Issue 20 Volume 50

The Peterborough & Trent University

Independent Press

Volume 50 | Issue 20 | March 21, 2016

The Anne Shirley Theatre Company Presents: Heathers.

Flip to page 17 for coverage on this rollercoaster of a musical!

INside:

Photography by Samantha Moss

a look at college restructuring

Interview with ex-head of Colleges

The Benefits of forest bathing

save money, save lives

Contents Volume 50 | Issue 20 | March 21, 2016

Official masthead by Jackson Creek Press 751 George Street N • Suite 104 Peterborough, ON • K9H 3T2 tel: 705-745-3535 editors@trentarthur.ca • www.trentarthur.ca

Co-Editors Arthurwriters Yumna Leghari Zara Syed

Business Manager Jenna Pilgrim

Proofreader Gurki Bhullar

Photographer Samantha Moss

Betelhem Wondimu Adriana Sierra Tyler Majer Ugyen Wangmo Troy Bordun D Keith Hodder Jordan Porter Keila MacPherson Matthew Douglas

Board of Directors Chair: Keila MacPherson Secretaries: Zachary Cox • Member at Large: Natalie Guttormsson • Caleigh Boyle

Contributors • Jordan Porter • Ad Astra • Troy Bordun • Keith Hodder • Samantha Moss • Keila MacPherson • Reba Harrison • Tyler Majer • Ugyen Wangmo • Dan Morrison • Katherine Heigh • Alex Murphy • TUSC Writing Group • Leina Amatsuji-Berry D Dmuchowski• Pippa O’brien •OPIRG • • Adriana Sierra

• Matthew Douglas

Conributors are encouraged to attend our weekly story meetings(date TBA) at the Trend Pub at Traill College, or to contact the editors if considering submitting to an upcoming issue. Our email address is editors@trentarthur.ca.

Submission guidelines Articles Articles should be submitted via email to editors@ trentarthur.ca, in the body of the message, or as an *.rtf, *.doc, *.odt, or *.txt attachment. The body should be approximately 800 words. Listings, announcements, or briefs should not exceed 100 words. Feature pieces can be up to 2000, but must be arranged in advance with the editors.

Images Images should be submitted via email, Google Drive, Dropbox, or some other filesharing site. Please save as *.tif, with a dpi of no less than 300 pixels.

Letters Limit letters to the editors to 500 words. Letters longer than 500 words may be published but Arthur reserves the right to edit for length and clarity (but not content),

Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of Arthur staff, volunteers or its Board of Directors. Contributors are encouraged to attend the story meetings or contact the Editors to discuss story ideas. All article submissions are due Thursday at noon. Letters, Listings, Classifieds, and Events are due Thursday at noon and should be sent to listings@trentarthur.ca. Advertisers are encouraged to contact advertising@trentarthur.ca for ad rates and contracts.

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www.trentarthur.ca

Page 3- 5: Opinion

Page 12- 14: Community

• • • •

• Pg 12: Wall Call and All • Pg 13: Queer Collisions • Pg 14: Echo Studios

Pg 3: Letters to the Editor Pg 4: National Pharma Plan Pg 5:The benefits of nature therapy Pg 5: The Language of Monogamy

Page 6-11: Campus

• Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg

6: Student Traill Review 6:Overflow Art Gala 7: Northern Studies at Trent 7: Three Minute Thesis 7: Northern Studies at Trent 7: Three Minute Thesis

Pages 15- 16: Arts • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg • Pg

15: The Dirty Nil 15: Inspiration in Ink 16: The Numbers Game 16: Snowdance Film Festival 17: Heathers

Page 18: Sports

7: Embracing Difference 8: TMSA Grad Dinner 8: OPIRG Statement 9: Interview with Robin Lathangue 10-11: College Restructuring

• Pg 18: Trent Boxing Club

Page 19: Listings

Correction: An out- of- date Student- led Traill Review article was published in Issue 19. The correct one can be found on page 6 of this paper. Apologies for the mix up!

Letters to editors RE: A cure to mental illness Unable to vote in TCSA elections For the president of an organization that claims to adopt a holistic approach to mental health, Shawn Wallis is certainly oblivious to the biological components of many forms of mental illness.

His article “A cure to mental illness” demonstrates a profound and potentially dangerous misunderstanding of the etiology of mental illness. While it is true that many mental illnesses are triggered or primarily shaped by environmental factors, others, like my bipolar disorder are often inherited genetically.

Like my bipolar disorder, many mental illnesses are chronic, which means, contrary to Wallis’ assertions, that there is no cure for them, and no amount of positivity or resilience will change that. I will never not be bipolar. My symptoms may subside from time to time. I will have periods of stability. But I will never be cured.

This is something I have come accept, along with the fact that I will likely require psychiatric medications for the rest of my life. Despite Wallis’ laughably over-simplistic descriptions of neurotransmitters and neural pathways, my brain will never function the same way as the brain of a person without bipolar disorder.

I could and do work to change my habits (which is sometimes difficult because one of the symptoms of bipolar mania is poor impulse control) as Wallis urges, and I could and do try to think optimistically (and sometimes I’m a little too optimistic because another symptom of bipolar mania is over-confidence) as Wallis says I should.

But without medication, I simply cannot manage to function as a responsible adult.

Platitudes about positive thinking from people who clearly have no understanding of the wide array of experiences that

fall under the category of “mental illness” do nothing for people like me, but make us feel like we aren’t trying hard enough.

Placing the source of and remedy to mental illness solely in the hands of those living with it is disingenuous, and frankly, it contributes to the stigma that Wallis claims to be so against so stolidly.

Implicit in this line of thinking is the idea that those who are unable to manage their mental health concerns are simply not trying hard enough. It perpetuates the stereotype of mental illness as a moral failure on the part of the individual. Saying that “mental health…is how positive one is” blames the mentally ill for their illness.

What makes this article potentially dangerous is that Wallis, in his position as president of Trent Active Minds, has an air of authority, authority that he does not deserve. I have seen lives nearly ruined by well-meaning friends who have pressured others into going off of their medications.

By discounting the importance of neurological and psychopharmacological treatment for mental illness, Wallis does a great disservice to the community of students he purports to represent. Mental illness is more than anxiety and depression, though from this article you would not know that.

Wallis’ experiences, while valid for him, are not representative of the vast array of mental illnesses that exist in the Trent community.

The tone of his article combined with his spurious position of authority strongly suggests otherwise, which could mislead vulnerable students to similarly discard possibly life-saving medical interventions, and despair that they must simply not be thinking positive enough.

My name is Alex Murphy and I am currently a student at Trent University. Keep that in mind as you read this. Following the recent TCSA election I feel it is important to shed some light on the shady voter eligibility at Trent.

