Volume 49 Issue 24

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VOLUME

49 Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015


Contents

Pages 10-11: Feature Interview with TCSA President-Elect Alaine Spiwak

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Correction: Both photo essays in last week’s issue should have been attributed to Keila MacPherson. behind the scenes they had another thing coming. This Issue in History: Volume 29 (1995), Issue 24 quietly, As if it wasn’t enough to have lost a mandate they held since The student union is dead, long live the student union! This was the call heard in Issue 24 of Arthur’s Volume 29. It was the first time the body that would become the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA) held an election to determine who would serve on their board. It was also the last time anyone would appear in Arthur as a member of the board of the Trent Student Union (TSU). It had been a tumultuous few years for the TSU that lead up to their disbanding. As was reported in Arthur over the course of Volume 29, chairs had been impeached, hiring processes weren’t being handled effectively, finances were mismanaged, and students could care less about voting in their elections. That is, until they held one in February 1995 asking students if they would like to do away with the TSU entirely and go with a proposal drafted by several students called CSG – Central Student Government. 22% of students showed up to vote, and 84% of them said Hell Yes. Of course, it turns out you can’t incorporate as a government, so CSG became CSA, and later TCSA. The point of the TCSA was to “create a system whereby the individual colleges would have a strong role in an effective and representative student government� according to the union’s first president Eli Fellman. The board was made up of 22 voting positions and seven non-voting positions. Many of them were representatives from the colleges, elected by their college. Furthermore, many board positions were what we now call “equity commissioners,� meant to represent traditionally marginalized groups at Trent, a move that aimed to address the lack of representation in the TSU. But if the TSU Board thought they could cease to exist

1970, the union was handed a lawsuit on the way out. Green Shield Canada, an insurance company, slapped the union with an $82,000 lawsuit for its alleged failure to pay for services rendered. They claimed they had a deal with the TSU to deliver benefits coverage from September 1993 to April 1994, with full 12 month cycles thereafter. This was denied by the TSU, citing a pamphlet handed out by their insurance broker that indicated coverage would extend from September 1993 all the way to August 31, 1994. Furthermore, TSU members claimed their insurance broker Labelle and Morel negotiated an insurance plan with Green Shield that was not what the TSU had requested. In their view, these companies had taken advantage of “the relatively unsophisticated members of the TSU� and misrepresented the nature of the agreement. As a result, the TSU filed a counter claim against Green Shield for over $12,000 and a third-party claim against Labelle and Associates Benefit Services Ltd. for nearly $94,000. Keep in mind, at the time the TSU was already running an $8,000 deficit. There were serious doubts as to whether or not they could even defend the case, though most seemed to believe it was possible to win. Furthermore, Trent’s VP Finance and University Services James Neufeld ensured the university would not be taking the hit should the TSU lose the case. It was “entirely a TSU matter� he told Arthur. This sentiment was echoed by TCSA President Fellman who said the new association will not be “assuming liabilities of the TSU.� How the situation ended is anyone’s guess. Arthur doesn’t publish over the summer months, and unfortunately that’s when this whole situation was unfolding. By Volume 30, Issue 1, no one seemed too concerned about the lawsuit.

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92.7 FM

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CampusNews

Are you a Waste Warrior? Come find what you’ve Gzowski wins the 2015 Cafeteria Waste Challenge always wanted ‌ for free! By Lauren Banks

By Michelle Zhong

Do you have something that you’ve wanted for a long time, but never got the chance or money to buy it? Do you have something that you once loved but are ready to let go of now? OPRIG’s annual Free Market Giveaway will be held on Saturday, April 18 from 9am5pm on the lawns of Sadleir House (751 George St. North), where you can donate and take home clothing, books, music, and small household items. In addition, Food Not Bombs will also be catering a free vegan/vegetarian lunch, and free ice cream cones will be served afterwards. The Free Market Giveaway is a great event that provides university students and community members to mingle, ‘shop’ through mountains of goods, and organize their wardrobes and houses, all free of charge. Donations are accepted until Thursday, April 16 in all four colleges and Bata Library at Trent University, as well as at Sadleir House (please be mindful that furniture and large items will not be accepted for donation). Your unwanted items may become someone else’s treasure! The backbone of the Giveaway event is OPIRG’s Free Market, which started at Trent in 2005 to promote the values of reusing, recycling, and ‘re-consuming’. By providing free goods to those in need, The Free Market not only diminishes the stigma against reusing other people’s items, but also promotes environmental thinking, reducing waste, and excessive consumption. This is not a barter or trading system; anyone can donate, and take items without donating. The Free Market is simply a space where items that are no longer needed by one person can be redistributed to anyone else who may need or want that item. Think of it as a thrift shop, but for free. Located in the basement of Sadleir House, the Free Market has been extremely successful, exemplified by the abundance of donations. The Free Market, along with the Food Cupboard, is open several days a week, thanks to the dedication of OPIRG volunteers. There are also permanent donation bins outside the Bata Library where anyone can drop off extra clothing, books, or non-perishable goods to redistribute to others who need them. If you are in need of something, the Free Market and Food Cupboard will be there for you during hours of operation as follows:

5SFOU T ĕSTU BOOVBM $BGFUFSJB 8BTUF $IBMMFOHF UPPL QMBDF GSPN .BSDI UP JO the Otonabee, Gzowski, Champlain, and Lady Eaton dining halls. The challenge was simple: the college that showed the most improvement in properly sorting their garbage, recycling, and compost wins – receiving an Eco-certificate and a ‘No Trash Bash’ held in their cafeteria. This competition turned students into waste warriors that used recycling and composting as their munitions to help protect our planet from garbage in landfills and in our oceans. Most of what gets thrown into the garbage can be diverted from the landfill by proper sorting into either paper or container recycling and is often compostable. To get a sense of how much of this diversion is happening in the cafeterias, a waste audit was done in February. Across all cafeterias, between 50-92% of what was put in the garbage could have been recycled or composted (see image below). 8F DBO EP CFUUFS UIBO UIBU 8JUI UIF IFMQ PG VQEBUFE TJHOT BOE improved infrastructure at the resource recovery stations in all cafeterias, an outreach campaign by students and BlueBox members, and the actions of student waste warriors, the cafeterias of OC, LEC, and Gzowski all improved their sorting of recyclables and compost in the second audit, done in March. Champlain was the only college that had a drastic drop in diversion, with organics

Trent’s composting program in action (photo courtesy of the Sustainability Office)

and recycling heavily mixed in with garbage. The audit only assessed a fraction of the resources that go into dining hall resource recovery stations, and so the volumes measured were quite small. Nevertheless, if scaled up, the improved diversion seen in the second audit means that a significant amount of recycling and organics were saved from the landfill and given new life as recycled containers, paper, and compost. Many students don’t know that Trent has its own composting facility; the Physical Resources department picks up compost

This figure demonstrates the amount of divertable waste in each college’s garbage bins before the challenge took place.

from the dining halls and all over campus, processes it, and uses the finished product all over university grounds (see above). If the compost is contaminated with garbage and recycling it reduces the efficiency of our compost program and results in more garbage going to the landfill. Gzowski showed an incredible improvement in their sorting of recyclables by over XJOOJOH UIF DIBMMFOHF CZ B MBOETMJEF To celebrate this victory, Gzowski is having a No Trash Bash in its dining hall, hosted by Chartwells, on Thursday April 9 from 2-4pm with drinks, snacks, games, and prizes! Everyone is welcome to join in celebrating Gzowski’s sustainability achievement. Striving to live more sustainably requires DPMMFDUJWF BOE DPOUJOVPVT BDUJPO 8F DBO all be waste warriors every day by properly sorting our recyclables and compost, and encouraging others to do the same. Every correctly sorted item that is diverted from a landfill is a step toward achieving a more sustainable Trent. ćJT 8BTUF $IBMMFOHF XPVME OPU IBWF been possible without the support of the folks from Food Services Sustainability Committee, Sustainable Trent, Chartwells, TCSA, TGSA, the Sustainability Office, and student volunteers.

t 8FEOFTEBZ QN t ćVSTEBZ QN t 'SJEBZ QN The Free Market also welcomes any volunteers who could put in two hours a week to keep the market going and help university students and community members bring down cost of living. If you would like to help out with this project, or even just on the day of the Giveaway, please contact OPIRG at 741-1208 or email opirg@trentu.ca.

Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015

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Campus

Interview: Traill College Principal Dr. Michael Eamon opens up about the writing and publishing of his first book By Ugyen Wangmo

Principal of Traill College and Director of Continuing Education, Dr. Michael Eamon, never limited his interest to just one field. The latest addition to his pool of multifaceted talents is the title of ‘author’ as he publishes his first book entitled Imprinting Britain: Newspapers, Sociability and the Shaping of British North America. The book, which was published by McGillQueen’s University Press, became available on 1 April 2015, and it it is to be officially launched on May 24. Arthur reporter Ugyen Wangmo talks with the new author to get an insight on his latest muse. What is Imprinting Britain: Newspapers, Sociability and the Shaping of British North America about? It is about the origins of domestically-produced, English-language newspapers in what we now consider Canada. The opening of the first printing presses proved to be a catalyst for economic and social growth. Presses were seen as inherently progressive. Printers saw themselves as agents of modernity on the frontier. Newspaper readers wanted to be connected into larger commercial and literary currents. Being apprised of the latest trends gave one the air of refinement and success. Print was a medium of sociability. It was also used as means to inform sociability in spaces such as theatres, coffee houses, and societies. The book looks both at newspapers and these other physical spaces of sociability. In particular, I argue that an English-language colonial print community emerged in the mid-eighteenth century.

How did you decide on the title?

What did you learn from writing this book?

teaching and writing?

Imprinting Britain has a purposeful double meaning. Early newspapers were called ‘imprints’ and the early printers in Canada were literally imprinting stories from, about, or inspired by Great Britain. However, a larger social effect also occurred where the philosophies, literary touch stones, political ideals, and social graces of Britain were also deemed desirable and ‘imprinted’ upon the new colonies.

I learned that social networks were just as important 200 years ago as they are today. While we rely on electronic social media, in early Canada the newspaper medium was essential. Members of the colonial print community used the newspaper to advance socially.

Finding a balance between teaching, writing, and being a college principal has been difficult. There have been many times when I wondered how I could get everything done. However, I think in an institution of higher education that it is important to engage in all of those pursuits. Any success I realize as a teacher, a writer, or as and an administrator is interrelated; each informs the other.

What did you most enjoy about the process?

I think anyone who is a journalist or interested in the history of journalism will like this book. Students of Canadian history (and particularly the history of Quebec and the Maritimes) will like this book as well as those who like the era of Revolutionary America.

What inspired you to write this?

What were the challenges?

Like all scholarly works in history, the sources shaped the final nature of the book. Originally, I had wanted to look at the contributions of Scottish-trained physicians on the intellectual life of the British North American colonies. However, I realized there were strong social and intellectual networks in place in the colonies that these physicians were already plugging into. Further research demonstrated that the press, and in particular the colonial newspaper, were the nodal points in which these networks intersected.

To balance work with family was difficult, especially when I had to leave my two little boys with my wife while I was away on research trips. The scope of the work was also challenging. The history of this time period in Canada is very regional. It meant that I had to master both the literature on early Quebec (in both French and English) and that of Nova Scotia, Colonial America, print and publics, as well as the transatlantic world. There were a lot of different interpretive threads that required me to pull together.

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I enjoyed the research that took me to various exotic places. However, I also really enjoyed the writing, and telling the stories of print and its early readers in British North America.

Who is the intended audience? And why should they read it?

