years ago. Remember when we were all going to change the world by sharing a video telling us the atrocities of a man named Kony? I wonder what ever happened to him... Or how about in a couple months when all of us guys grow a moustache and embrace how embarrassed we feel. We’ll put ourselves on display solely because we care so much about colon cancer. My favourite was the recently released video called ‘Look Up,’ where a man exploited the growing popularity of spoken word to write a (very poor) poem telling us all about how bad social media is. Remember when that video surfaced on your twitter? On your Facebook? On your Instagram? Remember how valid that video was? How we all realized how bad social media is, via social media?
Before I proceed any further, I want to step down from the pedestal and admit that I’ve taken part in these trends before. I’ve had the moustaches, I’ve shared the Kony video, I’ve believed in the power of social media to ‘make this world a better place!’ As I’ve grown in my misanthropy and cynicism, however, these trends really just make me bitter. I guess my university education is working. I try to justify my past experiences with these social trends as having fun, because that’s truly all I’ve looked at them as. It was fun to have a moustache for a month, just like I’m sure it was fun to dump some ice water on your head. I look at them as a distraction from some of the issues in the real world, but I never grew the moustache because I thought I was making this world a better place. I’ve since given up on these things because when you actually start to look at them for what they are, you see right through them. It’s marketing, it’s trendy, and it’s narcissistic; not to mention insignificant, irrelevant and pretentious. Nobody is dumping unclean water on their head for ebola. Nobody is dumping rubble on their head for Gaza. Nobody is dumping blood on their head for Iraq and Syria in response to ISIS. The sad part is nobody will, because we used up our yearly activism on ALS.
I can’t deny that there has been some good that has come from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. My issue lies with people genuinely believing they’re doing this for a good cause. You’re doing this for the same reason people were doing neknominations, but at least those chugging alcohol didn’t have the audacity to say they were doing it for anything more than self-indulgent narcissism. #slacktivism.
Volume 49 | Issue 1 |September 9, 2014
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Clubs&GroupsColumns Trent Liberty: Looking forward to the year ahead By Liam Carrie
It is truly a privilege to be living in a country as affluent and as free as our own. We often take our freedoms for granted including the freedom to form associations, spread information and discuss ideas. Were it not for this final freedom, I ask, what purpose would the institution of the university serve? Were it not for the freedom to discuss, speak and express ideas, the academic institutions would vest their very-specialized “professors” not with the opportunity to form arguments, but the right to dictate the history of a discipline, without becoming subject to any criticism. Imagine what state the discipline of astronomy would take if we were forced to believe in the geocentric model of the universe, which claims that the earth is at its centre! Hence any student who values the academic pursuit should also value the liberty which allows these discussions to occur. Surprisingly enough, it was the tradition of liberty afforded the title of “left-wing”, which might seem odd when the phrase is compared with its modern usage. However this can be explained by examining the phrase’s history. The right-left dichotomy was initially established at France’s National Assembly, the institution analogous to our Parliament. Traditional liberals sat on the left side of the assembly, and sought to free the French society from the shackles of traditional monarchical collectivist doctrine, while those who sat on the right embraced mercantilist, imperial &
protectionist policies. In recent years, pure ideology has been exchanged for a political “branding” which profits from the blending of both distinct ideologies, picking and choosing specific “goodies” from each. This explains why conservatives might scoff at immigration liberalization but embrace certain levels of economic freedom while modern liberals might support the opposite. The term “libertarian” or “classical-liberal” has taken the place that was once occupied by the word “liberal” in the late 18th century. It is this tradition which ours parallels, albeit roughly. Trent student Scott Berry was inspired by the motivations of traditional liberals including John StuartMill, Fredric Bastiat and the modern Milton Friedman to form a student group dedicated to the cause of freedom.
His economic education exposed him to some of the mechanics of classical, neo-classical and Austrian economic theory which lay the groundwork for the group’s establishment. Since its inception, Trent Liberty has hosted pub nights bi-weekly in addition to hosting educational seminars and film screenings. Since its founding in 2011 Trent Liberty has focused on a number of campaigns ranging from the dissemination of classical philosophy to the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CTF) sponsored “Generation Screwed” campaign, aimed at raising awareness about unsustainable financial practices. As current president of Trent Liberty, I take pride in knowing that our organization supports some of the noblest of causes including non-violence, human rights, pursuit of happiness, and personal responsibility. We invite anyone who has an interest in politics, philosophy and economics to attend our events, even if their field of study is unrelated to those fields entirely. For example the people involved in Students For Liberty (S.F.L.) a non-profit international student-run organization with which we share a partnership, has student leaders studying everything from engineering to women’s studies. Even if you just want to meet some new friends and hang out with some folks who just enjoy to talk about world issues, I strongly encourage you to attend and get a feel for our events. I look forward to the great year that we have ahead of us, study hard but be sure to have some fun as well!