Over the last four months I have been deployed on a domestic operation with the Canadian Armed Forces. I won’t get into the details of the operation because they’re not relevant. However, it is important to understand that in order to participate I had to temporarily withdraw from classes at Trent. I am still a registered student at the university, but I will not be actively registered in any classes until the Fall 2016 semester.

Regarding the TCSA election that just occurred, I contacted Stephanie LaingMcKay on March 17, when I realized that I had not received an election ballot link in my Trent email inbox. I expressed my concern that I had not received the email, and provided my name, student number, etc... I received the following response: “Hi Alex, Thanks for reaching out. I have reviewed the Student Eligibility List that is provided by the university, and you are not included on it. Can you please confirm your student status with me (i.e. current undergraduate student on the Peterborough campus registered in courses)?

Best, Stephanie”

I replied: “Hi Stephanie, I’m not currently registered for any courses because I had to temporarily withdraw -Katherine Heigh due to a military deployment. However, I am still registered as a student at Trent University so I was under the impression that I am still eligible to vote.

Thanks, Alex Murphy” This is where things get interesting. The answer I receive regarding my student status goes as follows: “Hi Alex, Thank you for your quick response. I wish I had better news for you, but unfortunately, when you are on leave from the university your status as a registered student and TCSA member is suspended until your return. Suspension ceases your TCSA membership, and as such, you are unable to vote.

Please let me know if I can help with anything else.

Best, Stephanie” I was absolutely taken aback by what I read.

I have been a student at Trent for six years. I have paid student fees, been a member of the Trent University Emergency First Response Team (TUEFRT), and contributed to this community.

Yet, now, because I’m not registered in classes, I am ineligible to vote in an election that will have a direct impact on the fees I pay and the groups I’m a part of; not to mention the students I’m governed by.

What I find even more insulting is that I have paid student fees for the 2015-2016 year, yet my TCSA membership has been suspended. I haven’t seen a dime of my student fees reimbursed, yet I have had my membership revoked.

Why? Because I’m serving my country. The TCSA feels that because I am away, no matter the reason, I am ineligible to vote in their elections. I am being treated as a second-class student, expected to pay student fees for the 2016-2017 academic year when I had no say in them. This is taxation without representation, plain and simple.

I am disgusted by the TCSA and their handling of politics on campus, and I am appalled by the treatment of those that make up the TCSA’s constituency.

When all is said and done, I imagine this will fall on deaf ears at the university.

I gather it will be swept under the rug as if nothing ever happened, especially by the TCSA, an organization that has a history of underhanded election issues and sketchy policies.

However, in the hopes that it is not ignored, I implore Trent University and the TCSA to reexamine their elections, to rebuild the student government in such a way that students aren’t left behind and to ensure that every student matters regardless of their status…To make student elections about exactly that - students.

I thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you need any further information or have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at either this email address, or by phone at 705-927-0492.

Sincerely, Alex Murphy

Thank you to Freedom Delivery for your distribution services.

You can contact them for your distribution needs at : 905-531- 5564 luchetu@icloud.com Volume 50 | Issue 20 | March 21, 2016

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Opinion

A national pharmaceutical plan: save money, save lives

By TUSC Writing Group

If you ask Canadians what they think defines us, what we are proud of, one of the most common answers will be our health care.

The Canadian Health Act, established in 1984, outlines five core values guiding the distribution of healthcare for Canadians.

It is universal so all citizens may have it, it is portable so they may take it anywhere they want in the country, it is accessible so that every citizen has equal opportunity to reap the benefits of it, it is publicly administrated so it is accountable and it is comprehensive, so it covers everything that is medically necessary within a hospital.

While these tenets do serve as a good guide, they are unfortunately not realized effectively in actual practice due to the changing nature of medical care.

Specifically, we will address the ways that two of these values, comprehensiveness and accessibility, have fallen. Following the meeting of these values, we will explore the how we can increase our social efficiency in spending for health care, or the ways that we can get the most value for the money that we are spending.

Comprehensiveness Over the past decades there has been an endless wave of new technologies for health care, whether in vaccinations, in imaging machines or in genetic research we have seen biomedicine expanding its tools for combating diseases, old and new.

Coinciding with this, we have also seen what is known as an epidemiological shift, wherein the types of diseases that were most common have changed from acute illnesses to chronic illnesses.

An acute illness is that which is diagnosed, treated and is dealt with promptly; the typical pattern we may expect from a visit to the doctor.

Across the Western world as we gain a handle on old menaces of contagion and viruses, we don’t see sweeping waves of polio or leprosy, as medicine has advanced to treat these acute illness.

This turns our attention instead to chronic illnesses, those that can’t simply be cured in medicine’s traditional style and will require treatment likely for the rest of the person’s life.

Here the person’s care is not based in the hospital or in the doctor’s office, but in their everyday world.

We see not waves of acute diseases, but waves of diabetes, of ADHD or depression and anxiety.

Accompanying this is the fact that chronic care is increasingly being treated with pharmaceuticals of some sort, and being outside of the hospital, even if you have a private insurance plan, you are still going to be paying out of pocket for your medications for the rest of your life.

One concern that is being addressed is that of the aging population and the fear that this will greatly increase the burden on our budget for health care.

We can examine how this fits into the epidemiological transition we have addressed. It is estimated that the elderly population in Canada can be expected to have between one to three chronic conditions that they must attend to.

With this in mind, it is clear to see why addressing the needs of chronic care are only going to be increasingly important.

Here we see how the value of

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comprehensiveness has become out-dated.

Canadian healthcare isn’t just based in the hospital, and drugs are not only administered by doctors in hospitals; they are administered by individuals in their own homes.

Accessibility At this point, let us review some statistics regarding the costs of our healthcare and where our money is going.

In 2005 Canada, spent an estimated $35 billion on chronic care directly. The indirect costs were an estimated $77 billion.

This additional $77 billion is said to reflect the nature of chronic illnesses, wherein the person will also be subject to complications of their conditions, and the extra care, as we see, does add up to a sizeable sum.

Since 1985, the cost of pharmacare out of the total health care budget has increased from 9.5 per cent to 16.4 per cent in 2009.

Additionally, the proportion that is paid by the public has increased, while the proportion paid by private insurance companies has gone down.

In a comparison of the amounts people in other countries pay for prescription and over-the-counter medicine, between 2008 and 2010, Canadians paid more compared to a breadth of European nations, and only Americans consistently paid more than us.

In 2009, the average Canadian’s yearly costs out of pocket for their pharmaceuticals was $893, ranging from $714 to $1,057 between provinces.

The same report from 2009 stated that $25.4 billion was spent on pharmaceuticals, with $11.4 billion from the public budget, and $4.6 billion from out-of-pocket costs.