What is the message of the book that you want your readers to comprehend? Two hundred years ago an English-language, colonial print community emerged around the presses of Halifax and Quebec City. Print stories offered colonists a larger perspective on the world and stability in an ever-changing colonial climate. Newspapers informed commerce and culture of a class of colonists desperate to succeed. The literary, scientific, and commercial stories found in early print helped form the early socio-cultural foundations of Canada. How do you balance your time, between

When did you first decide to be a writer, and how? When I decided to become a professional historian I decided to be a writer, as you can’t be an historian that doesn’t write. Although this is my first book, I have written half-a-dozen scholarly articles, a dozen or so popular articles, and have helped developed the text for almost two dozen historical websites, plaques, and exhibitions. An excerpt from the book to catch the eye of readers? “In the beginning was the spoken word. The Indigenous peoples who lived in the regions that would become British North America participated in large networks of trade, commerce, and communication without a written language in the European sense. With the arrival of Europeans came a new literacy and the printed word…”


Campus

SAAT: Canadian heart, South Asian soul By Ryan Newman

Bhangra dance at the Eureka Event, bright lights at the Diwali festival; celebratory chaos at the Disco Deewane. From the demanding effort of tiresome dedication, to the ecstatic thrill of stress alleviation, and all of the moments of comradery in between. What can possibly triumph over a year-long highlight reel filled with an exceptional degree of optimism, support, and team-work? The success of this year’s events surpassed the greatest expectations of many South Asian volunteers and executives; it transcended the boundaries of tradition, and paved the path to a better future. The South Asian Association at Trent hosted its Annual Formal Dinner under the theme ‘A Royal Affair’ on Friday March 20 at the Great Hall in Champlain College. Sparkling candle light illuminated the scenery, reflecting the feelings of warmth and satisfaction that were characteristic of every visitor. About 130 guests filled the 26 tables, each placed diagonal to one another, resembling a flurry of diamonds amidst an atmosphere of optimistic energy. An assortment of water-down stones filled a cylindrical glass centerpiece at every table. Each canteen-like object twinkled with the glimmer of two t-candles floating peacefully across a caldron-sized pond. Gold and black banners dangled from the horizontal pillars of the East-side, glorifying the SAAT colors amidst this glamourous spectacle. Braids of Rangoli weaved through one another, creating a beautiful multi-coloured sand-painting located at the foot of the Great Hall. The event began with a high-tempo presentation by two very talented performers, Vishal Dharamdass and Jennifer Fernando. Dharamdass played a traditional Indian instrument called tabla, while Fernando

Campus/World

danced to its tune in the form of classical Indian dance. The performances concluded with an energy filled Punjabi dance called Bhangra, which was performed by the SAAT Bhangra team. 10 of the 12 stars from last weekend’s Cultural Outreach Event received an ovation from the guests for an absolutely dazzling performance. After the performances, 12 gourmet entrees were served buffet-style, commencing the long-awaited feast. Dishes included world renowned butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, Shahi paneer, mix vegetables, and dal makhni. Overall, the event featured an assortment of tri-national traditions accustomed to the Indian subcontinent. However, the multinational and multicultural aspect of the group emerged throughout the closing speeches. We were joined by a very special guest for the dinner, Maryam Monsef, Trent alumni and former Mayoral candidate, who delivered a touching speech to mark the end of a very successful year. In discussing the multicultural dimension of this event, Monsef asserted that “what has been accomplished here today, the Canadian nation has not achieved; what has been accomplished here today, the United Nations is still trying to achieve.” This inspiring passage set the tone for a marathon of speeches that were to follow. Recollecting on the past year in SAAT, executive members Aaditiya Thakar (President), Ateesh Mishra (Vice-President), Sabrina Sapal (Director of Finance), Manpreet Kaur Kenth (Director of Events), Alaadin Addas (Director of Publicity), Namrata Arid (Secretary) and Sameeha Hamza articulated their thoughts and feelings to the audience. Thereafter, active volunteers such as myself, Alester Fernandes, Samarjit Khaira, and Muhammad Arif Khan expressed personal reminiscences on this fantastic year. Speeches were followed by a short award

Photos by Champagne Thompson

ceremony. Kellen Lindney and Jenna Barrett won the ‘Jodi of the Year Award’, which is given to the couple that has been most involved with the club throughout the year, and supported us in all the initiatives. Two awards known as the Pride of SAAT were given to Sabrina Sapal and Taha Usmani for their dedication and commitment towards SAAT for the full year. SAAT itself was award-winning as well, winning the TCSA Club Leadership Award earlier in the month. A bittersweet vibe permeated a social event which would mark the end for some, and the beginning for many. The entire

SAAT community offers appreciation to one of our most dedicated members, Sabrina Sapal. We wish her the best of luck in life after Trent. As this committee experiences a metamorphosis, special thanks is attributed to all active members. The grand closure combined reminiscence of the past with anticipation for the future. This committee is broadening its administrative wingspan and has laid the foundation for a promising road ahead. The South Asian Association at Trent has transformed from a group of aspiring individuals, into a unified, multicultural, multi-national family.

Khalida Jarrar, Palestinian MP and mother of Trent University alumni, arrested by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank By Alan William

In the early hours of the morning on April 2, dozens of Israeli soldiers burst into a house near Ramallah and forcibly seized Khalida Jarrar, a Palestinian parliamentarian and mother of two Trent alumni. Held without charges, Jarrar is being considered a political prisoner, and an international campaign is calling for her immediate release. Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, joins 16 other elected Palestinian lawmakers currently held in Israeli jails. Her arrest means that more than ten percent of Palestinian parliamentarians have now been incarcerated by Israeli forces, and more than half of them have not stood trial or been charged. “My mother is an influential leader, feminist, and activist,” said Trent alumnus Suha Jarrar. “She speaks strongly and loudly against colonization and oppression. Her arrest is a reflection of Israel’s ongoing tactics to attack freedom of speech and silence those who speak freely against occupation and apartheid.” Well-known as a feminist activist and director of the respected Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Associa-

tion, the elder Jarrar has repeatedly been targeted by the Israeli Forces. In August, an occupation military court ordered that Khalida be deported from her hometown in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the forced transfer of individuals within an occupied territory. At the time, Jarrar spoke of the parallels between her expulsion order and the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948, as well as the continued denial of their right to return

to their homeland. Jarrar has also routinely been prevented from seeking vital medical care by the Israeli Forces. Prohibited from travelling outside of Palestine since 1998, it was only after a major international campaign that she was allowed to seek urgent health treatment in Jordan in 2010. The MP still has a precarious health status, and needs to undergo laboratory tests every three days to safeguard her health and life. There are concerns that she may not receive proper treatment while de-

tained in Israel’s HaSharon Prison. “Israeli prisons are known for their medical negligence towards prisoners,” Yafa Jarrar, another Trent alumnus and daughter of Khalida, said. “Many prisoners have died due to ill treatment of their chronic diseases and health conditions.” Ironically, it is those very conditions that Yafa and Suha’s mother worked to change through her work with Addameer. Now, with the human rights activist detained, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network has launched a campaign demanding her immediate release. Six ways to take action have been posted on the Samidoun website, including an online petition. The organization is also urging support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign against Israel to hold the country accountable for violations of international law, such as the detention of political prisoners. “The Israeli occupation is vicious and their track record shows that anyone who speaks out against their aggression is a target,” Yafa Jarrar told Arthur. “My mother always speaks the truth to power. She is a woman and a loved leader. That is why they went after her.”

Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015

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Campus: academics

Trent professor receives $596,000 NSERC grant to develop a precise monitoring system of Canadian amphibians By Ugyen Wangmo

A Trent-led project is to develop, for the first time, a uniform systematic way to survey amphibian populations across Canada, and shed light on factors associated with the presence, or more importantly, the absence of amphibians. To assess the declining amphibian populations, almost $600,000 in funding was awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to a Canada research chair in integrative wildlife conservation, bioinformatics, and ecological modelling, and professor at Trent University, Dr. Dennis Murray, along with colleagues Dr. Craig Brunetti of the Biology department, and Dr. Chris Kyle of the Forensic Science program. Partners at University of Toronto, McGill University, Laurentian University, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Environment Canada, will also be involved. “We will develop a precise monitoring system by using water, and DNA that is in the water to identify the presence or absence of different species of amphibians,” said Dr. Murray. Using water is a much more reliable and rigorous detection method of determination than simply listening to the frogs, he added. As explained by Dr. Murray, Canada is a rather delinquent relative to other developed countries in terms of monitoring amphibians. “We are just not doing a good job at all,” he stated. And said that monitoring right now is being relied on citizens to drive around and listen for breeding frogs. That is basically the extent of sur-

This little buddy is one of the amphibians you can find around Peterborough. It’s a Western Chorus Frog. Photo by Benny Mazur, courtesy the Wikimedia Commons.

veys which are available for amphibians in Canada. First of all it is not a precise way of indexing amphibian populations, secondly there are groups of amphibians that don’t make any noise, and as such one can never know whether they are around or not, pointed out Dr. Murray. So they are glad to have managed to convince the federal government to put some money into allowing them to develop ways of survey these populations that will be more rigorous and reliable, and bring Canada up to where it is supposed to be relative to other developed countries, he said.

The other component of this project includes looking into effective pathogens, contaminants, and parasites in the water and how those might be affecting the amphibian abundance, Murray added. So both improving the monitoring system, and figuring out what might be causing amphibian declines, will be the major significance of the project. When asked about the importance of focusing on amphibians as opposed to any other group of animals, Dr. Murray reasoned that amphibians are undergoing a massive decline across the world right now. The current rates of extinction are terrifying, and is at a rate that has never occurred

in the world’s history. As well, in the next 30 or 40 years about third of the amphibian species are predicted be lost, he said. Most of these die-offs are happening in tropical areas, but “Because we are not doing any monitoring in Canada we don’t know what is happening here,” he informed, although there has already been some disease outbreak and some declines recorded. “But I think that right now most ecologists in conservation biologies are recognizing that amphibians are really a big conservation concern, more so than most traditional wildlife species,” he stated. Amphibians are high priority, and one can consider amphibians as canaries in a coal mine, too, says Dr. Murray, explaining that since they use the waterways, or other natural environment, and to see a decline in them is partly related to human activities. It is an indication that humans are messing up the environment, and the need to get on top of it too, he added. In terms of challenges associated, some include coming up with a good sample size, being able to sample a large enough area that gives them lots of variabilities, which according to him is important to develop predictive models, and finding good students who can help them make this a top of the line project, are few that they expect to see, says Dr. Murray. The four-year project studying the decline in amphibian population will focus more expansively around Southern Ontario with a fair bit of work around Peterborough. It is due to commence in the next couple of weeks, soon after the amphibians start coming out.

Trent Philosophy Symposium a resounding success

By Zachary Cox

The Trent Philosophy Society, the university’s oldest undergraduate society, added another successful event to their year with the Philosophy Symposium held at Traill College on Saturday, March 28. Approximately 40 attendees gathered in Bagnani Hall to listen to six Trent students present their papers on topics relating to virtue theory, political philosophy, or objectivity. Facilitated by the Society’s Student Coordinators, Nicole Fice and Derrick Burgman, the student papers and proceeding discussions covered a range of philosophical concepts. Brendan Rowe’s paper ‘Social Media and Virtuous Friendships’ explored the impact that social media services such as Facebook have had on interpersonal relationships, arguing that the expectation of being constantly connected has actually diminished the number of meaningful shared activities between friends. Duc Hien Nguyen presented ‘Can Ani-

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mals Be Virtuous? Can They Be Happy?’ and concluded that while their form of happiness may differ, animals can experience the emotion. Quinn McGlade-Ferentzy compared and contrasted viewpoints in her paper ‘Human Nature and Politics: Aristotle and Marx’, while Nathan Prendergast explored the methods through which politicians are using specific methods of reasoning to dodge questions in ‘Politics and the Art of Reasoning’. Eric Prachar’s presentation, ‘Tolerance and Objective Truth’, made the case that an absolutist approach to truth may be the best method. Peter Del Villano discussed the concept of self in ‘The Subjective and Objective Self in Borges and I’, and presented the idea that “the present belongs to the subjective self,” whereas representations of one’s identity outside the present are purely objective. Following each of the speakers, there was an open floor for questions and discussion, an opportunity that was well used at each possible opportunity. Vibrant and en-

gaged dialogue resulted after each presentation, as ideas were proposed and tested. Once the presentations were complete, the group moved over into the Trend, where further discussion continued over food. Along with the student presenters, other philosophical Trent minds were in attendance as well. Though he was unable to stay for the full extent of the event, as he had to catch a flight to a conference in Ireland, Trent University President Dr. Leo Groarke helped open the event with a speech on the importance of philosophy. He said that philosophy is both a refuge from and a connection to the regular world and that “it can make a huge impact on our daily lives.” Trent Alumni and award winning author Yann Martel was also present through a video he had recorded to help open the Symposium. He recalled his “fond memories of studying philosophy at Trent University,” and encouraged the discussion and study of philosophy, stating that he feels “a lot of dysfunctions in our society today are due to a citizenry that hasn’t thought enough about the fundamental questions that philosophy asks.” Other attendees included Martel’s philosophy professor Bob Carter, and David Beattie, a Trent Philosophy graduate who worked in the House of Commons after graduating. Beattie actually established the Cockalorum Fund at Trent University, which has the goal of assisting and promoting philosophy-related events such as the Symposium. Following the Symposium, Beattie said that he “could not think of a better use of the money,” and that he is “really, really

excited to see how articulate and ready the students are.” Fice, as Student Coordinator, and Michael Hickson, the Trent Philosophy Society’s Faculty Advisor, were also very pleased with the event, and the year as a whole. Fice is a fan of the event as it provides an introduction to presenting at events for the students. “It really offers students an opportunity to experience a conference setting,” she said. Hickson was pleased with the turnout at the event, and noted that the other Philosophy Society events throughout the year also drew a crowd, citing the Interdisciplinary Roundtable on Canada’s Prostitution Legislation, guest speaker events and numerous others. In an email to Arthur following the event, he expanded on the importance of large turn-outs at such events. “There is reason to be proud of the success of these events. As President Groarke said in his opening remarks, philosophy is not a top priority of most universities these days. As Yann Martel pointed out, this is ultimately a bad thing for our society. But at Trent, philosophy is absolutely flourishing, as the success of the above events demonstrates. The students at Trent clearly want to think about the big questions of philosophy, and they’ll be better off for having done so. The Philosophy faculty are always happy to think along with the students, both in and out of class--notice that 100% of the full-time faculty in philosophy were present at yesterday’s Symposium! I would encourage all Trent students to come out next year to some Philosophy events, if they haven’t done so already.”


