Issue 19 Volume 50

Women’s Issue 2016

Arthur

INside:

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14 | 2016

TCSA Election Coverage!

Gendered Voices a Tiananmen Square Success!

Massacre

snowdance film festival

Arthur’s spring elections are happening soon!

Elect the editor(s) and board for Volume 51 Arthur Spring Elections are coming up!

That means that it is time to elect the editor(s) and three Staff Collective Board directors for the upcoming academic year.

For more information about these positions, please consult the Arthur Policies and Procedures.

You can also contact the Arthur board at board@trentarthur.ca.

Time and Place The election location will be announced in the next issue. The date of the elections is Wednesday April 6, 2016. Refreshments, likely Persian, will be provided.

Agenda The Adgenda is usually as follows: 1. Editor(s) Remarks 2. Presentations of candidates for editor(s) platforms (10 minute limit per set of candidates) 3. Question Period 4. Election of Editor(s) 5. Election of three Board directors by the Staff Collective 6. Adjournment

Who can vote Only those who are on the staff collective at

the time of the election can vote (the list so far is to the right). Voting is done by secret ballot. Everyone on the staff collective is entitled to a single ballot.

Who’s on the Staff Collective?

You are considered part of the staff

collective if you have contributed to the production of at least 15% of the issues of Arthur released before the election. For our purposes that means you must have contributed to at least three. (Again, see right.)

Proxy Votes In accordance with section 6e of the

Arthur bylaws, staff collective members may participate in the election through means of proxy vote. They may appoint, in writing, a proxy holder to vote for them in the election. The proxy holder does not need to be a member of the staff collective.

Proxies must bring: - The name and signature of the Staff Collective member - The date the proxy is signed

- Who the proxy is giving voting powers to - Who the Staff Collective member is voting for (or the Staff Collective member can allow the proxy holder to choose who to vote for).

Who can run for editor?

Candidates for the position of editor(s)

must be members of the Staff Collective at the time of the election. Two Staff Collective members may choose to run as co-editors. They must have been running together to fill the positions of co-editors together.

Who can run for the Board?

Anyone who is a member of the Staff Collective at the time of the election.

Deadlines The deadline for nominations for editorial

candidates is Thursday March 31 2016 at Noon. All sets of editorial candidates must submit a position platform (800 word limit) and photograph by this time. These will be published online and in Issue 22.

Those wanting to run as Staff Collective directors on the board can be nominated at the Spring Election meeting.

Volume 50 Staff Collective as of Issue 19

Betelhem Wondimu Reba Harrison Adriana Sierra Tyler Majer Ugyen Wangmo Troy Bordun D Dmuchowski Keith Hodder Jordan Porter Dan Morrison Matthew Douglas Samantha Moss Keila MacPherson Yumna Leghari Zara Syed Ad Astra Comix James Kerr

Marina Wilke Zachary Cox Sara Ostrowska Brian Lukaszewicz Lyne Dwyer Amy Jane Vosper Paisley Spence Tumelo Drametu Hayley Raymond Caitlin Coe Alaine Spiwak Jenny Fisher Alex Karas Dane Shumak Quinn Mcglade-Frentzy Pippa O’Brien Ryan Newman

One contribution needed: Renzo Costa Lindsay Thackery Caitlin Bragg Jeffrey Moore Ryan Newman Colin Chepeka

“

David Foster Wallace

There is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard’s vote.”

Anthony Moniz Nick Weissflog David Tough Nona Robinson Jade Wilton-Watson Brendan Edge Steven Brak Leo Groarke

Pippa O’Brien Berfin Aksoy Erin McLaughlin Lauren Bromber Brendan Edge Carol Winter Ashley Fearnall

Should you be on this list?

Email editors@trentarthur.ca Want to be on this list?

Just contriubte to Arthur!

Please note: the list of people who need two contributions is available on trentarthur.ca

Note: If anyone has feedback or wants to reach the author of the story that ran in Arts Issue called “Who Does Beowulf’s Laundry?” please contact Tom Hurley at traffic20@cogeco.ca

Contents

*Editor’s Note: We apologize for the limited table of contents. Due to the influx of articles we received we had to compromise space for this issue.

Page 3-10: Opinion • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg

3: Editorial

• Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg

7: International Students in LeBlanc Campaign

3-4: Letters to the Editor 5-6: Reprints and Screenshots 7: Making Trent Great Again 8: Democracy in TCSA elections 8: Censorship and segregation 9: The students of 1989 10: Why we need World Citizens United

Page 11- 22: Campus

• Pg 11: Traill College Student Review • Pg 11: Retention Review

2

www.trentarthur.ca

• • • • • • • • • •

Pg 12: Undergraduates on Traill review Pg 13- 18: TCSA Elections and Referenda Candidates Pg 19: Levy groups!

Pg 20: Student Housing Pg 20: Cultural Outreach 2016 Pg 21: Active Minds on Mental Health Pg 21: Trent Annual Political Symposium Pg 22: Holi Pg 22: Trent Archery Pg 23: Trent Cheer

Page 23- 27: Women’s Issue Feature Page 28- 30: Arts

Opinionpages

Editorial : Can Trent ever be great again?

Co- written by Zara Syed and Yumna Leghari

We know what you’re thinking. How will Arthur Newspaper, the “leftist student rag,” take a stance on what is happening right now? We have been faced with many challenges this year, and many controversial stories have been brought to our attention that would cause the Trent community a great deal of concern.

Our stance, which may seem obvious given our backgrounds and social position, has been to approach matters within an activist framework. This year we aimed to bring to light issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and used Arthur covers to speak to diversity.

We have received plenty of feedback regarding the direction in which we have taken the paper, and how different it is from last year’s. This year, Volume 50, Arthur Newspaper is a feminist newspaper.

If we’re going to call it what it is, Arthur has always been a feminist; a sexy, scandalous shit disturber.

Recently, when American politicians announced their candidacy for the presidential elections, the United States became a circus. Neighbouring nations are fearing the future if Donald Trump becomes president.

The mockery of Trump that has ensued gathered this buffoon more celebrity than he is worth. He will never actually become president, because the “silent majority” he speaks of are the minorities whose past narratives are defined by slavery, immigration and genocide.

The more it becomes apparent that the majority is no longer representative of the privileged, the louder and more obscene the grab for power becomes. We can see it in Trump’s actions when he yells at the opposition, calls people imbeciles and threatens to sue anyone he feels threatened by.

That’s just what happens when one gets into politics. Even our prime minister, when he was a young pole dancing lad, was

ridiculed to no end by a smear campaign run by the Conservative Party. Trump, on the other hand, who has no political experience, has just as much right as anyone else to run. He can say whatever he wants because, you know, free speech and all.

It brings out the worst people on our Facebook feeds, some that contest whether or not Trump is even a racist.

What is most interesting about our Women’s Issue is that topics of free speech and oppression are very much central to the insistence of the dying conservative stance on pro-life groups on campus and on city buses. It is so key to note that in 2016, women are still fighting for safe spaces. The idea of a world in which women don’t have that triggering, anti-choice propaganda forced on them is such a threatening concept for those that claim this is “free speech,” when in reality there is no room for these anti- woman movements to prosper. This irrational conflict is the reason we need feminism in 2016.

A couple of years ago, a pro-life group was touring Canada and made its way to Peterborough. They occupied the entrance of Lansdowne Mall and the Cineplex. They carried huge signs, some as large as the sides of transport trucks with images of miscarriages masquerading as fetuses.

The Peterborough Examiner covered the story saying this group had “a message for back-to-school shoppers,” which was pretty interesting considering the propaganda the group was using was too gory to print for the article. They are plenty in numbers, they are organized and they have money.

We received several letters of support for one of the two presidential candidates running, and they were strongly reminiscent of that organization because they flooded Arthur’s inbox around the same time. Each of the letters regurgitates the same rhetoric and indicates the indignity of this campaign. Even Edge’s piece echoes the echo chamber, as someone who ran and lost to Spiwak last year.

Certain candidates reveal their privilege and conflict of interests when one analyzes where they receive their campaign funds.

Let’s not forget that paired with questionable funding to right-wing student groups was a document leaked by Wikileaks in 2008 exposing workshops held by the Ontario Progressive Campus Conservative Association (OPCCA) on how to take over student unions and undermine Ontario Public Interest Research Groups (OPIRGs) on campuses across Ontario.

Last year, during the elections, Arthur put Spiwak on the cover. Perhaps that was the past editors’ endorsement, and until we received those letters we had no plans of endorsing any particular candidate. However, in light of the fact that Spiwak has conducted herself with the most dignity throughout this bedlam of an election, the fact that her friends and supporters did not rally to write to us championing her greatness, as well as the fact that she never once raised her voice or threatened to sue anyone, is indicative of her patience and poise as a leader.

When Arthur receives wind of issues that could potentially harm Trent’s reputation, we have had to carefully consider exposing those truths for the sake of the university’s reputation. Little did we know, we never had to worry about us being the ones bringing to light how controversial things really are. Trent as a whole would do this to themselves by letting someone who harassed, bullied and attacked students on public forums run for president of the TCSA. We have reprinted a cover from last year on page 6, to remind students that the TCSA has always been a subject of controversy. Braden Freer was exposed for assisting certain Conservatives on campus in an internal takeover, and resyndicating the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement that Trent was formally known to inspire other campuses across Ontario to adopt. Freer is still currently employed by

Trent University, working in Recruitment.

With questionable individuals like this still active in the system, it is no wonder there is a rise of ‘mens rights groups’ mentalities that LeBlanc’s supporters embody at Trent University. Trent can no longer be great the way it was, because it is destroying itself from within.

Alaine Spiwak will tirelessly continue to fight for the rights of international students, even though she isn’t one.

She won’t threaten sue people who use their own right to free speech. Issues of racism, sexual harassment and hate crimes occur across campuses in Canada, and they happen because universities turn the other way when rich, white (men) commit those crimes.

The bad press we were worried Trent would receive is brought about by the inaction towards those that will stoop to using gimmicky tactics to win, and the onslaught of consequences to come will be because of that very inaction of this institution to make students feel safe.

The person who has committed the acts that these extremists who have bullied people on Trent’s Facebook group is given the podium to perpetuate their hate.

The fact that they have the same right as anyone to control the student union is Trent endorsing this behaviour, and it will take every student vote on campus to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Photo by Keila MacPherson

Letter to the Editor : LeBlanc’s platform of privilege

By Joshua Skinner

Before you read this I would like to leave the disclaimer that I count Corey Leblanc as one of my friends at Trent University and that I respect the efficient tenacity on display while running his campaign thus far.

But as any parent can tell you, respecting a work ethic that goes into a project and appreciating the macaroni painting that came out of it are two separate matters, and although my friendship is for the most part unconditional, my vote in this upcoming election is not.

His campaign had done a great job of not triggering me, right up until early (ish) Monday morning.

I knew I was going to vote against him, but I thought that it would be better to just sit this on out and observe with a bag of Smartfood for a change.

That activity was interrupted when I discovered, while scrolling through my Facebook feed that Leblanc would like to hold about 39 referendums a year on optout student levy groups on campus, none of which I am an active member of.

Stating that “Students will have their voice heard when their money is being

spent. Democracy is the only option. We will have accountability again.”

“K.” The former quote represents the doctrine that as patrons, or customers of the service that university provides, we get to be the deciders of what is worthy of that money and what is not.

The second quote represents how well received and status quo this message generally is. It is the same logic used by all politicians, be them on the left or right of any issue, it is an excellent way of individualizing a constituency, by making them believe that they are the self-motivated, created in a vacuum of their own brilliance and work ethic, creature that has earned the right to be the decider.

This consumer citizen is wrapped in a blanket of rightness and has this identity reinforced by whoever will tell them that they are a special, hardworking citizen that overcame all barriers to reach where they are. This is what Leblanc bases his argument on.

But does this logic apply to Trent University? Absolutely not. I previously stated that I had planned to observe this election with Smartfood in hand, and I still intend to do so, but first I need to talk some facts.

Leblanc claims that we as students have a right to have our “voice” heard because it is our money that is being spent. But is it though?

According to an Arthur article written in February of 2015 by Alaine Spiwak, over 70 per cent of students at Trent are receiving OSAP. This means that close to 5,500 of Trent’s student population of 7,817 do not fit into Leblanc’s logic.

His definition of democracy is synonymous with the logic of a land owning class and belongs in the golden age of Athens, not in 2016.

This figure also does not include the amount of students who receive loans from their parents, or are simply “catching a free ride” according to the individualizing logic of the consumer citizen.

By Leblanc’s logic, very few students’ voices should be heard, and only those who are actually spending their own money should participate in his conceptualization of true democracy. His definition of democracy is archaic, and should only gain traction in a scenario in which Plato is a person in the room with you and not something you eat as a child.

By his definition of democracy it is stu-

dents’ parents and the Ontario government who deserve to have their voices heard in about 64 different referendums to be held annually, not students.

Leblanc is suggesting that you have the right to take away clubs and groups funding because you are a self-sufficient consumer, and you have an inherent right to decide whether these groups live or die.

You do not have this right.

So on this issue, I ask Leblanc to quit appealing to student narratives that are not supported by facts and to continue to let those who wish to opt out of levy fees the option to do so, which is something that we are all able to do if we so wish.

What Leblanc is doing here is attempting to fool the student population into thinking that they are being swindled out of their hard earned dollars that they never earned.

He is creating an environment of pure privilege and entitlement by fooling students into thinking that we have the rights to cause massive upheaval and chaos in an institution that is primarily funded through the government, alumni and our parents, not us.

They have earned that right to flip the table, we have not.

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14, 2016

3

opinion Letters to the Editors Team Corey The obnoxious few members in current student leadership have silenced the majority of the student population.

The students at Trent University have been under a student union that is not democratic; it is narrow-minded and over all prejudiced. This has made it disheartening to witness people, for four years, from all walks of life being shut down because they do not adhere to the cookie cutter Trent student “way of thinking.”

As a minority who has been faced with discrimination year after year, I will be voting for Corey LeBlanc.

People have questions for me wherever I turn. “But he uses the Donald Trump slogan, he is a racist obviously.”

First of all, this assumption demonstrates an outrageous lack of intelligence.

The term “Make America great again” is not strictly a Trump slogan.

It has been used for decades by other presidential candidates in the united states and is a great play on words when we keep in mind how angry it makes us feel when Trump says it, we should feel just as angry about our student union, that is the point LeBlanc wants to get across. We should be angry, we should want change and we should be demanding to be heard.

The TCSA members over the past few years think they are so perfect that they didn’t even realize they were, in fact, an existing hate group (real life).

In spring of 2015, LeBlanc and a handful of passionate students defended my right to exist at Trent University.

That is correct, I identify with my homeland, culture, religion and ethnicity as an Israelite. I was personally victimized by the TCSA (worse than Regina George).

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement had been allowed to exist in the TCSA policy and was endorsed through OPIRG, to which we all pay a levy. My own money was going towards boycotting myself, other Jewish students and professors as well as members of the LGBT community who’s only safe haven in the Middle East was being condemned for existing.

The policy was hateful, discriminatory and had no business in post-secondary education in Canada; especially Trent, which prides itself in diversity, acceptance and safe spaces.

The BDS policy was rescinded thanks to LeBlanc, and for that I can assure you that this guy, who stood up for Israel, which is one of the only countries in the world containing all religions, all ethnicities, total democracy and absolute equality, is not a bigot despite hallway rumours and the bullies in leadership.

He will fight for Israel and he will also fight for every student at Trent. His firm stance on sexual assault and plans for democratic student fees should also perk your interest, but by all means… be a bystander.

Trent is a playground and the bullies are in charge, but we as a student population outnumber those bullies. We can make Trent great again.

-Lauren Bromberg

#NOTAlaineAgain

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An election is underway on campus for the TCSA Executive. Hardly a game changer.

Except for the garish and corny slogans etched on the university stonework, and the increased photo-ops for the incumbents, nothing has occurred to really draw attention to it.

Alaine Spiwak, the current president, is neither greatly incompetent, nor shamelessly corrupt, but Trent students should not, I repeat not, re-elect her to her position.

Why, you may ask, is she unfit to be returned to the presidency when she is neither incompetent nor corrupt?

Quite simply because she is a mediocre president, whose tenure can be described

www.trentarthur.ca

as neither good nor bad but simply “meh.”

This time around she uses the same plastic words and phrases that got her elected last time, which real politicians use to a sickening degree everyday.

Words like “fairness” and “democracy” are not followed by how she means to continue the presence of those principles, or return them if they’ve been lost.

Slogans like “support affordable postsecondary education” and “justice for international students” and “environmental and sustainable practices” are fronts that aren’t backed up by even the slightest hint of how she will achieve them.

Her platform is plastic and lacks substance; it’s smiles, empty promises and photo ops.

Once again she’s promised to “improve food services,” this time it’s a priority, apparently.

But during her tenure, food services have gotten worse; the quality of food has decreased while the prices have increased and our president hasn’t uttered a single of criticism to Chartwells, or made any obvious effort to improve the situation.

Why should we give her another chance with that, when she’s done nothing on that front? Nor has she allowed for a debate on Trent’s membership in the corrupt, bureaucratic, trough feeders of the Canadian Federation of Students to which we pay an exponential amount each year.

She won’t even allow for the debate to happen, let alone look at the alternatives: either the more affordable Canadian Alliance of Student Associations or the other options that exist for us!

Spiwak is content to rake in her presidential salary of $24,000 a year, with paid leave and holidays, and maintain the status quo.

Continue placating people with photo-ops and talking about change but not acting on it.

It’s the least amount of work; after all, things are not terrible. But nor are they as great as she would have us believe.

Maintaining the status quo with Spiwak is an option. But it’s not a very good one –not if you want to make student politics work for students and not just student politicians.

That being said #NOTAlaineAgain.

-Brendan Edge

We love LeBlanc I met TCSA presidential candidate Corey LeBlanc a little over a year ago and since then have become very good friends.

I am about halfway through my time here at Trent University; I have met many people, many of whom come from all walks of life.

As a political science major, I have had the pleasure of talking about all sorts of issues relating to the world and our school here at home.

Coming from a small town, my interaction with other students from other provinces and countries was relatively limited. So when I first came to Trent, it seemed like a whole new world from high school.

We were free, free to actually have our voices heard, free to change the barriers we felt were holding others and us back on campus, free to go to the washroom without asking permission first.

It didn’t take me long to find out that the student leadership in the TCSA has a very narrow ideological agenda.

Don’t get me wrong, the rhetoric of inclusiveness and rainbows was certainly there, what was lacking was meaningful action on key issues such as discrimination and free speech.

Instead of standing up for students of all faiths, certain groups were targeted for political reasons. Recently, the only pro-life group on campus was told to shut down, no ifs, ands or buts.

LeBlanc believes in standing up and representing all faiths and fighting for an

inclusive student government, and our current student leadership has failed us all because of their own political biases.

But to me, this problem is universitywide. LeBlanc fights for the students like myself and thousands of others, who feel that our own opinions or experiences are not mainstream enough to be accepted.

Fear of being labeled ignorant, narrow-minded, racist, bigoted or any other broad statement is constantly used to shut those up who are not slaves to political correctness.

The highest voter turnout for Trent is 22 per cent of the student body, because the majority of students feel disenfranchised and believe the student leadership will do nothing and stand up only for them.

Well, I am writing this to tell the students of Trent that the silent majority of students in this school want change, not a little change, but radical change.

They want to know where their money is going, they want a president who fights every day for the hundreds, if not thousands, of students in poverty.

They want action for the thousands who feel that their opinions would be shunned and they will be labeled just to silence dissenting beliefs.

LeBlanc has a proven record of fighting for all students, regardless of their beliefs. He has served various clubs and groups on campus and organizations off campus, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies.

This campaign will be one for the books, but will only make history if we continue to fight against political correctness and demand free speech for every single student in this school.

We defeated the BDS movement that would sanction the economy of the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.

For those who try to label his campaign as being against political correctness, or defense of Israel as racist, perhaps you should take a long, hard look in the mirror. Vote for LeBlanc, because the silent majority stands with Corey.

-Brock Terry

The silent majority stands with LeBlanc My name is Jacob Hadley and I am a fourth-year business student here at Trent University, and am in my third year of studies here on the Trent campus.

My experiences here have brought me some amazing times with different events, fundraisers and other outgoing activities.

That is to say I have attended these events, paid my money, enjoyed my time, then went home and gained a nice memory. But never have I felt truly involved or included.

I think that is one main issue we have here at Trent. For each event, organization and council we see the same familiar faces time and time again. It really gives the feeling of cliques and kind of makes the rest of us feel like outsiders; like we are guests among hosts, which is not at all how it should be.

Since I first applied to university I would hear from friends and family about how different it is from high school. How people branch out into new groups and change so dramatically. How there is no such thing as the “popular kids” and that cliques don’t exist.

But that isn’t what I’ve experienced.

Instead I see a constant repetition of the same people in these organizations at Trent, and the opportunities that go along with them. It gives a feeling of not belonging and it didn’t occur to me until this semester that there are so many of us that feel this way.

So many of us that we actually substantially outnumber these reoccurring faces; these “popular kids.” We are the silent

majority.

A big turning point for me this semester was when LeBlanc told me he was going to run for president of the TCSA and one of his main positions was to give a voice to this silent majority, so that we don’t feel like outsiders anymore.

Upon hearing this, and knowing LeBlanc for a couple years now, I couldn’t wait to get on board because I know he will actually get it done.

If there is one thing I know about LeBlanc is how much dedication and hard work he puts into achieving his goals.

Even through countless attacks of slander and misrepresentation through this process he is still dedicated to giving a voice to the silent majority.

It all starts with changing up the TCSA, which will lead to greater inclusion in all groups across all the great organizations at Trent.

-Jacob Hadley

Re: Abandoned cats at Trent Thank you for publishing the disturbing report about the abandoned cats at Trent University.

A friend who tries to feed some of these pitiful creatures recently told us how one bitterly cold night he went out repeatedly to investigate intermittent terrible unearthly howls.

Sadly in the dark he was unable to find the source. In the morning he found the frozen body of a little kitten covered in muddy slush thrown up by passing cars.

It seems deplorable that an institution entrusted with the education of potential future leaders apparently feels no obligation to instill in them fundamentals of moral responsibility.

Perhaps OPIRG could form a group to arrange responsible pet fostering in collaboration with LAWS or ARK. Thank goodness for humane shelters and for compassionate people like the gentleman you mentioned who is trying to relieve the suffering.

Kathi Curtin-Williams is another helping humanitarian who established and runs the Peterborough Pet Food Bank. This remarkable woman has been providing food to another kind man who does his best to save the lives of some of these helpless kittens.

If you would like to help please contact Kathi at 705-761-9524.

-Carol Winter

Thank you for your letters of concern and feedback!

We are always happy to serve as the medium of the student voice.

Please submit your opinions to us at: editors@trentarthur.ca

opinion

Editors Note: This piece is a reprint from the Summer of 2015

Trent University: jobs for all

By Renzo Costa

An article recently published in The Examiner, titled “Trent University: No Jobs for Canadian Students?” outlines an ill-funded and misinformed opinion about student job opportunities at Trent University.

The article described how at a particular point in time, the few jobs posted for students in the Trent Job Board were exclusively for international students. This was extrapolated to wrongly argue that jobs on campus were only for international students.

Upon conducting some research, this misleading and sensationalist argument is not only false, but also falls under a discriminatory rhetoric. First, let’s get the facts straight.

According to Trent’s payroll office, this summer there are currently 256 Trent students on payroll, and of these, 16 are international students. During the 2014/2015 school year, there were 537 students on payroll, of which 33 were international students (not including TA’s, lab demonstrators, etc., who are members of CUPE2).

The Trent International Program (TIP) funds some positions through the Trent International Program Scholarship Fund. TIP Scholarship Funds subsidize around 20 ten-hour-a-week student jobs on campus each year. These are particularly targeted to positions in which an international student’s perspective is valuable to the organization, such as in student-led organizations (OPIRG, TCSA, Seasoned Spoon, Arthur, Kawartha World Issues Centre, etc.).

In terms of how the positions are posted on Trent’s online job board, sometimes they are posted throughout the year, and often a number of positions from one office or one funding source come up at the same time. A couple of weeks ago, TIP funded positions appeared online at the same time. These postings were used in a disingenuous manner by the article to argue that all jobs were for international

students, when in fact only 20 positions are directed solely to international students annually.

The financial aid office specifies that financing of most other student positions take place through a mix of operating budget funding, which is open to all students, and funding through the Trent Work Study Program (TWSP). In order to qualify for TWSP, the student must be Canadian, a full-time student and eligible for financial aid (e.g. OSAP, other provincial aid programs, band funding).