Sadly, it was also found that 10 per cent of Canadians reported that the costs directly forced them to not fill out their prescription, or to skip doses. The immediate health detriments from not being able to take one’s medications are plain, but we must also consider the additional costs that this produces.

If we recall the $77 billion spent in indirect costs for chronic care, this is one of the situations that contribute to it, being that not taking medications can lead to more complications requiring expensive immediate treatment.

To further address this impeding of accessibility, there are those Canadians who do fill out their prescriptions, but do so at

the considerable depletion of their income.

I think we have all seen the commercials for people needing to choose between buying food and paying for electricity; well sadly the case can be the same with medication. This is especially true for those with fixed incomes, such as the growing retired population.

Unfortunately this problem is so common; I can speak to this from my own experience. About 10 years ago, my father had an accident while working and the prescriptions to care for this for the years since required hundreds of dollars to fill.

Without the aid of an income or worker’s compensation, the stress this can induce is obvious.

Now why is this treatment not funded?

Simply because it was not done by doctors in hospitals, but everyday in our home.

Such situations can be found in millions of homes across the country.

The Potential To Adapt Here I would like to introduce potential solutions to this issue that Stephen Duckett and Adrian Peetoom present in their book ‘Canadian Medicare: We Need It and We Can Keep It.’ They propose that we must establish a national buyer for all medications at the federal level, as well as a robust evaluation board to ensure the thorough testing of all pharmaceuticals that will be prescribed to Canadians; too often they have rubberstamped drugs, resulting in unforeseen long term side effects, which require even more treatment.

This idea is not revolutionary and has been implemented in many European countries. We have seen that they do indeed pay less.

This is due to the simple fact that a national buyer has much more bargaining power, and the mass quantity purchased results in a lower price.

With national public coverage, the premiums paid to private insurance companies, a sum of $9.4 billion, would then be transferred to provincial budgets, though at a price adjusted for the needs specific to each province.

They additionally suggest that for those with difficulty meeting the reduced prices there can still be a funding of co-payments to ensure Canadians receive the care they need, regardless of their income.

With accessibility to their medications facilitated, families that need the savings

the most can have more room to breathe and the ability to access healthy options for food and activities. This is not to mention that they will not need as much acute treatment, and we again have reduced the cost to our health budget.

To finish, I would like to present a final suggestion by these authors for getting these ideas moving.

They suggest that we write our representatives if they have any plans to update coverage to include outside-of-hospital pharmaceuticals, and if they have a plan to investigate practical ways to establish a national coverage plan.

Should you like to read the book by Duckett and Peetoom, there is a copy available in the stacks at Bata, and I got my copy used from the bookstore for a very fair price. I plan on looking up the contact address of our provincial and federal representatives and writing them; after all, we are supposed to be making policy based on evidence and the evidence states that our health care is not comprehensive or accessible.

On top of all of this, imagine if billions were saved on pharmaceuticals and how this could then be used to pay the wages of doctors and nurses, rather than downsizing and firing them.

Or consider how the reduced amount of acute treatment can ease the burden on those working at our hospitals, and only at the cost of reducing the profit made on Canadians by insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

After all, they can’t afford to ignore the money that we will still be paying them, and they have settled for less with other countries before us. We won’t be demanding that we pay nothing to them, but we will be demanding that Canadians pay fair prices, and that getting the care they need doesn’t depend on how much money they have.

It seems incredible that we haven’t established a national plan and buyer when the evidence for its effectiveness is already found and is likely due to the lobbying on the behalf of the industries to secure their profit.

So, if we want to see this happen we are going to have to lobby on behalf of ourselves, especially if we are going to claim that comprehensive and accessible healthcare is something we value as Canadians.

The TUSC Writing Group will be submitting articles on various topics in the next few weeks. If you didn’t get a chance to check out last weeks paper, go to our website (www.trentarthur.ca) and look up the article The Students of 1989: the Tiananmen Square Massacre. These are well researched pieces that stray away from typical journalistic writing and provide a breath of fresh air and education!

www.trentarthur.ca

opinion

The benefits of forest bathing: destressing in chaotic times

By D Dmuchowski

With the end of the term approaching, many students struggle with ways to cope with the overwhelming stress of impending papers, projects, and exams. While some are well versed in healthy and effective coping mechanisms, many turn to overcaffeination, reduced sleep, and in some cases even information absorption enhancing substances i.e. “study drugs”.

These practises can put our bodies in even worse states including decreased cognitive functioning and immune systems. So what can we do to turn this around?

There is a reason why many of us are drawn to nature, which has its roots in evolutionary science. From an evolutionary perspective, it is argued that we are drawn to natural environments and find restoration in them because this is where we have lived for the majority of our species existence; urban environments have been a relatively new development.

Even for those who don’t have such pro-

clivities to the outdoors, surrounding yourself in nature has incredible physical and psychological benefits.

Roger Ulrich studied patients randomly assigned to hospital rooms recovering from gall bladder surgery. Some of these patients had views that showed nature, and others that were just facing other buildings. He found that patients with the nature view healed faster, had less complaints, used fewer pain medications, and felt better faster.

Rachel and Steven Kaplan also completed further research studies demonstrating that office workers experienced less frustration and stress and better moods when having a view of nature.

Japanese researchers coined the term shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing” (Tsunetsugu et. al., 2010). A series of field and lab studies were done to determine how the stress response occurs differently when exposed to forest as opposed to urban settings.

People who went on “forest bathing” training sessions had better indicators of

relaxation including physiological factors like reduced blood pressure, heart rate variability, lessened amounts of cortisol, and increased physical immunity. Spending just one weekend in a natural setting can increase immune responses for up to a month afterwards.

Dr. Elizabeth Nisbet also explains in her study with John M. Zelenski, “Underestimating Nearby Nature: Affective Forecasting Errors Obscure the Happy Path to Sustainability”, that exposure to nature can elicit positive feelings which in turn can increase an individual’s propensity towards engaging in environmentally sustainable behaviors. However, many people do not expect to enjoy or reap benefits from contact with nature. This thought pattern is called “affective forecasting”, and may be the cause to the relative indifference many people feel towards the environment.

As residents of Peterborough, we are in the fortunate and unique situation of living in a space that is immersed in nature (at least for this native Torontonian). There are many opportunities to lower our stress

and increase our well-being by interacting with nature, including walking the abundant walking and cycling trails. Trent also lays claim to an expansive drumlin, and walking/cycling paths can also be enjoyed at Jackson’s Park.

This natural symphony runs at such a different pace than the urban environments we’re used to, and the chaotic cacophony it creates in our ears and in our minds. It’s a slow symphony that reveals itself before our eyes if we only stop and listen. There is something soothing about the fact that the environment is so constant, so old yet constantly renewing and changing.