TQC: Queer issues on campus OPIRG: Writing in the public good By Quinn Ferentzy
Some of you may or may not have heard that Trent has a shiny new Strategic Mandate Agreement. The SMA is a policy that governs what Trent wants to be as a school and it turns out that Trent wants to make it, like, totally official that it really likes LGBTQ identified students. This should make me really happy. And in a way, I am. Despite everything that is still awful, being LGBTQ friendly and making it official is huge. And yet ... I remain a cynical, worried queer. Putting something on paper doesn’t guarantee a follow through and since no enhanced services were specified in the SMA, I’m concerned that this may be another case of theory and practice having a gap wider than the Faryon bridge can cross. I genuinely worry, especially since the Strategic Mandate Agreement states only that Trent will formalize the school’s LGBT reputation “by emphasizing the diversity and inclusiveness of Trent’s student body in marketing materials.” Does this make any one else feel … a little edgy? I worry that the advertising will come before the actual support services are set up. And what about creating bridges between the university and the town? I think I’d feel better if I knew what the “enhanced LGBTQ support services” mentioned in the SMA were actually going to be. Oh well. Let’s move to something I’m enthusiastic about! I got the chance, amid much ISW
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madness to sit down with Boykin Smith (the TCSA’s VP ethics and campaigns.) and ask him a little bit about the union’s campaigns for the coming year. The new school year means I get to spend so much of my time plugging everything any one could possibly do when not in class or asleep, so I will keep this brief. Of the various TCSA campaigns, the “Reject Stereotypes, Embrace Humanity” and “Safe, Sexy, Consensual” are the most closely related to queer issues. The former aims at challenging and drawing attention to the myriad of stereotypes people force on other people without realizing it. It is, especially at a time with so many shiny new ideas floating around, important to rethink some obvious (or less so) stereotypes we have about our fellow humans. It shows how words can seem innocuous, but common vernacular has all kinds of values and prejudices wrapped up in it. The latter is a campaign focusing on sex positivity and consent (which, let’s be real, is mandatory). Some specific events to look up and learn more about will be guest speakers dealing with stereotypes, slut shaming, and anti-oppression training. Boykin stressed to me that he wants all of his campaigns to be inclusive and plans to form a “Campus Action Team” to encourage students to get involved. Stay tuned, and check out trentcentral.ca/ campaigns for more info. Up coming things for TQC: Clubs and Groups day outside of Bata. When? Next Tuesday 10 am to 4 pm. Come and sign up for all the mailing lists, and learn why everyone is so busy. There are so many ways to get involved. Come check ‘em out!
By Matthew Davidson
Let`s face it. Our classes are depressing. Every day we crowd into yet another lecture hall to hear yet another professor describe something that is wrong with the world. Climate Change. Economic Inequality. Sexual Violence. War. Hunger. Colonialism. And then we go home. We go home, depressed and despondent, but we need to put it aside because there are books to be read and essays to be written. A paper about Mesopotamia takes precedence over discussing why Canadian troops were sent to Iraq this month. The derivatives that were behind the 2008 financial collapse won’t make any more sense if you skip your algebra practice. It’s even more depressing to think that we know about all these issues but can’t actually do anything about them. But maybe we can. There is an old adage that says knowledge is power. It doesn’t always seem true, but there is no reason why it shouldn’t be. Knowledge about injustice can give us the rage we need to take on the problems of the world. Knowledge of facts can give us the confidence to talk about complex issues with others. Knowledge of seemingly unimportant things can give us the background needed to make sense of other, more pressing issues. All of this gives us the power to change the world. And that is what this column is about.Twice a month, members of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group, otherwise known as OPIRG, will be writing a column for Arthur.