Campus

Academics: What is a post-doc and what do they do? By Jenny Fisher

An event called ‘Suds ‘N Speakers’ was held on March 26 at the Trend. Where “some of Trent’s Post-Doctoral scholars” came to talk about “exciting research that is taking place at Trent,” as advertised in the poster. A total of five speakers made a presentation about their research. After the presentations, the audience asked a series of questions for the five speakers. The speakers included Lisa Pasolli, Mark McLaughlin, Alison Norman, Daniel Heidt, and Dave Tough, all of whom are post-docs being hosted by Trent University.

What is a post-doc? Lisa Pasolli has explained that “someone who has a post-doc has already completed a PhD, so the post-doc gives you an opportunity to further develop the research that you started during your dissertation, and to make new contributions to your field of study.” Pasolli has also explained that “there are different kinds of post-docs, but in the humanities a post-doc is usually a two-year fellowship during which you work on a research project.” Alison Norman adds that a post-doc “won a scholarship of sorts, usually from the federal government, to conduct a new research project. It is for new scholars.”

ing in workshops, and generally being involved in the academic community. Most post-docs have a very light teaching load (some teach a course or two, but it’s rare that a post-doc has the same kind of teaching load as a sessional or tenured professor), so we get to spend a lot of time presenting our research, working on publications, and networking with colleagues.”

What does a post-doc do?

What are Trent’s post-docs researching?

Mark McLaughlin says that this “depends on where you get funding.” He explained, “Trent is the institution that hosts me, funding is external.” However, McLaughlin also explains that Trent has helped his research in other ways by giving “research infrastructure and guidance.” Pasolli explains that “the main thing that post-docs in the humanities do is conduct research into their area of study. The goal is for that research to result in new publications like academic articles and books, so post-docs also spend a lot of time writing. Post-docs also spend a lot of time attending conferences, giving papers, participat-

Lisa Pasolli’s presentation was titled, ‘Talkin’ Day Care Blues’. She spoke about her research about working mothers and the child care dilemma in the 20th Century. Her research involves how women with children can/should become students, workers, and overall “fully participating people of society,” as she explained in her presentation. Pasolli later explained her research in three brief sentences: “I have been working on writing the history of Indigenous teachers in southern Ontario in the nineteenth century. Many of the missionary schools on reserves hired Indigenous teachers to

teach Indigenous children because they were more successful than non-Indigenous teachers.” More specifically, Pasolli explains, “my research is trying to uncover more about these men and women.” Dave Tough’s presentation title was ‘At Last! The Government’s War on Poverty Explained: The Charisma of Poverty in the 1960’s and the Crises of Redistributive Politics’. Dave Tough mentioned in his presentation that “almost no one wrote on poverty in the 1960’s. “ Alison Norman’s presentation was titled, ‘Researching Indigenous Teachers in Nineteenth Century Ontario’. Which reviewed the history of recorded Indigenous teachers. Some of the research took a feminist perspective and looked specifically at female Indigenous teachers in nineteenth century Ontario. Mark McLaughlin’s research was titled, ‘Crossing the Boundaries: The State and Science in Resource Management’. Daniel Heidt’s presentation was titled, ‘Flying Balloons in the Artic: the joint Arctic Weather Stations, Science and Technology, 1946 1972’. This presentation reviewed weather research done in the arctic. Daniel Heidt explains in his presentation that this research has been “crucial” to a lot

of other careers like “military planning,” “local meteorology,” and even to the “lumber industry.”

How has Trent helped their research? Lisa Pasolli’s answer was: “I’m based in the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies, and I feel really lucky to be able to be part of Trent’s great Canadian Studies program. There is a great group of faculty, researchers, graduate students, and other post-docs who make Trent a real hub for Canadian Studies, and it has been wonderful to be part of this intellectual environment.” Alison Norman says, “Trent has been a great home for me.” She continues, “I have been working with Dr. John Milloy, Director of the Frost Centre, who has given me great advice on my research. And I’ve had the opportunity to teach CAST-2255, a course about the history of Indigenous people in Canada.” Most importantly, Norman made sure to make a shout out to her students: “And I love the students at Trent.”

Peter Robinson Townhouses sold again By Ayesha Barmania

The Peter Robinson Townhouses, located on George St near Parkhill, were sold in March of 2015 to a local property owner who has several holdings in other heritage buildings. The PR Townhouses were the primary

residences for the former Peter Robinson college. They were designed by renowned Canadian modern architect Ron Thom and are a notable piece of architectural history in Peterborough. The townhouses, along with Sadleir House, Peter Robinson Place (aka Reid House), and the Cottage were all sold by Trent University in 2002.

The downtown colleges and the properties they have become are seen as institutions with the potential to connect downtown life with the university. Up until the sale, the townhouses were being rented as affordable student housing. There are currently single-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, as well as four and six bedroom units. The new owner has indicated plans to renovate the townhouses and change the make-up of bedrooms and units. The Peterborough Student Cooperative has had an arrangement with Zeh-Abramsky for the past 4 years to refer Trent University students to the townhouses for rentals. Since the sale, the Co-op has yet to meet with the new owner of the property but Elizabeth Thipphawong, coordinator of the Co-op, in an interview with Arthur indicated that they are very interested in maintaining the referral agreement that existed with ZehAbramsky. Thipphawong said, “We have a sentimental attachment to the building, of course, and we want to see students thriving there.” While referrals to the townhouses are a major initiative of the Peterborough Student Coop’s, their mandate more broadly defined. Their goal is to provide safe and

affordable housing for student and community members, and in doing so bridge the gap between campus and downtown. In this regard, they are first and foremost an advocacy group which works for the realization of renters’ rights. Even without an agreement with the PR Townhouses, the Co-op has plans to continue advocacy and begin new programming on housing rights in the Fall. This sale comes following an announcement last summer by the Peterborough Student Housing Co-operative and the PR Community and Student Association (PRCSA), who were looking for alumni donations to purchase the townhouses back. The PRCSA would have needed upwards of $1 million to purchase and renovate the townhouses. The understanding between former owner Gabriele Zeh-Abramsky and PRCSA was that the group had five-years to raise the funds. Unfortunately, these plans had to be abandoned due to unforeseen circumstances. The townhouses are a major investment for housing geared toward the Trent community. While their maintenance and overhead costs are significant, there is a potential for significant returns. The new management and fresh ideas may make the property profitable at last.

Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015

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LocalPages CommunitymembersgatheratCityHallinsolidaritywithmigrantworkers By Emma Warner Chee

Activists, poets, youth, and seniors gathered at City Hall on Sunday, March 29 to protest the federal government’s “4 and 4” policy, coming into effect on April 1. The policy, which was written in 2011, prevents temporary migrant workers from renewing their work permits after four years, and simultaneously prevents them from reapplying for another four years. This coming April 1 will be the end of the first four years of the policy. Migrant justice advocate Alecia Golding says this will have a negative impact on the Peterborough community, as well on communities across Canada. “This will be a mass deportation. Tens of thousands of people across Canada will be torn away from friends, families, and communities. The government is trying to tell these migrant workers that those who are considered citizens of this country won’t notice their deportation or that we won’t care, but there are rallies happening in Toronto, Hamilton, Guelph, Niagara, Edmonton, and the Okanagan Valley today. Today proves that we do care, and that we will stand in solidarity with them.” Two farm workers who will be affected

by the 4 and 4 policy were in attendance but chose to remain anonymous, and as activist Sasha Patterson pointed out, many people who come under the temporary foreign workers program are unable to voice their dissent. “There are many voices we are not hearing today. Many workers face risks from employers and the government if they speak out against rules and policies that

abuse them. Migrant workers in Canada work low wage, undesirable, and sometimes dangerous jobs. They are not given the right to stand up for their rights.” Golding and Patterson were among the speakers who addressed the crowd at city hall. They encouraged attendees to sign a petition calling for an end to the policy, and calling on the government to grant migrant workers status upon arrival.

The activists say they chose to meet at City Hall because they want to unite the Peterborough community in building a sanctuary city. They describe a sanctuary city as a city that which protects all inhabitants from immigration laws that violate their human rights and allows anyone, regardless of their status, to access basic services within their community without the threat of deportation.

Trent graduate attends United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as YWCA Peterborough delegate By Jack Smye

A recent Trent graduate, Kemi Akapo, recently acted as a Peterborough Haliburton YWCA representative in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which took place at the UN headquarters in New York from March 9 to March 20 this year. Established in 1946, the CSW is an annual two-week session considered to be instrumental in promoting women’s rights around the world and in shaping the global standards on gender equality. During the sessions, representatives of the UN, national governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) organize and engage on a central theme. This year, in its 59th session, Akapo participated in discussions that were focused on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; which was ratified 20 years ago and is meant to achieve gender equality and empowerment for women across the globe. This declaration was centralized around 12 key points, such as education/training of women and women in the media. Clear methods and actions were then strategically laid out at the declaration’s inception. The goal of the declaration is to have all 12 of these key points implemented across the world by 2030. Being that it has been 20 years since the declaration was initiated, this year’s session was meant to serve as a check-in and an update. 2015 also marks the year where the UN was supposed to achieve its Millennium Development Goals; which include universal primary education and the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women is also on this list, and being that most of these goals have not been achieved, discussion was also had

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about how to move forward. Akapo, a graduate in International Development Studies, was selected to attend for her extensive work the Peterborough Haliburton YWCA; a local chapter of the world’s largest women’s organization that advocates for social change and gender equality. As a member of the Peterborough Board of Directors, Akapo was selected to attend the YWCA Canada Annual Member Meeting. At that meeting, she was then asked to join the Canada-Wide Young Women’s Engagement Task Force where she served as co-chair. Finally, impressed with her work, a branch of the YWCA offered her funding to attend the conference in New York. Akapo was one of just 25 Canadian YWCA members to attend the event. Being that it was her first time, Akapo said that she took on more of an observing and absorbing role at the main events. That being said, she did get to share some of her experience in Peterborough at some of the side events and discussions.