Leaves whisper quiet secrets, water rushes in ferocious majesty in the winter, and babbles pleasantly in the summer. We are dwarfed in age by the enormous willows we have here, who generously bow their limbs for us to rest on. They provide medicine, shelter, rest.

So, take some time before the end of the term to step outside and enjoy the beauty this city has to offer. Your body and mind will thank you for it.

The language of monogamy: revisiting our approach to relationships

By Troy Bordun

Major shifts in thinking require major and minor changes in language usage. The presently shifting attitudes towards gender and sexual preference are marked by the words and phrases used to discuss them.

An example would be gender inclusivity-themed memes – these memes demonstrate, usually though cartoons, that if you can’t concretely pin down a person’s gender, it’s not a big deal. A further example of attitude-formation through language use is often practiced when someone we don’t know very well speaks about a partner – we don’t box them into compulsory heterosexuality and we initially say “he or she or they” until the person identifies their partner as one or the other, or both, or neither.

Changes in the way we speak about relationships, sexual or otherwise, have been moving more slowly than the above examples. The language of compulsory monogamy still seems the norm in our conversations about partnerships, dating, and friendships.

In my dissertation, among other subjects, I analyzed the representation of

compulsory monogamy in some films by Carlos Reygadas and Catherine Breillat. In a number of blog posts, I’ve also discussed the language and ethics of monogamy and non-monogamy.

The aim of this Arthur column is to provide examples and suggestions that exemplify and/or combat the colloquial words and phrases of compulsory monogamy, much in the same way we’ve been attempting better communication in gender and sexual preference discourse. But this space is not limited to my own words.

This is a space open to any and all written and artistic submissions on the subject of language and relationships. I encourage written submissions of up to 250 words and artistic creations sent in .jpg format to [troybordun@trentu.ca].

Authors and artists may discuss and present their personal experience(s) with compulsory monogamy or take a stab at developing new words and phrases to improve our colloquial language around and about relationships. Your submission may be published under your name, a pseudonym, or anonymously. This is also an ongoing project with no deadline.

There is something experimental about this column then. No word, phrase, experience, suggestion, or complaint is without merit. Your column may be complex and the suggestion for a new word or phrase may be years away from entering popular consciousness. Your column may also border on common sense and could be implemented with ease.

So what might a submission look like?

I’ll get you started with an example that falls into the latter camp.

The suggestion or request to bring your partner to dinners, social gatherings, events, and parties is common. The invitation always means well – a significant other is welcomed into spaces because they are significant. There is the social compulsion, and pleasure, to couple and participate as coupled.

We know, however, that our relationships and interactions are more multifaceted than the conventional practice of having significant other in tow (even for the monogamous person – the monogamous individual may want to bring a friend or an extra-monogamous date/lover to a social event).

Our colloquial language could reflect this truth by implementing inclusive language, exemplified in this everyday utterance: The invitation “Bring your partner to X” could be exchanged for what is either a simple addition or a mouthful: “Bring your partners” or better, “Bring one or more of your partners, lovers, dates, or friends.”

The simple exchange of words in the above invitation recognizes the gamut of intimate relationships. Perhaps an individual would like to bring both of their partners to a dinner or bring dates to a routine social gathering. Indeed, this simple transition in language may aid us in treating our lovers like friends and our friends like lovers.

With this minor shift in language we can hopefully build a more honest and rounded understanding of how our relationships function. This one small suggestion, by simply adding an “s” to “Bring your partner,” is one minor push back against the non-inclusive language of compulsory monogamy.

I look forward to a variety of written and artistic submissions!

Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016

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campus

Results of the student-led review of Traill College

By Pippa O’Brien

Dear readers, Sorry for the confusion from the article printed last week.

The following is where we really are in the student-led evaluation of Traill College.

As you may know, we had a survey sent out to all undergraduate students, of which 411 replied. This was a wonderful response rate and thank you for all of you who took the time to complete the survey.

Based on the survey and on the opinions of the student taskforce who created it (all elected student representatives from across campus), we have come up with the following top five priorities that undergraduate students would like to see for Traill College.

The hope is that any students with further feedback will now take the opportunity to comment on this list so that it can reflect our general collective opinion. If there are changes to be made, as a taskforce we would like to have that discussion, including with the graduate students at Trent.

The plan moving forward is to present this as the results of our gathering of student opinion and ask that the administration consider these requests moving forward with Traill College.

As students of Trent University we have put an enormous amount of thought and effort into considering what we would like to see this part of the university to look like. The process of student consultation is an ongoing conversation and we have done our best due diligence when creating this list in hopes that it will be taken seriously. To that end, here is our list of recommendations.

Top 5 Undergraduate Student Priorities for Traill College: 1. Traill College should exist as a joint graduate/undergrad college a. Give students opportunity to affiliate with Traill when selecting first-year affiliation b. Give Traill an “identity paragraph” on

the housing website c. Begin establishing a governing body for Traill through collaboration with existing college cabinets 2. Increase diversity of academic programs run out of Traill a. Specifically more diverse classes from different departments beyond the humanities b. Long-term look at encouraging various faculties to hold offices at Traill 3. Make Traill the hub of experiential learning for Peterborough a. Increase awareness of the Community-Based Learning Centre b. Increase clinical and placement options around Traill (for instance for nursing students at the hospice going in across the road, or for social work placements downtown) 4. Increase the operating budget through undergrad student enrollment (by allowing students to affiliate with Traill College, and assigning a proportional number of undecided students to Traill)

a. In addition, an increase of graduate student fees to support the college b. Do NOT increase revenue through selling of assets c. Do NOT make student space inaccessible through implementation of space fees d. Begin alumni fundraising campaign to address deferred maintenance issues e. Student space shall NOT be decreased in order to solve budgetary concerns 5. Increase student services a. Keep college spaces open on weekends b. Hire Traill-specific academic advisor and academic skills offices c. Expand counselling services to Traill d. Increase college office staff, including student positions e. Maintain college head as an academic position f. Emphasize programming for mature, transfer and part-time students If you have any changes you would like to see, questions, or concerns please email me at vpuc@trentcentral.ca.

Opening the dialogue on mental health through the arts: Active Minds Overflow Art Gala a success

By D Dmuchowski

On February 27th, Trent Active Minds hosted third annual the Overflow Art Gala, an event that aimed to raise funds and awareness for CMHA and Team 55, in addition to highlighting local Peterborough musical and spoken-word talent.

The event was “an opportunity for students and community members alike to express ourselves, relieve stress, boost selfesteem, appreciate amazing local talent, make friends, and change the conversation about mental health”. Community coordinator for Active Minds, Kristen Mommertz, speaks to the essence of the gala; “It was created so that we could celebrate local artists (from musicians to slam poets to visual artists). We wanted an event that could open up the conversation about mental health and encourage creativity as an outlet. All forms of art and creative expression can help us as self-care, and when our struggles are central to our creative work, it can really get others to open up as well”.