Other offices also work in this manner.

For instance, Student Affairs tends to hire all their summer student staff at the same time. Similarly, Housing hires all the residence dons in the winter semester for the upcoming year.

According to Dr. Michael Allcott, TIP’s director, “the TIP Job Subsidy was established to address an inequity many international students faced: jobs funded

by OWSP (now TWSP), as well as other programs funded by the province or the federal government, are not open to international students.”

As a result, “Trent is committed to providing an inclusive environment for all students, and the TIP job subsidy aims to ensure that there is some equity in access to on-campus employment,” he added.

This article is problematic not only because it is based upon false information and a complete lack of any serious research, but also due to how that information was utilized to construct a misleading argument. It is extremely important to be reflexive of the implications and consequences of our words.

For instance, the article read, “Low and behold the only positions available on campus were for international students.

Now I am not talking about an odd job here and there, for translating or outreach perhaps. I mean jobs in nearly every department at the university, all exclusively for foreign students.”

First, the statement that the only positions available on campus were for international students is misleading.

Lo and behold, only 20 jobs out of 537 are only for international students each year.

Secondly, the notion that ‘foreign’ students should get an “odd job here and there, for translation or outreach perhaps’ is a demonstration of a discriminatory rhetoric. It is reductive and offensive, and suggests that international students hold a secondclass status and should not be afforded equal access. International students have the same right as domestic students to participate in all areas of the university experience.

Furthermore, the article also plays with the notion that Trent is a publicly funded institution and that it is locally driven and therefore should favour domestic students over international students. These types of arguments are in line with those who argue that non-Canadian residents benefit from taxpayers as if they were free riders.

In fact, international students also pay taxes and contribute to the economy.

Jobs for international students are not handouts. International tuition fees are, on average, at least twice that of domestic students. In fact, attracting international students is becoming increasingly important to the future viability of universities.

Since international students do not qualify for OSAP, they rely on scholarships/bursaries and limited parttime jobs. To say that all jobs or even that many jobs are for international students alone is outrageous given the barriers that exist.

TCSA president, Alaine Spiwak, expressed that “the article disappointed us at the TCSA as it was inaccurate and misleading to Trent students and the Peterborough community. We felt it was unfair to international students who already face so many barriers perusing post-secondary education in a different country.

“The TCSA believes that the ethical balance Trent has formed to address job equity on campus aligns with Trent’s

values of being a diverse and inclusive campus,” she added.

Moreover, Nona Robinson, Vice President of the Students Affairs office, expressed that “students who work on campus often feel an increased sense of connection to the university, and also learn about how the office functions.

In many cases students are involved in peer helper roles, and that can be both very gratifying, and also help them hone valuable transferable skills.”

These valuable opportunities should be open to all students and therefore systems are put in place, such as the TIP Subsidy Fund, to work towards creating more equity and opportunities for all students.

The article also argued that, “only after every born Canadian student who wants a job, has a job, should employment opportunities be afforded to international temporary students.”

This is a prime example the underlying racist rhetoric in the article. There is a distinction made between the ‘born’ Canadian, which excludes immigrants, and international students who the article defines as ‘temporary.’ What happens to those Canadians who were not born in Canada? Should they have less access to jobs and a different set of rights? What about permanent residents or refugees?

What happened to the notion of Canada as a multicultural nation?

This seems in line with a discourse of ‘us’ versus ‘them’, which has an orientalist background. These arguments are extremely dangerous because they lead to the differentiation of one group of people over the other, which often leads to prejudices, hatred and systematic disadvantage.

Words are powerful instruments.

The right to express an opinion is one of the most fundamental pillars of any democratic society.

However, we must be careful not to fall into misleading arguments based on distorted information, which have the power to generate discriminatory and racist prejudices.

Editor’s Note: Trigger Warning- Racism, Xenophobia & Transphobia. The following are social media posts that should be concerning to those who are casting their votes in the TCSA Elections this year.

Volume 50 | summer |Throwback

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In our opinion... Trent students should know

Volume 49 | Issue 18 | February 25, 2015

Leaked documents suggest TCSA President conspiring with Trent Conservatives for a ‘TCSA Takeover,’ defederation from CFS

By Jack Smye

Last week, a series of private Facebook messages were anonymously leaked to Arthur Newspaper that appear to show Trent Central Student Association’s (TSCA) President Braden Freer compromising his ethical responsibilities in a conversation with Corey LeBlanc, the Vice-President of the Trent Conservatives student group.

The messages, which were verified by both Freer and LeBlanc, cover a variety of controversial topics including the prospect of de-federating the union from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the recently rescinded Israel divestment policy, and how the Trent Conservatives group can ‘take over the TCSA.’

Who’s anti-CFS motion is it?

At the start of the leaked messages, dated from the days before and after the union’s Jan. 29 annual general meeting (AGM), Freer sent a draft motion to LeBlanc that would have asked the membership to endorse a petition to de-federate from the Canadian Federation of Students.

The motion argued that because the CFS considered a motion to join the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel in August of 2014, and because the TCSA successfully voted to rescind their own BDS policy (something which had not yet happened when the motion was sent) the values of the two organizations no longer align.

The motion was meant to be brought up at the AGM and LeBlanc, in an interview with Arthur, stated that he was going to propose it during the Any Other Business (AOB) portion of the meeting. The meeting never made it to AOB, however, because time ran out.

The origins of this draft motion are now in dispute as both Freer and LeBlanc point to each other as its author.

When asked who drafted the motion, Freer said, “It was drafted by [LeBlanc] and sent to me. He asked for context and edits. Specifically, he sent the wording and said if I wanted to present this, how would I present it?”

LeBlanc, however, denied this claiming that Freer sent him the motion unsolicited. “[It] was just sent to me by Braden. I did agree with the motion I suppose, I agree with the principles of it, but if you’re asking if that was my idea – that was not my idea and there was no previous discussion.

It was simply posed as ‘Hey could you do a couple things in AOB.’”

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Conflict of interest?

In addition to raising questions about the anti-CFS motion, the leaked screenshots also add yet another layer of contention to controversy surrounding the rescindment of the TCSA’s BDS policy against Israel at the January 29 AGM. Prior to the meeting, at which he acted as chairperson, the screenshots show that Freer gave LeBlanc (also the president of Trent4Israel) advice on how his group could win the vote.

According to the screenshots, Freer told LeBlanc to seek the support of Dr. Asaf Zohar (a Trent professor and governor who supported the rescindment) saying, “If Dr. Zohar shows up… I believe it would go far. None of [the TCSA] directors or the cabinets would accept going against him.”

Freer also pointed LeBlanc towards an internet article on human rights violations in Gambia saying, “[I]believe you’re taking the ‘would we begin to BDS other states that have HR violations route’…That just popped up in my Twitter feed, thought it would be of assistance.”

Furthermore, he offered advice on how to obtain membership support and suggested that 30 students would be enough to get a majority vote.

When asked about this, Freer said “When I did it, I didn’t view it as coaching.

I viewed it as a member wants to know how to change something because they disagree with it. I was, in good faith, telling them how to do it because if I didn’t help, then I’m not being helpful to our members.”

Helping members of the union is within the mandate of the TCSA President, but a

conflict of interest could be seen to arise when that same President is also chairing the meeting where the motion is taking place.

In response to that, Freer disagreed that his personal attachment to the motion affected his ability to chair and maintained that he followed the official procedures professionally.

However, TCSA by-laws state that the chairperson of a meeting “is required to provide no public comment of personal belief on matters… while serving as speaker. He or she must remain impartial at all times on matters before the Board.”

Where the issue becomes unclear is whether or not private Facebook conversations should be considered a breach of this, particularly when they are with an individual who has a vested interest in the decision.

At the time the Facebook conversation took place Freer knew that he would be serving as chairperson of the AGM and at one point told LeBlanc, “I’ll have to stay away from inviting [students to the pro-rescindment Facebook group], can’t risk inviting someone who disagrees then calls my chairing into question.”

Planning a TCSA takeover After the AGM took place, the screenshots show Freer congratulating LeBlanc on the success of the rescindment motion. It is at this point they begin discussing how the Trent Conservatives could “take over the TCSA.” Freer begins the discussion by saying “As my by law change did not go through, I would encourage you to run for [Vice President of University & College Affairs].” He then says, “as well, I would

encourage a Trent Conservative take over as many board positions as possible.”

While both Freer and LeBlanc maintain that there was nothing serious about the term ‘take over’—Freer arguing that it was an inside joke and LeBlanc stating that it was never serious—Freer explicitly states “I would suggest supporting [name redacted] for Prez. Looks like less of an overt takeover that way.”

The conversation also had Freer suggesting general advice on how to proceed, which positions would be easiest to run for, and Freer requesting that the two of them meet up for a “TCSA takeover planning session.”

When asked to contextualize this, Freer said “It was a running joke between myself, Corey, and [the Trent Conservatives President]. I thought of those two as very passionate individuals, and the response was ‘oh, it’s a takeover’ (sarcastically).”

LeBlanc echoed a similar sentiment in a separate interview, noting that he was laughing at the word ‘takeover’ in the conversation as though it were a joke. He also said, “I don’t understand what the story is here. Students get to vote in the TCSA elections, so if we had every single person that we ran elected - that’s not a takeover, that’s democracy.”

LeBlanc added that while there was some consideration amongst the Trent Conservatives to run for positions on the TCSA Board of Directors, “[Student Government] isn’t something that any of us want to get involved with immediately, and none of us have chosen to run.”

Nonetheless, Freer acknowledged that this whole thing looks bad on the TCSA, admitting that he feels the student body would be “frustrated” and “angry” about the content of this conversation.

Opinion

Corey LeBlanc: attacking what makes Trent great

By Adriana Sierra

“Let’s Make Trent Great Again!” the slogan of Corey LeBlanc’s campaign for the presidency of the TCSA, may be the greatest insult to Trent University students yet.

LeBlanc’s campaign, which allegedly promises “democracy on student fees,” “inclusivity” and “aid for students in need,” could not be more hypocritical considering LeBlanc’s proximity to the OPCCA (Ontario Progressive Conservatives Campus Association), his disguised attack on student groups, oppressive online presence, antiinternational student sentiment, involvement in last year’s scandal at the TCSA and his play on words of Donald Trump’s racist and misogynistic “Let’s Make America Great Again!” campaign.

In 2009, OPCCA documents that outlined plans for conservative groups on campus to take over student unions were leaked.

The documents contained information on partisan goals to target student unions like the TCSA in order to undermine campus radio stations and “leftist” campus organizations with a specific emphasis on Ontario Public Interest Research Groups (OPIRGs) and the Canadian Federation of

Students (CFS).

Documents were leaked from an OPCCA session that included strategies on how to redirect funding from student unions towards the Conservative Party and on how to run for and win positions within student unions to further political interests.

This approach to student unions is not only problematic in that it clearly seeks to align student unions with partisan politics, but it also represents a direct attack on campus groups that are integral to a university’s fabric.

Part of LeBlanc’s campaign is to “democratize student fees.”

However, his proposed method of “democratization” threatens all levy groups including Arthur Newspaper, Trent Radio, OPIRG, the Trent International Students Association, Trent Active Minds, the Seasoned Spoon, Sexual Violence Support and many others.

Additionally, de-linking from the CFS not only means Trent students’ voices will be excluded from the largest student organization in Canada, which seeks to represent the collective voice of Canadian students at the federal level, but that members of the TCSA will not have access to services provided by the CFS including the Interna-

tional Student Identity Card, the National Student Health Network, the Student Saver Discount Card or the Student Work Abroad Program.

LeBlanc’s leaked conversation with former TCSA president, Braden Freer, which outlines LeBlanc’s intention of de-federating from the CFS, his outspoken opposition to OPIRG Peterborough and his obvious support of the OPCCA through his social media feeds makes the “take-over” of our student union a very real concern.

LeBlanc’s promise of an inclusive student government falls in direct opposition to his Facebook persona and anti-international student sentiment.

LeBlanc’s online oppressive, racist and sexist comments in the unofficial Trent University Facebook page sparked a strong response from the Peterborough Community Race Relations Committee (CRRC) this fall.

LeBlanc and other students were directly responsible for triggering and oppressive comments.

One of the comments posted by LeBlanc reads: “Get over yourself dude. Your fucking ‘ancestral culture’? Fuck your culture.”

The CRRC noted: “In particular, this violence has been directed towards students of

colour, indigenous students, trans students, queer students and women… Ultimately, this violence affects one’s ability to access their education and participate in the Trent community.”

LeBlanc claims that as TCSA president, he will make sure that “shameful hate tactics will not be tolerated.”

His actions suggest otherwise. How can a person responsible for silencing and oppressing make claims to inclusivity?

Furthermore, LeBlanc also published a poorly researched article in the Peterborough Examiner that targeted international student jobs.

The article was written with nationalistic and racist language, and evoked anti-international student sentiments.

It is clear that LeBlanc is not in tune with international student issues and has no intention of lobbying for increased support for international students.

Lastly, his use of Donald Trump’s campaign slogan speaks for itself.

The “Let’s Make America Great Again!” campaign has been widely critiqued for being racist, sexist and run by a “phony and a fraud,” which also accurately describes LeBlanc’s “Lets Make Trent Great Again!” campaign.

Prejudice against International students in LeBlanc campaign By an International Anon

On a nondescript Tuesday morning, March 8, I left Bata library to make my way to class in Gzowski.

The first encouraging signs of spring were noticeable in the small sporadic puddles of melted ice and snow, the dark greens of trees attempting to come back to vibrant life and the cheerful chirping of little birds.

The season of spring has long been symbolized as a season of new beginnings, new life. For some, spring brings with it the promise of warmer weather to take joy in and the anticipation of summer break – especially for hard working university students.

In keeping with the theme of new beginnings, at Trent spring is the season in which elections for various executive boards take place.

This inevitably means seeing loads of reminders to vote for different candidates who find clever slogans to attract attention.

On my way to class that morning, one slogan definitely caught my eye… and left a sinking feeling in my gut: “Make Trent great again.”

I’d heard that before, in many forms, and it echoed part of the platform of another candidate in another election not too far removed from us. This particular candidate, in the race for the White House in the U.S., has made statements to this effect, with clear references to anti-immigration sentiments on numerous occasions.

These prejudicial sentiments are well primed to incite intolerance for diversity.

Imagine my shock – as an international student, and therefore an immigrant to this country – as I was bombarded by the slogan plastered everywhere on the Faryon Bridge and on walls along the pathway to Gzowski.

At first, I tried to keep an open mind as to why this candidate, running for president of the TCSA, would choose this slogan.

However, as I continued to be blasted by “Make Trent great again,” I couldn’t help noting a paradox: the subtlety of the antiimmigrant message originally associated with the slogan was slowly being eroded by how often it was repeated and the large writing with which it was presented.

This large writing virtually rendered the message as being quite “in your face.”

The more I saw “Make Trent great again” the more I actually read, “You! Foreigner!

You’re not welcome here!”

“Make Trent great again.” LeBlanc, “again?” There’s always room for improvement but, pray tell me, what’s horribly wrong with it now?

What prevents Trent University from being considered great right now? How are you actively going to take steps to restoring the “greatness” that you imply has been lost? How do you separate such a sentiment from such a slogan and feel like it is okay to run your campaign with it?

And please, do understand, your intentions do not always match the perceptions of your audience. Furthermore, if this is some joke, meant to be “punny”… you’ve failed.

There’s an old adage that is frequently associated with spring and its unpleasant, but supposedly well-meaning side: “April showers bring May flowers.”

These showers cloud blue skies and constantly clothe the “promise of new beginnings” in a constant, sombre grey. They leave eyesores of muck and mud everywhere. The rain from these showers falls indiscriminately upon both the flowers and the weeds of the field.

Left untended, the weeds of prejudicial sentiments choke and hinder the diverse blossom of the flowers of the field. We are then deprived of potentially colourful bouquets of social progress, equality and unity.

What are we then left with? The weeds, with nothing to offer but their pollen and dander. The saddest part: we’ve got seasonal allergies and your weeds offer us only misery and discomfort.

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14, 2016

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Opinion

Think beyond the ‘democracy’ platform this election

By Ashley Fearnall

On March 14, Trent students will return to the polls to select the next executive representing the diverse group of student voices on campus.

I have received a number of requests to speak about the TCSA elections; my goal in this short piece is to share a few reflections on the language of politics and the disappointment I have in students who hide behind the rhetoric of democracy, participation and empowering student voices.

It is up to the student body, the represented voters, to hold the candidates accountable to the rhetoric and actions they engage in; I hope my reflections will empower you to do so.

Three upstanding values are mentioned over 27 times throughout the TCSA executive and equity commissioner platforms: democracy, student voices, and advocacy.

Let me repeat myself: democracy, the value of student voices, and importance of advocacy are mentioned over 27 times in the election platforms alone. On the surface, these are all great values to bring to student governance.

Ideally, our system should recognize the diversity of voices, the positionality of our leaders and the voices that we have left out in the past.

But ask yourself this: what is democracy? Election campaigns - not just student council, but all election campaigns - speak often of democracy as a Canadian ideal: to be democratic is to be Canadian.

Beyond our national pride and understanding of the word, what does democracy mean?

The problem with terms like democracy,

student voices and advocacy is that all of these terms hide larger political conversations we need to engage in. Look beyond rhetoric and ask yourself: What is common sense?

Is it common sense to balance a budget and to advocate for more money in student pockets? Or is it common sense that poverty is not simply an economic problem, but a social problem?

What is leadership? Is leadership recognizing your own position and representing a diverse student population through collaborate governance? Or do we want a leader who will take control of the student’s political interest? Who is incompetent?

Is it a student leader, if so, who? A student organization, if so, which one? Or is it the institution of the Trent Central Student Union itself?

Are we political actors, students, leaders in training or students paying a membership fee for services? Are we defined by the levy we pay, the tuition we pay, and our loans? Or are we defined by something much more, if so, what?

There is a growing and visible flaw in the way we govern ourselves; we call on our candidates to engage in an overwhelming list of student issues and craft policies that ignore the realities of our situation.

We need innovation, but we need recognition of our own power and position in a larger political context (provincially, nationally, and globally).

Student voices are not passive on campus, they are engaged in a variety of political issues and challenging the way politics have been done in the past. Do we want a leader who will advocate on our behalf, or do we want a system that will encourage

participatory politics and governance?

In expanding our imagination of what is political, what can be done and who can be included in political dialogues, it is important to recognize that there are some battles that we can win, some systems we can change and others we will only be able to manage.

Governance takes collaboration between actors, and sometimes that requires compromises in our own interests to benefit the whole of society.

Yes, there are times provinces’, nations’ and administrations’ interests will trump ours; it is critical for our next leader to understand the value of political dialogue with students and not simply on their behalf.

There are difficult decisions to be made in the near future, and those will require innovative new approaches to student governance. In ignoring the realities of policies and politics, we limit the imagination and political power of our student union to create effective change.

If you want to create a political change at Trent, look beyond the rhetoric of democracy.

Instead, ask the candidate how they will engage with and demand a system that is participatory and acknowledges our value as students outside of their offices, outside of the election cycle and outside of a flawed system of governance.

Instead of assuming the responsibility of speaking on behalf of all students, let’s build a system of governance that includes all political perspectives, recognizes the need for compromises and recognizes the ability of students to engage in political values and hold respectful political dialogue on campus.

Look beyond the rhetoric of the candidates. There are much larger issues at play in this election.

The so-called youth quake that took place in the federal election does not have to end in 2015. Instead, we can challenge our student governance — our own political leadership and powers — to reject the status quo.

The way we govern ourselves is no longer acceptable; we too often devalue our own political voices and reject the idea that students, young citizens and residents in Canada can create political change.

The greatest challenge for our next leader will be building a new imagination for future possibilities; an imagination that recognizes that Trent’s student governance must be opened to participatory forms of governance and inclusive of all student voices.

Participatory methods are not perfect, but it is an opportunity to reject the politics of division, individuality and personal responsibility, and form collaborative, innovative and exciting dialogues between students and the Peterborough community.

This election reject the rhetoric of division and the political other-ing, some candidates will rely upon for their own political gains.

Ask who is included, who is engaged and what kind of democracy they wish to achieve.

Dig deep into the conversations happening on campus. Think hard about the future of Trent. Challenge yourself – and your peers – to think about politics.

Ideological divisions can be overcome, engaging in political dialogue happens daily, but what is the students’ vision for the future of Trent University?

Censorship and segregation

By Matthew P. Barker

As the TCSA election campaigns ramp up, there have been concerns voiced by students about how the campaigns are being conducted.

For instance, during the publicity campaigns, those who are running for the coveted positions on the TCSA board, for president, vice-president and so on, have been posting, or have had posts put up on Facebook under the Trent University group.

During this time several students that have posted for Corey LeBlanc, who is running for TCSA president, have experienced segregation and ridicule on the social media website.

This experience on the unofficial Trent University Facebook group, consisting of over five thousand students, has seen many posts from all of the hopefuls with their intentions and promises if they are elected to TCSA office.

But for some this is not so.

When posting for LeBlanc and his campaign, a student who wishes to remain nameless for fear of further segregation and harassment, said that within minutes his post was removed and he had been blocked.

This negative publicity towards LeBlanc has not swayed him away from his dedication for a better Trent experience, not only for today, but for tomorrow as well.

The segregation that these students have experienced on social media at the hands of not only fellow students, but by the student government, has tainted their views of the fairness and equality that is said to be on campus.

As I have witnessed myself, on the Face-

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book page there is no free speech and no fairness for the student body; posts are heavily policed, especially when it comes to who can post on the website.

The admins have complete censorship over what posts they allow, and by whom.

Prior to the election campaign, the Facebook page that is run by Trent students, but is not officially associated with the university, has changed the way students can post and interact with it.

Several students have experienced segregation and seclusion at the hands of the administrators, who have been disallowing those students that might pose some opposition. With over five thousand students currently following the page and seeing everything that is carefully screened for approval, this begs the question…

Is this just the beginning of the censorship and segregation for the Trent of tomorrow, or can it be stopped before it is too late?

LeBlanc has an answer to this and it is simple. Transparency.

He believes that for Trent to remain a beacon of hope for the students, it is important for the students to feel like they have someone that will listen to them and be there for them when they have concerns.

For LeBlanc, this comes in the form of a four-plank platform that consists of his cornerstone for more accountability for those who are involved in sexual harassment and sexual assault in the form of a zero tolerance policy that would make campus life safer.

LeBlanc said “it is absolutely unacceptable,” and that if he is elected TCSA President, he will “deal with sexual assault harshly and quickly.”

One of the ways he plans to combat this problem, that seems to be plaguing universities and colleges around the country, is by adding more cameras to the campus, especially in the more secluded parts that might not be heavily traveled at night, near the science complex for instance.

Another of his platform promises is that there should be more options available for the fees that are paid for through tuition.

Most students do not use every service that is being paid for through the ancillary fees that are charged through tuition.

That’s why he believes there should be more availability to opt out of those services that students, current and future, will not personally use. LeBlanc believes that students should have more say in how the money they pay for tuition is spent to improve their university experience.

The next platform of his election campaign is an inclusive student leadership for all. This would include all forms of studentled groups on campus and not allow one majority to say who can function on the grounds of the university and who cannot.

LeBlanc said he does not think this “is conducive to an inclusive student government to have these sorts of decisions made, where one group can be on campus and another group can’t.”

He went on to say that “university campuses should be a bastion of free speech” and it should be completely against censorship. “[E]ven groups that I necessarily do not agree with, should have the right to have their opinions heard,” he said.

He believes that the silencing of student opinion should not exist in a free and open environment, such as a university campus.

He also believes that there should be more done with regards to the student government and how they make the student body feel included in the decision making process regarding campus life; the thousands of students, who are TCSA members and are paying fees, need to be included.

“We cannot have thousands of TCSA members paying for events for a select minority,” he explained.

The final stage of his platform would see him donating 10 per cent of the $25,000 TCSA President’s yearly wage for meaningful help for students in poverty.

This would help out students who have had financial troubles through the enacting of a bursary called the “President’s Compassion Fund,” and this would split up into five different grants of $500 each, and would be awarded to students who are living in poverty that are excelling academically throughout the year.

“I would encourage all other candidates for election to follow my lead,” said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc has some good ideas that are and have been stifled through the use of segregation by opposition leaders that would see your tuition dollars spent for the minority of the student population.

At the beginning of researching and interviewing for this piece, I tried to submit a post on the Trent University group on Facebook that has been and is still being used as an advertising platform for the other candidates.