Akapo noted the importance of this aspect, with the connections made and the contacts gained, and said “I’m really glad I had my first year there to just absorb and learn as much as I can, so maybe next year I can come back and present. But even though this year I wasn’t able to talk at the front of the room, I went to a lot of events where I was able to speak and share my experiences. “It’s not better, but it has just as much value and I made so many contacts. Somebody would tell me about this thing they’re doing in Bolivia, for instance, and I would get their information so I could keep in contact and maybe bring that back to Peterborough.” When asked if there was anything specific that she would be bringing back to Peterborough, Akapo noted that she had taken in such a vast amount of information and hadn’t really had the opportunity to sort it all out yet. One thing she did mention as something she wants to work on, however, is getting girls and women involved in politics. She also said that a key feature of this is to have women who are already in a position of power help to get other women involved. At this point, when asked how it she got involved with the work she does, Akapo said “I guess I’ve always been a feminist and an activist, but I never called myself that because I didn’t know that was a thing…I always spoke out against things I didn’t agree with, but it wasn’t until I came to Canada that somebody said you’re an activist. But with all the work I was doing, with volunteering and my studies, it was all based around this same type of activism.” Akapo then talked about how important the YWCA has been for her, and how it was a catalyst that gave her so many re-

sources. She also talked about how she was encouraged by a former mayoral candidate, Maryam Monsef, to get involved with the YWCA board. “I have to say a huge thankyou to [Monsef] because she got me involved with the YWCA. Maybe I would have got there eventually, but she sat on the board and we had had conversations in the past and she knew where I stood on everything. Then she just called me one day and said the YWCA was looking for young women.” Akapo also wanted to encourage any young women looking to get involved to come to the YWCA, but more than that, “Let your voice be heard…if you see a need or there’s something you want to do, don’t let somebody tell you you can’t do it because you’re too young. Just let your voice be heard.” She continued, “You are your future. What you do now is going to affect your life in 20 years, if you wait until you’re 20, for instance, you’re letting people older than you make decisions that are going to affect you when you’re 20. If you’re [a young women] and you’re seeing issues, address them now… I know how cheesy the future is now sounds, but it is.” Finally, Akapo also talked about how important it is for those who are fighting to know that they’re not alone. This was something that she said she truly realized while being a part of the UN commission. According to Akapo, “Sometimes you sit back and think am I the only one who is doing this work? Then, you go to this conference and see women all across the world who are doing this, not just the YWCA. It was really incredible to feel a part of this global sisterhood, and brotherhood, there were a lot of men involved as well. Personhood I guess. It’s really nice to know that there are people around the world who all see the same issues.”


Local

Perspective: An interview with a familiar face by Simon Semchuk

If you walk downtown you’re guaranteed to see a familiar face. Peterborough is a place to run into friends, but what about those faces you know in passing? Maybe you know their names, but you probably don’t know their stories. I hit the streets to find Stephanie: artist, cleaner, and panhandler. You can usually find her in the mornings in an empty storefront between Hunter and Simcoe Streets. I sat down with her to chat about her life. Tell me a little bit about your life. I’m 35. I was born in Toronto and came to Peterborough in Grade 4 and I’ve been here ever since. I used to live with the owner of Hi Ho Silver when I was a teenager. I do art at home; I took art all through high school. I got into philosophy and cultural studies at Trent with an art portfolio... I have a one bedroom apartment... and there’s art on all the walls. I’ve made art everywhere... And I’m on disability. So I hear people talking to me and touching me. I get paid with disability and it pays for all my rent and phone bills and food and soap and all that. So why did you start panhandling? I used to do some cleaning at Hi Ho Silver but anyway the voices were biting at my body so I couldn’t work anymore. I couldn’t work anymore. ‘Cause they were grabbing a hold of me and touching me where they shouldn’t touch me.... Yeah, so I couldn’t do that anymore. So I was upset and I sat out here, and for the last five years I’ve been out here. And yeah, the voices are so terrible that, yeah, this has been the best thing for me, to be out here. And I’m not doing any sudden movement, I’m not like I’m not scrubbing or picking up stuff so they don’t tend to grab at me anymore. That’s good. Yeah! And because they talk and you can’t see them it gets pretty sad if you’re alone and they’re just talking and talking and there’s no one really there. So this has been great for me, to come out here, and then I get to see people... and talk to people and keep my real friends real and my invisible voices not real. Haha! ...I have really negative voices. They rape you, they’ll fart in your mouth,

they’ll try and put maggots and cat piss in your mouth. They’re the creatures from the black lagoon these are like horrible people. Talking about murder and all this crap... So that’s what has been helping me the most is living a real life and then the voices can just kind of go on the back burner. I have to do my visual exercises: I have to talk to people... ‘cause these voices will try to drag me off to La-la Land... After the whole time of being out and talking to everybody then when I get home I go right to my chores... and these voices they just don’t matter at all! Haha! They just don’t matter! Nice! I can’t stay inside and just stay inside because it’ll just eat my brain away... So what kind of treatment do you get from people? ...A lot of people are really, really nice and going to Natas for coffee and treat me awesome and give me change and are really good people. And then there is the odd – like, sometimes, it’s kind of irritating but sometimes a truck will drive by and they’ll roll down their window and they’ll scream “get a job” at me. It really pisses me off me too. And then I have to bitch at myself, I have to bitch out loud for about five minutes over those comments because of the voices and disability that’s making me not be able to work. It’s not like I have a degree or anything, I’m just a scrubber. That’s the only job I

can get. Cut the lawn, you know, mop the floor, dust the store. Just cleaning, cleaning basically. That’s my only skill. So have you had any run-ins with the police? No, they’re really good... They just say hi to me. At the very beginning like back five years ago when I’d just started when they’d come down the street they’d grill me a little bit like, “What are you doing? What is this for?” And I’d tell them about the voices and everything, and that I was collecting change, I’m being a good person, I’m not biting anybody, I don’t say anything mean to people. I think I’m not rude. So they got to know and they’re just good with it... You have to be a little bit... They got guns, eh? So...haha! You say a little bit but you’re just wearing cotton clothes so when the gun goes by you’re still like “whoo! gun!” haha! Yeah! So what’s your philosophy on life? When I was a kid, I was kind of in foster care with Hi Ho Silver there. My philosophy to life right now is I’m zoned into the restaurant scene... When I was a kid, I was a kid, I was just born, I didn’t know anything about money, I didn’t have savings, I didn’t have a house, I didn’t have any personal belongings hardly... Now that I’m 35 and I have some money and I’m older and smarter and I have a lot more things, things that belong to me in my apartment. Basically it’s trying to serve that drink with the fire going and the dusting done

and the music and the TV. Yeah. Like when I was young, when I was like 12, the house that I was living in – my mother was gone out of town, she used to beat up my sister, and the whole house was condemned. It got tore down. And it was just a pit of crap and that’s where these voices that’re bugging me... they’re attacking me with this pit of crap. And that’s what I was born in was this pit of crap... My mother’s a really dirty person and she beat up my sister, anyways, she was gone ever since I was 12 she was gone never one Christmas or nothing and then my grandparents died five years ago and she came to the funeral and she hadn’t been seen in five years!... It was like she kind of walked back in but she didn’t? But you can’t forget that she beat up her kids and she didn’t actually live with them while they grew up... So I was born in this dirty house and I had to escape, I had to phone the police... My grandparents were so clean and then my mom was a dirty pig and then I got born into my mom’s dirty pig house and I escape and I have to clean everything. Maybe if you’re just born into a really clean house, maybe you just don’t give a shit about it or something and you keep your house dirty... Then if you have a dirty house when you’re born and you escape, it just makes you want to clean... That’s what I like to do. That’s my thing. I got a set of oil paints for Christmas. Oh nice! Yeah yeah, I’m sleeping on the fact, I’m sleeping on what painting I’m actually going to make... What advice would you give to a young person who’s scared they can’t make ends meet? I’d tell them to... use the shelter... Go to the shelter, go to government funding, but the best would be to go to the shelter. I was in the youth shelter, I went to the YES shelter when I was 25. The secretary there was just amazing and got me on Peterborough Housing. I was pregnant at the time and they fasttracked me and I got into Peterborough Housing in two weeks!... But I hear people on the street and they’re like “Ah! Peterborough Housing, I’ve been on that list for four years and they still don’t phone me!”... Anyways, there’s programs out there. When you’re young you don’t even know... you have to dig around.

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ArtsPages Trent students exhibit work at 2015 SPARK Photo Festival By Ayesha Barmania

The SPARK Photo Festival is opening this week and will feature the artistic contributions of many Trent students through collaboration between the festival and the Trent Visual Arts Network (TVAN). This is the third year of the festival and the first time that TVAN and SPARK have worked together. The SPARK photo festival is the only regional photography festival of its kind in Canada. It brings together artists in the Peterborough region to celebrate their photography through installations

around the city. Last year, over 11,000 people attended, and this number is only expected to grow. Especially this year, with the Lucy Maud Montgomery special exhibit taking place, organizers are expecting a significant turn-out and potentially many patrons from out of town. SPARK is a celebration of Peterborough’s talented artists. This pool has always included Trent students in the past three years that it has been running. Many students have organized their own solo and group exhibits independently. This year, TVAN is taking the lead in organizing an exhibition for Trent stu-

Here are some photos you could see if you visit SPARK exhibits.

dents. Nine Trent students will be participating at the exhibition at Sadleir House, called ‘Faces and Places’. This exhibition draws on photography from a range of locations and a range of perspectives, each foregrounding some aspect of face or place. The contributors themselves come from a diverse range of backgrounds and bring a diverse range of photos. TVAN is a student group that builds a community of artists on campus from a variety of backgrounds, whether that is painting, sketching, ink, or photography. They have hosted several exhibitions around campus, notably at Lady Eaton College, which Ryan Lamoureaux, Vice President of TVAN, felt was the arts college at Trent. Having started this past year, they have picked up quickly and now run weekly workshops on different art methods and styles. TVAN and SPARK connected “through a common interest in art and photography,” said Lamoureaux in an interview with Arthur. They are branching out in this way to downtown, in a space that falls between campus and the city, to display the works of their membership. The students had to coordinate the exhibition themselves with the support of the SPARK festival organizers. Robert Boudreau, SPARK festival co-chair, in an interview with Arthur said, “The process of doing an exhibit is very challenging but very rewarding, especially if you haven’t done one before.” The festival is a great opportunity for budding photographers to develop the

industry skills necessary for setting up an exhibition. While SPARK provides support and guidance, it is up to the exhibitors to find and contact a venue, configure their exhibition, select and edit photos, and arrange them around the space. SPARK takes on responsibility for mounting placards and descriptions of the pieces as well as marketing and advertising for its component exhibitions. So while artists are mostly independently setting up exhibitions, SPARK assumes the most costly responsibility. The photo festival can be a great way for fledgling photographers to learn how the arts business works and how to continue having their work displayed. For photographers, this can be a great way of getting feedback on their work and networking with similarly interested individuals in the region. Lamoureaux, in an interview with Arthur, said, “It’s really awesome to meet other artists through SPARK. It’s great to get the opportunity to share knowledge with others and try something new.” Boudreau was enthusiastic about having more Trent students try their hand at exhibition through SPARK. His advice was not to go into it hoping to sell any pieces. In his experience, expecting sales is disappointing and it is the thrill of the exhibition that should be enticing. The SPARK photo festival runs during the month of April. TVAN’s Faces and Places exhibition will have its opening reception Wednesday April 8 from 7-9pm in Hobbes Library of Sadleir House.

April 30 is International Jazz Day in Peterborough By Caleigh Boyle

On April 30, 2011, United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared this day as International Jazz Day. This declaration is a way of highlighting jazz and its way of bringing people and communities together all over the world. This year on April 8, Mayor Daryl Bennett will proclaim April 30 as International Jazz Day in Peterborough. At the Venue from 1-2:30pm there will be a Jazz Day Launch where Bennett will officially make the announcement followed by a celebration. Considering how active Peterborough’s art communities is, to officially declare April 30 as International Jazz Day means that for all years to come there will always be a day when the community can gather together to celebrate the wonderful music of Jazz! “We really want it to kick off the buzz in town for Jazz Day. We want it to be, tell everybody you know please,” says Chelsey Bennett, chair of the International Jazz Day Committee. “There will be Cuban Jazz, Brazilian Jazz, small snippets from each performer.” Now while the launch of the event at The Venue will be fun, the real festivities will take place on April 30, of course! Both Bennett and Craig Peterson, the co-chair of the International Jazz Day Committee, have organized what is going to be a very fun Jazz filled evening. The evening will begin with ‘Dine with Jazz’ with four participating restaurants and bands. Starting at 6pm and going until 8pm, there will be live music at the following places: At the Shish-Kabob-Hut, Pete Woolidge and Federico Pontani will be playing.