Active Minds is a student-led organization that aims to raise awareness and destigmatize mental health on campus by cultivating a safe environment for dialogue, in addition to encouraging help-seeking on campus; acting as a “liaison between students and the mental health community”.

One of the beneficiaries of the gala, Team 55, is a homegrown organization directed

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www.trentarthur.ca

by Dave Pogue, which aims to open conversations and awareness around suicide prevention. At the event, Pogue spoke of how the tragedy of losing his then twentythree-year-old son to suicide. Out of this tragedy blossomed the vision to mobilize resources in order to help others who are struggling with the same issues in silence.

Pogue paired with his son’s former football team to raise funds, donating one dollar for every tackle made. Team 55, to date, has raised tens of thousands of dollars that are donated towards causes such as allowing parents, coaches, and teachers to get Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, for local teens to be able to take the SafeTalk program which allows them to recognize the signs of a potentially suicidal person and reach out for help, in addition to hiring a full-time crisis intervention worker at the Peterborough Regional Health Center.

Kristen comments, “this year we decided to donate to team 55 Tackles Suicide Awareness and CMHA because they do so much for the mental health of the Peterborough community. Daniel, our Media Coordinator, worked with Team 55 to photograph some of their events. When he told us about it, I knew they were an organization that we wanted to support. I have lost some very close friends to suicide, and I think that while the conversation about some mental illnesses is opening up more,

suicide is still a taboo topic that people are afraid to speak about. I am so glad that Dave was able to share his story with us”.

Team 55 has paired with the CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) in a symbiotic partnership that has taken incredible steps towards helping those who are struggling, as well as their friends and families.

The Gala attracted local talented local performers such as Television Road, Wes Ryan, Mike Lickers, Niambi Leigh, Fiona Campbell, Gayle Crosmaz-Brown, Ceinwen Perks, Mary-Kate Edwards, and Wayne Kennedy. In addition to the performers, there was a silent auction showcasing painting, drawing, and textile artwork from local artists and artisans.

The event took place in the warmly lit dining hall at Sadleir House. It took off with the president of Trent’s active Minds, Shawn Wallis performing songs on the ukulele and piano. The act was followed by other brilliant artists, many of the themes being consistent with mental health awareness, and destigmatizing mental health. Performers courageously spoke about their own lived experiences with mental health challenges, rewriting the script around what it means to struggle with a largely invisible illness that has too often been misunderstood. The speakers brought to life the humanity behind the mental health challenges that are too often

pathologized.

The importance of being able to speak about mental illness and mental health in a safe and supportive environment is highlighted by Mommertz. “The Peterborough arts community has a lot to offer and we wanted to bridge the gap between it and Trent students”, she states. “It’s especially important for students who are maybe living in residence and haven’t explored downtown much yet. When I was in residence first year, I was really depressed and homesick and I almost dropped out. Once I started volunteering at Artspace, going to shows downtown, and becoming friends with other students, it really helped me have a stronger sense of community. It’s really important that we have spaces where we can all come together as a community and talk about this openly”.

The courage and raw honesty of the performers was refreshing and necessary in a culture that largely discriminates against and ostracizes anyone who dares to come forward and speak their own truths.

With more events like these, in addition to people continuing to come forward with their stories, hopefully we can move towards a community and culture where mental health stigma ceases to exist.

For more information, please visit trentactiveminds.org, Trent Active Minds on Facebook, or email activeminds@trentu.ca.

Campus

TrentStudentColloquiumonNorthernStudies:celebratingknowledge

By Adriana Sierra

“The tradition of Northern Studies at Trent is almost as old as the university itself.”

As the founding president of Trent University, Dr. Symons actively supported Northern interests and was central to the creation of the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS).

With eight departments and several graduate programs that are oriented towards Northern Studies, including history, sociology, anthropology, geography, indigenous studies, and environmental science, Northern studies lies at the heart of Trent University.

The Trent Student Colloquium on Northern Studies was formed in 1992, as a celebration of Northern research and student involvement in projects.

This year, the Trent Northern Studies Colloquium will be held on March 22. The event will feature presentations on student research related to Northern Studies from 8:30a.m., to 4p.m. in the Gathering Space in Gzowski College.

There will also be an evening keynote address and dinner with Dr. James Raffan from 7p.m. to 9p.m. at the Canadian Canoe Museum.

This student-run conference provides

a forum for undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines to showcase and discuss their research, experiences and knowledge through the Northern Studies focus. All are welcome to join the conversation.

Raffan has been selected as a keynote speaker for this event because of his accomplishments as a speaker, writer, cultural

geographer and advocate for the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.

He was pursuing a career path as a marine biologist; however, after a bad experience involving research with a polar bear and constant tranquilizers, he made the conscious decision to “investigate the world and engage its mysteries more holistically,” which meant that he would pur-

audience.

Further, the event also benefits students in a more tangible way, pointed out Capell.

It is an opportunity for students to expand their curriculum vitae and portfolios.

Also, all participants take away a digital video clip of their presentations, and that according to her is a valuable addition to students’ applications and portfolios.

Besides, it offers an added benefit to showcase the wealth of diverse student ideas Trent plays home to, said Capell. It promote dialogue between students across the disciplines and with the general public, she added, because the event is advertised widely and participants are able to share key insights from their research with a diverse audience.

It has also been reported by previous participants that it has helped them to prepare for conferences and interviews as well as to complete their thesis, it was shared.

Three Minute Thesis first came to Trent in 2013, and saw its first competition held at Bagnani Hall, Traill College. It was initiated with the effort of Trent Academic

Skills Instructors, along with the Dean of Graduate Studies at the time, Joan Sangster.

“The objective of starting it was largely with the effort to help graduate students develop their professional skills,” reminisced Capell.

The First Place Winner will represent Trent at 3MT® Ontario on April 14 at Wilfred Laurier University. This competition includes representatives from almost all of the universities in Ontario.

3MT 2016 will be judged by the experts of namely-Joeann Argue, Executive Director, Electric City Culture Council; Mike Hendren, Executive Director, Kawartha Land Trust; Stephen Kylie, Barrister, Solicitor, Notary Public;Dorothy Taylor, Anishinaabe Kwe, Curve Lake First Nation; and Murad Younis, President and Chief Pharmacist, Westmount Pharmacy.

The event is organized by Dana Capell, Academic Skills, Dean Elaine Scharfe, School of Graduate Studies, and Alison Scholl, Community Relations.

It is funded by Community Relations, School of Graduate Studies, Academic Skills Centre, Trent Graduate Students’

sue research and knowledge outside of the laboratory setting.