OPIRG is a student- and communitybased organization with a mandate to do research, education, and action on social justice and environmental issues. OPIRG works on a wide variety of issues, from running the fourth largest food bank in Peterborough to supporting smaller working groups that focus on issues like animal rights or human rights. Our column will cover it all. We’ll dig into issues of public interest. We may explore, for example, how companies like Tim Hortons and Toys’R’Us are lobbying to keep the minimum wage below poverty levels. We might look at how 75% of the world’s mining companies base themselves in Canada so as to be exempt from human rights regulations. Or possibly we’ll investigate whether Trent has investments in the Tar Sands or in Israeli military companies, as other schools do. This column will coincide with the regular programming that we do throughout the year. We regularly hold workshops, film screenings, and other events, and we always welcome everyone to attend. If you see an issue discussed in this column and want to find out more about it, there will probably be an event of some sort on the same topic. You can also get in touch with us to see how you can work on that issue. If you want to find out more about OPIRG, please visit our website at opirgpeterborough.ca, stop by our table at Clubs and Groups day, or just pick up a copy of Arthur each week and turn to this page. Our classes might be depressing, but we can do something about it.
Opinion: Columns
Trent Radio: Get involved with your student airwaves To be an Operator all you have to do is come out to the Operator’s Meeting & Social, Friday September 12 at Noon.
By James Kerr
I’m shy. The idea of trying to engage a bunch of strangers in conversation scares the Dickens right out of me - Oliver Twist jumps rudely from my mouth, and with a ruddy English charm asks: “Please, sir, can I have some more?” Not literally, but literarily. It’s an awkward metaphor, and I suppose the point is I’m a pretty awkward guy, and yet had no problem getting involved with Trent Radio, despite my expectations. Turns out it was the place for me, and it could be the place for you, too. I thought a student owned and operated radio station would be filled with hip young attractive people who comb their beautiful hair with stardust and spin vinyl records on their finger-tips. But no, while like all people Trent Radio programmers are attractive to taste, at Trent Radio you can only really be cool as an individual. When you’re in the radio booth there’s nobody to check you out - nobody to tell you your glasses are crooked or your clothes don’t quite fit or that your bum looks very nice in tight jeans. It’s just your voice. Trent Radio, mostly made of mashed together student voices; a collection of distinct individuals, pioneering their own sense of self through garage rock, chiptunes, or bad comedy. If you want to be cool as an individual, be in with the out crowd, find yourself artistically weird but fervent, or are passionate but ill-defined in your interests, Trent Radio 92.7 FM is yours for the taking. If you think you might have interest in radio, even a fuzzy, ‘that’s kind of neat, I guess’ interest, then there are a million easy ways to get involved. In this article I shall cite only three. You can guess at the other ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven. Programmer A programmer is someone who comes
By Nathan Prendergast
Hello fellow Trent students and movie goers! Next week, Trent Film Society will be screening a laughable and lovable quirky comedy about the problems many students face when it comes to balancing grades and extra-curricular activities. Join us Wednesday, September 10 at 9pm @ Artspace for our screening of Wes Anderson’s 1998 film Rushmore, part two of our focus on the stresses of youth in
Radio Drama
in on a weekly basis to do a radio show about the topic they choose. This is most of the people who are involved with Trent Radio. Do you want to do a show about jazz? About your pet parrot? Your last horrible relationship disaster? Your love of sexist pre-war lounge-lizard crooner musicians? If you’re passionate about it, we want to get it on the air. All you have to do is explain to us this topic on a Programme Proposal - an application for programming, and hand it in before FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12 at NOON to Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North (the corners of Parkhill and George, just down the street from Sadleir House) if you’d like to get involved. It’s okay if your idea is not quite as fully developed as ‘pre-war lounge lizard crooner musicians’. If you’re having trouble filling out your programme proposal, come talk to us on Clubs & Groups day on campus Wednesday September 10, 10 to 4, or come out to any one of our Programme Proposal Workshops, designed to help you fill out your proposal in time for the 12th. They’re happening everywhere around town. Programme Proposal Workshops: * Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 2:00pm at Sadleir House, 751 George St. N. * Wednesday, Sept 10 at 7:00pm at SWB
academia. What better way to start off the school year than with a pair of films celebrating the importance of education! If you missed the screening last week, no need to worry, the movies are only related thematically, newcomers are always welcome. Rushmore is a fun coming of age tale, following the passionate and overly ambitious Max Fischer as he tries to make the most out of life and out of school. Determined to make his experience at
BL (Bata Library) room 402 * Thursday, Sept. 11 at 11:30am at Sadleir House, 751 George St. N. * Thursday, Sept. 11 at 3:00pm at Trent Radio House, 715 George St. N. If you already know what you want to do – the minority of people, certainly – then just hand in a hardcopy of the Programme Proposal on or before the deadline FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12 AT NOON at Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North.