I posted a link to the group about LeBlanc’s Facebook group for the election, and it still has not been published to the site that is being censored for content that they do not wish others to see.

opinion

The Students of 1989: the Tiananmen Square Massacre

By Sean Russell

If you were asked what came to mind when you hear Beijing, what would you answer?

If you were asked if you recognized the name of Tiananmen Square, or of the events that transpired there and across China in the first half of 1989, could you provide an answer?

Only 20 years ago, had you been asked the same question, you might have been hard pressed to find someone who hadn’t heard of the thousands of student protestors that were murdered in Beijing, cut down by the rifles and tanks of the national army under the direct order of the Chinese Communist Party.

If one is to know anything of this event today, it is likely that they have seen the iconic Tank Man image of a lone protestor facing down a column of tanks as they patrolled the streets the day following the massacre.

The Decade of Reform To understand these events, one must look to the political and economic context of rising tensions during the ‘80s in China.

The decade began optimistically, with an opening up of foreign diplomatic and economic relations with the rest of the world, and China saw a period of drastic economic growth.

Coinciding with this economic opening came the flow of foreign ideologies from the West to the educated students and scholars, in the form of the desire for greater individual human rights and a more democratic leadership.

This call for reform included the criticizing of the corruption of power that the CCP leaders exercised, noting the influence that they held in the monopolization of the developing industries by members of the party.

These pro-democracy protests were famously publicized while they unfolded in Beijing between April and June, but this was actually simply the heart of a movement that spanned several cities across the country.

It could be said that this was all sparked by the death of the former General Secretary of the CCP Hu Yoabang in the same year, who had put forward the ideal that the intellectuals of China needed to become more politically involved earlier that decade.

Yoabang was forced to resign in 1987, as this call for political involvement resulted in political deviation, and in death he be-

came a martyr for the students and the movement.

The students across China, gradually joined by the others of society, used their voice and peaceful protest to try and help mould their country and its leadership to reflect their changing values, beginning with tens of thousands attending the funeral of Yoabang on April 22, 1989, in Tiananmen Square.

From here the protests would spread to others cities such as Shanghai, and by the middle of May the CCP had declared martial law in Beijing.

It is estimated that by June, as many as one million citizens would gather in the Tiananmen Square in front of the Forbidden City, some singing songs of protest, others using more harsh words to condemn the actions of their government or engaging in hunger strikes.

At this time it so happened that a large number of Western journalists were already in Beijing to report on the upcoming visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, allowing them to capture the protests that might not have otherwise been known to the rest of the world.

The Massacre The night of June 3, 1989 would prove to decide the future of China for the decades that followed.

By the tens of thousands, soldiers of the national people’s army marched through the streets of Beijing, firing into the crowds of protestors as they found them along the route to Tiananmen Square.

The protestors would say that they never expected the army to have been capable of doing this, as the students, their families, their children and anyone who opposed the CCP were ruthlessly suppressed by report of machine gun fire and relentless march of tanks through the once peaceful protest.

The massacre continued into the morning and the next two days across the country, which is where the image of the tank man originates, resolutely facing the oncoming tanks as they searched for and killed any remaining protestors. By the end of June 5, the nation was again firmly under the control of the CCP. China and the Global Stage It is believed that in less than three days, thousands were killed, and thousands more wounded, though the official tally will never be known as the CCP systematically destroyed any evidence of the massacre.

Despite the determined efforts of the party to downplay and cover up the events,

our media had already sent back to us live footage of the horror, and across the Western world China was sanctioned economically and diplomatically.

To this day it is impossible to search online for Tiananmen, or Tank Man in China, any public commemoration of the massacre is officially banned, and the square is perpetually under armed guard and constant surveillance.

Given the atrocity of their actions, it is not surprising that there is continued policy of suppression, but what I do find surprising is the actions of our own governments in response.

Following the protests and economic sanctions they were given, China adopted a more globalized market and began fervent liberal economic reform after 1989, despite their opposing trend of increased political restriction.

Before the end of the decade, despite this growing trend, whatever the West had found so deplorable about the massacre didn’t seem to matter as much anymore, and China would be known as the global factory, receiving foreign investment and manufacturing development, and the country has now built itself to be a dominant economic power.

At this point, the economic trends of the period and the Marxian concept of historical materialism can aid us in an interpretation of this slacking of sanctions.

This theory states that our social relations are the product of our material relations, or essentially the way that we produce and use goods and essentials, will be the lens that you view the world through, and thus shape your relationships around.

For our purposes, we will be taking this to the most general sense; with our economic relations we experience determining our political relations.

Beginning in the 1970’s there was a move towards the offshoring of labour and manufacturing out of North America in response to the growing political power of labour unions.

With China hosting a large amount of this offshoring, this growth of economic codependence is likely the reason that nothing ever came of the Tiananmen Square massacre, despite the shock and criticism the populations of the world had to offer.

Without such an interpretation, how else does one explain why sanctions would be lifted against a country if it were so clearly violating the citizen’s wishes for democracy, when this is held as our most fundamental

value?

Why did we trade and thus invest so readily in a country that showed it was willing to use fascist force to cull those who speak out, when we have criticized the lack of humanity in such actions for over a hundred years?

For Americans, one would think they would recall their own outrage when the same tactics were used on their own population in the shootings at Kent State University in 1970.

Think also of the case of Cuba, perhaps if it offered its citizens for cheap offshored labour and foreign investment, the American sanctions against it would not have lasted for the decades that it did.

Regardless of the nature of social and material relations, there is at least a group of facts that remain absolute without the need of any theory: Between June 3 and 5, peaceful and democratic students tried to make their country reflect its people, and were killed for it.

Their government did and still tries to hide this fact; we have known about it for over 25 years, and somewhere we decided that we didn’t care, and we offshored labour that employed children for little to no pay.

We have legitimized the perpetrators of a massacre, because we wanted the victims to continue to make our cheap shoes.

As time passed the memory of the massacre slipped out of common knowledge, both in China and here in North America, but I ask, what is our excuse?

We have not been denied access to the knowledge of the massacre, and yet, other than the anniversary news reports that rehash the same information, our only exposure to this may be viewing a Tank Man image on a graphic t-shirt.

In the end this may not be that surprising, after all our country has already demonstrated an amazing ability to forget about what we ourselves inflicted upon the First Nations since before our founding, and forget so quickly the women who continue to disappear.

Think of any deplorable event of the last 10 years, and ask yourself, will you simply forget? June is now only three months away and I challenge you to remember the students of 1989 by continuing their spirit.

Make an active effort to be informed and try to get involved in your community or here at Trent, and try not to let the day-to-day keep you from looking forward.

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14, 2016

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opinion

Why we need World Citizens United

by Matt Foster

The UN was created to foster world peace.

Now nations exert their will on the less powerful and use economic pressure, veto power, to get their way.

Times have changed since the UN was formed and it is hopelessly ill equipped to contend with the degradation and poisoning of the planet’s seas, fresh water, atmosphere, soil, biodiversity, etc.

We also have a collapse of human rights, diminishing democracies, the concentration of media and information, population concerns, nuclear and GMO concerns and a plastic plague destroying the oceans.

In response, people have formed countless non-government organizations (NGOs) and activist groups as they try to prompt our elected political representatives to do something constructive.

While we organize and struggle, we are hassled and patronized by market forces, which have a strong interaction and collaboration with politicians and political parties.

Environmentalists and social-minded individuals and groups are fragmented and disorganized and have little hope of influencing or changing any of the disasters facing us.

This situation could be much improved if we could just get ourselves established into a powerful cooperative worldwide organization with a defined universal mission.

Let’s assume that we collectively agree that something needs to be done and that it is worthwhile. Is success attainable? It is, provided we put the power of unified world citizens both before and behind corrective initiatives.

What would we need to do? List the is-

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sues that need addressing so that the depth of the overall situation is clear to one and all.

Next, put the issues into categories and prioritize them within each category. Put them into a 25-year plan. Establish something simple initially, rather than an ominous issue, remembering that it will take time for this new organization to gather significant worldwide member support.

Use available information. NGOs and other groups have vast databases with which we can make informed decisions.

Take the established categories and put them into a sequence so that they can be presented to the membership for input and consideration one at a time. If we use 26 categories and allow a fortnight between publication and email distribution of a new petition, we can address an issue in each and every category in each year of the plan.

Everyone, including business leaders and politicians, will be put on notice that we are determined to press for remedial action. Everyone will be able to see for him or herself what is in the “pipeline” and slatted for corrective action.

Email the petition to members. If the member agrees with the petition’s objectives, then it is signed. The petition is then forwarded to all 190-plus legislative powers on the planet.

I would like to see reductions in plastic usage; I have concern for food safety and a concern for hormone-mimicking hormones in consumer products. I would like to see a ban on female genital mutilation.

Therefore I would subscribe to plastic, toxins, food and human rights. This would allow me to consider four petitions per year, and to change my settings to include or exclude categories at any time.

Another individual might choose democracy/voting as their priority. This person may also add nuclear issues.

Another might prefer water resources and land/soil loss degradation. Another might choose population concerns.

All categories would have their champions. Groups that currently use e-petitions are generally reacting to human rights violations within single nations. Other petitions may be to protect pollinators (species).

Our petitions must meet more stringent criteria. We must also avoid outside influence, as experienced with the UN, and stick with the concept of one member, one vote.

AVAAZ uses e-petitions effectively. They have an enviable 42 million members. Unlike AVAAZ, we would cover all categories and e-petition over 190 nations, whereas they cover few categories and e-petition single legislations or corporations.

As an example of how this might work I offer the following: A recent TV program suggested the plastic problem lies in the recycling and waste management programs.

This is a grave error.

Plastic and the manufacturing in plastic is the problem itself. Can we eliminate manufacturing in plastic? Not likely! Can we eliminate manufacturing of plastic drinking straws? If so, we make it an issue for inclusion and attention in the 25-year plan.

Using the logic, “No manufacturing of plastic straws,” we could demand “No manufacturing of plastic net bags for produce.”

Manufacturers could revert back to twisted paper code bags.

As we progress we might demand “No manufacturing of toys in plastic.” Manufacturers would look to alternative materi-

als. Let’s try something that might be more contentious - “No packaging of toothpaste in plastic tubes.” If my toothpaste came in powder form in a cardboard container, I could cope.

Billions of non-biodegradable tubes would be removed from the ecosystem yearly, forever. Imagine the number of albatross that might survive because there were billions fewer plastic caps to feed, and kill, their fledgling offspring.

A few more ideas: “No plastic in razor manufacturing,” “No plastic coat hangers,” “No plastic stickers on fruit and vegetables,” “No plastic to be used in vegetable/olive oil containers,” etc.

We would move progressively to harder issues. Looking to the issue of manmade fibers we will find a horrendous situation.

All clothing and carpets disintegrate and shed fibers.

Millions of tonnes of fibers are washed into the oceans where they become part of the food chain. This toxic soup is a crisis that can be reduced because we know what is causing it; we just need to accept the obvious and make some dramatic changes.

In this paper, I have addressed only one category of problems and only a few issues within said category.

NGOs, individuals and other groups could put together a much more comprehensive list.

In conclusion, the people themselves must become united and empowered if we are to make any headway.

To do this we need an organization free from intrigue and political posturing, one where the meek become willing to participate in the process and forge their own destiny, free from market and political influences.

Student-Led Review of Traill College

By Pippa O’ Brien

I hope by now most of you have heard that Traill College is undergoing external review this year.

Though I am personally hoping that the review will result in a reinvestment in Traill College, the importance of gathering widespread student opinion on the subject cannot be overstated.

With this in mind, representatives from LEC Cabinet, Champlain College Cabinet, Otonabee College Cabinet, the Graduate Student Association and myself from the TCSA gathered last Wednesday evening to discuss how the elected student leaders wanted to respond to the review.

Though no one from Gzowski Cabinet was able to attend the meeting, they later confirmed their participation.

We have formed a student taskforce to undertake the collection of student opinions, with the end goal of creating a comprehensive student-led review of Traill College.

Over the past couple of months the TCSA executive and Student Senate Caucus (all the student senators, two from each cabinet) have been pushing for the inclusion of student voice during the review of Traill.

Previously we had discussed how to get a student onto the review committee (now a single external reviewer), and how to center student voices in the discussion.

TCSA President Alaine Spiwak and I had several meetings with Dr. Leo Groarke, the president of Trent University, during the fall exam period.

Though the administration took the

time to listen to our concerns, ultimately the decision to remain with a single external reviewer remained final.

Out of this context, during the meeting on Wednesday we decided that collectively the College Cabinets and the TCSA should actively try to engage students in the review process.

To this end, for two weeks, from Feb. 1 until Feb. 12 there were tables at Champlain College, Lady Eaton College, and Otonabee College during Cabinet office hours. The Gzowski Cabinet Office wasalso be open during this time to collect feedback.

There were also people tabling at Bata Library on Feb. 1 and Feb. 9, and at the Trend at Traill College throughout the week.

The goal was to collect student feedback and questions about Traill and the review that is happening.

Please take the time to fill out our online survey about Traill College that we will be circulating though Cabinet newsletters and on social media.

Once as much student feedback as possible has been collected, we will consolidate the results and make the feedback public.

Beyond participating in the conversation or asking questions at any of the tables, we would love for any student to get involved in the taskforce.

Our sole task at the moment is to collect all student opinions in as unbiased a way as possible, any opinions or lack of opinion is still important to recognize.

If you are interested in volunteering for the taskforce, please email me at vpuc@ trentcentral.ca or contact any of the college cabinet senators.

Campus

Retention Review

By Adriana Sierra

Retention has been at the forefront of Trent’s focus in the past year. This focus on retention has lead to the creation of a Retention Committee, the Rebound Program and most recently to the undertaking of a Retention Review.

The retention review, conducted by external reviewer and Vice President Student Affairs at Laurier University, David McMurray in conjunction with Professor Gillian Balfour from Trent’s sociology department and Tara Harrington from the University Secretariat, aims to identify recommendations on how to improve retention at Trent University.

“Trent’s retention rate is not as high as it could be,” noted Nona Robinson, Associate Vice President at the Office of Student Affairs.

The reasons for this are varied. The review aims to narrow down the reasons that students may choose to leave Trent, and provide focused solutions to them and suggest specific programs.

McMurray visited campus on Feb. 29 and March 1, where he met with student leaders, representatives from college cabinets, the TCSA and the TBSA. In addition, he met with college heads, some faculty, student services staff, senior administrators and members of the Retention Committee.

Alumni affairs, the Board of Governors, Trent Durham, the First Peoples House of Learning and the Trent International Program were also included in McMurray’s brief visit to campus.

McMurray also received information from academic and student service united, retention data and institutional research on the subject to inform his review.

The Retention Review will focus on vari-

ous aspects that relate to retention. The review guidelines focus on institutional aspects, teaching and learning, enrolment management, student engagement and support, research and assessment and career development and services.

Because of its wide scope, the review demonstrates that retention is a complex issue that concerns all facets of university life.

The retention review is particularly focusing on how students define student success.

Alaine Spiwak, who sits on the Retention Committee, noted that this question allows for additional student issues to be highlighted. As a result, she responded the question with a clear statement that student success is correlated to having student voices heard. In addition, student success spans success in academics, engagement with the student community and a sense of belonging to Trent University.

Contrary to the Internationalization Review and the Traill College Review, the Retention Review has been more open to student voices.

Although McMurray did meet with the Retention Committee and student leaders, the process was not open for all Trent University students, who may be affected, to have a voice.

Spiwak, president of the Trent Central Student Association noted that because the series of reviews (Internationalization and Traill College) that Trent has recently undergone have the potential to impact policy and drive change that will shape the future of the university, it is important for student voices to be heard and for students to push for the issues that are most relevant to them.

If you have any input related to any of the reviews being conducted at Trent, email president@trentcentral.ca.

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14| 2016

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campus

Students want Traill to gain some “undergraduate college” status

By Ugyen Wangmo

The recent undergraduate student consultation on the Traill College Review held last week with the external reviewer of Traill, Prof. Christopher Tindale, saw important perspectives being put forward.

Despite the student turn out being questionable (with less ten students in attendance), the outcome from the discussion was substantial.

“We will have to talk about the kind of life undergraduates will have, or the degree to which it will be comparable to what they have on the Symons campus,” Tindale opened.

He said it is an important conversation if one of the subsequent outcomes of the review, and consequential decision in Traill having place at Trent, is to see more undergraduates.

One student representative from the Champlain College cabinet said Traill is quite unique from other colleges, but has a very strong collegiate spirit.

It was suggested that it should be offered up to mature, transfer and part-time students. It is important for them to have a place where they can come together.

Champlain College Senate pointed out that those identified students do not get the required degree of college life experience within the four Symons campus colleges, and having a specific college they can identify with is necessary. Traill has the potential to cater to that need.

Tindale agreed that college heads had made a similar point from his earlier meeting with them, and will ensure to take the recommendation seriously.

He built upon the discussion by commenting that even though the undergraduates like the model of the Symons campus colleges, it is not the model for every student.

Tindale said it is appropriate to think about what kinds of students will be best

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served in what environment.

He put forward the possibilities to reimagine Traill as an environment which allows certain kinds of students to flourish, those who might have gotten lost because they didn’t feel connected to the rest of the student body.

During the consultation, discussion on deferred maintenance of Traill College was brought up.

In response, Tindale said that all colleges have deferred maintenance, and it is just a question of priority.

It was pointed out that lots of money through the trust fund was invested in Traill, namely-renovation of Scott House and Kerr House, while Bagnini hall is the newest building of the university.

Traill College is also home to Canadian studies and the Frost Centre, and as such, has certainly brought the college back up to code, except for Wallis Hall, which needs some work said Tindale, while there are other colleges in much worse shape.

One of the most thoroughly discussed subjects during the session was for Traill to gain some sort of undergraduate constituency.

For instance, students living in the Annex are currently disjointed from the main campus, so the should be allowed to be affiliated with Traill, suggested the students.

As mentioned earlier they reiterated that Traill be offered up to mature students to ease the inconvenience of driving from out of city, or the need to find a place to stay.

Expanding it to undergraduates will allow more interaction with the graduate students beyond their role as a teacher or a teaching assistant.

The students expressed that it will help break the barrier between the two, foster more discussion and increase academic conversation, which is essential to Trent to develop more graduate students.

Important discussion that came to light was that “Traill is crucial to retention of

prospective graduate students.”

It was discussed that the change of pace, space and difference in environment Traill offers is what most undergraduates take into consideration while looking to continue as a graduate student at Trent.

It was also brought to attention that it is easier for those living downtown to be able to access resources and open space. For example, a student from a drama class shared about the great spaces Traill has to offer for them to work with, that allows them the kind of movement and freedom that they need, as opposed to the minimal space on the main campus.

Traill eases the space congestion problem on campus, not to mention the availability of its own computer lab and seminar room.

This doesn’t require students to go all the way to campus to maybe get a room when they can use one right at Traill.

“Having that downtown space is so effective as long as we are able to use it,” stated one student.

Although the big downside right now is that not enough people are using the space, mostly because of it being branded as graduate college. It is assumed that it is not a place for undergraduates unless one is in programs such as English, cultural studies or Canadian history, it was said.

On the other hand, it was also noted that depending in the year and study program, there are some who never have classes at the Symons campus.

“Then what do you do with those classes that don’t have to fit on the time slots they need, to fit on the main campus,” questioned the student. “Then it becomes a whole other issue.”

Traill College gets students into Peterborough and interacting with the Peterborough community, another huge thing about going to a university.

As a student they are not just living on campus, but are also living in that town and

are a huge part of that town. So by strengthening Traill as a hub for undergraduates, by default Trent is also strengthening the connection with Peterborough as a whole, said the student representatives.

“Connection with the community is something we have been starting to lose over the years, not only does the Peterborough economy miss out, it is something that the students loses out on as well,” lamented the students.

“We are slowly pulling ourselves out of the community and it is not beneficial or positive to Trent.”

They stated Traill stands to be the lone driver to keep the connection between Symons campus and downtown, and with the community still alive.

Earlier that day, Tindale also met with different groups from community to discuss the Traill Review.

Tindale told Arthur that there were 18 attendees in total, which according to him is a great turn out for an early morning meeting at 8 a.m.

The meeting saw a mixture of interesting suggestions and ideas on a common ground of exploring different ways to foster the connection between Traill with different community groups, said Tindale.

“They were supporting a range of options, it was very informative and useful,” he described of the discussion that proceeded.

He was glad to realize the enthusiasm the community members have for Traill and Trent in general, and how the city councillors present considered Traill of great important to their constituencies.

“Each constituency has a different read and bring in different ideas to this study of Traill College, even though you are not going to be able to reconcile everything.

But looking at the common threads is what is more important,” said Tindale regarding his consultation with various constituencies associated with Trent.

comic by Ad Astra comix

campus

Self Love Week

Spiwak runs for second term as TCSA President

By Matt Douglas

Alaine Spiwak is running for a second term as TCSA president and she wants voters to look at her track record.

“I hope the big thing I have going for me is the past experience with the TSCA, you can see what I’ve done and you can decide whether you have found the TCSA

to be improved,” Spiwak started.

“Students can see that I worked hard.”

One of her crowning moments from this previous year was identifying that the TCSA paid for the snow removal as part of transit charges and ratifying it.

Sixty thousand dollars a year was taken out of the TCSA budget for snow removal, now it is taken from parking,

which Spiwak believes is the proper way to pay for it, and also leaves the TCSA with more money.

Spiwak explained how she saved the student government the money.

“When I first came into office I went over the budget and in the transit budget $60,000 a year was under snow removal.

So when I asked about it, they said yes we do use some TCSA money to pay for snow removal, but under the understanding between it says the school has to ask every year before they use our money for different uses and that wasn’t happening. They were taking the $60,000 out before we got our cheque.”

Last year Spiwak managed to win with 53 per cent of the vote in a crowded race; there were three other candidates were vying for presidency.

Corey LeBlanc is the only other candidate this year, but he has been trying to challenge her on a variety of topics.

In the debate, their difference in policy on four aspects, such as international students, transit funds, TCSA bursaries and levy groups, was brought forward.

“When I advocate for student tuition, I advocate for the international students every time.”

This statement was well received, earning Spiwak a round of applause at the debate.

LeBlanc, on the other hand, said he is more concerned about tuition increases on Canadian students.

When Leblanc challenged Spiwak to

commit to a TCSA compassion bursary funded by 10 per cent of the president’s salary, Spiwak dodged and suggested it was against by-laws to make such a change in the budget.

This, along with a dispute over how her saved snow-removal money should be used, offered Spiwak to impress upon the audience her knowledge of the TCSA regulations.

The dispute over snow removal money came when LeBlanc suggested in the debate that it be used to support students in poverty. Spiwak felt it would be best served staying in transit.

“That money will stay in transit so that the next time the city raises the price for service hopefully we won’t have to charge our students more,” she reasoned.

Furthermore she said it was against by-laws to move that much money for the transit budget.

Above all Spiwak believes her work helps bring people together.

“A big accomplishment I was proud of was our Respect Indigenous Space campaign, as a Gzowski student, it was hard hearing about the vandalism because I knew how much those spaces meant to indigenous students,” Spiwak said.

“Then we were able to have our first TUNA social night, where it was nice to socialize and get closer to the indigenous student leaders on campus.

That was big effort of mine to recognize and bridge the gap with student groups that maybe don’t get enough attention.”

Corey LeBlanc’s running for TCSA President

By Matt Douglas

Corey LeBlanc is running an unconventional campaign for TCSA presidency.

LeBlanc has used alignment with Donald Trump for the campaign’s slogan ‘Make Trent Great Again’ and association with Doug Ford using a picture with the Toronto politician to gain attention, albeit attention associated with rather controversial politicians.

He said he doesn’t necessarily support Trump’s campaign or platform, though.

“It was originally used by Ronald Regan in the 1980s, and it is usually used by at least one Republican primary candidate” said LeBlanc. “‘Let’s Make Trent Great Again’ took 72 hours for this election to change from a student election to a referendum on LeBlanc.” he explained.

“Simply there wasn’t a lot of time to campaign, and ‘Make Trent Great Again’ was successful in getting my name out there. The slogan was way to give me a chance at winning TCSA presidency. The fact is without that slogan, [Alaine Spiwak] kicks my ass in a landslide because nobody knows who I am.”

Despite his claim that the slogan was solely used to attract attention, posts on his social media hint that he is, at the very least, sympathetic to Trump’s politics.

Leblanc said his campaign is speaking for the silent majority of Trent students.