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Woolidge is an accomplished Peterborough based jazz pianist who has been playing for more than 30 years, and Pontani is a talented guitar player who has played in many bands, both here and in Italy. Mike Francis and Neal Davis will be playing at Dolce Vita. Davis is joining Francis as a bass player. Francis is an accomplished guitar player, having recorded with people such as Joe Sealey, Natalie McMaster, and many more. There will be music at Currie Village by The Lazy Devils. This Jazz trio is inspired by the early Jazz of the 30’s and 40’s. The trio consists of a fiddle player, guitar player, and a musician playing the upright bass. The fourth restaurant is Brio Gusto where Mike Graham and Dennis Pendrith will be playing. Graham is a successful guitarist and vocalist. Pendrith plays the bass and has toured and recorded with many Canadian acts such as Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Café. After you have enjoyed the musical tal-

ents at the restaurant of your choice, there will be a feature act at The Junction starting at 9pm. Important Notice: The above restaurants will give a 10% discount on meals if diners have a ticket for the feature performance! For only $15 go and see the Mike Murley Trio perform. Mike Murley is one of the top saxophonists in Canada, having played with Rob McConnell, Time Warp, Don Thompson, and that’s just the beginning of the list. Murley has won four JUNO awards among many other awards and has appeared on eight other JUNO award-winning recordings! Reg Schwager has played with important jazz musicians such as George Shearing and Diana Krall and has recorded on more than 80 albums. Schwager as been a member of the Mike Murley Trio for three years now. Steve Wallace, making the trio a trio, is often considered one of the most powerful jazz bass players in Canada, having recorded with Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones, Ed Bickert, again just to name a few.

The Mike Murley Trio will play a 70-minute set and tickets for the show will be sold prior to the event for only $15. Tickets can be purchased at Bluestreak Records, Bennett’s Home Furnishings, and online at www.showplace.org. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door if there is still seating available. After the feature concert, everyone is invited to head over to the After Party Jazz Jam at The Black Horse Pub at 10:30pm. The house band will be playing and people are welcome and encouraged to join them onstage to continue the Jazz Day Celebrations. On April 30, Peterborough will partake for the first time in International Jazz Day, which is celebrated throughout the world in places such as Paris, Milan, NYC, and San Diego. This event and this day is to be celebrated by anyone and everyone; all ages welcome! “In the history of Peterborough, April 30 will always be International Jazz Day,” says Chelsey Bennett.


arts

Preview: The return of Street Style to Volume 50 By Keila MacPherson

Coming to a paper near you Sept. 2015. Some of you might remember Street Style from issues past, and guess what? It's coming back for Arthur Volume 50! Pippa, Sydney & Natalie

Billy

Rebecca & Esprit

Evangeline

Simon

Kristal

Sydney

Walker

Name unknown - found in Sam's Place

Rita

Danny

Ugyen

Emma

Sean

Sebastian

Brad

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Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015


Opinionpages Editorial: The power of Arthur By Zara Syed

As a graduate from Trent University, my worldview has been broadened in the one year I have spent in the workforce. My journey has not been a traditional one; it involves a lot more failure than success. I was lucky enough to graduate and attend the 2014 convocation ceremony where author Joseph Boyden addressed us. As we sat there, unsure of our place in the world that we were about to enter, Boyden addressed our anxious spirits, “I’ll be dead honest with you right now, and I’m scared a lot. I fear failure a lot.” “Every time I sit down to write something for others… Whether it is as lofty as giving this commencement speech to you dear graduates, or as benign as sending a text to a friend, I feel a sense of fear. That what I do, what I create, will not be good enough. And this, it suddenly dawned on me, is the advice I’m going to share with you today: You’re going to fail. Sorry, it’s true… Yes I know, aren’t these graduations supposed to be about positive messages and happy thoughts? But I tell you that you will fail at some point and probably more than once. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t want you to fail… But failure, especially at something important, builds strength. It builds resolve.”

His words inspired reflection upon my first year at Trent, which was a rough one. In a way, our failures haunt us, but what Boyden said that day about failure could not have been more relevant for me, and how I got here. As many of you know, in a town like Peterborough, full-time employment is hard to come by. However, I consider myself lucky that I was able to find two jobs: one as a cashier, the other waitressing. It’s a hard world out there for young people; it’s an endless barrage of defending your degree if you aren’t employed in your field. Even though it wasn’t writing, at first I was proud of myself for securing a way to provide for myself in these dire economic straits. Unfortunately, coming from a culture where expectations are high, this was confusing to some of my loved ones in Toronto. By not pursuing greater career moves, my motives for staying in Peterborough were always subject to scrutiny. This made me feel that somehow I was failing even though I wasn’t. I said at first I was proud of myself and it almost sounds like that pride was lost. It was more as though I had lost myself; running myself ragged to and fro to get enough hours between these part- time jobs. After working for a few months, I hit a new low. It became all too reminiscent to my first year at Trent, when I felt like I was drowning.

One night, after a particularly hard day at work, I was biking down Hunter Street. I spotted the band members of I, the Mountain hanging outside of the Red Dog. I’ll never forget the conversation we had. Matthew Rappolt, as most of you know as an editor of Arthur Newspaper, said to me “You know, we’re still waiting for your contribution.” In that moment it was as though I had woken up from a sad dream. Arthur. Had I become so overwhelmed with my new life as a graduate that I forgot who I was? Arthur was the medium that allowed me to explore the depths of this community and fall in love. I had always wanted to run for Editor. However, that moment made me remember why. Arthur has always had a power, and I found that power to be its ability to be in its inclusivity. The environment and news it fosters is almost impossible to encapsulate here, but it is there, in Rappolt’s words. I don’t think he’ll ever understand how important this exchange was. It was as simple as asking for a submission. What makes me wonder is if I hadn’t run into him that night, if I hadn’t proposed an idea of a simple food blog, if he hadn’t said that it was a great idea, would I have started a food blog? Being a writer was always something that I wanted to do, but I had given up. I gave up before trying. If I didn’t have positive, inspiring people,

many of them being past editors, my life would have been quite different. If Pat Reddick hadn’t encouraged me to write for the paper three years ago, if co-editors Jasmine Cabanaw and Sara Ostrowska hadn’t published my first piece on the front page, I never would have known that someone thought my work was good enough to take up that space. I do know this: If I hadn’t been encouraged to think that a food blog had a place in Arthur, then maybe I would not have written a piece on the Community Butcher Shop. My editors were proud of this article that Jack Smye and I collaborated on, an article that went viral. If you had told me in my first year one day I would help found the Trent Feminist Society, or that I would be editor of the very paper that helped me realize myself, I would have laughed. It’s true; we all get so frightened of failure that we let it define us. I’ll end with one last quote from Boyden. “Imagine if we all succeeded all the time at everything we tried. There is no true understanding at the exhilaration of the heights without that intimate knowledge of the depths… And isn’t that it in a nutshell? It isn’t failure that’s dangerous. It’s the fear of failure. How many times have you decided not to attempt something because you were afraid you were going to fail? That is the tragedy, the not trying.”

Editorial: Losing oneself; A Editorial: To build a community Sine Qua Non to creation By Pat Reddick

By Yumna Leghari

I left Trent only to become a despondent post-graduate when the high of freedom from academic pressure wore off. I had become a tiny gear in the machinery of a call center. This was a necessary service to society, but an entity that did not value individuality, compassion, or creativity. Corporate existence is dependent on the human sacrifice. The nature of corporate powers is to capitalize and build on the working class’s needs to survive. Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, which primarily explored and defined ideas of feudalism, speaks volumes to our current subjugation as a classical economics text which is still widely studied by aspiring economists. This is the reality of the system we have created, and our lifestyles are the product of this creation. As students and post-grads, our vulnerability can easily lead us into this trap of dismissing ones dreams due to the needs of base survival. The luster of Trent, and Peterborough, had me enchanted. I grew, I flourished, and I came into my own. This path of facelessness seemed inevitable once I was thrown into the ‘real’ world. It led to passivity within me I didn’t know was possible. I was a voice on the phone, a number, and a disposable body to the company I worked for. My hands and mind were gathering dust as I monotonously answered calls. I was forgetting the passionate self that scribbled poetry in odd places, fumbled awkwardly on instruments, and most importantly, wrote furiously for Arthur, which I realized I desperately missed. Deliberation, and a wave of existential crisis’ woke me from this stupor, as I realized that my value as a being was directly linked to my ability to create, and share. The point is, if you’re an English and His-

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tory major, a call center is a looming Dementor waiting to make out with you. I grew up with a serious Gilmore Girls addiction. I related to Rory Gilmore, a young woman with journalistic aspirations. I remember squealing when *Spoiler Alert* she became editor of the Yale Daily News and feeling a pang of envy, wishing that I could be her. At the time, I could live vicariously through Rory. One day Yumna, I used to tell myself, one day. Presently, I write this, my first editorial (emotionally fueled as it may be) as the co-editor in chief of Volume 50 of Arthur Newspaper, with my brilliant partner in crime, Zara Syed. Our vision for this paper has always been succinct, and I am thrilled to manifest our imaginative capabilities through Arthur. In the past six years I’ve been writing journalistically, I have interviewed political prisoners, food lovers, countless musicians, and written candid exposes on controversial issues which have sometimes gotten me into the best kinds of trouble. Insight is power, and pen is permanent. As long as there are strong minds, voices, and intentions, there is no silence in the face of adversity. You will see art, music, and flesh. Art has timelessly stood as a stubborn cliff, challenging the ocean of industry that has risen over the centuries. You will see news relevant to your campus and community experience. Politics, the environment, dynamics of sexuality, whatever your beat may be, we will seek to establish a medium which is inclusive to subjectivity, while ensuring a strong newspaper that will not fail to represent Trent and Peterborough with quality writing and news coverage. I wanted to share my journey to reveal how easy it is to step in the wrong direction, only to realize that sometimes you have to take the wrong turn to end up in the right place. Hi, my name is Yumna, and I’m going to do Rory Gilmore proud!

The idea of summing up two years in 700 words is a daunting one. However, I’m contractually obligated to give it a shot. Really it’s the least I could do given all that this paper and the community around it has done for me over that time. I mentioned this community in my first incoming editorial two years ago, specifically how I was excited to be editor so I could remain a part of it. At the time I had meant something like “I want to be friends with all of the people currently involved.” But here we are now, and only three people whose names appeared in the staff list in that issue, and only nine from the staff collective, are still involved. Many have graduated, many are still here but have moved on to other things. Despite all this, the thing I’m going to miss most, wherever I end up, is going to be the Arthur community. And it’s that same community I’ve been talking about all along. There’s more to community than a list of people. My favourite definition is “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” (Full disclosure: that’s the second thing that shows up when you Google it.) It’s a fact of university life that the list of people involved in any given club or group varies widely from year to year. Groups like Arthur, Trent Radio, the TCSA, TISA, the Trent Philosophy Society, and more find themselves existing year to year, but with a huge amount of turn over. But the community that exists between these individuals is a firm constant. The fact that I can pick up a copy of the paper from 20 years ago to write This Issue In History and see a bit of myself in it is something truly special. Throughout my terms at Arthur it’s been a goal of mine to facilitate that sense of community to the best of my ability. I think generally being approachable and easy to contact has been an important part of that, but another key piece is that this year

and last we’ve been keenly focused on covering news on an ultra-local scale. We are, after all, just a bunch of beauties who love the news. I think this, more than anything else, is that common interest or goal that binds the people who get involved with Arthur. What flavours a particular volume’s sense of community is the way the editors and Staff Collective set out to cover the news. As mentioned, Matt and I have taken a distinctly ultra-local approach that focuses first and foremost on the Trent community, then more broadly on the Peterborough community. If ever it extends beyond that, the first thing we task writers with making explicit is the relevance this provincial, national, or international story has on the Trent community. We’ve also problematized the distinction between so-called “hard” and “soft” news. Too often in the past, editors of Arthur have focused on one at the expense of the other. Sometimes this means petulant attempts at breaking “the story,” and sometimes it means reactionary and uncritical regressions into pages of fluff content. Matt and I have emulated Burger King, and whether you’re here to read about the Braden Freer scandal or Local Tunes, we’ve got you covered. Why not? Why can’t both logically coexist? Why can’t Arthur employ writers and facilitate volunteers who each see the merits of wildly different types of stories? I think community is at its best when its members are as little alike as possible. When we bring together our own unique perspectives and share them together with one another, that’s the mark of truly successful community building. That’s diversity at its finest, and that’s what the Trent experience should be about, regardless of what group you’re involved with. If nothing else, I think Arthur has facilitated a beautiful community while I’ve served as editor, and I’m excited to see how this community develops next year. I know I’m eager to remain a member of it.


opinion

Comment: Why I chose to declaw my cat By Reba Harrison

I look at declawing a cat the same way I see pinning a dog’s ears up or removing the tail: unnecessary, pain, and aesthetic in a hegemonic and outdated sense. But mainly, selfish. Not only is declawing banned in twenty -two countries, but Humane Societies across the globe have an agreement to not declaw as a necessity in adopting a cat. It involves removing the end bone of each toe of the cat, similar to removing the end knuckle on a human hand. And unless there is a cancerous nail bed tumor, it serves no purpose to the cats themselves. So why did you do it? I’m sure you are wondering. Pets are reflections of their owners. Good training will save your furniture and carpets for the most part, but the odd cat scratches on my couch are not of concern to me. When I brought my first little kitten home from a stranded barn, a tabby cat that I named Rasputin, I told my vet that I absolutely did not want him declawed. Neutering and shots only. Days turned into weeks of scratching and training and scratching and training.