Each year at Trent Radio we write, act out and produce a tonne of radio drama, which is a lot when you consider how much sound weighs. If you want to want to submit a script of radio drama that you’ve written (even if it needs editing), or be a voice actor (even if you’ve never acted) or help with production (even if you don’t know sound effects from blowing your nose…which could be a specially effect for blowing your nose, or a space ship) then get involved. All you have to do is email Jill Staveley at jstaveley@trentradio.ca to say you’re interested, or look for the event on the Trent Radio facebook page, or strop by Trent Radio House and pick up an application form. Applications for participation in radio dramas are due Monday Septmeber 15.
If you’re super-keen, there’s also the option to become an Operator. An Operator is someone who oversees programming, typically lording themselves over a shift of about 5 hours each week, acting as den mother and benevolent tyrant, making sure the broadcast is still running and the coffee flowing, helping out fellow programmers and making Trent Radio a community. Usually the people who become Operators have already been programmers, but this is only an issue of confidence. If this is something that interests you (even if you’ve never been in Trent Radio before) then I encourage you to get involved. That said you should probably at least stop by to know the lay the land under your petty dictatorship.
Finally, I offer the following three reasons why you think maybe radio might not be right for you, and the reasons why you are wrong. A, You’re a first year student. You are no more nor less capable than anyone else. Just go for it. B, You’re afraid of technology, or just afraid in general. Where technology is concerned we give you some training, and besides if you are capable of checking your email then you can do more advanced stuff than is needed in the radio booth. You are capable. C, You think we’re too cool. Well, please go read the beginning of this again. The point is: don’t be intimidated. Do you have an interest? Then you have a topic. And here is the airspace. Hand in your programme proposal FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12 at NOON to Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North to get involved. Happy broadcasting.
Rushmore Academy the best it can be, Max joins every club and team he can, founding a few groups of his own. Inevitably, his involvement in all of these groups gives him very little time for school work, affecting his grades. Sound familiar? This movie has lots of laughs but it also has some heart. The movie explores the many layers of the school experience, realizing the experience isn’t just about making time for homework, but also a time for finding yourself and making some
good friends along the way. Though I strongly doubt any of you have put together plans for making an aquarium at your school, all while working on your own theatre production (good on you if you have), there is something about Max Fischer’s tenacity that we can all relate to. Some of you may have attended our Market Hall screening last year of one of Wes Anderson’s more recent films Moonrise Kingdom (2012). Join us this coming Wednesday as we explore yet another Wes Anderson classic! Like many of his other films, Rushmore is filled with an array of quirky and ambitious characters. There is also love, friendship, betrayal, self-discovery, and of course, comedy actor/legend Bill Murray. Why not take a break from the typical summer movie line up playing at Galaxy and join us for one that’s more off-beat? Our screenings are open to everyone, not just Trent students, so invite a friend or family member. Did I mention entry is 100% FREE!? Our screenings are held at Artspace, Peterborough’s artist-run centre, which is located at 378 Aylmer Street North, near the Greyhound station at the Simcoe Street and Aylmer Street intersection. The screening starts at 9pm. We hope to see you there!
Operator
Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
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Sports Varsity
Photos by Keila MacPherson
On Saturday, September 3, Trent's men's lacrosse team hosted an exhibition match against the Ottawa Capitals. The stands were packed at Justin Chiu Stadium as a raucous crowd of first year students cheered their Excaliburs to victory. The men’s team then began their regular season campaign on September 6 versus Carelton. Unfortunately the fellas lost that one 8-6. Go to trentu.ca/excalibur for upcoming matches.