Raffan visits the arctic at least once every year and has dedicated his life to exploring the arctic way of life. He has written 15 books including “Fire in the Bone” and “Summer North of Sixty,” and has been published by major magazines and news sources including National Geographic and The Globe and Mail.

His invaluable research and work merited him with the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and the Camsell Medal. Raffan’s experiences as the chair of the Arctic Institute of North America, executive director of the Canadian Canoe Museum, researcher for Parks Canada, instructor for the Ontario Recreational Canoeing and Kayaking Association and his research on the arctic make him an ideal and renowned keynote speaker for the Trent colloquium.

The multiplicity of perspectives present at the Trent Student Colloquium on Northern Studies is the result of the large number of Trent University faculty conducting research in the arctic and student engagement and interest in Northern studies.

This event is a statement of Trent’s involvement and prestige in Northern studies and a gathering of multiple ways of knowing.

Annual Three Minute Thesis aims to communicate research

By Ugyen Wangmo

The annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Trent is back, and it is scheduled to be held on 22 March at The Venue, 286 George Street, 7 p.m.

3MT 2016 will see 19 masters and post graduate students (representing a diverse range of graduate programs) challenged to effectively communicate their otherwise esoteric research objectives to non-specialist audience in just three minutes, with only one presentation slide.

“Forcing participants to balance complexity and depth with clarity and concision, 3MT® hones skills that will benefit graduate students both within and outside of the academy,” says Dana Capell, Academic Skills Instructor, one of the organizers of the event.

From job interviews, to networking with colleagues at conferences, to conversations with family and friends, graduate students are often in situations where they must describe their research, explained Capell, and to communicate in language that is accessible and engaging to a non-specialist

Association, Catharine Parr Traill College, Office of the President, and the Office of the Provost.

3MT® was begun at the University of Queensland in 2008 as part of an effort to encourage graduate students to develop their skills in communicating their research. It has spread to universities throughout the world with students participating in a wide range of university, regional, and international competitions.

Embracing difference in difficult times

By Dan Morrison

On March 23, Trent’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Accessibility (CHREA) will host talks on rights, faith, identity and Muslims, from 4p.m., to 5:30p.m., in Bagnani Hall at Traill College.

Two eminent professors in this field, Dr. Anver Emon and Dr. Mohammad Salama, will give the talks. Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission Renu Mandhane will also open up with welcoming and introductory remarks.

A professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Emon is a “leading scholar of Islamic law.” This was recognised in October 2014 when he was awarded a Canada Research Chair in religion, pluralism and rule of law, evidence of his “internationally recognized authority on Islamic law and Islamic legal history,” and in 2014

he was also named a Guggenheim Fellow in the field of law.

The Guggenheim Foundation offers fellowships to scholars to assist them in research for any field or in creation of any art.

Emon’s research concentrates on premodern and modern Islamic legal history and theory, pre-modern modes of governance and adjudication and the role of Shari’a both inside and outside the Muslim world.

He is also the author and editor of several books concerning Islamic law and his latest book is Islamic and Jewish Legal Reasoning: Encountering Our Legal Other, work that brought rabbinic and Islamic scholars together.

Soon, he will take up the role of series editor of the Oxford Islamic Legal Studies Series.

Salama is associate professor of Arabic and chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literature at San Francisco State University.

He is currently completing a monograph on Islam and the Culture of Modern Egypt: 1908-1958, a work of primary research and original scholarship.

His recent works include Islam, Orientalism and Intellectual History and German Colonialism, and his forthcoming book The Qur’an and Modern Arabic Literary Criticism should appear later this year.

Salama has also published many articles on comparative literature and modern Arabic literature and film in various journals.

These talks are important at a time when Islam and Muslims are coming under greater scrutiny, ranging from the legitimate interrogation of any religion right through to - and this is the overriding

theme unfortunately - discrimination, hostility and racism, particularly in light of the Syrian refugee crisis and Islamic state violence.

The Trent community has been committed to discussing these issues, with events like Islam Awareness Week and the Trent Community Movements’ migration conference seeking to enlighten and tackle this hostile discourse.

CHREA’s role, among other things, is to educate the Trent community on human rights and accessibility, as well as monitor, resolve and provide advice on discrimination, accessibility and human rights complaints.

Come out to the talks on March 23 at Bagnani Hall at Traill College, from 4 until 5:30p.m. The event is free and there will be a reception with free food afterwards (if you weren’t excited enough already, eh).

Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016

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campus Dr.LeoGroarkehonorouableguestatAnnualTrentMuslimStudentAssociation grad dinner

By TMSA and Betelhem Wondimu

The Annual Formal Grad Dinner is a night of celebration where the Trent Muslim Student Association (TrentMSA) and the Trent community come together to honor the hard work of our graduating students.

The TrentMSA Grad Dinner is an event that has been hosted every year for more than a decade.

The Champlain Great Hall was decorated with balloons, ribbons. The event hosted a diverse range of attendees that included Muslims, non-Muslims and the Trent community at large.

The event started with name of God by reciting a verse of the Holy Quran which inaugurated the proceedings of the night.

After the recitation, there was a speech

by TrentMSA president Muhammad Arif

Khan. He welcomed the honorable Chief Guest of the event, President of Trent University; Dr. Leo Groarke and Mr. Glenn Empey; Trent Spiritual Affairs. Arif also welcomed professors and the graduating Class of 2016. Dr. Leo Groarke gave an inspirational speech which admired the work of the TrentMSA and congratulated the graduating class.

There were couple nasheeds (religious vocal music) sung by two Trent students (Mujahid Alharthi and Hassan Nisar).

Arif Khan announced the accomplished goals of the year 2015-2016. For instance, a prayer place on the East Bank which was inaugurated this year. TMSA is grateful to Ashley Gerrits, the College Head of (OC) Office of Student Affairs and Mr. Glenn Empey who made this possible. Second, with the help of Chartwells, halal food is

now currently served in two different cafeterias at Trent University. He extended his thanks on behalf of TrentMSA to partners, supporters and volunteers.

The dinner consisted of a selection of food which included rice dishes, chicken, kebabs and naan bread. After the dinner, the hosts congratulated the graduating class of 2016 and asked the chief guests to take the stage and hand out the gifts that the TrentMSA volunteers had prepared.

There was also surprize gifts given by Dr. Leo Groarke to the graduating class of 2016. Names of the graduates were called out by Saalar Faisal (TrentMSA executive) and each graduating student was recognized as they posed in front of the camera with President Leo Groarke. Once the ceremony had come to an end, henna was put

by Manpreet Kaur Kenth (TrentMSA vol-

unteer) and Maimona Altaf (TrentMSA executive). After there was a cake cutting ceremony with the graduating class of 2016.