Letters to the Editors Justice — Not War! Government is about who gets what. Government funding declares to the world what the government values – and what it doesn’t. The same weekend that Harper’s Conservative government announced the extension of Canadian troop commitment in Iraq, I witnessed the film Highway of Tears at Trent University. A panel of Indigenous survivors gave first hand experiences as to the ongoing, systemic violence against women resulting from residential schools, as well as from Canadian security and justice systems. The thousands of murdered and disappeared women over the past six decades have thrice been the recipients of abuse. First, they lost their lives because they were Aboriginal women. Secondly, these women suffered from the inaction of the government in finding their killers. Additionally, the federal government has failed utterly to provide equal education opportunities, as well as ignoring the longstanding effects of colonialism: poverty, violence, lack of services, etc. Instead of prioritizing these critical issues, Harper’s Conservatives have spent millions in advertising and time spent

I blew my paycheque on scratch posts of all sorts, toys and treats to reward him for good behaviour, antiscratch spray, sticky furniture tape, and even those plastic claw covers. I kept his nails trimmed but it didn’t stop him. He’ll grow out of it, I told myself. The day his neutering approached I realized something: he was born and raised

for the first few weeks of his life outdoors where he needed his claws. And the majority of his scratching was onto my skin when playing. Cats live an average of 15 years, making me approximately 35 when I will still have him. I feared the thought of bringing a child into my home with a playful cat that doesn’t understand not to scratch. It

breaks my heart to see adults pushing to give away their cats or abandoning them simply because they did not think ahead and take a responsible route, and I did not want to be one of them. When the time came to neuter Rasputin, I told my vet, with a heavy heart, that I would like my cat declawed as well. Overnight, I felt so much guilt that I spent hours on the computer reading reassuring propaganda that he will be okay. I was surprised to see that Rasputin didn’t seem to notice or care that he had been declawed, but instead curious about his missing testicles. The next kitten I adopted from a hoarder home, was so grateful to be loved and cared for and fed. She does occasionally tear my carpet and chair but rarely my hands, and mainly keeps to her posts with the encouragement of a spray bottle. With a full heart of love for my two kitties, a ruined chair is nothing of concern. I am incredibly grateful that I could leave Anastasia with all her nails and still feel guilty about Rasputin at times. But when I look at them, at the decisions I’ve made and why, I believe I did the right thing.

trying to persuade the Canadian people that two tragic deaths in Canada were so linked to Isis terrorism that the initial cost of six months’ military involvement in Iraq should now be extended for another year. Spending in the first six months is “estimated” to be $122 million by Minister Kenny although the Parliamentary Budget Officer, appointed by Harper to help with transparency, estimates $166 million... unnecessary war money that should be used for Canadian justice. The urgent need for an impartial Federal Commission on the murdered and missing Aboriginal women has been demanded by First Nations governments, as well as other Canadians for decades. The process should look deeply at the roots of violence and recommend ways to fix the problem. Together, Canadians must build communities that value every woman, and treat all people with respect and justice. We must build a safer and more caring society – it is more desperately needed than bombs.

of Tears (shown at Wenjack Theatre) was sponsored by many local Social Justice Groups. This powerful documentary exposes the fact that the racism responsible for the horrifying residential school brutality did not end with the government’s apology (replete with crocodile tears). It thrives today on Northern Reserves where First People, driven off their lands, live in poverty and despair. It manifests itself in the isolation of urban Native people who struggle to find shelter and employment. It is obedient in the prison system where the native population is grossly over-represented. But most flagrantly and shamefully it is evident by the outrageous fact that more than 4000 lovely young Native women (many mothers of little children) have disappeared or have been found murdered and our government refuses to do anything. A few simple preventive measures, such as bus services connecting reserves to urban centres or self-defense programs for young Native women have been rejected. Most shockingly, a proposed National Inquiry into this outrage has been cancelled by our Prime Minister who dismisses the tragedy as not on his radar. It is outrageous that the ongoing genocide of our country’s First People is ig-

nored and condoned on Parliament Hill. This racist and sexist leadership is an embarrassment to all Canadians of moral integrity. When Elder John Little Bear, whose beautiful daughter was thrown to her death off a high-rise apartment, told of his struggle for justice, he closed with the words, “In October let’s get rid of this jerk.” The theatre reverberated with cheers and applause.

Linda Slavin

End the Genocide The Peterborough preview of Highway

carol winter

Thank you for your letters this year! editors@trentarthur.ca See you next year!

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Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015


Opinion

Comment: Canada is not so nice after all By Renzo Costa

One of the most common stereotypes about Canadians is that they are nice and polite people. Many jokes revolve around the fact that Canada is the country where people apologize about everything. Recently, an article was published on the BBC outlining the reasons why Canadians are the nicest people on the planet, and how this country can teach the rest of the world. The article was titled: “Can Canada teach the rest of us to be nicer?” and described Canada as a great destination for tourism. The article starts by commenting that “Canada may not be the most exotic of destinations but sometimes, exotic is overrated.” This statement is filled with ethnocentric prejudices about what the word exotic means. The article assumes that Canada is a familiar and nice place to go versus ‘exotic’ destinations. Exotic here is being used as a term that attempts to reduce different cultures to a uniform and static state that can then be essentialized. The article continues by describing how “we experience Canadian nice as soon as we reach customs” and by stating that “Canada is to niceness as Saudi Arabia is to oil.” Furthermore, it continues by arguing how “Canadians will apologize for anything and to anything” and that “Canadi-

ans aren’t only polite; they’re incredibly humble too, and reluctant to take credit for even plainly heroic acts.” The picture being drawn about Canada is that it is a welcoming, polite, nice, humble, and familiar place to visit. It is almost described as a distant utopia. One of the main problems with these types of misleading and ethnocentric articles is the fact that it not only completely ignores reality, but also produces a social construction of a people that can lead to misleading assumptions. This is a question of representation: how is a group of people described, conceptualized, and represented? Every country and culture is certainly the object of certain kinds of misrepresentations. The issue here is not whether Canadians are polite or not, but how their representation constructs a fairy tale for people unfamiliar with Canada. Canada is not inherently ‘nice’; it once had a reputation as a peacekeeper and holder of democratic values because its people were firm believers in those values and had the integrity to use those values to inform their decisions. The values of multiculturalism, openness, diversity, and justice were predicated as a formula to describe Canada as a nation. In recent times, those values and that reputation have been challenged abroad. Firstly, the exploitation of Indigenous

peoples in Canada is a long overdue challenge. One of the latest manifestations of the exploitation was the recent refusal to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People by the Harper administration. In addition, the Harper administration also has introduced legislation that significantly decreases the ability of Canada to support refugees. Furthermore, there has been much controversy around illegal detention of migrants in maximum-security prisons. Moreover, the severe cuts to Environment Canada, and the ferocious priority placed on the imminent tar sands disaster is another example of the Harper administration showing no interest in being ‘nice’

to nature. More recently, the controversial discussion on the bill to grant more ‘surveillance’ powers to intelligence agencies, in the context of the creation of the Islamic State (ISIS), has also generated a feeling of mistrust within Canada. Maybe some will consider these factors when deciding whether or not Canada is a ‘nice’ country. There is no doubt that for the most part Canadian peoples are polite and welcoming as well as hard working, democratic, and inclusive. However, we need to be careful in how we construct notions of nationhood based on values that more often than not lead to misleading generalizations and prejudices.

Here and Queer this summer? Check out these activities! By Evan Nelson

With the school year coming to a close, queer students in Peterborough may be wondering where to go for fun, LGBT friendly activities over the summer. While it’s true that larger cities such as Toronto and Ottawa do offer larger queer scenes, Peterborough has several options for the local queer on a budget.

TQC Beers for Queers (The Spill)

The TQC is planning weekly ‘Beers for Queers’ meetups at the Spill each Tuesday. While the date is not set in stone, those interested are encouraged to keep an eye on the TQC’s Facebook page for additional info.

Gender Journeys (CMHA) Twice Monthly Drop-In (466 George St. N.)

For those who are trans, gender non-conforming, or questioning, Gender Journeys

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will be hosting a twice monthly drop-in on the first and third Tuesday of every month beginning April 21, from 6:30-8:30pm. Their Facebook page states, “Drop-ins offer a loosely structured forum for discussing current issues, connecting with local community, and getting practical and helpful information.” Gender Journeys also offers support groups for parents and partners of trans youth. If you are interested, contact Jan Tkachuk at jan@cmhahkpr.ca.

PARN Queer Movie Nights (151 King St.)

PARN Rainbow Youth (151 King St.)

t "QSJM But I’m a Cheerleader t .BZ Paris is Burning t +VOF Pride

For anyone under the LGBT umbrella, PARN hosts a weekly drop-in called Rainbow Youth. Held each Thursday from 3:305:30pm, the drop-in includes free snacks and drinks, mental health check-ins, and discussions on important queer issues.

PARN will also be hosting monthly movie nights, showcasing queer cinema followed by a guided discussion. Movies will be screened on the first Thursday of each month, from 6-9pm. The first three movies (listed below) have already been selected, and those interested are encouraged to keep an eye on the Rainbow Youth Facebook page for updated info.

Peterborough Pride

Finish off your summer with the biggest LGBT celebration Peterborough has to offer. Peterborough Pride will be taking place September 12-19 this year, meaning it just barely qualifies as a ‘summer’ queer activity. The pride parade will be held on Satur-

day, September 19 to bring the festivities to a close. Check out peterboroughpride.ca for updated schedules and activities listings.

Queer Friendly Spaces

If the above activities do not interest you, or if you are looking for even more to do this summer, consider stopping in to one of Peterborough’s many queer friendly businesses, such as: t -F 1FUJU #BS t #MBDL )POFZ t /FFEMFT JO UIF )BZ t 4BN T 1MBDF t 1JUB 1JU t ćF (BSOFU t ćF 4QJMM t 4BQQIJSF -PVOHF If the above list looks incomplete, or if you have even more ideas for fun and inclusive queer events, contact the Trent Queer Collective at trentqueercollective@gmail.com. Events are hosted based on interest!