Recreational Sports
‘Goalball’ league to debut at Trent this September By Ted Cooke
This semester at Trent University students will have the opportunity to play one of the most unique sports in the world. It is not particularly complicated, nor is it particularly dangerous. It is, however, challenging in a way no other sport is. It is guaranteed to be like no other sport you’ve heard before. This is the sport of goalball, and it is the only team sport in the world entirely designed to be played without sight. Goalball is much like a reverse form of dodgeball, except it uses a specially-designed ball with bells in it to allow players to hear where it is. Teams of three square off against one another in an attempt to shoot the ball into the opposing goal. Every shot, every dive, every pass is done while blindfolded. This intense action forces players to rely on senses other than sight and allows them to develop different abilities they never knew they had. This little-known sport is growing in leaps and bounds. In the six decades since it was invented to help rehabilitate blinded war veterans, it has grown into an international competition with annual world championships and Paralympics championships. In Ontario alone, there are five goalball leagues in Toronto, Sudbury, London, Ottawa, and starting this year, right here at Trent University. It has even been played by Jarome Iginla and Reilly Smith of the Boston Bruins. This sport might have been designed for the blind, but the fun and unique learning experience it offers makes it a sport for any athlete with two ears on the sides of their head and a brain willing to try new things. “I really think goalball gives Trent students the chance to do something active with their peers,” says amateur goalball player Keith Dozois. “Goalball gives the
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www.trentarthur.ca
opportunity to students to make friends and get active while having fun.” For those who are interested in playing in the Trent Goalball League or who just want to experience this unique challenge there will be two demonstration sessions held on Thursdays September 11 and 18 in the Trent athletic complex. Just come as yourself, and be ready to have fun. The league will start Thursday, September 26 with
matches held weekly until the end of November. Individual players or entire teams are welcome to register on TrentGoalball.ca or in person on Wednesday September 10 at Clubs and Groups Day (10am – 4pm on the Bata podium.) Teams consist of three to six players and can be any age or gender.All are encouraged to play regardless of prior experience. You don’t even have to go to Trent! Even stepping on the court just once promises to be something you will remember for a long while.
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is hiring! If you’re an aspiring t Writer t Journalist t Photographer or just want to get inolved in student press, send your application to: editors@trentarthur.ca And come to our next story meeting! Wednesday, September 10 @ 5pm in BE @ The Trend, Traill College. There’s more info on our website and the Trent Job Board about the application process. Volume 49 | Issue 1 | September 9, 2014
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listings. where and when things happen. Clubs & Groups to the campus community, connect with new students and recruit enthusiastic volunteers! So tell all your foodie friends, come on by and find out what we’re up to.
Learn to Fence! Explore and learn the sport of Olympic Fencing! All you need is workout gear! The first sessions are Thursday September 11 at 6:30 and Tuesday September 16 at 6pm in the Gym! For more information email courtneypeeters@outlook.com or check out our website trentu.ca/fencing. The Trent U. Music Society will be hosting weekly Open Mic sessions every Thursday evening at 8pm at the Trend pub in Traill College. First one September 11. Bring your instruments or just come to listen for a night of good music and good company. Free admission, all welcome! More info: trentumusic@gmail.com. Trent Film Society Presents a Free Public Screening of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore (1998) at Artspace (378 Aylmer Street). Wednesday, September 10th, 9:00pm. Free! An eccentric private-schooler has too much fun at school when really he should be hitting the books, and Wes Anderson made a movie about it. Introducing Jason Schwartzman in his breakout role. Co-starring Olivia Williams and Suntory Whisky enthusiast Bill Murray. More info: www.facebook.com/trentfilmsociety, trentfilmsociety@gmail.com Trent Radio presents Programme Proposal Workshops. Do you want to be on the radio? Then fill out a Programme Proposal! Need help with that? Attend a Programme Proposal Workshops: Tuesday September 9 at The Peterborough Public Library, 7pm. Wednesday September 10 at Sadleir House, 751 George St N, 2pm. Wednesday September 10 at Lady Eaton College Room 212, 7pm.Thursday September 11 at Trent Radio House, 715 George St N, 3pm.
Seasoned Spoon The Seasoned Spoon Will be at Clubs and Groups Day Wed Sept 10. We will be on the Bata Podium along with the Trent Vegetable Gardens on Sept 10th from 10am – 4pm for the annual clubs and groups day. This is a great opportunity for us to reach out
Intro to Vegetarian Cooking Wed Sept 17. The Seasoned Spoon’s first workshop of the school year will be an intro to vegetarian cooking with our one and only fabulous head chef, Gar. Learn the basics of delicious and nutritious vegetarian cooking. Find out about nutrient and protein balancing, how to use whole food ingredients, save time, and money all while maintaining a high standard of deliciousness! Wednesday September 17th 4:30 pm @ The Seasoned Spoon. $5 or pwyc. Email spoonvolunteers@ gmail.com for questions or more info Volunteer Call-out Exiting Opportunity! THE SEASONED SPOON IS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS! It’s that time of year again when Spoon kitchen is firing back up and fresh organic produce is pouring in from the gardens. We need lots of extra help to keep things in check and maintain optimum kitchen flow. We are seeking out new volunteers with keen interest in food issues, a desire to learn kitchen ninja skills and an inspiration to contribute to community building. Please email spoonvolunteers@ gmail.com if you are interested or for more info.