“I get messages from students all the time saying ‘I don’t necessarily want to join Trent Conservatives, but I like what you are doing, keep going on and those are private conversations, but they are reassuring they are places his campaign on four planks.

“To induct referendums on refundable levy groups every three years, to be harsh on sexual assault on campus, to make student government more accessible to all members of the community and to use 10 per cent of the TCSA president’s salary to create a bursary for five students in need.”

The rationale behind the referendum on levies is that once levies are established, the process to remove them would require a group of students who are passionate about discontinuing the levy.

The same process as establishing the levy, getting a petition of 600 signatures and winning a referendum would have to occur.

LeBlanc thinks the TSCA needs to make it easier for students to dissolve refundable levies when they no longer meet the interests of the student body.

“I’m only pursuing this for levies that refundable, you can go on the website and check which ones are refundable and which are non-refundable, I think it’s important we protect the nonrefundable levies. Arthur, Trent Radio and TISA, to name a few non-refundable levies, are essential to the university and should be protected,” he explained.

The criticism on this stance is that groups have worked hard to establish these refundable levies, so it is unfair to hold them to majoritarian politics that

will not necessarily protect the special interest groups.

Some of these groups may also be seen as essential to the university, despite their status as refundable, such as TUNA and the Seasoned Spoon.

When LeBlanc talks about anti-bullying and inclusivity in student government he means for all groups that may feel uncomfortable participating, but he does have one group in mind that he feels has been discriminated against: the Jewish and Israeli communities.

In particular he is worried about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and how it may make Jewish students feel.

“You look at the leader of the BDS movement and, you can check this, he believes in a one-state system under the state of Palestine,” LeBlanc shared.

“But when there are aspects of a movement that thinks Israel should be blown off the map. How do you think Jewish students feel?”

Leblanc’s final proposal is to create a “TCSA compassion bursary” for students in poverty.

He would like to use 10 per cent of his salary as TCSA president to create five bursaries of $500 dollars to go to high achieving students in need.

In the debate he challenged other candidates of all TCSA executive positions to offer to do the same.

None of them acknowledged the idea except for Spiwak, the incumbent TCSA president running against LeBlanc, who felt a budget change such as the one LeBlanc proposed would be against TCSA bylaws.

The debate held at Sadleir house on March 10, highlighted some of the key differences between LeBlanc and Spiwak regarding policy on international students.

When pressed about his opinion on

international students LeBlanc was candid in saying he would not advocate for tuition caps the same way he would for domestic students.

“The fact is when you break it down Canadians student pay the same as international students. Domestic students are just subsidized by the government.

If we reduced tuition for international students there would be a budget shortfall.”

Spiwak was clear that she advocates for international students every time she talked about tuition.

LeBlanc’s campaign does not come without some controversy. There were leaked Facebook conversations with Brandon Freer, the former TCSA president, who was forced to resign due to the leaked conversations with LeBlanc.

In the leaked conversation, which you can find published on the Arthur website, Freer encourages LeBlanc to run for the TCSA position.

This is seen to be connected to the WikiLeaks leak in which the Conservative party of Canada is aiming at “taking over” student governments across Canada and undermine OPIRG groups on campuses.

This is a story that date backs to 2002.

LeBlanc feels the conversation and the takeover are blown out of proportion.

“Let me be clear, I don’t think Brandon should have resigned, and I wrote that at the time. There is nothing in that conversation that is wrong. Go look for yourself,” he explained.

He also defended the WikiLeaks story, “as far as the WikiLeaks document, that story is 14 years old, we don’t talk about it anymore at Conservative conventions.”

LeBlanc believes that to win against an incumbent president he needed to run a provocative campaign.

“Some people will say that it’s dumb,” Leblanc breathed, “but at least it has given me a fighting chance.”

Volume 50 | Issue 19| March 14| 2016

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TCSA Spring Election Candidates

Vice President Clubs and External Affairs

Pippa O’Brien Hello! My name is Pippa O’Brien and I am running for Vice President Clubs & External Affairs at the TCSA. I am returning for a fifth year at Trent to finish a second undergraduate degree in Economics, since I am planning on graduating with a BSc in An-

Sam Khaira

thropology this April. Last year I was elected as Vice President University and College Affairs (VPUC), and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work for students this year.

During my time as VPUC I helped organize the association’s activities for Orientation Week, Dis-Orientation Week and Frost Week. I was the executive in charge of clubs, including overseeing there training and funding, and I sat on numerous committees across campus.

Prior to last year, I was part of Lady Eaton College Cabinet for two years. This year I have also been part of a group of students who revived the Journal of Undergraduate Studies at Trent, and I have recently joined the board of OPIRG as a non-voting member. Through these experiences I have a strong understanding of how the TCSA, clubs and levy groups and Trent University runs. I hope to continue to build upon what I have learned over the

past years and bring this knowledge to the position.

Based on my understanding of the position, I would like to accomplish at least two events a semester with external organizations as well as liaising with them, as well as maintaining and improving the TCSA’s Clubs and Groups services. For instance I would like work with the Graduate Student Association to maintain student voice in discussions about Traill College, and organize an event to help fourth-year students applying to graduate programs.

I hope to build the relationship between the TCSA and the unions at Trent to continue labour rights conversations with students, such as with the CLIFF film festival.

I plan on organizing a volunteer day downtown with Fleming College to get students out into the Peterborough community. I would also like to work on larger events in collaboration with the levy groups and

TCSA clubs, for instance working with the TBSA to hold financial literacy events for students, as well as continuing the TCSA radio show with Trent Radio.

Regarding TCSA clubs, I would like to continue to increase the transparency of the clubs’ funding process, so groups can better predict the amount of funding they will receive. I would also like to organize clubs roundtables or drop-in events for clubs and groups to provide feedback or ask questions. I plan on attending city hall meetings and distribute my notes to increase student engagement with the city.

Finally, last year I began working with the Downtown Business Improvement Area for Orientation week activities and would like to continue this relationship. I hope you will give me the opportunity to take on this position in its first year of existence. Thank you for your support, and I hope to see record numbers of students voting this year!

My name is Sam Khaira and I am a third-year Business Administration student at Trent University. Before coming to our beautiful campus, I attended Sheridan College and graduated with an advanced diploma in accounting.

While at Sheridan, I was dually involved with student led initiatives and elected to Sheridan Student Union’s executive as Vice President of Services. I have also had the privilege to serve on the local board of Cystic Fibrosis Canada in Peel region.

As VP clubs, my goal is to review the funding formula for clubs and groups so

that more money can be put into the hands of all of our 68-plus campus clubs. Being fiscally responsible, I intend to find cost savings in the existing budget in order to fund the increases.

I will also work closely with all 37 levy groups ensuring their needs are being met. As VP external, I will leverage my existing personal and professional relationships with the elected officials to further the interests of Trent’s student body. In this newly created role, I will build upon my prior student government experience so that I can hit the ground running.

I strongly believe in participatory politics where the average Joe and Jane are heard and everyone gets to have a say. Voting is the cornerstone of any democratic system and ours is no different. This general election, I urge you to cast your vote and get involved. Remember, every vote counts.

From March 14 to 17, I ask for your vote of confidence so I can serve you as your new Vice President of Clubs and External Affairs.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Sam and I am the one with a plan.

Thank you.

privilege to attend some events run by the Trent African Caribbean Student Union and listened in as other black students discussed things such as Black History Month as well as systematic oppression.

On March 4 I sat on a panel for an event entitled “Gendered Voices in a Changing World,” where we discussed the barriers and issues that gendered and minority voices face in the world of politics.

I spend my time at Trent working tirelessly to create safe spaces for racialized students. As a result of actively striving for change I have attended Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) racialized and indigenous constituency groups where we discussed ways to combat racism and colonization.

I plan to further progress and make our voices heard. I will be attending a summit later this month called R.I.S.E (Racialized and Indigenous Students Experiences). It was created to address the issues racialized, and indigenous students face on our campuses.

If elected as Anti-Racism commissioner I will dedicate my year to creating spaces for us to learn about the ways we can collectively combat racism on our campus.

I intend to do so with various mediums, some of which will be workshops addressing “reverse racism,” allyship, people of colour self-care nights, as well as campaigns such as “I’M NOT YOUR MASCOT,” and Black on Campus. I will also address lateral violence between people of colour, Islamophobia and xenophobia.

Combatting racism is about finding ways to call in and call out problematic behaviour. Ultimately, the goal is to create safe spaces for racialized students to address the barriers and racism they face in conjunction with non-racialized individuals. While I am aware that I will not be able to completely eradicate racism at Trent on my own, I do believe that in partnership with you, the student body, we can unite against racism at Trent, and I am the one with a plan.

Thank you.

Anti-Racism Commissioner

Shanese Steele Ndizhnaakaaz, my name is Shanese Steele and I am running to be your Anti-Racism Commissioner for the 2016/2017 academic year.

Trent has a growing diverse student population, with more racialized students choosing to make our halls and classrooms their academic home.

With that comes a challenge for both racialized and white students on our Trent campus. Racism is very well alive in our

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society, as well as systemically. It is an issue that affects all of us.

Racialized students continuously face micro-aggressions and overt racism, while white students are coming into to contact with new terms such as white privilege.

I have the privilege of coming from a diverse and intersectional background. My father is a Trinidadian immigrant, while my mother comes from an Indigenous and European ancestry.

Being a black and indigenous queer woman has allowed me to apply these intersectionalities to both my personal life as well as my time here at Trent.

This past year I served as the co-president of the Trent University Native Association as well as the Infinite Reach Facilitator for the Métis Nation of Ontario.

These positions allowed me to hear the voices of racialized students at Trent.

They raised concerns about the struggles that they face as indigenous students, as well as the racism they must endure during their academic journey. I have had the

TCSA Spring Election Candidates International Students Commissioner

Ivana Sekularac I am Ivana. I am an international student from Montenegro, a small European country on the Mediterranean coast.

I was born in Montenegro, but I finished my high school in the Netherlands where I had the privilege to be a part of a vibrant international community as a student of the United World College of Maastricht.

Being influenced by such a diverse community, I became very passionate about learning about different cultures.

After that, I continued my journey here at Trent. I am a first-year student in forensics. I am also an active member of our community, interacting on daily basis both with international and domestic students. From those interactions, I became aware of some disputes concerning the international student body. Therefore, I decided to run for the position of the International Students Commissioner.

Three main problems I would like to address at this juncture are: international tuition fees, healthcare and the interaction gap between international and domestic students.

International students who choose to pursue their graduate or undergraduate degree in Ontario are either from wealthy families who can afford the fees or from middle and low-income families that receive some kind of financial assistance.

The reason many middle or low-income families cannot afford fees is that tuition fees for international students are extremely high – at rates double or triple the fees paid by domestic students.

Moreover, the tuition fees are not regulated by the provincial government,

which means that fees can increase by any percentage. This certainly is not fair. Additionally, international students do not have OHIP and are required to obtain an alternative, private health insurance called UHIP. This usually comprises of high costs, limited coverage and bureaucratic obstacles. These are major limitations preventing international students from pursuing their degree in Ontario, despite being a huge contribution to the university communities through their diversity and global perspectives.

If elected, I would try to get involved in groups and organizations, like the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) Ontario, where I would be able to continue building on the work of Boykin Smith, the current International Students Commissioner, and fight for fairness for international students.

I would be willing to organize platforms where international students of Trent would share their concerns with me. Moreover, as I am a part of Trent’s WUSC, TISA and TIP student groups, I would be able to act as a liaison between these groups and the TCSA. When it comes to bridging the evident interaction gap between the international and domestic students here at Trent, I would attempt to put together events where both groups would have a chance to interact with each other.

I would promote and represent international education at Trent and in Peterborough. Additionally, I would encourage the domestic students to attend the regional group events. I believe that my leadership skills would help me achieve these goals. My organizational skills, coming from being a part of the organizing teams of different conferences and events, would certainly aid the goal achievement.

Queer Students Commissioner

Annette Pedlar My name is Annette Pedlar and I am a third-year student taking a double major in Politics and Indigenous Studies. I’m running for the TCSA’s Queer Commissioner, and excited about the opportunity to represent Trent’s queer community and our allies alike.

Before I go any further I’d like to acknowledge the stolen indigenous land that we are all working, learning and living on. I believe that when fulfilling a position such as an equity commissioner it is imperative to bring an intersectional approach to understand and recognize the many different layers of oppression within our campus and community.

Throughout my time here at Trent I have become involved in many different capacities on campus and throughout the community. I played on the varsity women’s volleyball team last year and currently play intramural soccer. I sit on the Board as a member for OPIRG (Ontario Public Interest Research Group), an organization with a 40-year history of standing up for marginalized people and the environment here in Peterborough.

I was also elected as one of the vice presidents of the Trent University Politics Society this academic year. I encourage you all to become involved on campus!

During my term as Queer Commissioner, along with continuing Self-Love Week, I intend on making a map available that outlines all of the genderneutral washrooms on campus. It is a positive step for the university to cre-

ate these spaces, but it is now time to make them more accessible. The fact that there are dozens of these spaces on campus, yet most people are only aware of the location a handful of them is a gap that needs to be filled.

Modeling after an initiative from San Francisco, I plan on beginning a campaign for the downtown businesses of Peterborough to be able to obtain certificates of “No Hate Space.” Although I recognize that homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and other forms of queerbased hate happen on campus, we become the most vulnerable when we leave campus and venture downtown.

By providing training to business owners and workers, we can turn these downtown spaces into active allies who commit to not allowing the macro and micro aggressions of hate happen within their doors. This initiative would be a collaborative effort with the incoming executive team and other equity commissioners, along with the municipality itself.

Finally, members of the queer community face an increased risk of mental health illnesses. Health services on campus are underfunded and underserviced for all, but the increased risk of illness within the queer community means that this underfunding hurts queer people, especially. I will tirelessly advocate for increased resources for health services on campus.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to working with the TQC and other queer organizers and allies to strengthen the queer community on campus and in the larger community. Please become engaged with your democracy and vote!!

Indigenous Students Commissioner Coty Zachariah

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14| 2016

15

TCSA Spring Election Candidates: President

Alaine Spiwak My name is Alaine Spiwak and I am a fourth-year student studying International Development and Politics. I am excited and honored to be re-running for my current position of TCSA President for 2016/2017.

Since I started my time here at Trent, I have been an active member in various parts of our community. Before being elected as TCSA President in 2015/2016,

Corey LeBlanc Dear Students, My name is Corey LeBlanc and I am a third-year student studying Economics. I am excited and honoured to be running for the position of TCSA President for 2016/2017.

I am an active member of the Peterborough and Trent community. I have served on the TCSA’s Organizational Review and

TCSA Spring Election Candidates

I spent a year as the TCSA Ethical Standards Commissioner, was co-chair of Trent Free the Children and Trent Get REAL, volunteered for Gzowski College ISW staff and the Trent Ambassador team, and I am currently an employee at the Trent Athletic Centre.

I am passionate about student leadership because of my positive experience at Trent, and I want to do everything I can to maintain and improve everyone’s time at Trent. To show how I have and wish to continue working toward this, I have

highlighted some of this year’s achievements below.

In my time as president I worked hard to build respectful relationships with Trent administration, which resulted in many successes for the TCSA and our students. In regards to the new Student Centre, I vigorously negotiated with Trent to have the TCSA portion of annual utility and operational costs reduced nearly in half ($141K to 82K in the first year).

I also saved $60,000 for the TCSA transit budget, as students were previously being charged for snow removal on campus (taken from your transit levy). This means we now have an extra $60,000 every year to improve our Trent Express service.

As someone passionate about social justice and sustainability, I personally launched the TCSA “Respect Indigenous Space” campaign, partnered with the Trent Muslim Student Association to arrange a solidarity event and increased support and partnership with our regional groups, TISA and TUNA. As well, just this week we will be launching Trent’s Green Dish Program, a program that allows students to rent reusable dishes for their events, instead of buying disposable ones, that will be

stored and cleaned by Chartwells.

I dedicated my year to honoring student voice. We launched the new TCSA app which has over 1,400 users, installed suggestion boxes in OC and Bata, ran multiple tabling sessions handing out free snacks and collecting student feedback, launched multiple student surveys and facilitated collecting student feedback for the current Trent University external review processes.

You spoke this year and I listened. I’m basing my goals for next year on what students want: improved food services (healthier options, more variety, lower prices), reliable ATMs on campus, the development of the dirt path between the Champlain Annex and campus, support for our student athletes, the regulation of international student tuition fee increases, lobbying for affordable post-secondary education and much more.

There is nothing more important to me than the students and their ability to have their voice heard on campus. I can offer this to you, along with my promise to always act honestly, professionally, democratically and fair.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Development Committee (ORDC), I was a student representative on the Architect Selection Panel for Trent’s planned stateof-the-art student centre.

I was a leading advocate for equality on campus as a pivotal member of the ‘Trent4Israel’ campaign to remove the hateful and anti-Semitic “Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment against Israel” policy (including a summer as a successful intern with the world renown Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies), and I currently serve as the secretary-treasurer of the

Ontario Progressive Conservative Campus Association representing hundreds of campus activists province-wide.

I am a passionate advocate for Trent in every capacity in which I serve, and I believe the qualities that have made me successful in other endeavours will make me an asset as the president of the TCSA. Folks, the reality is that post-secondary education in Ontario is going to hell.

We have a problem, and the problem is incompetent and ineffective student leadership, coupled with a government who takes advantage of this fact. The TCSA needs a president with common sense, logic and strength.

The TCSA needs a president who will fight for the students when negotiating with university administration. The TCSA needs a president who understands not only how to make a deal, but how to make a good deal. The TCSA needs someone who will let you, the students and its duepaying members, decide how, where and when your money is spent.

The big money school administration, vested special interests and our current ineffective student leadership do not want to see us succeed.

They do not want us to take back our student union. They do not want to see us have a voice, because if this happens, they will be forced to give students a fair shake and that means less for them. Make no mistake; I am not their friend.

My goal will never, and has never, been to win a popularity contest. I do not care if the administration likes us, or likes what we represent; I care that they respect us, and believe me, they will.

I am the only candidate-for-president who represents fundamental change within the TCSA. I am the only candidate who will take immediate and meaningful action against sexual assault on campus.

I am the only candidate that is in support of a campus-wide referendum on all ‘opt-out’ levy fees, to allow you to have your voice heard on the fees you pay to your student union.

I am the only candidate that can effectively represent all voices on campus, without bias and without prejudice, and I am the only candidate that will fight for students struggling in poverty.

With your help, we will take the TCSA back, and We Will Make Trent Great Again.

Ryan Newman Upon arrival to Trent, I became involved with the South Asian Association (SAAT).

As VP, I have grown with the community.

Self Love Week

Meanwhile, I have stayed in touch with my roots, teaching myself river-dance and creating Saoirse Central, a radio program about Irish culture and politics.

Political issues have always intrigued me, especially because I am a political science major. As co-chair of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), I address many domestic and international issues. Working with the Student Refugee Program has broadened my outlook. Another issue I am passionate about concerns the stigmatizing of the disabled. As copresident of Best Buddies at Trent I work to break these barriers. On occasion, my outlook towards the world is communicated textually, as evident by my involvement with Arthur Newspaper. English being my other major, I value creativity and expression.

All of this and more has been my experience thus far at Trent.

My involvement with over a dozen TCSA groups this year has shown me many different perspectives. As VP of Campaigns and Equity, I will voice these perspectives on behalf of the TCSA.

Some objectives I have for the upcoming year: i) Focus on environmental health: Reach out to members of Sustainable Trent, SERTU and the Environmental Science Department. Emphasize the importance of nature-awareness; support our Environment and Sustainability Commissioner.

Set an initiative to increase litter cleanups and nature walks. Encourage the consumption of locally-grown food, with the aid of our Ethical Standards Commisioner and stress the benefit that this offers both environmental health and personal health.

Continue support for the Divest campaign.

Work alongside the Indigenous Commissioner to encourage protest of the oil sands in Alberta. ii) Focus on mental health: create more spaces for discussion, such as peer-to-peer counselling and forms of group therapy.

Conduct a campaign that which helps to explain the cause and effect of mental health and the lack thereof. Set up a weekly program on Trent Radio where mental illness is discussed. Set up a pen pal program for the exchange of confidential letters,

submitted anonymously. Encourage involvement with helplines in the local area. iii) Focus on physical health, as an extension of mental health. Cooperate with various sport associations, while stressing the importance of physical activity. Explain the correlation between mental and physical health, and social and academic life. Create spaces for students to be physically active, especially during the winter, when inactivity can lead to depression. iv) Address forms of oppression by identifying the presence of it within our community. Create avenues through which students can tackle these issues on campus, in Peterborough and beyond. Work with Equity Commissioners to launch one anti-racism and one gender-oriented campaign. Organize at least two speeches or gatherings to address transphobia and homophobia respectively. Launch at least one poster campaign which addresses ableism on campus.

Life at Trent has been crazy busy and I’m ready to continue the ride. Onwards and upwards! Vote Ryan Newman for Vice President of Campaigns and Equity!

Hello, I am Anna Leonova, a second-year biochemistry student. For the two years I have spent here at Trent, I have been actively involved with the student community. I was a part of the Trent Equestrian Club and singer of the jazz band for Trent University Music Society (TUMS) last year, I was also volunteering for the Trent University Russian Speaking Association (TURSA) as a teacher of Russian language classes. The experience from being a part of these groups developed me as a person from different perspectives: academic, physical and emotional.

As an international student, I faced many challenges during my first year. By being involved with many student groups, I was able to cope with all the pressures, as well as adapt myself to my new environment. At the end of the year, I was not afraid of the awaiting challenges of second year anymore. I was simply looking forward to them with the confidence that I would definitely overcome them.

In my second year at Trent, I became the president of TURSA and the membership officer at Trent University Group in support of the Red Cross. All achievements and failures of our activities throughout the year provided me with priceless experience and knowledge.

I believe that all of the positions I have ever held have prepared me for the position of TCSA VP University and College Affairs.

I understand the level of responsibility and dedication required for the position and I am ready to devote myself to the mission of Trent Central Student Association.

Colleges of Trent are the main bodies of the university’s mechanism. They are not only facilities of academic success, but our shelter and our home. Since TCSA was established as a liaison between college cabinets and university administration, my role would be to foster the cooperation of colleges as once created. It is important to keep traditions and values of the institution we belong to, so I will do my best to exceed expectations for Trent’s honour.s

I believe I can provide a positive input to the work of the Colleges and Student Services Committee (CASSC), as I lived on campus myself during the first year and I am familiar with the administrative and social aspects of life in college. Since the main goal of every single student is to get our education and knowledge that would prepare us for our future career, it is an important to meet students’ and services’ interests. I am sure I will be capable to speak for your issues and concerns.

TCSA always has unforgettable events and I will be happy to contribute to the success of the association’s activities. All year round, starting with the orientation week, the TCSA gets every student involved with the community and makes sure no one is left behind. I have experience organizing events and collaborating with different people, and experience listening to and hearing people – I will make sure every student is heard and everyone’s interests are represented.

Vice President University and College Affairs

Anna Lenova

Ethical Standards Commissioner

Vice President Campaigns and Equity

Brendan Campbell tānisi nitōtēmak! Greetings, friends! My name is Brendan Campbell and I am running for the position of Vice-President

15

www.trentarthur.ca

Campaigns and Equity.

I would like to begin first by acknowledging the various privileges I hold. I am indigenous, queer and non-cis, but I understand that my identities are ambiguous and that I do not experience oppression or prejudice to the extent that others with these identities face. I also acknowledge that there are other systems of oppression I will never experience.

As an indigenous and two-spirited (queer) individual, I am aware of how representation in leadership and programming can impact my participation in a space. It is for that reason that I state my privileges. But more needs to be done than making this acknowledgement.

Safer spaces and student voice are very important to me. These two things have informed the decisions I made, as Indigenous Students Commissioner, and they will continue to inform my decisions as VPCE, if elected.

By establishing an Equity Space that meets regularly, is open to TCSA Board members and the greater student commu-

nity and privileges Equity Commissioners and other individuals of oppressed identities, we can build capacity within the TCSA Board so we can effectively and collaboratively challenge forms of oppression.