Lastly, there was a photo booth set up by Hamza Khattak (TrentMSA volunteer).

The event was wrapped up by the TrentMSA team 2016 where they thanked everyone who came for the night! The great work done by the Trent MSA is noteworthy as they have strived to create a stronger community through initiatives that were aimed at raising awareness and creating equitable spaces and services.

News of a hate crime committed against the Peterborough Muslim community rocked the nation last November. It is inspiring to see the perseverance of the community and more efforts should be made towards encouraging initiatives done by TMSA.

OPIRG Statement on Anti-Semetic hate crime on campus

By OPIRG

OPIRG Peterborough condemns the actions of the individuals who have put a swastika in the middle of a chalked message on campus reading ‘Just not Corey’ during the Trent Central Student Association election campaign.

The TCSA Elections Code of Conduct for campaigning in elections state, “the Trent Central Student Association’s policies surrounding Discrimination, Harassment, and Oppression, and the Ontario Human Rights Act. Any materials deemed to be slanderous, threatening or derogatory will not be ap-

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proved.”

This rule is specifically for candidates’ campaigns; however, it was created to restrain people from harassing candidates.

Secondly, using symbolic messaging that has a recent history of presupposing acts of violence and oppression amounts to hate speech.

“Trent is a model for building community that includes differences of opinions and ideologies that are done in a sense of respect, this is not in keeping with the goal of building community,” said Glenn Empey, spiritual affairs director at Trent.

Electoral democracy including speaking

with elected officials and putting pressure on elected officials through campaigns and media are ways that individuals may express their points of view.

Hate speech is one way that individuals who do not see any other way of reaching an audience try to do so.

At OPIRG, we believe that hate speech needs to be holistically and intersectionally addressed, as it is a part of a system of oppression that is based on cis-patriarchal capitalism.

According to the Criminal Code of Canada, the difference between hate speech and social justice speech is that it is not hate speech when “the statements were

relevant to any subject of public interest, the discussion of which was for the public benefit, and if on reasonable grounds he believed them to be true.”

“Since it [was founded], Trent has been an open and accepting environment that fosters mutual understanding. This is polarizing things. The use of the swastika is improper and insulting,” said Empey.

We live in a society where hard-won and always challenged laws around freedom of expression, multiculturalism and equality exist.

To use these rights to harass an individual running in student union elections is irresponsible.

campus

College identity and their place in Ontario Universities

The image below was printed on the cover of Issue 13 Volume 49 of Arthur on Jan. 13, 2014 titled “Debating the future of the college system.”

A conversation with Dr. Robin Lathangue

How close are students to their College Heads?

I offered curriculum in the OC office.

I had a Thursday afternoon reading group. These are relationships you have to cultivate with students, and I wonder what those relationships are like now with current College Heads.

On the position of Head of Colleges

By Zara Syed

Arthur Newspaper had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Robin Lathangue, known for starting the College Scarf Initiative when he was Head of Colleges from 2008 to 2012 at Trent University, to gain insight on what the Colleges were like before the college restructuring took place.

On the College Scarves The scarves always presented a challenge, such as what the colours should be.

Luckily for me I had nothing but the best [individuals]wanting to do that research.

We went back and scoured through Trent’s history, and discovered the colours and crests. It was very exciting, we even came out with the College Press and made stamps for stationary.

On the controversy of the Colleges I think the Colleges have been a source of debate at Trent since their very inception.

So it’s almost like the question of Quebec; you never really want it to be it’s own nation. That would be the end of Canada.

There’s something eternal about talking about the colleges, about what they mean and what they could do.

What sort of challenges were you faced with as Head of Colleges?

When I was Head of Colleges, only one person reported to me.

So, looking at the Otonabee College team back then, there might be fifteen people working in that college who are there to serve the members of the college in one form or another, but only one of them reports to me... and I was the College Head.

So I had to ask myself, what kind of authority do I have? What kind of decisions can I make? It finally dawned on me that it was a Matrix Model- you have the college in the centre and all these players outside of them. There’s the College Office, the residential aspect, faculty, Food Services, security, etc. I didn’t control any of those.

Security goes to Risk Management, Food Services goes to Student Services, Residence goes to Housing, Faculty goes to the Dean of Academics. So, who did I have to communicate with to get something done? I had to make friends with all of these people, so my College Office meetings had representatives.

Twenty five years ago, each of the Colleges had their own team to report to them, now they all report out. They are there at the college but they don’t have the same vested interest in the membership of the college and the morale.

I was told that the position was made redundant, and my contact was not renewed as Head of Colleges.

Then another series of changes took place and they hired someone to be the Director of Colleges. So, in some way the position came back. I wasn’t surprised at all that the colleges became a part of Student Services. The Colleges became centralized in a way.

When I first met my future boss, Gary Boire, he said “I’ve heard two things about you- that your position was originally designed to totally restructure the Colleges and to change them, and you’ve done a terrible job at that.

I’ve also heard that you support the Colleges, and have really helped remind themselves of what they are and what they can do, and you’ve done a great job of that.”

On the restructuring of the Colleges The original vision was of an academic community versus a residence. The difference was that until recently, College Heads were engaged in the student’s world at a higher level.

College Heads were scholars, and practicing scholars, teachers, and were doing the kind of thing and the same thing that students are doing: writing and research, but they’re doing it at a higher level and are a model of what academic work looks like. So, they were a community that reported politically through the hierarchy to the Vice President Academics.

So, typically, the Heads were academics.

They were scholars and professors who were paid part- time; half their salary would come from the college budget and half from the department.

Students could get together at academic events with senior academics who were studying what the [students] study so it gave [students] the opportunity to think about what it is they were studying. So, it’s that kind of thing.

Now, the colleges report to the AVP Student Services. The colleges are less concerned about the academic community and more with trying to support students any way they can.

The focus is now more centered on mental health, student stress around exam times and keeping students safe. It’s like being the local parent. So, the colleges are at risk of becoming mere residences again. I think the original vision was to have five colleges all on campus… Actually, the original vision was to have thirteen colleges. Not five. That takes a lot of money and a strong donor base, and it’s Trent’s job as a University to set a goal to develop those colleges.

The Student Restructuring

Voice

in

the

College

When I came to Trent, one of the things that surprised me was the degree to which students have decision making and power within the hierarchy.

I’ve never seen the same thing to the same degree at other institutions.

If you have an interest in participating in

the decision making of these structures, I can think of no other University in Canada where you can get more of an opportunity.

You want to encourage students to have a voice and an impact, and now that you are tying in money you deserve a voice.

Where does the money come from to fund these changes and restructure everything? Where in the hierarchy do you go? Well, who is in charge of the College budgets? If it’s the Director of Colleges, who is in charge of the Director of Colleges? How long has that position been in existence?