Clubs&Groups Summer at Trent Radio By James Kerr

%PO U HP IPNF UP ZPVS QBSFOU T IPVTF PWFS the summer. I know - rent is a lot cheaper when you don’t have to pay it, but think of what you’re giving up. Is it really worth the questions? “What are you going to do when ZPV HSBEVBUF w i%JE ZPV NFFU BOZPOF BU TDIPPM w i8IZ BSF ZPV PO UIF *OUFSOFU your phone so much?�, “Wanna help me fix the back porch? (For the next six hours)�, and so on. Terrible idea. Tough love time: your relationship with your parents hasn’t changed, it’s just been on vacation. ćBU XBT XIBU * EJE BęFS NZ ĕSTU ZFBS at university - went back to my parent’s house. I can’t tell you how many chores were suddenly invented as a result of my presence. It reached crescendo one day when my dad said: “Wow, you know - we’re getting so much extra stuff done with you here!� %PO U HP IPNF 'PS B CFUUFS JEFB JG ZPV can do it, stay in Peterborough. My first summer in Peterborough (that * GPPMJTIMZ XBJUFE VOUJM BęFS TFDPOE ZFBS to attend) was one of those life-changing summer of 69-ish, “those were the days� summers of wonder. In large part I think it was the sheer contrast between the con-

crete and snow of the regular school year. In the summer, Peterborough is gorgeous the trees are all out, and everyone is happy and relaxed and basically everything Peterborough isn’t during the school year when your nose is down in a textbook or a beer. Where we are now, in the Spring, the snow turns to mud and dog poop just in time for all students to flee. You come back just in time to see all the green leaves suicide from their trees, yelling “goodbye the summertime of my life� and leap from their branches. Without the summer

here, you only see Peterborough when it’s dying and when it’s dead. The summer in Peterborough - the relaxed beast that it is, sleeping in the sunshine - is kind of the point of Peterborough. Otherwise you go full concrete jungle and snow straight into preserved high school room and right back to chill-approaching Fall. No. I encourage you: no. In the summer Trent Radio is also a new beast - and this is where I tell you to get involved. I want to share with you something that

happens going into the summer at Trent Radio - chaos! Absolute, unapologetic chaos! The broadcast schedule is destroyed, and it remains so until we come up with an entirely new summer schedule, with completely different programmes. *G ZPV SF SFBEJOH UIJT +BOF %PF PS +PIO %PF PS +PS &M %PF PS XIBUFWFS %PF ZPV identify as) then you can host your own show over the summer on a topic that interests you. There feels to me nothing more Peterboro-ish in this city than having a picnic on the Trent Radio lawn facing George Street, watching some long-haired person you only just met singing into a microphone and playing guitar, and the whole thing being broadcast onto the radio, traffic noise and all. That’s “Radio On the Lawn�, every summer. That’s the kind of stuff that happens. Awesome summer stuff. Summers in Peterborough are great. Summers at Trent Radio; even greater. Programme Proposals for the summer season are due Sunday April 12 at noon at Trent Radio House. You can get a blank proposal at Trent Radio House or online at trentradio.ca. Questions? Concerns? Just ask me, I’ll tell you how great a summer can be.

Anti-Poverty Activism: Thinking, working, living with poverty from boiled vegetables, or bones from a holiday meal? Those can all go in soup! t *G ZPV PS TPNFPOF ZPV LOPX EP IBWF bones, they can be simmered for a few hours to make stock and then frozen with a label. t -BSHF QPSUJPOT PG TPVQ BOE TUPDL DBO be frozen for a rainy day. The freezer is your friend! t 1SBDUJDJOH XJUI TQJDFT JT B HSFBU XBZ UP keep cooking exciting and to learn about cuisine from other countries. t 'JOBMMZ UIF NPSF TPVQ ZPV DSFBUF UIF more confident you will become.

By Reuben Noteboom

The Anti-Poverty Activism group has had a productive and exciting first year. Last semester’s panel, “Why Poverty Matters,� was a success and it inspired the group to challenge themselves with further action to help others. Anti-Poverty Activism also held an exciting and successful bake sale last month, and raised just over $200! The proceeds are being donated to the YWCA Crossroads Shelter in Peterborough who provide emergency services for women and their children struggling with abuse. Many thanks are due to all of the generous and enthusiastic Trent student and faculty donors.

Getting Involved

This March, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) hosted a workshop to bring awareness to structural oppression in society and to understand the privileges many of us take for granted. Anti-oppression workshops like this one develop skills to be aware of injustice and speak out. Keep an eye out for a possible follow up workshop in September. Another event that is coming up soon is The Ontario Common Front Anti-Poverty Assembly hosted by The Ontario Common Front, and the Ontario Federation of Labour. The assembly is happening at U of T in Toronto from April 17-18, and will focus on “developing an action plan to challenge inequality and end poverty.� More details and free registration are available on the We Are Ontario website.

cook. The original plan was to target students at Trent U through posters and conversation, but it seems fitting to share these ideas with readers of the Arthur as well. Soup is delicious, easy to make, versatile, economical, and it freezes well. Here are some tips on how to change your thinking

Experimenting with new methods of cooking and preparation can save time and money, and is a great way to stay healthy about cooking with soup in mind: and happy. Keep an eye out for more Tips and Tricks t -FHVNFT QVMTFT CFBOT MFOUJMT DIJDL- next year and challenge yourself this sumpeas, etc.) are inexpensive, super healthy, mer to make your own! and can create wonderfully thick and Many thanks again to everyone involved hearty soup. in organizing and contributing to a meant %P ZPV IBWF MFęPWFS QPUBUPFT XBUFS ingful year of anti-poverty activism.

Tips and Tricks to Shop and Cook

Poverty can exist on any level, and in any demographic. A side project of APA has been to brainstorm a list of Tips and Tricks to bring awareness to the way we shop and

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Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015


clubs&groups By Lindsay Thackeray

TUMS: Come join the music nerds We need you

‘Tis the season of AGMs, where clubs and groups meet at the end of the year for a recap and review. The Trent University Music Society is hosting its Annual General Meeting on Sunday, April 12 at 5pm in the Hobbs Library at Sadleir House. It’s one of two times in the year where we can vote in members of our executive council, the other being our Fall General Meeting in September. And we’re always looking for new faces. Here are a few reasons why you should join TUMS Exec next year:

It’s hip

Pictured is the 2014-15 TUMS Executive

For those of you who don’t know, the TUMS Executive Council are essentially the coolest kids at Trent, aside from the Jiu-Jitsu club. We have an ultra-hip office complete with a broken drum kit, some Christmas lights, and a couch of extremely questionable origin. There’s also about twelve shelves of random sheet music that we’ve been totally meaning to organize. Who wouldn’t want to meet there once a week with a bunch of music nerds?

Bands, the giant monster of a project that takes about a billion hours to organize but is worth it ten-fold in the end. Between the audition process, advertising, planning the event details, and helping out the night of the competition, there’s plenty for you to do. It’s also a fun time to hang out with local musicians and pretend to be super knowledgeable about sound equipment, when in reality you don’t actually know what a bass rig is.

It’s fun

It’s easy

TUMS Exec co-ordinates four musical groups: concert band, jazz band, concert choir, and madrigal choir. We’ve also been trying to get a jammer’s club off the ground for about three years now, but it always seems to fizzle out for one reason or another. In addition to that stuff, TUMS organizes tons of musical events over the course of the school year. These include our weekly open mics at the Trend and our spring and winter concerts, which showcase performances by our bands and choirs of what they’ve been working on all semester. And of course, there’s Battle of the

Know what you need to do to be on TUMS Exec? First, you have to decide what position you want to run for. You can find a complete list on our website (www.trentumusic.ca), but if you’re a TUMS rookie, there are a few positions that are relatively easy to start out with. For example, want to know what the TUMS Secretary does? Comes to the meetings, types up the minutes, and emails them to the rest of exec. That’s it. Want to know the last time we had a secretary? I don’t remember. This could be you! Another position on TUMS is Events Co-ordinator. Much like their name sug-

gests, they co-ordinate events. This includes stuff like booking rooms, designating tasks and generally making sure our events aren’t giant disasters. There are also five open spots for event co-ordinators, meaning that you can split up these jobs up amongst five people. Finally, if you’re feeling keen you could take on our jammer’s club, and run as our jammers’ club representative. We’ve been trying to start a jammer’s club where musicians can meet once a week for an informal jam session. If you’re repping this group, your duties would include booking a space, emailing the mailing list, and leading the jam sessions each week (or making sure somebody else is). If you think you can help us finally get this off the ground, let us know! Once you know what position you’d like, come out to our AGM on April 12 to run for it. All you need to do is present a short blurb of why you want the position and why you’d be good at it. Then we vote. It never hurts to give us a heads up that you’re planning to run for a position by emailing us at trentumusic@gmail.com, then we’ll be expecting you and can answer any questions you might have.

If this is coming off as a desperate plug for exec members for next year, it’s because it is. I mean, uh, no, we totally don’t need you that bad. But a bunch of our exec are graduating this year, leaving a skeletal council of past members who would appreciate some new people to boss around. Also, don’t be intimidated by getting voted in. We usually have a hard time filling all the positions and rarely have a full exec, so it’s likely you won’t be running against anyone. Unless by some miraculous chance a bunch of people actually read this article and come to the AGM, your odds are pretty good. Basically, the main thing we’re looking for in an exec member is reliability. This probably doesn’t help our case in terms of neediness, but we’ve developed trust issues over the years from people being voted onto our council and then disappearing for no apparent reason. Please don’t do that, because it makes us sad and insecure when you stop coming to meetings and answering emails.

There will be pizza

Also, if for nothing else, we will be having free pizza at the meeting. April 12 is also our president’s birthday, so there will probably be cake or something because we like her. But be forewarned, if you plan on coming to the AGM exclusively for the free food we will almost certainly rope you into joining TUMS. We’ll also be doing our annual budget overview and constitution stuff too, if you dig that sort of thing. Hobbs. Sadleir. 5pm. Sunday. Come for an okay-filled time of normal meeting stuff and ordinary pizza. And also an extraordinary executive that you could be a part of. www.trentumusic.ca and trentumusic@ gmail.com for more information.

Trent Conservatives: Passion for student potential, Michael Skinner By Girogio Berbatiotis

Local students will prosper greatly if we guide them, give them the support they need, and train them for the in-demand jobs of tomorrow’s economy. That’s the main message to students from Michael Skinner, a local businessman and leader in the community running for the candidacy of the Conservative Party in Peterborough. I interviewed Skinner about student issues in the lead-up to a Trent Conservatives vote on who we would be endorsing in the run. He won in the end, and was endorsed last week by the Trent Conservatives. Skinner, who is Co-Chair of the Trent Business Council, is probably best known to most students via one of his more prominent and popular downtown businesses, the Venue. The Venue has, over the last year, worked closely with the Trent Central Student Association and Trent Business Student Association on various fundraisers, such as Pub Nights, Pub Crawls, and Speaker Series events. But Skinner’s involvement with Trent goes far beyond that. He has worked with Trent’s JDCC team, helped the TBS launch a mentorship program, and through his work with the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster has been involved with The Cube, a “business incubator” located at Trent that helps local tech start-ups grow and succeed. Aside from his work with Trent, Skinner has also been working hard to promote Peterborough in general. He sits on the Peterborough Economic

18

www.trentarthur.ca

Pictured are members of the Trent Conservatives with Michael Skinner (centre).

Development Board, and is one of the “Peterborough Angels,” a group of investors who help out new businesses in town. Skinner believes that all levels of government have a role to play in education, and likens education to critical infrastructure that must be invested in. “I think it’s very important that we maintain education at all different levels [of government]. On a federal level we need to make sure that students are graduating, that there are grants provided, that if students want to open businesses, go to post-secondary school, that there is support for that.” He also emphasized the importance of the government helping guide students onto paths that will allow them to prosper. He pointed to a disconnect between the skills people are being trained for and the skills businesses need.

“We’re still graduating students for the careers of ten years ago, not the careers that are available today… We need a skills match so we make sure we understand what the economy needs and we are marketing that to students. So when they are picking a career, they are picking a career we will need in five years.” He’d also like to see students being taught financial literacy sooner and more prominently. He notes that whether you end up the owner of a multi-million dollar company, or end up just using the knowledge in your everyday life, it is still invaluable to have that understanding of finances. That Skinner has a passion about students, innovation, and opportunities to foster prosperity, was evident throughout my talk with him. He consistently pointed out how students can be a driving force

for success within the community, and talked highly of the business students at Trent he’s worked with. He noted that Peterborough is unique in that is has a high concentration of young business-minded students, and older retirees with the capital and experience to help them. “Take the young’s innovation and drive, and take the mentorship, capital, and leadership of older people,” said Skinner. “Put them together and you can build businesses.” He pointed out that such business ventures create opportunity for everyone. Entrepreneurs will create the majority of new jobs in the region, and Skinner believes they need to be empowered to do so. He notes that efforts like the TBC’s mentorship program can help foster the relationships that will create such successful businesses in the future. Traditional internships can often become mundanely laborious, with students completing simple tasks with limited supervision. Skinner says the mentorship model is preferable, as it ties a student to a successful mentor and develops a meaningful relationship between them, allowing the student to really learn and gain experiences. I asked Skinner why he thought he’d make a good MP for Peterborough and why he decided to run for the nomination. “The Peterborough Region needs a leader whose going to fight for us,” answered Skinner. “I was born and raised in Peterborough, this is my home, I love this place. Numerous times I could have left… I stayed here because I believe in it.” And we believe in you Mr. Skinner.