It can also be a site for growth and learning for all who attend, as we can share stories and decompress, but also strategize and learn about different mobilization approaches. Such a space would work to create safer spaces and bring student voice to inform all sorts of aspects of the TCSA, from advocating efforts to the eight monthly events of the VPCE. However, the discussions don’t need to end there. As an indigenous and queer student, I can attest to the empowerment that can occur within the Canadian Federation of Students. Challenging oppression can be more effective if brought to the provincial and national stages. I would work with the equity commissioners and various student groups in drafting motions. I would also seek alternate funding when needed in providing more students the opportunity

to participate in the CFS. With respect to those who are not marginalized and do not experience other forms of oppression, I welcome them to the discussions as well. Equity is incredibly important to me. Therefore, navigating discussions with privilege in mind is essential in working towards equity. However, as students, we are not yet the educators, lawyers, police officers and other professionals who operate within oppressive institutions. I believe in a process of educating and “calling in” with students. No student should feel left behind.

I strongly believe in the student movement and that it can operate effectively at various levels to challenge oppression, educate the community and empower students to be the thinkers and innovators who work towards an equitable and harmonious future. takī-ihkin kahkiyaw awiyak tapīkiskwēt. It can be possible for all to speak. kinanāskomitināwāw. I am grateful to you all. mācihtātān. Let’s get started.

Andrew Clark Hello my name is Andrew Clark, I am an English major. I am running for Vice President of University and College Affairs.

I currently hold a position as equity commissioner for the TCSA. I am currently the Vice President of the Trent Southeast Asian Organization. Both of these positions have given me the experience of working within the political sphere of Trent and advocating on students’ behalf while working with administration and the colleges.

The issues that I would like to focus on

are looking at the contract that Chartwells agreed to, and seeing if it is being upheld.

Also, if it is not working with the people who are already working on this issue, I would like to assist them in trying to fix the issue.

I would like to look further into Traill College and options related to it with Trent administration, along with making sure the dialogue is open to students. I work with the administration in looking at complaints or issues student are having with curriculums and working to find solutions with both the student and the administration.

Vote for me!

Scott Maufront I am a fourth-year student studying both International Political Economies and Business Administration. My academic interests include urban economic development, urban governance and security studies.

As the Equity Commissioner for Ethical Standards, I hope to evaluate and re-

calibrate the university’s internal procurement policies, in order to incorporate more local and ethical suppliers, while simultaneously being mindful of budgetary constraints.

I believe that by doing so, not only will we reinforce Trent’s traditionally ethical image, but we will and can also help strengthen the surrounding community at large.

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14| 2016

16

TCSA Spring Election Referenda Candidates

The Community Movements Conference referenda The Community Movements Conference (CMC) is one of the largest undergraduate student-organized conferences.

Since 2007, conference has shed light on global issues and created a space where students, community members, academics and activists can share knowledge and engage in meaningful conversations.

The CMC tries to center dialogue around global issues and their local, regional and

Stephanie Howitt

The Warming Room is a last resort shelter for Peterborough’s homeless population when they are unable to utilize any other resource in the city. Located on Murray Street in downtown Peterborough, The Warming Room exists to provide a safe, warm place for the most vulnerable to sleep during the winter months.

For this reason, the shelter has an open door policy where all, no matter the state they are in when they arrive, are welcome.

At the shelter, a place to sleep is provid-

national implications.

Past conference topics have included: “Migration: Exploring Roots & Routes,” “From Skyscrapers to Slums: the Dynamics of Urbanism” and “Water: A Thirst for Justice.”

The conference also features a “Challenge for Change” component, where a local organization is invited to present an issue that they are currently grappling with.

Attendees are given tools and skills

necessary to present solutions to a real world issue and connect with local organizations.

A number of local organizations are also invited to attend a networking lunch where they can make meaningful connections with students.

Yearly, the CMC welcomes all students, from all disciplines, interests and walks of life to join the conversation.

For nine years, dedicated students have raised the funds, planned the three-day

event, collaborated with local organizations and gathered prominent speakers to make the CMC a successful event.

However, hosting such a widely attended three-day conference is costly.

The CMC organizing committee hopes to create a refundable $0.75 levy to cover one-third of the cost of the conference.

Such a levy would allow the continuity of the CMC, facilitate annual fundraising efforts and create the opportunity for a larger, more successful conference.

ed as well as a warm meal, blankets, laundry services and much needed supplies including socks and toothbrushes.

The Warming Room also works to begin to break down the barriers that exist in the city of Peterborough by providing a space where volunteers and overnight guests have a chance to meet, talk and learn from one another.

They are open every night of the week from 8:30p.m. to 8a.m., from Nov. 1 to April 30, and run primarily with the support of volunteers.

Knowledgeable staff, volunteer, and

visiting community organizations help to connect guests with resources, especially those that help to secure safe affordable housing.

It is because of the great services, and unfortunately the need of these services, that I am trying to include the Warming Room in the Trent student levy. I am campaigning for a $2 refundable fee to be added to the levy, so the Warming Room can continue to provide a warm, safe place for Peterborough’s homeless.

A refundable fee means that students

who do not wish to pay can receive their money back.

I would appreciate your support in my campaign and believe that voting “yes” for this student levy is a great way for students to make a valuable contribution to the health and safety of their community.

For more information on The Warming Room, visit www.warmingroom. ca or check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thewarmingroom/ Thank you for your vote!

Trent Vegetable Gardens levy campaign

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The Trent Vegetable Gardens (TVG) is a volunteer-driven levy group at Trent University. We operate two garden sites at Trent: the Rooftop Garden, which is located on top of the Environmental Science Complex, and the Field Garden, which can be found north of the DNA building.

The gardens take inspiration from organic, intensive, permaculture and indigenous agricultural methods, and strive to practice low-impact ecological agriculture.

The TVG seeks to reconnect students and community members with the source of their food by providing opportunities for individuals to learn about ecological agriculture, hands-on gardening skills and food system issues. These learning oppor-

www.trentarthur.ca

tunities take the form of workshops, student research projects, community service learning projects and work bees, as well as paid and volunteer positions. We also manage a campus community garden, offering individual plots to students and community members wishing to grow their own food in a supportive environment.

Food grown in the Trent Vegetable Gardens is primarily given to the Seasoned Spoon Café, but it is also donated to volunteers and other community organizations like Food Not Bombs and community meal programs.

The partnership between the gardens and the Spoon represent the completion of a sustainable field-to-table food system at

Trent and provides students with access to campus-grown foods at affordable prices The TVG are currently campaigning for a non-refundable $2 levy increase in the 2016 TCSA elections. With the levy increase, the gardens will be able to increase our programming such as running workshops during the school year, volunteer programs and additional student research projects and course connections.

We will also be able to work toward the development of a student food box program, providing students with direct access to sustainable campus-grown foods at subsidized prices. Furthermore, we will be able to update equipment and purchase needed soil amendments on an ongoing basis. In anticipation of the

Seasoned Spoon joining the full first year meal plan in the fall, we are also looking to scale up production. Overall, a levy increase will improve sustainability of the TVG operations and increase tangible benefits for students.

A $2 Levy increase will enable the TVG to: • Increase staffing required to maintain two garden sites, grow organic produce, run programming and administer organization including additional student employment opportunities • Increase programming, including hands on workshops and volunteer days, volunteer mentorship programs and community gardens • Work to develop a student food box program giving students direct access to campus-grown foods • Increase student research opportunities for and academic course linkages • Replace worn out equipment and update equipment as needed • Purchase needed soil inputs for long-term soil sustainability • Continue to be able to provide produce to the Seasoned Spoon Café in a viable manner • Engage in additional fundraising activities in order improve infrastructure including composting, rain gathering systems, irrigation and educational signage

Levy groups: your questions answered!

• Sustainable Agriculture & Food events funded by student levies. If you’ve

By OPIRG

You may already be familiar with Trent’s levy groups. Perhaps you’re involved with one, have attended events organized by a group or have a friend who is employed by one. Perhaps you are familiar with these groups but unfamiliar with the language of “levy group”. Levy groups are organizations that serve the Trent student population and are at least partially funded by fees undergraduate students pay yearly. There are two types of levy groups, refundable and non-refundable.

The total fees collected to fund these groups are $214.92, with an annual fee of $67.88 of this amount going to 19 refundable groups.

The fees delegated to levy groups are not arbitrary, as they have been approved by undergraduate students through referendum held during TCSA elections.

Levy groups are diverse in interest and services, supporting a variety of communities within the Trent population.

In total there are there are 39 current student levy groups: • Active Minds (Refundable) • Absynthe (Refundable) • Anne Shirley Theatre Company (Refundable) • Arthur Newspaper (Nonrefundable) • B!KE (Refundable) • The Ceilie (Refundable) • Centre for Gender and Social Justice (Non-refundable) • College Cabinet/Council (Nonrefundable) • Community Race Relations Committee (Refundable) • International Scholarship Fund (Non-refundable) • Journal of Undergraduate Studies at Trent (Refundable) • Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (Non-refundable) • Kawartha World Issues Centre (Refundable) • Ontario Public Interest Research Group (Refundable) • Oxfam Working Group (Refundable) • P.R. Community & Student Association (Sadleir House Student Facility) (Non-refundable) • Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty (Refundable) • Peterborough Student Housing Co-op (Refundable) • Seasoned Spoon Café (Refundable)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Systems Society (Refundable) Sustainable Trent (Nonrefundable) Theatre Trent (Non-refundable) Trent Annual (Non-refundable) Trent Central Student Association (Non-refundable) Trent Child Care (Non-refundable) Trent Emergency First Response Team (Non-refundable) Trent Film Society (Nonrefundable) Trent International Student Association (Non-refundable) Trent Music Society (Nonrefundable) Trent Nature Areas Levy (Refundable) Trent Queer Collective (Refundable) Trent Radio (Non-refundable) Trent Student Charity Program (Non-refundable) Trent Students for Literacy (Refundable) Trent University Native Association (Refundable) Trent Valley Fencing Club (Refundable) Trent Vegetable Gardens (Nonrefundable) Walkhome (Non-refundable) World University Service of Canada (Non-refundable)

The work that these student levy groups do and the ways in which they benefit the student body is as diverse as the groups themselves. It is impossible to list everything that Trent levy groups offer the Trent community, and most groups have Facebook pages and websites where you can find out more information. They continue to individually and collectively learn how to better serve the needs and interests of undergraduate students.

Although most of these groups are small in size, it is likely that you’ve encountered and benefited from a levy group without even being aware of it.

Have you ever sat in the Seasoned Spoon? Studied at Sadleir House? Then you’ve used space funded by student levies. Have you ever read weekly, monthly or yearly publications found on Trent’s campus? Then your entertainment, access to information or nostalgia has been funded by student levies. Did you attend Orientation or DisOrientation in September? Then you’ve attended

attended an event at Trent or an event in the greater Peterborough community, it’s likely that a Trent levy group had a hand in it, whether they organized it, financially sponsored it or promoted it. If you are concerned about safety on Trent’s campus, mental health, sexual violence, anti-racism, Indigenous issues, the environment and sustainable food systems then you should know that Trent’s levy groups are engaging with these issues every day! Are you interested in attending film screenings, lectures, cultural events, artistic productions and parties?

Then you might be interested in the work being done by various levy groups.

Are you interested in governance at Trent, including the accountability of Trent Administration and participating in student-level governance? Then you’re interested in groups funded by student levies. Trent levy groups are involved in so many aspects of the Trent and Peterborough community. Levy groups often act to lessen that gap between the University and downtown community, tackle issues from a variety of perspectives, carry institutional memory that can be lost as students leave after graduating and employ students while offering services and resources to others.

There are procedures in place to ensure the accountable operations of these groups. Each term the groups receive levy cheques from Trent’s Financial Office and are required to submit a budget that outlines expenses from the previous year. Some groups are registered charities or incorporated bodies and must be compliant with government regulations. Refundable levy groups offer the opportunity for the small number of students who wish to request a refund to do so by contacting the group before the fall reading break. This refund request deadline is in place so that groups can simultaneously be accountable to the refundable levy while also being able to maintain fiscal responsibility in accordance with yearly budgets.

Many of these groups on campus were created by students who wanted a way to have their needs represented independent of administration and centralized university bodies. Funds go directly into hiring student staff, operating programs and services, hosting events and serving the needs of students. You might be interested in supporting these groups, even if some of them do not serve you

campus

directly. If you believe that students should have access to affordable and free food, safer sex supplies, confidential counselling, advocacy and community space in which their identities, needs and interest are served then we want you to know that Trent levy groups provide these services and more.

The timing of this statement is not coincidental. We, the undersigned levy groups, seek to respond to concerns and statements raised during the TCSA elections about our existence and which aim to question our purpose and undermine the processes of accountability that we actively take part in. We maintain that the benefits of levy groups are far reaching and that our groups offer diverse programming, services, resources and spaces for students, and contribute to creating a welcoming, vibrant student experience at Trent.

We hope this brief statement can begin to answer some questions you may have about Trent levy groups. We invite you to learn more about us and how we enrich the Trent University experience by providing opportunities for a diverse student population to find meaningful connections, a deeper sense of belonging and opportunities for rich involvement in campus and community life. We thank you for your support.

• Active Minds • B!KE • Centre for Gender and Social Justice

• Community and Race Relations Committee of Peterborough

• Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre • Kawartha World Issues Centre • Ontario Public Interest Research Group of Peterborough

• Peterborough Student Housing Co-op

• PRCSA - Sadleir House • Seasoned Spoon Café • Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Society

• Sustainable Trent • Trent Film Society • Trent International • • • • •

Students’ Association Trent Student Annual Publishing Corporation Trent Queer Collective Trent Radio Trent Valley Fencing Club Trent Vegetable Gardens

Trent’s campus sustainability conference Caitlin Coe

Trent has been known for campus sustainability and its efforts to be more ecologically friendly.

On March 12 the campus sustainability conference was held, run by the Trent Green Team and Sustainable Trent. It went from 10a.m. until 5p.m., in Gzowski College and was completely free!

The conference included a delicious vegetarian lunch catered by local food producers Food Not Bombs, Seasoned Spoon and Kyoto coffee, which are all sustainable in their practices.

It was a fun day with tours of Trent’s cutting edge eco-facilities and inspiring, informative presentations and guest speakers.

Over 10 different student groups from Trent University and Fleming College as

well as the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University ran interactive workshops, including Anisha Madden’s workshop on changing campus food policy and student engagement in food sustainability.

There were also poster displays from the finalists from the Trent Green Your Campus competition, where students submitted project ideas to improve sustainability around campus.

The winning project can be funded up to $5,000. Included in the busy schedule of events were several guest speakers such as Bob Paelke, Charles Hopkins and more.

Robert Paehlke is a professor of Environmental and Resource Studies here at Trent University.

He edited the Canadian environmental journal and magazine Alternatives from its founding in 1971 until 1982, and is

the author and editor of several books on politics and environmentalism.

His talk “From Protesters to Economic Players: A Brief History of Environmentalism” gave a very quick history of the environmental movement (from the 1970s until today); from political protests to a broad public view that how we act at home and work, in the marketplace and in the institutions we are a part of (including universities), can build a better future.

Charles Hopkins is from York University, and has worked with UN and UNESCO on environmental education and development.

He is an advisor to several ministries of education in Asia and Europe, as well as universities and colleges in the Americas, and also has several publications.

His talk focused on participation in higher education in implementing the new Sustainable Development Goals created in November 2015 by the UN. It also covers the roles of higher

education in the future, as university graduates become the leaders in the future of environmental change.

A workshop followed the presentation discussed how higher education can have an impact on sustainability policies and what can be done.

In today’s society, sustainability is increasingly becoming an important discussion topic as we deal with climate change, and awareness and becoming active in implementing change is crucial.

The sustainability conference aims to educate students about sustainability and projects going on around campus, and inspire those who come to try to be more sustainable through engaging activities and events. Conference topics included food production on campus, beekeeping at Trent, indigenous perspectives on sustainability, options for reinvestment and sustainability in education.

It was an interesting day filled with many events that appealed to all audiences!

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The great student housing search

By Frankie McGee of the Peterborough Student Co-op

It’s nearing the end of the school year and you might be looking ahead to the next year.

If you’ll be staying in Peterborough, where will you live? Who will you live with? You might find yourself dreaming of big windows, kind roommates who do their dishes, on-site laundry, living in a neighbourhood where you feel safe walking at night and not having to take the bus to do groceries.

We all need dreams, and dreaming up a new home can be exciting! But it can also be daunting. It’s a big world out there, with some awful landlords, sketchy neighbourhoods, poorly maintained places and roommates who may mean well but may not mesh with your particular way of living.

But fear not, friends. With the right skills and knowledge you will be well on your way to finding a nice place to live and protecting your rights as a tenant.

Having a good dynamic with your roommates is key to having a comfortable living situation.

There are both benefits and downfalls of living with friends, acquaintances and strangers. You really don’t know how it will be living with someone until you are actually living with them and you can see clearly the way your living styles fit together.

Still, there are some things to consider that might give you insight.

Living with close friends can sometimes put a strain on your relationships with them, because you are no longer relating to them solely as a friend, but as a roommate and there are sources of conflict particular

to living with people.

It can be really nice to have your close friends’ houses as places to visit outside of your home and to keep those relationships somewhat separate from your everyday life, and it can also be nice to have roommates that are not a part of other parts of your life.

Your roommates may move in the same circles as you, or not, but you can have surprisingly good experiences living with roommates you didn’t know very well going into your housing situation, or who you don’t see outside of your home often.

Peterborough is a small place and having your home life somewhat separate from the rest of it can be comforting.

“Don’t be afraid of randoms! [I] lived with new randoms every year of my university experience and I’m really glad I did,” Joel Vaughn, a Trent alumnus, said of his housing while at Trent At the same time, it can be really nice to live with your close friends, and works out quite well for some people.

There are obvious risks to living with people you don’t know, and at least with friends you have some ideas of their quirks, personalities and beliefs.

“Take lots of time meeting the roommates. Make sure your general views and politics somewhat match. If you’re queer, make sure it’s queer-friendly. I was naive thinking that all student tenants were queer friendly. Hah!” cautioned Lynea Aboumrad, a current Trent student.

You might also want to think of logistical concerns with the people you live with, such as the level of tidiness and quiet you need, whether you like sharing groceries and/or cooking together, what your sleep schedules are like, how you prefer to communicate with roommates,

Cultural Outreach 2016

By Kristina Dergacheva

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March is finally here, and as we know, one of the biggest events of the year is coming up!

The event, known as Cultural Outreach, is annually organized by Trent’s International Student Association (TISA), and showcases cultural performances from all over the world exhibiting the true talent and diversity of Trent’s student community.

Cultural Outreach will be taking place on Saturday, March 19 at 2p.m., and 7p.m. at the Showplace Performance Centre.

This year’s theme will be The Phantom of the Opera and the show will follow the Phantom’s quest around the world as he searches for an act for his new opera house.

Throughout his quest, he will encounter a diversity of cultural performances, powerful and emotional, and fascinating in their own way.

A diversity of cultures will be represented, as performers will be dancing to Afro-Caribbean mixes, Salsa and Bachata, Soka, Bhangra and Bollywood, as well as traditional Venezuelan, Malaysian, and Russian songs.

Singers, spoken-words, tap dancers, and fiddle players will enhance the diversity of performances and finally, the presence of the Phantom will make it an engaging and entertaining show.

Which act will the Phantom choose?

This, you will have to find out by yourself, as we are inviting you to join us on March 19 at the Showplace Performance Centre.

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Tickets will be $20 each and $10 for children under 12. The after-party (19+), taking place at the Oxford Club, is free for those who attended the performance, and a mix of international music will be played throughout the night. Tickets will be sold at the following locations: • Trent International Program (TIP) office at the Champlain College • Trent Central Student’s Association (TCSA) office • Trent International Student’s Association (TISA) office at the Champlain College • Tabling in Otonabee, Bata Library and GCS will also be available

how frequently you’re comfortable with having people over and how you like to distribute housework.

Another big determinant of whether you will have a positive housing experience is the condition of the place and your landlord.

The space you rent might be beautiful, but not having repairs done promptly or properly, or having other difficulties with your landlord can add a lot of unnecessary stress to your life.

Tenants can experience many forms of harassment from their landlords, such as cutting off important services, coming to your door at unreasonable times, entering your home without 24 hours notice and sexual harassment and threats.

All of these things are illegal and you can make a complaint to the Investigation and Enforcement Unit or apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board.

If you are having any of these types of issues in your current living situation, you can contact the Peterborough Student Coop or the Community Legal Centre. Ideally though, you won’t have to do any of things and you will have a good experience with your landlord.

Always go to viewings with at least one other person, and ideally with someone who has some experience looking for places to live.

A representative from the Peterborough Student Co-op is willing to accompany students or community members on viewings. It is always helpful to have an extra perspective.

When you meet the landlord, listen to your gut. If you get a bad feeling or something feels off, that’s an important thing to pay attention to!

Think about what you want in your

space. Is it important to you to have a large kitchen? Is the ratio of private to common space suitable to your needs? Do you need to have on-site laundry? Are you ok with living in a smaller space?

Think about how you want to feel in your living space, and when looking at listings ask yourself how you think that particular space would feel.

Location is also an important element, and you might want to consider proximity to groceries, to downtown and to campus. Are you comfortable living right downtown? How important is it to you to have green space nearby where you live?

All of these things can come into play when thinking about location.

Also think about what you can afford for rent, and if it is not inclusive of utilities or Internet, find out how much these typically cost.

In the end, you probably won’t be able to find a place that fits every one of your parameters, but if you know which ones are most important to you, you can make your decision based on those factors.

While all this advice is good as a guideline, don’t worry too much about finding the perfect combination of all of these factors. Every housing situation is a learning experience about what you need in roommates, your landlord and your space.

Good luck, brave home-searchers!

If you have any housing-related questions, or need help in your housing search, feel free to contact the Peterborough Student Co-op at info. ptbocoop@gmail.com or come to our office hours which are posted on our website, ptbocoop.org. Also, check out our Zine Making Night this week, listed at the back of this paper!

The cure to mental illness

By Shawn Wallis President, Trent Active Minds

Lady Eaton College recently held an event called “Jammies for Positivity” -an event where students can get together to do activities, in their jammies. This event was special to Active Minds because it parallels what Active Minds is all about. Active Minds also provides a space for people to come together in their pajamas. By pajamas, I mean we allow a space for people to be however they are most comfortable. Often, there is stigma about pajamas that prevents people to wear them in public. If one goes to a business meeting wearing pajamas, there is this negative attitude about it. Active Minds is a place for people to go to in their pajamas.

We at Active Minds welcome people who wear their pajamas. We welcome everyone no matter what they are wearing. We welcome the things to which people worry about, socially, like anxiety and depression. We allow a social community to which people can finally not worry, and be comfortable. A community where people can finally wear pajamas.

Why do we welcome people no matter their mental health? Because we believe that that is what students need to thrive in this world filled with negativity and judgment. Before I go into how this works, I want to answer the question: “what is mental health?”

We often hear a lot that anxiety and depression is a “chemical imbalance” in our brain. Is this the case? What is a chemical imbalance? A chemical imbalance is a neurotransmitter imbalance. This doesn’t help, does it? Basically neurotransmitters emit these chemicals that determine our mood. This is useless information though because it does not tell us anything important, such as why. The truth is,

it is neural pathways in our brain that determine what chemicals get released that affect our mood. “Neural pathway” is just a fancy term for our habits; our tendencies. These chemicals are what stimulate our current mood. One’s habits are what causes these chemicals to be released. Our habits are what determine our mood.

These neural-transmissions, or lack of certain ones, are just an indication that one is feeling a certain way; they are just symptoms. They are not the cause. Mental illness is essentially just a habit (or “neural pathway”) that tend to lead us to a painful emotional state.

A “chemical imbalance” is just an indication that one tends to go down a negative pathway. Serotonin, dopamine, or whatever you want to call these chemicals, are released according to our habits. When someone takes drugs that block these chemicals, this does not change these pathways. It just manipulates the release of these chemicals that determine our mood without addressing the cause of these moods. The cause is our habits, our tendencies, our neural pathways. Good mental health is simply the absence of major negative pathways. That is the core of it.

External factors such as “being able to contribute to your community” or “realizing your own abilities” are just indications that one has these positive pathways. There are an infinite amount of things that indicate positive pathways. These indications are not a definition of mental health but rather just examples. So is anxiety caused by a chemical imbalance? No. A chemical imbalance is just a symptom of anxiety. These pathways however, can be very, very difficult to change.

Anxiety and depression not only thrive off of these negative pathways we go down, they are these negative pathways. Society

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tends to cultivate and perpetuate these negative pathways such that they are all we know. The best cure for mental illness is to create a new, positive, pathway. This stigma surrounding mental health is what feeds and empowers this negativity that we all have. It silences everyone such that everyone feels alone. There is a quote we at Active Minds like to say: “Stigma causes shame. Shame cause silence. Silence hurts everyone.”