Local Climate Change Rally, Sept 21, 1:30-2:30 pm, Millennium Park at Water and Kings St, as part of the Purple Onion Festival celebrating local food. Show our politicians that climate change is an election issue. Volunteer Tutors Needed at the New Canadians Centre. Do you have one or two hours a week available to help a newcomer to Canada improve their English language skills and become more confident and connected in their new community? No previous experience is required. For more information or an application form, please contact: Anne Elliott, Community Coordinator, 705-7430882 or anne@nccpeterborough.ca
PARN asks Peterborough to Live Out Loud! PARN-Your Community AIDS Resource Network is asking the people of Peterborough and the Four Counties to take to the streets on Sunday, September 14 to raise much-needed funds to support local responses to the HIV epidemic. Previously known as the AIDS Walk For Life, Live Out Loud will reflect the local realities of living with HIV and the impact that the virus has on Peterborough and the Four Counties. To register for Live Out Loud, please visit: www.parn. ca For more information, please contact Victoria at events@parn.ca or 705-749-9110 Sunday, September 14, 2014 1:00 pm – Registration (Millennium Park), 2:00 pm – Walk through downtown Peterborough, 3:00 pm – Celebration at Millennium Park
Arts Hey friends! Funky Folky Rock Show at The Spill (414 George St) on September 12: Television Rd, Billy Moon, White Crowleys, and No Pussyfooting! Show starts at 9pm. $5 or PWYC (Pay-What-You-Can). It will be fun, we swear! <3 Scottish Country Dancing, The Gathering Place, Peter Gzowski College. A free nine week introduction to Scottish Country Dancing begins Thursday. September 11, from 8.00 to 9.30 pm. No partner necessary and please wear soft shoes. For information please contact jfreeves@sympatico.ca Kawartha Youth Orchestra Annual General Meeting. On behalf of the Board of Directors, notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Kawartha Youth Orchestra will be held at the Century Barn Farm, 400 Stewart Line in Cavan-Monaghan on Sunday, September 14 at 2pm for the purpose of: receiving and considering the annual report and financial statements for the year ended 2013/2014 and the report of the auditors thereon; electing directors; appointing auditors; and transacting such further and other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof. Friends in Music Invite You to Come and
Play. We are a community orchestra/concert band who play great music to have fun and to learn. We welcome all levels of ability, all ages, all instrumentation! Under the baton of music director , Marilyn Croteau Chalk, you are sure to enjoy lots of dynamic music. Her diverse experience conducting bands from young to retired folk with energy and enthusiasm brings a smile to all who play with her. We share and we care for the love of music and want you to be a part of this exciting group where the brass and woodwinds play along with strings, piano, and percussion. Come on out and join us Thursdays 5:30-7:30 at Edmison Heights Baptist Church, Marina Blvd.,Peterborough. For further information please contact lorick@cogeco.ca or call 705 874 5311 or - Visit us on Facebook Dance Your Bones: Move freely to DJ beats from around the world. no steps, no alcohol, just the freedom to move the way you want in the company of like-minded others. $10. Every Thursday 6pm-8pm at 235 Rubidge St. in Peterborough until December 18. www.danceyourbones.com Hidden Brook Press is proud to announce a book launch and party for its new publication “They Have to Take You In,” edited by Ursula Pflug on the theme of the family at The Theatre on King (159 King St., #120 around back) Thursday, Sept 11, 7-9pm. $15 at the door. Audience members will receive their own copy of the book. Come hear some of the writers read their works! Mysterious Entity presents The Blind Eye, a workshop production of an exciting new script. Thursday/Friday, Sept 26 & 27, 8pm. The show, directed by Em Glasspool, uses as its starting point a true tale of immigration, abuse and survival. Adapted by Kate Story, The Blind Eye features Sedina Fiati, Meghan Swaby, and Christopher Wilton. The show will be performed at The Theatre on King(159 King St. #120 around back) with both shows at 8PM. Tickets $15 or PWYC. Come out to this brave, new work!
Send your listings FREE to listings@trentarthur.ca.