SportsPage Photos: Men’s extramural hockey team celebrates Challenge Cup victory with banner raising By Arthur Staff

The Trent University men’s extramural hockey team celebrated it’s 2014-2015 Challenge Cup championship victory with an official banner raising ceremony on April 1. The ceremony was held in the gymnasium at the Trent Athletic Centre and saw members of the hockey team hoist the trophy in front of friends, family, and university dignitaries.

This is the first time that a Trent hockey team has brought home the Challenge Cup trophy, the prize awarded to the winner of the annual OCAA sponsored OCCCR invitational tournament. Last year the Trent men finished a close second, losing in the championship match to Laurier Brantford. This year, Trent secured the championship by edging the St. Lawrence College Cornwall Sharks 2-0 in the March 21 tournament final.

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Volume 49 | Issue 24 | April 7, 2015


listings Clubs & Groups Garden Volunteer Call Out. Amazing summer volunteer opportunity! Interested in ecological food production, food sustainability and community building? The Trent Vegetable Gardens are looking for volunteers who are eager to get involved and get their hands dirty! Come join the Trent Vegetable Gardens this summer and learn about small scale sustainable agriculture while growing food for the Seasoned Spoon Cafe, Food Not Bombs and other campus and community organizations! Email trentvegetablegardens@gmail.com if you are interested or for more info Garden Plots Available. Want to grow food this summer, but don’t have the space? Individual community garden plots available at the Trent Vegetable Gardens plus learning opportunities, work bees, workshops, potlucks and more! Come Grow with us this summer! Email trentvegetablegardens@ gmail.com if you are interested or for more info Learn to Fence! Practices are Thursday 6:30-8:15pm and Sunday 7-9pm in the Main Gym. No experience required. You need to arrive in workout gear with athletic shoes, all other equipment is provided. It is $20 for the semester. For more information go to trentu.ca/fencing or email courtneypeeters@outlook.com Come learn basic to advanced Arabic! Our classes cover reading, writing and speaking. Weekly Arabic classes every Tuesday from 5-6pm at GCS 108. Absolutely free!

Sadleir House All events in this section take place at 751 George St N in Peterborough. Come visit the Sadleir House Library Open Mondays 11am-4pm, 6-9pm, Tuesday 1-9pm, Wednesday 12-9pm, Thursday 1-6pm, Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 11am-4pm in Room 107 (wheelchair accessible). The Sadleir House Library is a free lending library open to all students and community members. With over 4000 books covering general academic interest and 2000 films focusing on international titles, documentaries, art house, and LGBT interest. SPARK Photo Festival, April 1-30, Hobbs Library (room 101, wheelchair accessible) & Senior Common Room (room 201). Sadler House is hosting two SPARK exhibits: Gregory Burke and the Trent Visual Arts Network NOTE: exhibit in Hobbs may not be available when room is in use. SPARK Photo Festival Openings. Wednesday, April 8, 6-9pm in the Hobbs Library (room 101 wheelchair accessible). Both SPARK exhibits will be open and a cash bar available.

SUDOKU

International Tabletop Day! Saturday, April 11, 12-4pm in the Dining Hall (room 209). Extending from our popular board game pubs, Sadleir House will be joining with gamers around the world for Geek & Sundry’s International Tabletop Day! www.tabletopday.com Kids are welcome with their parents (please

bring along age-appropriate games). Bring your friends, favourite games & snacks to share (we’ll provide coffee, tea & water). A free event! Unfortunately, this event is not wheelchair accessible. Slam the Door on Immigration Detention! Fundraiser Dinner. Sunday, April 12 from 5-7:30 pm in the Dining Hall (room 209). Join the End Immigration Detention Network for an early evening of food, music, poetry, and a silent auction. Learn more about the issue of immigration detention in Canada, including how detainees are being held indefinitely 40 minutes from here at the Lindsay superjail. Funds raised will support the work of EIDN, specifically the TRAPP phone line that allows immigration detainees to keep in touch with their allies and families, and to push forward the campaign to end immigration detention. Tickets are $5-$10 sliding scale (for information, entertainment, AND a delicious dinner?!). Buy in advance at Renegade Apparel, by contacting ‘Eidn Peterborough’ on Facebook, or by emailing endimmigrationdetentionptbo@gmail.com. For more campaign info: http://endimmigrationdetention.com/ Let’s Go: Learn the Ancient Game of Go, Hosted by James Kerr and Josh Raspberry. Come play the ancient Chinese board game of “Go” (a.k.a. Weiqi or Baduk) in a fun and welcoming environment, Saturday April 18, from 11am until 4pm in the Dining Hall (room 209). This event is free. No experience required. All skill levels are welcome, from first-time players to seasoned amateurs. From 11:00 to noon we’ll provide some basic lessons geared to first-time players and beginners. After that, the idea is to have a casual round-robin tournament from noon to 4:00 pm. The exact format can be flexible based on the number of people and what everyone is interested in.

Trent Centre for Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility (CHREA): MV-1 Services. The MV-1 Vehicle provides shuttle services for Trent students, staff, and faculty with a wide range of disabilities. Passengers are individuals experiencing challenges in negotiating distances, topography and pitch that are inherent in the physical landscape of Trent’s campus. The MV-1 service is free-of-charge and can take you anywhere you need to go on any Trent campus (Symons, Traill, or Water St. Residence); rides can be booked online through http:// www.trentu.ca/ohrea/mv1.php. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact Trent’s Andrea Walsh (Accessibility Advisor) at 705-748-1011 Ext. 6002. Walkhome—Trent’s safe walk service. Late class? Working in the lab? Call us for a walk; 25 minutes from Symons or Traill (downtown) Hours of operation: Monday to Friday: 7pm to 1am, Saturday & Sunday: 9pm to 1am 705-748-1748 Walkhome—Pre-book your safe walk. Do you regularly have practice Monday night, work in the Library Tuesday night or go downtown Friday night? Our team of volunteers walkers can meet you, on campus or downtown. Monday to Friday: 7pm to 1am, Saturday & Sunday: 9pm to 1am. Call us 705- 748-1748 or email walkhome@tretnu.ca to Prebook a walk.

send yours to listings@trentarthur.ca

Worried about a course this semester? We want to help! Register for the Academic Mentoring Program to request an upper-year student mentor. Mentors meet regularly with students to discuss course concepts and build an understanding of course material. To request a mentor, or to volunteer, visit trentu.ca/academicskills/ peermentoring.php. It’s paper season! Do you need helping organizing your essay, developing a thesis or doing citations properly? Come visit us as the Academic Skills Centre for all the help you need! Our services are always free! Suite 206, Champlain College. Phone: 705-748-1720. Call to book your appointment or book online through your Student Experience Portal at trentu.ca/sep. Click on “Book Appointments” and select “Academic Skills”.

Local 1 Bdrm Apartment - Available May 1st. $680.00/month + Utilities (hydro) 1st & last - 1 year lease. Smoking outside only. 3rd floor apt in a house (sep. entrance), downtown Ptbo., near Bus Terminal &Traill Coll. WIFI Incl. Contact: Wendy - tesltrainer@sympatico.ca Canadian Blood Services will have new clinic hours as of April 1. Tuesday: 3-7pm, Wednesday: 10am-2pm, Thursday: 1-7pm, Friday: 8am-noon, and the second and fourth Saturday of the month: 8am-noon. Walk-ins are welcome, but you can book your appointment online at www.blood.ca, or by phone at 1-888-2-DONATE (366283). The Peterborough Clinic is located at 55 George St. N. The Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough welcomes you to: An Evening of Stories of Our Land with Doug Williams, Elder of Curve Lake. Friday, April 17, 2015, 7:30 – 9:30 pm. At the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough 775 Weller Street (at Medical Drive) $5-10 donation or pay what you can. Free parking. The Peterborough Chapter of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan presents the 5th Annual Red Pashmina Walk, Sunday, April 26, at George Street United Church, 534 George St N. Registration is from 2pm to 2:45pm, with the walk starting at 3pm. Please bring your pledge sheets with money collected, and wear your Red Pashmina scarves. Refreshments will be served following the walk. Afghan needlecraft will be on sale. Proceeds from the walk will go to CW4WAfghan to support the education of women and girls in Afghanistan. To obtain a pledge sheet call Daphne at 705-656-3820 or email Peterborough@CW4WAfghan.ca. Doors Open Peterborough - Meet you on the Bridge. In 1957, Reginald R.Faryon penned a letter to the Peterborough Examiner calling for the creation of an institution of higher learning in Peterborough. In October, 1964, thanks to the support of the community, Trent University officially opened, and in 2014/15 celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary. At the heart of Trent’s Peterborough campus is the Faryon Bridge, named in honour of the man who created the vision for the University. Completed in 1968, the bridge acts as the main point of connection between the

Thursday

Friday

East and West Banks of Trent’s picturesque Symons Campus, and is a vital piece of Trent’s rich legacy of built, cultural, and natural landscape. Doors Open Peterborough 2015 is a free day of fun for people of all ages! The entire community is invited to come to Trent University’s Symons Campus for the opportunity to explore all of Trent’s unique architecture, new and historical features, vibrant natural spaces, and much more. In honour of Trent’s connection to downtown, a special opening event will also be held at Catharine Parr Traill College on Friday, May 01, 2015. Join us on May 02 at Trent University! http://www. doorsopenpeterborough.ca, (705)742-7777 ext.149, doorsopen@peterborough.ca ESLHelp & Editing. Contact: worldeslschool@sympatico.ca

one-

St. John’s Ambulance Standard First Aid Our Standard Certificate is valid for 3 years! Includes CPR and AED training! This course provides a certificate in Standard First Aid & a CPR/AED certificate. 13 to 14.5 hours of instructional time (2 days); includes 435-page First Aid/CPR/AED book. **This course is required by the WSIB if your place of work employs more than 5 employees per shift.** Upcoming sessions: Weekdays(8:30-4) April 8-9, 20-21, 29-30, or Combo Course SFA/Level-C CPR (8:305:00) April 8-9, 11-12, 18-19, 20-21, 2526. Contact: sjapeterborough@bellnet.ca, 705-745-0331, sja.ca St. John’s Ambulance CPR Recertification (Weekdays at 6:30 pm, or Saturdays at 1:00) April 7. Call for additional dates, or organize your own group at a convenient time at any location--discounts for groups! sjapeterborough@bellnet.ca, 705-745-0331, sja.ca

Arts Word*UP! happens Wednesday, April 8, 7 pm at the Spill on George Street. Word*UP! is an evening of spoken word and poetry. This month’s theme is “Why I Am A Poet” otherwise known as - “Life Hands You Crap - Make Crapenade!” Open mic, no cover, and a community forming around poetry. We’re welcoming, affirming, peace and joy loving. Come share! The Course of Love: a look at love and marriage in story and music. Betty Bennett, Storyteller & Angelica Ottewill, Harpist and Storyteller, Friday, April 17, 2015, 7pm. At St. Andrew’s United Church, 441 Rubidge Street, Peterborough Tickets - $10.00 Available from Renewal Ctte Members, at the Church Office or at the Door. More Information – 705-742-2722. Refreshments Following in the Church Hall. Program Suitable for 12 Years of Age and Older. SPARK Photo festival is happening all April, all over Peterborough. Openings are happening all month. Too many events to list here. Check them out at sparkphotofestival.com or by strolling around the city.

The listings are done until August 2015. Events still happen though. Go out, have fun.

Saturday

t CMN Battle of the t Jennifer Castle w/ The t The Next Country MuBands @ Mark’s Finer Losing Hand @ Artspace sic Star Talent Search Diner (9pm) (8pm) @ The Ranch Resort, Bethany ON (7:30pm) t Dumb Angel w/ Jos t 2 Punk Show ft. Fortin, Claude Munson , Piss Locusts, Mad Mur- t Zodiac Party w/ Simon & Matthew Oomen @ The docks, & guests @ The & Hodge @ The Sapphire Spill (9pm) Spill (9pm) Room (8pm) tFeefawfum @ The Gar- t Shakey Graves w/ Da- t Radio Mama and the net (10pm) vid Ramirez @ The Red Flu w/ No Pussyfooting, Dog (9pm) & The Carpenteers @ The Spill (9pm) t Sawmill Road Band @ The Bourbon Barrel Sa- t No Joy w/ Severed loon (9pm) Feathers and Kevin Siena @ The Red Dog t The Double Cuts @ The (9pm) Garnet (10pm) t Fog @ The Puck n’ Pint (9pm)

This Weekend in Live Music: presented by ElectricCityLive.ca


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