This silence causes a mass amount of students to suffer alone. It causes people to believe that their mental illness is a negative thing. It causes people to believe that their is no hope.

Mental illness isolates us, but strangely, it also connects us. At Active Minds, we are all brought together by our mental illness. Our sharing of our sufferings is what binds us. It is what binds humans. It is the human bond. The bond that we are all similarity treading just to stay above the water that we do not even know we are in. When there is that bond there is community. As a professor I know, Robyn Hanley, once said, “community brings resilience.” She said it brings hopes. It brings that positive feeling that we can accomplish something.

When we come together and we share our mental health, we are no longer associating negativity with our mental illness. We are creating a new positive pathway in our brain where our mental illness can no longer inhibit us. We develop a new relationship with our mental health. One that is welcoming, caring, and positive. When we come together and are open about our mental health we are now relating with other people due to our mental illness. Not only relating, but connecting with people on a deeper level that is truly rare. This deeper level of intimacy is what gives us hope. It gives us resilience. Instead of saying “I can’t”, we say “I can”. “I can” is the most

powerful statement one can say. “I can” is what positivity truly is. There are so many people struggling right now just waiting for someone to say “you are okay”. This one simple gesture is all it takes to truly transform someone’s life into something they did not know was possible. It makes the impossible possible.

I have anxiety, and I did a speech about it 2 years ago that was filmed at Trent. Speeches were my biggest fear and that speech was the first speech I did in 10 years, while not on medication. My mental health speech is a product of that resilience from community, from Active Minds, from sharing my mental illness.

This positivity, “I can do this”, is what allows the impossible to be possible. It is what allowed me to do that speech which was impossible to me.

It is what would allow us to save the earth from ourselves, even though it is impossible. This rapport with other humans builds this positivity, this hope, this resilience. I think that the fundamental bond between all humans is this suffering that we all share. It is with this suffering that we can build resilience, build hope, and build a better world. Because drawing on and sharing our deepest sufferings is what intimacy is.

This true intimacy is what gives humans the courage and determination that is seemingly impossible.

Mental health to me is how positive one is. How resilient one is. How hopeful one is. Mental health and global issues go hand in hand. Here at Trent, we are trying to both increase the planet’s health and our own mental health.

So let’s be resilient with our fuel being connection and intimacy, and let’s not be resistant with our fuel being hate and anger. Let’s cherish the thing that gives our life meaning, that connects us -- our mental illness.

Lets wear pajamas.

Fearnall’s paper touched on many issues that millennials face during election season, from finding time to vote in the busy season of October to attendance at the ballot boxes.

She effectively smashed the stereotypes that surround millennials at the polls and was able to assert, with confidence, her thesis that the millennial population is in fact political.

Following each presentation, the presenters were subject to a question and

answer period where the audience had an opportunity to challenge ideas and gain further clarification from the day’s experts.

The questions asked were very intellectual and hard-hitting.

Despite the fact that, in some cases, the papers being presented were written in prior years at Trent, the presenters were able to rally with intelligent and confidence answers to these broad questions from both students and faculty.

The organizers as well as the attentive audience would benefit greatly from considering adding an additional five minutes onto the presentation time next year.

Almost every presenter was pressed for time, and in some cases had to cut key points from their presentations, which resulted in some rushing their presentation, or forced them into surpassing the time limit.

All in all, the presenters and their content were extremely impressive and a true testament to the brainpower that Trent students have to offer the world.

Opportunities to hear bright minds actively educating themselves as well as their peers are a pull factor for some students to come to Trent.

If you’d like to be involved in next year’s symposium, feel free to contact the political society. Maybe you will be selected to present your bright ideas, or just come for the free cookies and coffee, no judgments passed here.

Trent Annual Political Research Symposium a hit

By Jordan Porter

On Feb. 26, about 50 members of the student body, with a few faculty members sprinkled in, headed to The Pit in Lady Eaton College to attend an extremely informative and gripping set of undergraduate presentations.

The Trent University Politics Society (TUPS) hosted nine undergraduate students to expand and present some of their most groundbreaking papers in this annual Political Studies Symposium.

First we had Scott Brown, who presented his international development research paper on the rise of China.

Brown focused on the contrast between the United States and China. Despite a few technical difficulties, and a tight time frame of 15 minutes, Brown presented eloquently and calm.

There seemed to be a common focus on neo-liberalist impact throughout the world in almost all nine presentations.

Whether it was Arthur’s own Adriana Sierra and her presentation on the drug issues in Honduras, or Joshua Skinner’s very entertaining presentation entitled “Aboriginal Sovereignty and the Charter.”

Trent Browett also deserves some recognition for his paper entitled, “Agricultural Liberalization: The Haitian Experience,” although the economic aspect of this presentation was heavy and may have gone over some audience members’ heads.

When Browett got down to the facts on

the effects that agriculture (with a focus on rice, specifically) has on the Haitian economy, his charismatic presentation skills kept everyone attentive and interested in something that he seemed both very knowledgeable and passionate about.

The interest among politics students in the audience may have piqued especially high during Ashley Fearnall’s presentation entitled “How to Engage a Millennial Voter: Lessons from Trent Votes.”

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Holi: the festival of colours

By Ryan Newman

Release the rainbow of rangoli this spring as the sunshine beams downward.

Celebrated widely, especially in South Asia, Holi is a celebration of happiness and renewal. In many ways we reveal our true colours as human being as we dance around in the multi-shaded mist.

At times people mask their emotion through identity, concealing the heart behind the face. Holi is an opportunity to conjoin the two. In case you are unfamiliar with Holi, the following are a few tips for the upcoming spring festival.

Holi is happiness: smiles fade in and out amidst a barrage of laughter and delight.

Flash a couple dance moves this year as bunny-rabbiting your way up and down can be repetitive.

Get creative, get edgy. Take a chance on the odd Bollywood move; it may just catch someone’s eye.

Which leads us to…

Holi is love: there is something about this colossal colouration, which seems to outshine the ordinary red, white and pink of Valentine’s Day. Besides, if you’re not feeling all too lovey-dovey bouncing along to Bollywood, simply embrace the company of your peers and partners.

Eh! It just may be a start to a great new chapter in life. Which brings us to our last point…

Holi is cleansing: grab a hand; grab a heart; grab a water gun.

Times are messy, here’s your shot to wash away the old and refresh for the new. Take the lead; you’re never short of targets. Stock up on ammunition this Holi because as the party turns H-O-T, we need some of that H2O. Life moves in cycles, just be sure you’re not on the wrong end of the cylinder.

This year, build up an arsenal of joyfulness and delve into the world anew alongside other Holi-gans. You can bet your bottom dollar we’re going full mental this time around as Holi comes to campus.

That’s right, leading the upcoming exam season the Trent International Student Association, alongside all regional groups, will host a Holi event.

This will be a de-stressor prior to the final splash of books, breaks and, of course, good-byes. Don’t wait until summer to soak in the sunshine.

Stay tuned for further details and come celebrate the festival of colours with us. It’s raining rangoli this spring lads and lassies, never before have April showers looked so beautiful!

Cheer team swings into success in first competition

By Caitlin Coe

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On Saturday Feb. 13, Trent University’s cheerleading team placed first in the collegiate category at the Funfest Cheer competition in Brampton, Ontario - a huge accomplishment for the Trent Excalibur.

To boot, this was Trent Cheer’s first time competing.

They were up against other university teams, as well as cheer gyms such as Cheer Strong in Durham, PCT (Power Cheer Toronto) in Oakville and high school teams such as Peterborough’s own Crestwood High School.

The Trent team’s success continued when they competed in the Cheer Evolution Ontario Championships in Kitchener, Ontario, from Feb. 26 to 28, where they received a well-earned fourth place in the university category against other universities such as Wilfred Laurier University and Guelph University.

Without a doubt, these girls have worked extremely hard the last few months to succeed in these events.

In competition, cheer teams perform a routine of approximately two minutes

www.trentarthur.ca

and 30 seconds, performing it twice to allow for more feedback from the judges. Then they are evaluated on their dance, choreography and presentation, in addition to the quality of their jumps, stunts and pyramids.

The Trent cheer ladies practice at least two to three times a week, in addition to training at the gym several days at week.

No doubt this is a highly dedicated team who deserved their win, attending rehearsal at the gym at 6:30a.m. most days they practice.

The Trent cheerleading team was founded in 2013, coming a long way in the last few years, expanding into a large, hardworking team that has many successes, and we can be assured will continue to have many more.

Cheer captain Paisley Pinard and the rest of the Trent cheerleading team would like to say thanks, and that they could not have done it without the support of the Trent Central Student’s Association, The Trent Athletics Center, their hard working choreographers Sabine Munro and Kadie Johnson, as well as their amazing coaches Brooke Hammer and Kinzi Trout.

Trent Archery club’s bright future

By Vanessa Stark

Trent Archery Club is one of the new fully formed clubs at Trent University. They are currently in their first full academic year and are gearing up for the years to come.

Trent Archery Club is currently located off campus at the Peterborough Multi Sport Club (PMSC) formerly known as Peterborough Fencing Club (PFC), due to concerns from the Trent Athletic Center about the weapon-based sport. The Trent Archery Club is open both to Trent students and members of the community.

PMSC and Trent Archery have strategic partnering that has allowed Trent Archery to get off the ground and therefore, lay down roots for sustainability of the club.

“Having a program that is designed to go beyond a single generation is a hard task for a new club so we are hoping that through sport the student population and the executive will be able to learn how to build, share and pass on knowledge,” said Scott Nichols, head coach od PMSC on where Trent Archery is headed.

“People that can learn how to do that in sport, in my eyes are very employable.

This could be as great as the students make it, and we can support that.”

PMSC allows for Trent Archery to have a full archery range with up-to-date equipment in a community environment.

Even though they are not located on campus their presence is still felt there.

The Trent Archery Club will be hosting a two-hour seminar by Prof. Dan Longboat on the history and development of archery within the aboriginal community in Canada.

This seminar will take place on March

16 from 2p.m. to 4p.m. in the Ernie and Florence Gathering Space located in Gzowski College.

Archery is a very safe and inclusive sport that develops students both mentally and physically in a supportive, friendly environment. Trent Archery has worked hard alongside their student training coaches to help develop their students as leaders and athletes in the last year.

“We’ve had some growing pains, but we have seen a sustained interest from students,” Michael Schmidt, president of Trent Archery, stated.

“Based on the interest we’ve seen so far, we humbly estimate that we will see much higher numbers and interest as we continue year after year.”

They are a recreational club that is working toward being a competitive archery club sending their students out to compete alongside other university archery teams.

As the club is in its first year their main goal was to lay a foundation down for future generations to develop off of and expand.

“We have been working really hard to create a sound budget, a sound set of governing documents and to foster a culture amongst our initial membership that not only leads to the enjoyment of the sport, but also towards athletic and personal growth” Schmidt said about this year’s goals.

Next year they plan to build on the foundation and develop more competitively.

If students or members of the community have any questions or are interested in finding out more information they are urged to check the Trent Archery Facebook page.

Women's Issue 2016

How my infertility made me pro-choice

By Caitlin Coe

I have known for a long time that I am unable to have children naturally, though it has honestly not bothered me all that much.

I’ve always planned on adopting, and that is something I probably would have done anyways.

However, what does grind my gears is that even though I know what likely course I will take, I still do not have the option.

There are ways that I could potentially have my own children, but even so I would be high risk and it is not something I would want to do.

In this sense, it makes me mad that governments take away reproductive options from those who can conceive and should be able to make their own choices.

And this is one of the reasons why I am completely, unapologetically, 100% prochoice.

One argument that is often seen is that if

the person could simply put their baby up for adoption, there are lots of people who cannot have their own who would love to adopt.

However, the problem that I have with this is that going through pregnancy and labour is something very hard on the body.

It can be unsafe for some women, and they would have the option to abort if their pregnancy would put them at risk.

Giving up a child would be something very hard to do, I would imagine even more emotional than an abortion.

It is not the responsibility of another women to provide a child to those who can’t give birth. It is unfair for them to be forced to go through that, just for someone else.

If they chose to do so, I admire them, and they are doing an amazing thing, but policies should not be forcing them to endure pregnancy against their will.

This can often lead to unsafe abortions (we’ve all seen Dirty Dancing), or in cases

that are happening often in developing countries, babies being abandoned and left to die, especially baby girls.

The other case is children being raised in homes where they aren’t wanted and would have grown up poor, neglected and abused.

The chapter in Freakonomics “Where have all the criminals gone,” explains that since the 1990s when abortion rates went up, crime rates went down, since many of the babies that were aborted would have turned out to be those neglected children, who were more likely to be involved in drugs and crime.

There are many reasons why safe abortion clinics should be accessible.

It is safe to assume that a woman is going to know her own body and what is best for her more than predominately male policy makers would. Women should be respected, and so should their choice on such a heavy decision.

I hope when I have my own children one day they will have a deep respect for others’

bodily autonomy that everyone deserves.

Women should not be forced into carrying a baby full term because women like me cannot have their own, and would be lucky to be able to do so.

My infertility is not their fault, and these women do not owe me anything. Having a baby should be a happy event, not a forced result.

In many ways I count myself lucky that I won’t ever have to deal with an unwanted pregnancy and that I will be able to adopt when I am at the point in my life where I am ready.

I won’t ever have to deal with the pain and fear that many go through. No one should be denied birth control or a safe abortion because of my circumstances, and have to endure an emotionally and physically taxing pregnancy that is unwanted.

No one should be dictating what someone can or can’t do with his or her body.

And that is why, as someone with infertility, I am completely pro-choice.

Trans and queer women at forefront of Black Lives Matter

By Betelhem Wondimu

Feb. 29 marked the official end of Black Heritage Month, it was a month filled with activities and events intended to celebrate the past and building the future.

In accordance with the theme, the Black Lives Matter movement was the event selected to provide a platform for students to shape and influence current events and envision a strong future.

Pascale Diverlus, a black queer activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto led an enticing discussion of the Black Lives Matter Toronto movement, providing a sequential account of the history of the movement and the current issues it tackles.

During the discussion Diverlus highlighted the important role queer and trans black women had to play and emphasized the continuous steps taken within the movement to provide queer-positive educational opportunities for black children in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Diverlus explained that black, trans and queer women have been at the forefront of this movement; they are placing their lives at stake and have to articulate why the movement they are fighting for is important.

It is a difficult balance to strike, but it is one that the movement has been able to achieve through community initiatives that place an emphasis on reclaiming

identity and thus agency.

In addition, Black Lives Matter is a movement that integrates ideals of feminism, racism, state power and structural inequality. It also highlights the need for gender conversation.

In that, Blacks Lives Matter negates the idea that only cis-gender lives matter by reiterating that various genders’, identities’ and communities’ lives matter.

Police brutality continues to be an issue that is tackled by the movement, Diverlus highlighted how when discussing police brutality, it is essential to discuss police brutality against black women and how sexual violence feeds into this brutal cycle, as shown by the case against Daniel Holtzclaw. The brutality of the Holtzclaw case in turn raises questions of the attention given to cases that involve vulnerable lower income class communities.

The movement continues to challenge policies that pose as barriers in combating police brutality with the black community. Carding as a system of policing that disproportionally targets black and indigenous communities has been an example of the movement calling for change.

After a day’s worth discussions and platforms that enabled students to voice issues of importance, the day concluded with an event that allowed students to stand in solidarity with black students across the globe that continue to face austerity on university campuses.

Photo by Samantha Moss

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Women’s Issue

Rally demonstrates anti-abortion ads are anti-woman Co-written

by Keila MacPherson Troy Bordun

&

Approximately 60 people turned up for the Rally and March for Reproductive Justice at 5p.m. on March 8. While the rally was held on International Women’s Day, it was also a response to the City of Peterborough’s decision to allow anti-choice, pro-life advertisements from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) on public transit.

A Feb. 25 press release from the City of Peterborough stated their decision to allow these advertisements on the buses.

The statement was in response to the CCBR’s request for a “judicial review.”

The group requested the review on the basis that the refusal of their advertisement violated their right to freedom of speech.

The rally on March 8 was simultaneously a moment for reproductive rights generally and a direct protest against the city’s decision and the values of the CCBR. “Any ethics research amateur will confirm that the [pro-life] argument holds no scientific or social evidence. [Pro-life groups] are instead driven by unique religious morals. As the people should respect the presence of religion, religion must respect the people,” Reba Harrison, a Trent student and member of the Peterborough Revolutionary Student Movement, explained.

“The presence of these ads is anti-

Photo by Samantha Moss

woman propaganda and Peterborough’s approval of the ads reflects their vision of women’s worth.”

The CCBR is against the destruction of unborn children. They are not only antiabortion, but also anti-stem cell research and anything that kills, harms, or makes an object out of an unborn child.

One of their beliefs stated on their website is pertinent to the recent approval of the bus ad.

“Imagery is a powerful tool that must be incorporated into […] educational efforts.”

The advertisement itself is a gruesome

and graphic image of a fetus in three panels. The first two panels have an image of a growing fetus, with the word “growing” under each. The third panel is a solid red circle with the word “gone” inside it.

Beside the image are the words “Abortion kills children.”

The 60 individuals at the rally were passionate about reproductive rights and fully against the allowance of anti-choice bus advertisements.

“The city shouldn’t allow such violent, graphic images that are anti-women…on fucking public transit,” said Evan Gentle.

Many other participants expressed their concerns over bodily autonomy.

“I don’t think anybody has the right to tell anyone what to do with their own body.

And people who have had abortions, or are thinking about that as a choice, shouldn’t be ashamed or made to feel afraid of [having an abortion],” stated one marcher.

Others articulated the inconsistency in the CCBR’s claim that denying their purchase of bus advertising space is a violation of free speech. What the CCBR hadn’t obviously considered is that the ads are potentially triggering and downright violent.

Many also felt this is a giant leap backwards for the otherwise progressive momentum in Peterborough. One marcher remembers demonstrating “in front of the Morgantaler Clinic in support of the doctors that were performing abortions inside that clinic.”

She, among many others, expressed her anxieties about reverting to the anti-choice consciousness of decades long gone.

Numerous participants called on the city to take action against CCBR. The larger context of the CCBR antichoice ad, and the decision to allow the ad, speaks to the struggle, still raging, for reproductive rights.

One of the organizers made this appropriate final remark: “This is an issue that affects everybody and it is something the city needs to take very seriously…. It’s not to be taken lightly.”

I had an abortion: a personal experience

By Maggie

I want to talk about the tiny moments and realities that made up the sum of a personal experience with abortion. Choosing abortion is never a decision made flippantly, but anti-choice lobby groups reduce it to stark, simple, ahistorical ideas.

This telling is a small effort to set that record straight. It is raw in some places, so take care of yourself in knowing what you can read and what will be too upsetting for you.

When I told the man who impregnated me that my period was late, his cool response was, ‘well I like you and everything, but we’re not on that level.’

This conversation happened while I was on the way to the drugstore for the pregnancy test. Fate had placed him on the same street that day as I ran this major errand. My stomach turned cold when I heard his detached unconcern.

He and I went our separate ways after we walked into the drugstore together, me clutching the test, and I called him later to tell him that the test was positive. He reiterated that we had just been having fun together and he expected me to ‘deal with it’. I was hurt.

We were in our mid-to-late twenties – not children by any means. Not to mention the fact that I thought we were growing more serious anyhow in our relationship up to that point, so I expected a more emotionally supportive conversation.

I called the Morgentaler Clinic in my city right away to schedule an abortion.

I quickly assessed the situation: I pictured beginning to raise a baby that next year by myself with no maternity leave because I was self-employed and a contract worker; my apartment was really expensive, more than what I’d get each month on social assistance; I’d have to leave the city and go live with my parents who lived in poverty in the small town I’d left behind years before; I knew no one with babies.

I thought about the familial and sys-

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temic racism the future child would face because the guy was black and I am white.

I thought of a potential person who would have no relationship with a biological father his or her whole life and be cut off from their cultural identity and history.

I knew I wanted to be a mother deep in my bones, but this time was not going to work.

The abortion was scheduled six weeks after I called to make an appointment and filled out in-person paperwork with an intake worker who was about eight months pregnant herself.

The six or so week interval felt interminable. I went through a very self-destructive period to ensure that I felt no attachment to my pregnancy or feelings of any sort. The guy and I stopped seeing each other.

I ate cucumbers with salt for daily nausea. I got involved with someone else much too soon, and drank alcohol every day. I told a good friend and my mom about the abortion, so I was not alone in what was going to happen. My mom volunteered to come and stay with me, which she did for a day or two afterwards, but I went to the procedure on my own.

The lead up and aftermath were the only difficult parts. It would have been better if I had been able to get the abortion right away, such as when I was one or two weeks pregnant.

I was nine weeks pregnant, which a technician confirmed by ultrasound as I went in for the procedure (the image was only for them to see).

I wore a vaguely menacing, funny message t-shirt, which made the physician laugh and comment ‘that’s dark’. The staff were lovely. The surgery was quick and I recovered in a sunny room with maybe four or five others who were on their own or with partners.

I remember feeling incredibly light and grateful walking back to my place. I bought a coffee. More than a dozen years later, I can still picture that coffee cup in my hand

and the bright blue October sky. My mom’s visit later that day helped me to focus on positivity, moving forward, and I felt physically okay.

It was several days later when I was alone again that the after effects that complete the procedure happened.

While the doctor at the clinic told me that I would have some bleeding and cramping afterwards, I didn’t realize that I was going to haemorrhage large amounts of endometrial and other tissues.

I had somehow thought most of it was taken away in surgery. I’ll never forget the feeling of sitting on the toilet and the deluge of chunks coming out of me by surprise in the middle of the night. I was afraid the toilet wouldn’t flush because there was so much.

For a moment or two, I felt like I was going to die. I felt shocked and broken.

Follow up support by the clinic would have been so good, such as someone checking in with me by phone or in person.

They make do with the limited resources they have, the need to serve such a demand, the daily threats by protestors and funding cuts.

There is a real chemical grieving process that happens from hormonal changes that you undergo becoming pregnant and then suddenly becoming not pregnant.

The nightmarish bodily purge that night additionally triggered distress and body memories of trauma I had experienced earlier in my life. I wish I had been reminded of what to expect so I could have psychologically planned better for it.

Many months later, I was at a staff meeting at the women’s shelter I now worked at and we talked about accompanying and supporting a resident through an abortion.

Suddenly half of us had disclosed in matter of fact terms that we’d had abortions and what we needed afterward.

It was a quietly revolutionary experience for me in solidarity and a nuanced emotional reconciliation within my own self.

Because I was able to access a safe medi-

cal abortion, my fertility wasn’t affected and I was able to have a healthy pregnancy later when I was really ready.

I won’t say that I didn’t worry about that in between the abortion and becoming pregnant again, though. My child was so, so wanted. Having had an abortion had lent urgency to my personal ticking biological clock.

The experience of being pregnant with him from the beginning was completely different than the previous time. I had no nausea, no fears and knew I was ready for the unknown from day one.

It feels good to tell this story, although some pain re-emerges in the telling and the reliving of detail. I want women who are contemplating abortion or who have had difficult abortions to know from me that whatever reason you opt for this is the right reason, because it reflects your circumstances.

You can’t choose to have a uterus, but taking control over it to some degree and choosing when or if you want to be a parent are true measures of freedom that we can’t ever let the state remove.

I wish I could tell you my name, but I don’t feel safe to do so in print. Reproductive rights are under attack again this millennium and too many people in our community judge what they cannot ever experience or understand.

Someday, I hope I can tell you my name.

Today, what I can tell you is that I had an abortion. And I can tell you that we are not alone.

For referrals and information on abortion in Peterborough, contact the Women’s Health Care Centre, located at 1 Hospital Drive (Peterborough Regional Health Centre), by phone at 705-743-4132 or online at http://www.prhc.on.ca/cms/women-s-health-care-centre.

If you are interested, you can watch the film I Had An Abortion (2005) by Jennifer Baumgardner and Gillian Aldrich: http:// www.jenniferbaumgardner.net/i-had-anabortion/

Women’s Issue

Pro- life for who, exactly?

By Kazimiro de Moraes

During your commute to school you may have noticed the bench across from the Tim Horton’s on Water Street, which depicts an image of an infant with the phrase: “Take my hand, not my life.”

These signs, brought to you by the Peterborough Pro-Life group, can be found on benches around the city.

In lieu of these signs, and the recent decision by the city to allow anti-abortion advertisements on our buses, I conducted an interview with a Peterborough local, Janet Barch, about her experience with abortion, both as a patient and as a clinic escort in the United States.

[Janet Barch is a pseudonym used to protect the interviewee’s identity. Barch is a character from the late-90’s TV show, Daria; a crude, but humorous stereotype of the ‘man-hating feminists’ of the second wave. We thought the pseudonym ironic and somehow fitting.] ***TRIGGER WARNING: this interview contains graphic description of murder and discussion of the emotional impact of abortion on the patient*** Kaz: Tell me about being a clinic escort.

Janet: I became a clinic escort for the first time in 1998 in New York. At the time, there were groups called ‘Operation Rescue’ and ‘Operation Save America,’ these horrendous anti-abortion groups that would stand outside the clinics and scream at women.

As a clinic escort, I got called names, occasionally spit on. When you’re escorting someone you just talk to that person so they can try and ignore what’s going on around them. That’s so important, because for some people, just knowing they will have to go through that kind of harass-

ment is enough to make them not come to the clinic.

That October was when Dr. Slepian was shot. Death was this thing that was threatened all the time. Anti-abortion groups had doctors on Internet hit lists, where they would say, “These are baby murderers, go and get them.” Dr. Slepian was shot in his home; he was standing in his kitchen with his family, and this murderer named James Kopp shot him in the head and he bled to death in front of his family.

Luckily, in New York we had doctors that stepped in right away to take Slepian’s place … but his murder changed everything. Suddenly, people were wearing bulletproof vests and doctors kept their curtains closed at home. It was brutal. It was like death reinforced to these groups what they were doing. Those websites crossed off Slepian’s name within hours of his death.

It’s terrorism.

There came a time in my life when someone asked me if there was anything I was willing to die for, and I realized I was willing to die for the lives of women.

If someone shot me, but I was helping to keep abortion access available, that was something worth dying for.

Kaz: What was your own experience with accessing abortion?

Janet: I was very lucky; I kind of already knew what to do because I had worked at a clinic. I was 19, I was living in Pennsylvania and I was in college. I was dating a guy, our birth control failed and I got pregnant.

There was a part of me that thought, “Do I want to have this baby?”

But then I realized: I’m 19, I’m in college – and what kind of life could I give this baby? Am I going to resent them forever? I would have a 15-year-old today, and I wouldn’t be living here in Canada, I wouldn’t be married, I wouldn’t have an

education ... I can’t say I wouldn’t have a child that I would love, but I wouldn’t have a life that I would love.

I went to Planned Parenthood. I thought I could handle it myself because I’d been an escort, but it was really hard. As an escort, you don’t yell at protestors. Your job is to get people in and out, and try to keep them as safe as possible. But when you’re going into a clinic and people are yelling at you, you just want to flip out.

At Planned Parenthood, they explained to me what they were going to do. They did an ultrasound. They said, “Are you sure you want to do this?” And I said, “Yes.” It’s about choice. If I had said to them, “I want to have this baby, and I’m scared,” they would have said, “Let’s talk about your options.”

In Pennsylvania I went to a lot of prochoice rallies, but I never got back into escorting. It sort of became, for a long time … this mental hurdle that I couldn’t get over. Now I knew what other people went through, and I felt like I couldn’t …

Kaz: Like you couldn’t close yourself off, the way you were able to before?

Janet: Exactly. So I started to work in different areas of Choice: going to rallies, writing a letter to my congressman, donating money, not voting Republican … just trying to be an educator.

Kaz: What are your thoughts on abortion access in Canada?

Janet: It’s not something I can speak to in great detail. The fact that it’s covered under provincial health care is huge. In the States, it can be prohibitively expensive.

The fact that whole provinces here don’t have doctors willing to perform these procedures is shameful, but that’s something that’s not uncommon in the States. Restricting abortion kills people. Abortion is taking the potential for life; it’s not pretty, it’s not easy, but it’s a fact. And we have a right to it.

Kaz: Has your understanding of reproductive rights changed over time?

Janet: What’s important about my own access is that I had student loans, and I got the ‘father’ to give me half the amount of the cost of the procedure, which was $400.

At the time it didn’t occur to me that there is a whole subset of women who don’t have this access. Four hundred dollars is a dream to some people.

I went into social services in Pennsylvania when I was unemployed to ask if I qualified for food stamps, and they literally said to me: “You don’t, but should you find yourself pregnant in the next six months, get back to us.” When you’re pregnant you have access to all kinds of

healthcare. There must be desperate women out there, thinking: “I don’t know if I’m going to eat today, maybe I should get pregnant,” or, “I need dental surgery and I can’t afford it, maybe I should get pregnant.”

And all of this is something I didn’t really think about at the time of my procedure and I didn’t think about for a long time after. It’s something I’m learning now with intersectionality. I didn’t understand why women of colour feel excluded from feminism. Now I understand that the feminism that I subscribed to was white feminism, middle-class feminism. I was able to get out of my situation, but so many people can’t.

Kaz: Do you feel that it’s downplayed, in feminist spaces, the emotional toll an abortion can take on the person going through it?

Janet: Absolutely, and that’s excellent marketing on the part of anti-choice groups.

They always carry signs that say, “WOMEN REGRET ABORTIONS.” So many women wish they could have their babies, but it’s not the right time, or they aren’t able to be a parent. Ultimately, it’s not that they regret their abortion, it’s that they wish their life were in the right place for this baby to be a part of it.

Anti-choice groups capitalize on women’s emotions. They try to convince you that you’re a murderer, and that’s not true.

But could you feel a loss after having an abortion? Of course, I felt a loss after mine.

It wasn’t intense, but it was a loss. Some people feel a deep grief. And the fact that there is sometimes nowhere for people to go but into the arms of the anti-choice movement who say, “See? Abortion is bad,” or into the arms of feminists who say, “Shh! Don’t talk about how you feel, or you’ll set us back,” – that is so fucked up.

Kaz: Why do you think it’s important that anti-choice propaganda be confronted in our community?

Janet: If we don’t confront it, they control the conversation. We should never be complacent about our rights. They can so easily be taken away. Speaking out against anti-choice groups helps to take away the stigma of abortion and allows for informed discussion. Groups like the ones putting ads on the buses are relying on ignorance to bring people to their way of thinking.

Abortion was decriminalized in Canada in 1988, but the inaccessibility of clinics is still a fundamental problem in many provinces and territories. Barch and myself encourage all Trent students to learn how we can improve its accessibility for all those in need. We wish everyone a Happy Women’s History Month!

All photos by Samantha Moss

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14| 2016

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Women’s Issue

The heteronormative myth of scissoring

By Reba Harrison

I scream, you scream, we all scream for pornography. Whether it is on the Internet, in a novel, a piece of fan fiction or in your imagination pornography is a way to help us get sexually aroused and relieve our tensions – wink wink, nudge nudge.

This is not an article about whether pornography is good or bad, nor whether it is oppressive or empowering. In truth, it is all of the above, as anything can be.

But as a bisexual woman that thoroughly enjoys the nasty and sweet stories that pornography has to offer, there is one thing that I cannot stand: scissoring.

Scissoring is a position of tribadism (or tribbing) that describes a woman rubbing her vulva against her partner’s body to stimulate herself, especially the clitoris.

Scissoring as a position describes when two women rub their vulvas against each other’s.

The first time I saw it was on the Internet labelled under “lesbian for women” (which

By Betty Luster

is almost never adequate for women). As a young teenager first watching this, I was confused.

How exactly could a couple of women orgasm from this lip-to-lip contact? Sure, it may feel nice, but no nicer than a flat hand, I expected.

Sex is a passionate and pleasurable thing, so why would two women face away from each other? In the scissoring position, how could the couple stimulate other erogenous zones or even kiss each other?

Why the focus on the one most obvious sexual piece of the female body?

So why is scissoring a thing?

It is a very simple answer: the pornography industry is male-dominated by demanders and suppliers who aggressively push a heteronormative idea of sex.

Heteronormative? You may be thinking.

But you are talking about lesbian porn! But ‘lesbian porn’ is not for lesbians. It is an obsession with a hegemonic ideal of sexy women ‘experimenting’ on each other, and with phallic symbols from various dildos

and dongs to a man entering the scene.

Of course, this may sometimes be the case in reality and that is perfectly fine! But it is the entire theme of freely accessible pornography on the Internet. (Please note: There is no such thing as free pornography. The ‘free’ videos that you may watch on RedTube or XNXX are stolen). Lesbian labelled pornography is widely created for the ‘male gaze’ - as in the stereotypical masculine perspective.

It makes me laugh to think of the two possible founding moments of the scissoring positions. The writers of the pornography industry (1) are so unaware of the female body that they think the vulva is the only erotic female zone and therefore are limited with their partners and probably are a disappointing lover, (2) are so wrapped around the idea of heteronormative sex, that they cannot imagine the natural ways in which women do have sex with each other.

Unfortunately, there is a third possible scenario: The writers simply do not care

and think Why should the women matter when they are only for the ‘male gaze’?

So why am I telling you this? To ruin your dream of two women scissoring, of course.

It rarely happens. I am sure there are women out there who might like it, but I have not heard of a single one.

While I am at it, gaping takes hours (they cut the filming), most women’s orgasms are fake, including squirting. By taking pornography as your guide to sex, you could be going down with many misconceptions.

Here is my proposal: Involve women in the upper levels of the pornography industry. Share your positions. Encourage their inputs. Heighten the level of ethical standards on worker treatment.

You will get much more accurate and sexy collection of pornographies, and many more viewers of the ‘female gaze’.

Gender equality in the pornography equals more orgasms and better sex for all.

the boys she fooled around with. I smoked my first cigarette with her at the age of 10, late at night in her parent’s basement while everyone else was asleep. We listened to her parents’ records and ate junk food.

Some years later, she asked me if I wanted to go down on her. I told her that I didn’t know what that meant. She explained.

I was reluctant because I didn’t know how to do it properly. She said she would teach me. I had never done anything like that with boys before. She drew a hot bath and we both got in. It all happened in the bathtub.

It was awkward and exciting. Being completely naked in the tub exposed me to a side of myself I was unaware of at the time. There was no hidden parts, no shadows to hide behind, and no blankets to be shy under. I was bare. She was bare. And I was curious.

By the time we got out of the bath, the water was cold.

I guess looking back on it, I had been attracted to her long before I knew what attraction was. She was confident, smart and comfortable in her own skin. She inspired me. I was curious about women. The idea of the feminine. The concept of power dynamics. New ideas I had never even known existed. A world full of discovery. I had my first taste of sexuality and I liked it.

Eventually we drifted apart, years later I found her on social media and she had chosen a career as a law enforcement officer. An interesting choice for her, but natural to an extent. She always had the upper hand between us, as if I was wrapped around her finger and she liked it that way.

I don’t recall if I ended things or if she did. Maybe it had been a mutual non-spoken departure between us. Whichever it

was, it wouldn’t be until my mid-20s that I would consider her to be my first sexual experience. Reflecting back on those years, so much now makes sense to me. It was a part of me that I hid away from view for so long. Only to finally allow it to show, one little piece at a time.

Email me questions, comments, stories.

Things you would like to share. Ideas for future columns.

The Betty Luster Column will be a monthly column and it will explore our community through a sexual lens. When I say “sexual” I am referring to a part, of most of us that is made up of many different colours and layers that are complex and help to make us who we are. It is an umbrella term that can include whatever you like. *Confidentiality, Consent and Respect (CCR) are at the core of this column. Please keep this in mind when responding to this column.

The edges of round: sexual awakening

I had a childhood friend who had long brown, pin straight hair, far-reaching legs and olive skin. She was tall, graceful, feminine and stunning. She was the complete opposite of me and had always seemed more mature.

We lived three minutes away from each other in a small community in Toronto.

Looking back at our friendship I don’t know if we ever had anything in common.

She taught me how to kiss and I taught her how to climb trees. She showed me how to put on lipstick and I showed her how to jump off swings.

As we grew up, we grew further apart.

My family moved to another city and we started to realize we didn’t have much to talk about. So when we did visit each other in our early teens we resorted to sexual creativity. We showed each other how we masturbated and she talked to me about

Programme profile: aging radically

By Hayley Raymond

The following is a brief interview that took place on March 2, at Trent Radio between myself and the hosts of “Aging Radically,” Melissa Baldwin and Maddy Macnab.

Can you describe your radio show to people who may not have heard it?

Melissa: So, it’s called Aging Radically, and a way that we’ve started to describe it is that it’s a show about finding the voices of older women who are working for change in the community.

It’s also about creating a space for intergenerational dialogue, because both of us are young women and both of us are really interested in making connections across generations in talking about social justice.

Maddy: So the way it plays out is that every week we interview a woman who has been doing work for change in Peterborough in various capacities, and we just have a conversation with them.

Is Aging Radically related at all to your studies at Trent?

Melissa: We’re both Masters students in

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Canadian and indigenous studies, but I worked for a couple years as a research assistant on a project talking to older women activists across North America.

So working through that really made me interested in the ways in which older women are engaged in social justice, and also in how that can be surprising to people because we have this single narrative of young people being involved in activism.

Maddy: My research is kind of connected; I’ve been interested in oral history. Before I came back to school I was working with and gathering oral histories of migration stories, so I came here with an interest in immigration and oral history.

My research is going to be about the origins of the New Canadian Centre, and it does have a lot to do with gender as well, because the folks involved as volunteers, board members and staff of that organization have always overwhelmingly been women. So that’s another version of advocacy work in the Peterborough community that is focused around women, but my introduction to the topic has mainly been through Melissa and through May [Chazin], the professor that she worked with, and through their networks of

amazing women.

Can you explain why these kinds of discussions would be important?

Melissa: Well, for me, and also where May Chazin’s research comes in, is that older women are often depicted in a very particular way in society.

Older women are seen as frail, marginalized, inconsequential or apolitical. All of these are very patronizing kind of ways that we represent older women, and I think that stories of older women being pivotal members of the community, being movers and shakers in social change work aren’t often told.

Maddy: And I mean radio is amazing because it’s so accessible and it’s a technology that is familiar across generations. It’s been around for a long time and it has staying power, obviously. It’s intimate and it’s personal, so I think it’s really suited to telling stories that might sometimes be missing from the mainstream media.

Another thing I’ve found is even just approaching women to be on the show is an act in itself of recognizing them, because many of them might not even define the work they do as activism or advocacy.

Again, there are narrow definitions of what counts as activism. Someone who’s doing what they may consider quieter work or not, such as protests in the streets, maybe they think, “Oh, I’m not a social change advocate.” Asking them questions sparks really interesting conversations, giving them space to consider what they do as a significant thing has been cool.

Melissa: And one of the interesting things, too, is that we take recordings of every show and we send those recordings to the women who were interviewed so they can keep them or give them to their kids or share them around their networks, but we have also been able to put them up on the Trent Centre for Aging and Society website.

So it’s kind of neat because not only are their voices amplified through the radio waves, but there’s this little archive that we have of all of the women sharing their stories with us.

Tune into Trent Radio (92.7 FM on your radio dial or available for streaming at trentradio.ca) on Wednesdays from 11:30a.m. to 12 p.m. to catch Aging Radically with Melissa Baldwin and Maddy Macnab!

Women’s Issue

Panel discussion tackles the big issues in politics All photos by Samantha Moss

By Jordan Porter

In light of International Women’s Day, two Trent alumni took it upon themselves to take the international day to new heights in Peterborough.

On March 4, Arthur co-editor Zara Syed and former Arthur editor Sara Ostrowska organized a panel discussion to raise awareness and provide a safe space for discussion surrounding women and minorities in Canadian politics.

The event was titled Gendered Voices in a Changing World, and it was heartwarming to see the level of interest for this event.

Over one hundred people – young, old, black, white, brown, male, female and everything in between – took their seats or found some space at the back of the jam-packed Bagnani Hall that evening to listen to the seven panelists from just about every cultural denomination.

The panel consisted of MP Maryam Monsef, Town Councilor Diane Therrien, Prof. Nadine Changfoot, Betelhem Wondimu, Shanese Steele, D Dmuchowski, and Erin McLaughlin.

Each panelist brought a unique and fresh perspective of a wide range of minority interests, as well as stories from their own past that influenced them to create a change in the political sphere and be a part of the change movement.

Syed and Ostrowska, in a publication sent into the Trent Alumni newsletter, commented on what inspired them to go through with the daunting task of organizing such a powerful event.

“As a team, [we] were inspired to run this event because of [our] involvement in a previous panel event called, “Women in Politics: A Roadmap” led by Betsy McGregor.

“Though [we] saw this panel as a tremendous step in working towards a

better world for politics, [we] immediately noticed a lack of diverse voices and wanted to run a similar event that was more comprehensive and relevant to the modern political landscape of Canada.

“Gendered Voices in a Changing World was a critical discussion about intersectional feminism, the gender gap in politics, how these gender gaps affect our everyday seemingly non-political lives, health and well-being, gender equality in academic settings and how minorities can make change (through and without government).”

Arthur had a chance to connect with number of audience members following the event in order to get a community perspective of how they believed the event materialized.

Laura Greenwood, a graduate student in the cultural studies PhD program at Trent, and a six-year political studies teaching assistant veteran, spoke with us regarding the panel event.

“In attending an event about gender and politics, I was glad that the discussion went beyond thinking about “capital P politics” or electoral/government politics alone.

“While it can be valuable to take note of, for example, under-representation at various levels of government, this doesn’t exhaust the many issues that pertain to ‘Gendered Voices in a Changing World’ and addressing electoral politics alone doesn’t offer ways to really, truly address the many systems of oppression that exist today – far from it,” said Greenwood.

She elaborated on her point by going deeper into how this conversation was a refreshing dive into an under-represented area of the political sphere.

“The discussion drew attention to social movements, including Black Lives Matter and Idle No More, and focused attention on the interrelation and intersections

of a myriad of forms of oppression, including heteropatriarchy, cissexism, racism, colonialism, ableism, capitalism, and more, which are absolutely crucial connections to make.

“None of these systems of oppression operate in isolation or independently from one another, so it is impossible to really meaningfully challenge any one system of oppression on its own.

“It is crucial to truly listen to and center the voices and experiences of those who are most impacted in thinking about approaching these struggles.”

The Trent community is one that harbors ideas and conversations such as this.

The fact that there was such a large and supportive turnout for open dialogue on these topics only reinforces that statement.

These are conversations that allow us to voice our opinions on the direction government reform should be headed, as the democratic model was intended for.

These sorts of panel discussions allow us a safe intellectual space where we are free to continuously challenge the “way things always have been.”

Greenwood leaves us with a powerful message of the discourse for the future.

“It’s crucial to continually discuss and act in fighting against and dismantling oppression in everything we do, which includes identifying ways in which we have failed, in order to better confront oppressive power dynamics moving forward.

“While eliminating oppression and violence and discrimination and exclusion are goals, it’s important to never allow the idea that we’ve had a moment of success to prevent us from continuing to combat them.

“A fruitful discussion can contribute to furthering these goals, but ongoing action beyond any one conversation is needed. I hope that many conversations contributed to in the context of this event continue to happen going forward.”

The hashtag #ChangingPolitics was used to live tweet the event. For those that missed it, the discussion can still be found on Twitter.

Ostrowska and Syed hope to keep the conversation going about how we can continue to change the discourse surrounding politics.

Volume 50 | Issue 19 | March 14| 2016

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The first Troy Bordun visiting Canadian filmmaker: Bruce LaBruce

Photo by Samantha Moss

By Troy Bordun

I am so pleased with the turnout, audience reception, participation and conversation for the first Troy Bordun Visiting Canadian Filmmaker.

Thanks to the sponsorship of Trent Film Society, Traill College, Canadian studies and the Frost Centre, English, cultural studies, gender and women’s studies, Trent Graduate Student Association, Trent Queer Collective, Peterborough Pride and BE Catering, I was able to bring internationally renowned filmmaker Bruce LaBruce to Peterborough.

On Feb. 25, several of us began at BE Catering for a delicious dinner. We then held a screening of LaBruce’s newest feature film Gerontophilia (2013) at Market Hall, and Dr. Ger Zielinski (Researcher at the Frost Centre) facilitated a Q&A with the director.

To end the night we headed to Catalina’s and The Barbeside for a screening of a few of LaBruce’s short films as well as some conversation.

The next morning LaBruce hosted a seminar at Traill College. The visit was

capped with another fantastic meal, this time courtesy of The Trend. The screening and seminar were extremely engaging and audiences hopefully learned much about Gerontophilia and LaBruce’s decades-long career.

LaBruce has spent most his career working on underground films.

What started as a series of fun filmmaking projects in the late 1980s has now grown to mainstream proportions with Gerontophilia. During the post-film Q&A, LaBruce described his desire to work in the mainstream while also maintaining themes he has been exploring throughout his oeuvre, such as homosexual desire, fetishes and anti-sexual identity politics.

Gerontophilia explores homosexuality through sexual fluidity rather than gay identity.

He defines Gerontophilia as “Lolita in reverse.” By definition the title of the film would be the love of old persons. This is precisely 18-year-old Lake’s (PierreGabriel Lajoie) fetish.

In this genre film, a romantic comedy unfolds as Lake begins a relationship with 82-year-old Melvyn Peabody.

The multifaceted Walter Borden –

recipient of the Order of Canada, a former Black Panther, a long-time gay activist and performer at Stratford – gives a charming performance as Mr. Peabody and develops a touching onscreen, and off-screen, relationship with Lajoie.

LaBruce stated in addition to wanting to work in the mainstream, he thought to also make a distinctly Canadian film.

Gerontophilia transparently takes place in the streets of Montreal and at various locales in Niagara Falls.

The characters are also superbly Canadian: Lake is a young FrenchCanadian, his mom is hilarious Quebecois and his girlfriend is likely a caricature of a leftist Ontario young adult trying to make it in the arty city of Montreal.

LaBruce mentioned that Gerontophilia has had both critical and box office success outside of Canada, particularly in France.

This may be because the film is partially in French and also deals with taboo subject matter; French cinema is not shy of sexual taboos.

Moreover, Gerontophilia is distributed in a number of other countries and is available on Netflix (and our local library – go check it out).

On Friday morning LaBruce presented clips for discussion from a number of works made in the 21st century. He was wonderfully selective with clips from The Raspberry Reich (2004), Otto (2008, his first gay zombie film) and a recent short film based on one of his theatrical productions in Germany, The Bad Breast.

Further, at the seminar LaBruce had the opportunity to discuss his practice and his politics.

There were conversations about psychoanalysis, homosexuality, bisexuality and revolutionary politics.

The director discussed his undergraduate studies and Masters Studies and their respective influence on his work, film criticism and reception, feminism and transgender issues, and zombies and sexuality, among many other topics.

The seminar ended with LaBruce’s future plans.

In April he heads to Berlin to make an underground film. This fictional work turns the director away from his usual focus on men.

The new film tells the story of “lesbian separatist essentialist terrorists.” The film is entitled The Misandrist.

These fictional women engage with second-wave feminism and envision a utopia without men. A straight, leftist radical man then accidentally infiltrates their group. The film will continue to pursue politics and sexuality in line with other films in LaBruce’s oeuvre.

On the other hand, LaBruce confessed how scary it will be to make a movie about feminism. He has good intentions though, but like any artwork, the film will be subject to criticism.

LaBruce will work alongside feminist friends to produce the best film possible.

Visit trentarthur.ca for excerpts of the seminar.

First annual Artspace Book and Zine Fest

By Troy Bordun

The first Artspace Book and Zine Fest was held on Feb. 27. Vendors from Toronto to Ottawa all fit in Gallery 1. The space was packed with artists, curious patrons and shoppers.

It seemed appropriate that I go sans notebook to the Book and Zine Fest. I was certain one of the 25 vendors would have a notebook right for me.

Beth Rose of Grace Notes Press caught my attention. Her handmade books, journals and photo albums use various types of papers from around the world. I purchased a small journal decorated with faint imprints of leaves and acorns on its off-white cover. Notepad in hand, I was ready to visit the 24 other vendors.

Jeff Macklin of Jackson Creek Press and Annie Jaeger came up with the idea for a book fest some years ago.

Macklin brings his arts to Toronto and Ottawa fairs, but a paper-based ephemera event was missing in Peterborough.

Macklin and Jaeger didn’t know what to expect for their first Peterborough Fest.

The turnout, however, was overwhelmingly positive. Due in no small part to the efforts of Macklin and Jaeger, Book and Zine Fest was a huge success.

Their event also benefitted from the traffic attending the Folk Folly, and the fabulous weather.

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The vendors were comprised of zine newbies and paper-based ephemera veterans. Skylar Ough and Avery Morris were two vendors new to the craft.

They decided to rent a table and then began making various pieces of art, from small watercolor stickers (that sold out!) to zines. The two described the process as a good learning experience.

Two vendors produced ephemera relating to what they call a “people’s history.” The folks at Just Seeds, comprised of members from Canada, U.S. and Mexico, design prints and posters relating to various forms of activism, social movements and social justice.

The Graphic History Collective produces comics dealing with the oftenunderrepresented side of Canadian history, from labor movements to feminism.

They recently produced the Little Red Colouring Book, which features drawn portraits of underappreciated women who struggled for labor justice, such as Helen Armstrong.

Local artist Joel William Davenport, fresh from a recent exhibition at Evans Contemporary, had a table for his unmistakable prints, playing cards and zines.

The local Drawing Club was also selling their zines. The Drawing Club (2nd chapter) meets every week at The Only to collaborate on cartoons. Kevin’s zines

express a “march… towards oblivion,” and Alex Bell’s zines focus on nature, particularly his interest in freshwater zooplankton.

In addition to the Grace Notes Press journals, Nicole Armour of Prince Edward County produces similar hand-bound ephemera. She uses her own covering materials and employs painting, marbling, printmaking, dyes and embroidery.

Two masters of print-based ephemera attended the Fest. Hugh Barclay started Thee Hellbox Press in 1981, and has produced 70 one-of-a-kind letterpress books of living authors.

Barclay said he wanted to print works of living authors because the reader could, if so desired, begin a dialogue with the author in question. He was deeply passionate about his books and prints.

Larry Thompson of Greyweathers Press was perhaps the most impressive vendor.

Similar to Barclay, Thompson produces handprint letterpress books.

However, Thompson is much more interested in the classics of literature and poetry. He has also produced engravings that are prominently featured in recent publications.

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto has taken such a great interest in Thompson’s work that they’ve agreed to purchase an edition of every future book printed by

Greyweathers.

Aside from the vendors, Patrick Moore led a workshop called Reimagining the Book. In this workshop Moore showed participants how to cut, fold and rearrange pages from old books to produce small sculptures.

Moore noted that some may take issue with his destruction of books. He showed me the box of old books from a local high school and also the titles ripped from them.

Indeed, old Canadian history books and the language used to describe the peoples and happenings from our nation’s past are obsolete. Our use for colonialist history has run out.

Moore’s sculptures and other repurposed book arts turn these pieces of trash into (individually) worthwhile objects.

Jon Lockyer, the director of Artspace, shared sentiments similar to Macklin’s on the event. “[It was] great to see such an eclectic mix of vendors who are both local and from abroad. We didn’t know what to expect, but our expectations were [nevertheless] greatly exceeded.”

Macklin and Lockyer look forward to next year’s installment.

Troy Bordun is a Board Member at Artspace.

arts

Wander to Artspace to understand your identity

Meryl McMaster, Dream Catcher, 32” x 66”, 2015, Archival Pigment Print on Watercolour Paper

By Dan Morrison

March 4 saw the opening of Artspace’s newest exhibition, Wanderings, a new body of artwork by Meryl McMaster.

The Ottawa-based artist explores her relationship to “cultural identity within the larger framework of historical and contemporary identity politics, using sculpture, photography and performance.”

McMaster describes the body of art as “exploring themes of wandering, exploring the unknown and also contemplating the possibilities and limitations of the self.”

A red thread runs through each of the images, representing the connection we have to where we come from and that this connection is a constant part of us, forming us in ways that we are not aware of.

While considering this, McMaster wants to bring us back to the almost “childlike experiences” that she depicts, which are “very dream-like and imaginative.”

This is to remind us of a time when we had limitless ideas of who we might want to be or where we would want to go.

It works and it works well.

In contrast the Artspace’s previous exhibition Central East Correctional Centre, which was more imposing, there is, as curator Jon Lockyer said, “more narrative in the way it is set up.”

With each image you are drawn in to each and every detail, images that are abstract enough to entice you without putting you off. With this, McMaster’s aim to bring us back to “childlike experiences” also peaks a childlike curiosity, stimulating a barrage of one’s own wonderings about identity.

McMaster has come to see identity as something that is “never complete,” shaped by internal and external factors and to be treated subjectively.

Her own lineage is indigenous and European, her father is Plains Cree and her mother is British and Dutch. At the

centre of this new work is the history of the relationship and interactions between First Nations peoples and European settlers, which has produced very different identities.

As Lockyer explains in Meryl McMaster: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost, the works in Wanderings should be viewed as part of a fictional world McMaster has created, rather than to view the images individually.

This works as a parallel world, at the centre of which is “McMaster’s own contemplations of the limitations of selfhood.”

Further, Lockyer describes how the characters McMaster creates advance the discourse of “Indigenous self-representation,” as the characters wander freely and inhibit spaces that McMaster’s own self cannot.

For Lockyer, the exhibition speaks to the contemporary reality of indigenous people, particularly that “navigating identity is a huge part of being indigenous in

Canada, being both inside and outside this culture.”

In tackling the representation of indigenous identity, McMaster is “part of a long tradition of indigenous artists working at the intersection of photo and performance-based practices.”

McMaster is present in each image, helping to personalise ever more a very personal account of identity, which helps pull you into wondering about your own identity, but particularly about indigenous identity in modern Canada.

McMaster sees having art in public spaces like this as necessary to reaching outside of the art world, so that more people can engage with the art and the issues it tackles.

In this, more people can think about identity in their own way, giving them new ideas and ways of thinking about the world; Artspace is a great spot for this.

The exhibition runs until April 8, you should really go check it out.

Sounds from the void: Deathsticks EP & demo review

By Tyler Majer

Deathstick’s self-titled, debut EP was released in September 2015.

The band’s original line up included Matt Post on vocals, and Evan Moore on drums. They are affiliated with Peterborough record label Not Quite.

The record label also presents Watershed Hour, a Peterborough band consisting of the Mononymous Natalie and Laura Klinduch.

The record label Not Quite seems to be a sort of brainchild between Natalie, Klinduch and Post, as all music and related acts consist of some sort of combination of the three.

This first EP runs a modest 17 minutes.

Seventeen minutes, being a relatively short amount of time, seems almost inadequate to cover or evoke any emotion from the listener.

However, there is something about Deathsticks’ sound that does evoke a very in-your-face kind of emotion.

This emotion, for lack of a better word, is the emotion of being empty. Every song plays into the theme of nothingness, nihilism and existentialism. The songs do

not provide much variation in the way of ‘sound.’

Each song almost blends into the next with Post’s echoed rockabilly-style howls and yells.

The drumming is clumsy, and sometimes offbeat. The tempo slows and speeds up with no regard for the listener’s internal clock. It’s almost as if, in Deathsticks’ world, there is no time.

The lyrics, if there are any actual lyrics, are impossible to interpret, but rather Post’s voice breaks through a cloud of malaise to scream some sort of inward indication of pain, and then subsides back into the darkness.

This process goes on in a sort of loop, or spiral, of nihilist dreariness. Their sound seems to be covered in a layer of fuzz. Literal fuzz.

The genre itself is hard to pin down.

The Facebook page for the band calls their sound “Power Slop” and “Garage-Noise Rock.” Those descriptions seemingly come from a sort of post-punk aesthetic.

Elements of punk, post-punk and grunge can be heard in the distortion of the guitars and the general fuck-it, fuck-you and fuck-off style. Deathsticks’ music exists

within a genre that many musicians would be apprehensive to play.

This genre is without a name. It is blend of punk, grunge, noise and lo-fi. It is a genre in which the musicians themselves do not care about classification and, also seemingly, do not care if you even listen to the music itself.

The EP bumps along with this theme of malaise that is set up in the first few minutes. Around the six-minute mark, at the beginning of the song ‘Romp,’ the listener is put into a trance.

The wall of distortion and post-produced destruction trudges steadily along.

Almost patterned breaks of vocals are heard, but in general the sound is very simple. The sound is very simple because it is just noise.

Music doesn’t matter. Noise is all that matters. Noise embodies all that we are, and all that we are is an overwhelming blend of disappointment, malaise and anxiety.

The album slows down slightly near the end with the songs ‘Bark Bark’ and ‘Crimes of the Future,’ but the theme of a hopeless void is completed, just as it started.

The same themes are carried on in

Deathsticks’ demo fittingly titled ‘Demosticks,’ which was released in January.

Post is still on vocals here, but Klinduch replaces Moore on the drums. The sound is a little more polished, the void a little less dense and the dark and dreary do not envelope the listener as much.

However, that is not to say there is less emotion. This is quite the contrary.

Raw emotion seems to be what Deathsticks embodies; a raw, and visceral emotion that can only be expressed through noise, malaise and horror.

Throughout both of Deathsticks’ releases, it is these emotions that terrify and please the listener and slowly, but surely suck you in.

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Snowdance: Trent Film Society’s first ever film festival

By Amy Jane Vosper

Trent Film Society has been experiencing a wonderfully successful year. After being contacted by several filmmakers and local artists, we knew that we wanted to offer an event through which to showcase the short, independent films that are being produced in our community.

We threw around ideas, contemplating pairing up with other groups or organizations to make such an event possible.

But ultimately, we knew that this was something that we wanted to offer to the city, something we should put together ourselves.

As soon as we began discussing it, we felt an excited energy building. People wanted to know when and how to submit their films.

People are asking about the festival long before we were ready to announce it, so we knew we were putting together something special.

And thus, the Snowdance Film Festival was born. Snowdance, an obvious reference to the Sundance Film Festival, was meant as both a humourous title, but also an allusion to our Canadian heritage and springtime in Peterborough.

While none of us have had any prior experience putting together a film festival, we knew that this would be a wonderful opportunity for Trent Film Society.

We decided early on that if it were a flop, we would laugh it off and not repeat the same mistake.

We grew anxious that we would not receive many submissions or that people would not be interested in the event. We knew we were taking a chance; the entirety of the planning felt tentative.

However, it was a thrilling risk and we strongly felt that it had great potential for success. We put out our call for films, booked Market Hall, and then waited with bated breath. We assured one another that it was a small risk; if it didn’t work out it wasn’t the end of the world.

But inside, we were eagerly hoping for something spectacular. Then, it happened.

Someone submitted their film!

We were overcome with relief - Snowdance would happen, even if we only had one film!

Then, another came in. And another!

Soon, filmmakers were submitting several

of their films. We were ecstatic; a substantial number of artists wanted to be a part of our film festival. People were enthusiastically contacting us to find out more about the festival.

It was no longer tentative… Snowdance was happening and it was going to be a supported by a host of talented artists!

After watching all the submissions, we were challenged with the task of choosing our favourites. We discussed the films, arguing for our preferences and painstakingly conforming to our time restraints.

Finally, we curated our top picks and we were ready to announce the films that would be shown at our first ever Snowdance Film Festival.

We were so excited to contact our filmmakers and share the good news.

Snowdance Film Festival will be held at Market Hall on March 16. The doors will open at 7p.m., and people are encouraged to join us for a pre-screening reception with a cash bar and free snacks, as our filmmakers informally mingle and talk about their work.

At 8p.m., we will begin screening the films, and then we will host a small award ceremony to celebrate the best contributions.

But everyone is a winner with our festival. The event will be free, as always, so please bring your friends and family to support your local artist community.

The short films in the festival will cover a wide range of topics and styles. We have a mysterious science fiction thriller by Matthew Hayes entitled Milkweed.

Angel Hamilton’s film Angel’s Bike is a documentary-style film with a fascinating local perspective.

We will screen an independent zombie film based on an underground Montreal comic entitled Pro-Can. Kirsten Johnson’s Dollface is sure to delight and amuse audiences. We even have experimental films created by local students at Trent University.

These are just a few films that will be screened at Snowdance this spring. Join us at Market Hall and be sure to reach out and tell us which films were your favourites. Which films spoke to you, which films inspired you, which filmmakers are you most excited to see again next year!

For us, this is the first Snowdance Film Festival, but we intend to make this a yearly event.

Trent Fashion Show raises money for charity

By Ugyen Wangmo

“FIERCE” The final runway of the annual Trent Fashion Show (TFS) for year 2015/16 brought together over hundreds of supporters to raise funds for a charity.

In conjunction, the first annual look book of TFS was also launched. The book, which is also another means to raise funds, will be available for the entire month of March for a donation of $5 each.

“With each passing year, we grow bigger and perform better,” said Reba Harrison, director of TFS. The final show was themed FIERCE, it was called so to celebrate self-love, body positivity and self confidence, said Harrison, which is “a core value of the group.”

The show was a success, informed Harrison, as she painted the general ambience and energy from the night.

The response of the audience was in agreement with the theme of the night. They didn’t hold back, but with confidence shouted out their appreciation of and contentment with the show. The reaction received further established the theme, all the while supporting the local charity group, said Harrison.

The runway channelled models that were

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thoroughly inclusive and reflective of the real society and the local community.

They showcased local retailers and works of local designers, namely Gear Punk’d, Style

by Keren, Blackbird Pie, RW & CO., House of Sass and Magic, Thin City Skate shop and No Regrets.

In addition, a stand up comedy act by Kristal Jones and a fire dance performance

by Thomas Vaccaro from the PyroFlys also graced the event.

The bold hair styles of the models, topped off with exaggerated volume, was created by the talents of hairstylists, namely Roy Fung, Brianne Bartlett, Leigh Kasaboski, Crystal Vanderlinde, Mikeela Skellekie, Samantha Banton and stylists from Fandango Salon and Spa. Fierce, daring looks fully flushed with adventure and confidence were the work of makeup artists, such as Megan Mcilvenna, Cindy Campos, Hila Yasini, Tristan Cruise, Coral Brandenburg, Madi Chin and Samantha Banton.

The music for the night was ministered by James Higgins.

The show vendors in support of the night were Raising the Roof by Runners Life, Jamberry Nails with Julie Ellis, Butterfly

Dreams by Denise, and Burnin’ Beads by Kira.

Adding to the charm of the night was a raffle entry to win prizes sponsored by ARIA, Riley’s Pub, Amuse Café, Anne Shirley Theatre Company, RW &CO., Jamberry Nails and Thin City Skate Shop, among many others.

The annual Trent Fashion Show is a studentbased charity group, working tirelessly with a dedicated mission to raise funds for charity groups within the Peterborough community.

TFS also support local talents, fashion, artist and businesses through runway shows and events.

The YES Shelter for Youth and Families on Brock Street is the organization that money raised by TFS through events and workshops goes to.

Leading to the final walk on the runway of the year, TFS had already organized two fashion shows: ”Autumn Rush” and “Candy,” all in the interest of the YES shelter. An interactive workshop, titles “Self Love,” that discussed body image and how to fall in love with natural self, was also a part of this years effort.

The total cumulative funds collected by Trent Fashion Show through all the events of

the 2015/16 academic year is scheduled to be presented to the YES Shelter for Youth and Families on April 1.

listings Clubs & Groups Trent Ukelele Club: Practices are Fridays at 2pm in the Champlain JCR. Bring ideas for music and activities you want to do throughout the year. There will be FREE PIZZA! Bring your ukulele if you have one and there are extras if you don’t. Ukulele club perks include- ukuleles, free lunches at the seasoned spoon on Fridays whenever you go there to jam, usually snacks or pizza, stress relief, amazing quirky friends, a non-judgemental safe space, as well as HAPPINESS and JOY that follows ukulele playing and the ability to spread it

Sadleir House

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.

The OPIRG Free Market. Wednesdays 3-5pm, Thursday & Fridays 1-5pm. Located in the basement of Sadleir House, right across from the Food Cupboard at 751 George St. N. Thanks to the dedication of OPIRG volunteers, the Free Market and Food Cupboard are open several days a week, year round.

We now have a drop off bin permanently located at the entrance of Bata Library. When you have clothes, household goods, books or non perishable food…drop them off in the Free Market bin at Bata library, Trent University or bring them to the basement of Sadleir House. All items will end up in the Free Market, to be given away at no cost to whoever needs the items.

Improv Class with Matt Davidson: Wednesday, 7pm-8:30pm. Want to try improv?

Come out to Intro to Improv for Wednesday night drop in classes. Improv is fun, come out and join in! (Please note that this is a drop-in space, so while you’re more than welcome and encouraged to come for the entire two hours, you’re also more than welcome to stop by for a shorter time!) Adults: $10 Students $5 Babe-lesque: Thursday March 17, 6pm-8pm.

Into to Babe-Lesque is a class for anyBODY. The class is designed to teach the fundamentals of classic burlesque all while helping to develop of a love and appreciation for your own beautiful body. This is an eight-week class, running on Thursday evenings at 6pm starting on Feb. 25th at Sadleir House. Cost is $80 for all eight weeks, or $15 drop-in rate.

TO REGISTER: Simply send an e-mail to burlesque.PTBO@gmail.com with your name, the level of class and your request to join.

SUDOKU

Full Metal Booty Noise Jam. At the Jolly Hangman Pub Night. Recreating the cultural hub that was the Peter Robinson College Pub, The Jolly Hangman, Sadleir House hosts a pub night each Thursday night of the academic year in our Dining Hall with different student and community groups

co-hosting each week. We’ve had latin & swing dance nights, open mics, bluegrass concerts and more! Thursday March 17 9pm Friday March 18, 12am at Sadleir House.

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@trentu.ca to pre-book a walk.

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.

Do you find your class readings overwhelming? Could you use a little help organizing your study time? The Academic Skills Centre is the best place to come to get your daily academic life under control! Book an appointment online through your Student Experience Portal at trentu.ca/sep. Click on “Book Appointments” and select “Academic Skills”. We’re located at Suite 206 in Champlain College and our services are always free!​

Trent Seasoned Spoon Workshop: Vermicomposting.

Do you want to learn how to make your own fertilizer that is organic, frugal and fun? Worm composting has become a popular gardening hobby. In this workshop learn all about Red Wiggler worm composting including how to feed them, care for them and apply their compost. If you’re interested in natural and sustainable gardening, this may just be the workshop for you. There is also opportunity to purchase worms and composting kits if you choose. $10 extra for red wiggler worms $15 extra for composting kit (includes worms, composting bin & bedding). 5pm to 7pm on Wednesday March 16 at Champlain College.

Enlightened Undead: Automummification in Japanese Buddhism. Is it possible to meditate though mummified? To save lives and heal the sick after death? This talk explores the possibility of vitality in death, the ultimate paradox, by considering Buddhist mummies in northeastern Japan. These mummies, in times of drought, famine, and pandemic, are said to have achieved enlightened consciousness and immortality through the willful mummification of their bodies.

Having entered their own tombs hundreds of years ago, today these mummies are treated as living Buddhas with protective, healing powers. Presenter Shayne Dahl recently returned from studying Japanese mountain asceticism, which included pilgrimages to temples where these mummies are venerated. Thursday March 17, 5pm to 6:30pm.

send yours to listings@trentarthur.ca

Phantom of the Opera: Cultural Outreach 2016. Saturday March 19. 2:00pm-4:00pm, 7:00pm-9:00pm. $20.00 at Showplace. TISA’s annual Cultural Outreach performance, The Phantom of the Opera, is an exciting night of traditional performances from Trent’s international students. Tickets are available at the Trent International Program office, the Trent Central Student Association office, at the Trent International Students’ Association office, or at the door.

Trent Northern Studies Colloquium: a oneday event dedicated to showcasing, discussing, and celebrating Trent’s excellence in northern research! This day is about Trent University students presenting their research and ideas and providing a forum for students from all disciplines to share and learn from each other. The event is FREE and OPEN to everyone from the Trent University and Peterborough Community. We encourage you to stop by when you have an open moment in your day, and to join us for a captivating talk at our evening event!

The evening event will include the keynote address from Dr. James Raffan. Student Presentations from 8:30am-4:00pm at Gathering Space, Gzowski College, Symons Campus. Evening Keynote Address & Dinner with Dr. James Raffan from 7:00pm- 9:00pm at the Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan.

Peterborough Museum & Archives presents:

Local Ornamenting the Ordinary: Crafts from South Asia is an exhibition on loan from the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) on display from Dec. 19, 2015 – March 27. This exhibition brings together the craft traditions of South Asia. Most of the objects are taken from the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum. They include ornate decoration such as woodcarving and enameled metalwork; others are objects without decoration whose overall shape, line and colour convey a sense of design that is aesthetically pleasing itself.

Free Nights at the Canoe Museum: Thursdays, 5pm-8pm. Tour starting at 7pm. on’t miss out on this unique opportunity to visit this amazing collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft absolutely FREE! Watch for Upcoming Events listings for news and dates for seasonal holiday activities on select Thursday evenings at canoemuseum.ca/upcoming-events.

Wednesday Writing Workshop hosted by Peterborough Poetry Slam: Sadleir House every other Wednesday from 7pm-9pm. Free of charge, and hosted by various members of the Peterborough Poetry Collective.

Come out to reflect on time and for an opportunity to share your words with a small group if you so choose.

Repair Cafe Peterborough: At the Spill March 19, 3pm-6pm. Accompanied with some friends form the Peterborough Tool Library. Come out to learn more about this new community resource, while getting broken stuff fixed. We can help you: debug your computer, sew the button back on your winter jacket, glue the handle on your favorite coffee mug, clean the connections in your toaster, rewire your lamp, amp, or vacuum cleaner, and more!

Thursday

Strike Out Immigration Detention: Have fun, be silly, and get a bit of exercise while contributing to a campaign to fund the TRAPP (phone) line- ensuring that immigration detainees held at the Lindsay Superjail can call to speak to family, legal teams and community allies. You pay $15 for two hours of bowling and shoes... and End Immigration Detention Peterborough raises $7/person. Fun, right? RSVP to endimmigrationdetentionptbo@gmail.com,or rsvp on facebook (but only if you’re really bowling please) to let us know you’re bowling or just show up on the night of all the fun. Silly costumes, bowling names and banter welcome. “Prizes” awarded. At Lakeview Bowl, 6:30-9:00pm.

Arts Trent Film Society Presents Snowdance Film Festival: This short film festival will feature original films created by local filmmakers. These films range from documentary to experimental, from informative to fantasy. Filmmakers from the community have entered their work and we will choose our favourites to be screened at a special screening at Market Hall. Doors at 7pm.

As always, this event is 100% free!

Jesse Foster, Reiki Share, Howie Sutherland, and the Lazy Confessions: At the Garnet on March 22. Doors at 9. The man with the plan for this was Reiki Share. This is going to be his first show in Peterborough and he has brought some very kind new and not as new acquaintances along for this night of sharing, caring, guitar caressing, and hopefully goofiness! The night is $5//PWYC. Before We Arrive: Story of the Weber Brothers. Since the premiere at Reframe, a lot of people have still been wanting to see the film in Peterborough, so here’s another chance! Tickets go on sale Feb. 29, and will be available at The Market Hall and/or Moondance, or at the door.

TUMS Battle of the Bands: The Trent University Music Society is delighted to present our 2016 BATTLE OF THE BANDS, featuring a selection of Peterborough’s finest student/alum bands. Doors are at 7:30, music at 8, and admission is FREE. Located at the Red Dog. Moonfruits and Lotus Wright: A toe-tapping, star-gazing folk pop adventure at Gallery in the Attic, with the earnest and irresistible folk sounds of Ottawa husbandand-wife duo Moonfruits. Joining them will be LOTUS WIGHT, a banjo player and lover of folk history, best known from beloved group Sheesham and Lotus. March 18 at 7:30.

Cousins//The Lonely Parade//Joyfultalk: Head to The Garnet and check out COUSINS, The Lonely Parade, and Joyfultalk March 21 at 9pm, $8.

Live Music with Ellen Froese and Kendall Sullivan: Come out for an evening of soulful, hip-swinging folk music at Gallery in the Attic, with two excellent singer-songwriters: Sasktoon’s Ellen Froese Kooijenga (of In With The Old) and local musician Kendall Sullivan.$10 at the door on March 19!

Friday Friday

Saturday

•Toga! Toga! Toga Par- • Lucas Huang, Nick Zuty! @ The Garnet (9pm) beck, Joyful Joyful @ Catalina’s (9pm) • St. Patty’s Day with The Cadillacs and Wil- • Manitoba Hal @ St. lie Hamilton @ Tank- Pauls United Church House Pub (4pm) (9pm) • Briannah Cotton Tankhouse Pub (7pm)

This Weekend in Live Music: presented by ElectricCityLive.ca

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• TUMS Battle of the Bands @ Historic Downtown Peterbough (7:30) • Moonfruit and Lotus Wight @ Gallery in the Attic (7pm)

• Ellen Froese and Kendall Sullivan @ Gallery in the Attic (8:30pm) • 24h Music Project @ The Red Dog (10pm)