The identity of Colleges in Ontario as a diminishing concept Canadian students haven’t been socialized to the idea of colleges. The administration was always reluctant to let me promote the colleges as individuals, because it’s confusing.

For example, if a student goes to a University Fair, and there is a booth for Trent and you start talking about the colleges, students are like. “I’m here to talk about going to University.”

They don’t understand the residential college movement, because they haven’t been socialized to it. Canada does not have, apart from a handful of Universities, a college system.

Students do not know what a college is or how to behave as a member of that college. They understand houses, but not what an academic community is.

There was never any discouragement on campus, and also the President at that time was Stephen Franklin, so college stuff at that time was A-OK. What marketing in particular had difficulty with was the talk of colleges. When students hear the word “college” they think of Fleming, of Humber and George Brown, because of the Ontario college system.

On Student Services in replacement of Academic leadership I tend to agree that the changes in the colleges were necessary. It is like the tide changing, it’s inevitable.

Parents are very worried for the kind of student that is showing up. Parents are very worried that they aren’t going to be able to get a job. So, there’s an emphasis on professional schools and transferable skills, not so much the experience.

Students are bringing pathologies and mental health issues, students are bringing lots of prescription drugs with them, they are under a lot of pressure and need counselling, and so over the last ten to fifteen years you have the professionalization of Student Services and Student Affairs, which is a centralized model.

Apart from all of that, if you’re really committed to the college system, the power of decision making is very de-centralized, and that sounds great from a political point of view.

That did help foster communities but what we were finding was that students were getting one level of service at one college and a different level of service at another college. The concern was that we need to be as consistent as possible about certain services and supports right across the colleges.

On faculty engagement and the Colleges To the degree that faculty are interested in participating in the colleges, there’s nothing structurally to award them.

I fought really hard, and even had

students channel me in various meetings to go into the Faculty Associates meetings and negotiations and look at promotions through the ranks and in the systems.

Is there some way that we can get language in so that they are coming out to college events and supporting college events?

Could they get some credit for that?

Can that be part of their award program? I never got very far with that.

If you really wanted to support colleges and services, why wouldn’t you make them a part of service? It never got off the ground. For two years, I tried my best.

There’s just no incentive. How do you incentivise the college life to faculty? It’s very hard.

On the Catharine Parr Traill College review Doug Evans was Head of Traill when I was Head of Colleges. He used to make the argument that the traffic was high there.

You might call Traill College a graduate student college but on any given day it’s filled with more undergraduates. It’s very popular amongst undergraduates. Why don’t they get compensated for that? There are all kinds of activities going on for undergraduates. I never quite understood why undergraduates are paying $200 plus, whereas grad students are only paying $15. What can you do with $15?

The physical budget is centralized.

On the new Student Centre I was always very skeptical about the Student Centre.

I constantly made the argument that there was a lot of student spaces in the colleges. I always thought it was a distraction, and this happened after I left.

I thought it was yet another centralizing of student space. Fine, there is a tremendous amount of pressure to make Trent like other Universities because students come to Trent and say, “Where is the student space?”

The response should be, “Well, we have a pub on campus and some student space here,” but we don’t say that.

On the argument that there is a lack of student space on campus I always felt that there was a lot of student space but it was never being promoted.

It wasn’t being profiled or supported.

I never bought that argument. I went through the Otonabee College Commons.

There were lots of space for students to be in there. I never got the logic behind the Student Centre. There’s the commons upstairs. It used to be the Cat’s Ass. The relationship between students and their Colleges I tried not to see students as bodies at a college, I tried to see students as scholars, as learners, as part of a community.

The fact of the matter is, students were bringing issues with them that needed the kind of support that colleges were less and less able to provide. There’s a gap there, a vacuum of services and that is why you have the rise of Student Services.

The college system seems to be in crisis, because students are in crisis. I’ve never had training in suicide intervention, I have never had any training on life- saving techniques or emergency response.

These are more and more the kinds of supports, in addition to academic supports, that students need.

Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016

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Feature

Feature

Arthur investigates the controversial restructuring of the college system According to the minutes of the Senate meeting, members expressed apprehension that the model for change should have been brought forward before the staffing cuts were made.

“There is more concern about the process that has been followed than the actual outcome,” reported the minutes.

Co-written by Reba Harrison and Ugyen Wangmo

In light of the Catharine Parr Traill college review, Arthur has received an influx of inquiries from Trent University students and Alumni surrounding the college restructuring that occurred in the spring of 2014.

The Trent community has expressed interest in the reporting of success and the metrics used to ensure current hierarchical structures are accurate when stating that the restructuring is working to best address student needs as well as engagement.

Changes in the college system primarily resulted in a revised staffing plan.

Four permanent full time College Head positions were created, replacing the parttime positions, and a new full time position of Director of Colleges and a College Assistant was implemented. As well, College Secretaries were replaced with student intern positions. The system is also composed of academic advisors and two academic skills instructors.

Subsequently, the hierarchy and roles of the Trent administrative system saw modifications.

The function of the Academic VicePresident (AVP) Students was the most pronounced change, according to the organizational chart of AVP-students, 2015.

The office duties were split and separately assigned to AVP Students Nona Robinson and Director of Office of Student Transitions and Careers Lesley Hulcoop, Robinson explained.

A significant and large change being the absorption of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) which no longer exists. OSA has been absorbed by the positions of Robinson and Hulcoop.

With the move of Academic Skills instructors to the colleges, the former Careers and Academic Skills department was restructured to Student Transitions and Careers, and the former student affairs orientation, retention and programs staff joined this portfolio under the new director, Waleska Vernon.

“College came under my portfolio,” Robinson said.

According to the chart provided to indicate the changes made to AVP Students’ responsibilities, Student Accessibility Services, Academic Advising, First Peoples

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House of Learning, the Centre of Academic Testing, Housing and a new Food Services director all report to Robinson.

Academic Skills separated and moved a number of their staff into each of the four Symons Campus colleges. As the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies retired at the same time, Senior Tutors turned to report to Robinson. Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies has since not been replaced, and it is unclear if the position will re- emerge.

This failure to replace or fill the position indicates that academics are not falling under academic leadership, with departments such as Academic Advising now falling under Student Services.

The 2010 description of the AVP Students said the position “provides administrative and programming support to the various departments that coordinate student services on campus.”

Currently, Robinson describes her position “as the co-ordination point for a range of departments that provide services to students on campus.”

Her original duties of orientation, programming and student transitions have grown widely. When the contract of Provost Gary Boire expired, Robinson also took on some of his responsibilities.

Robinson further explained that she reports to the Provost, Dr. Jacqueline Muldoon. Muldoon, in turn, answers to the president of Trent, Dr. Leo Groarke.

The new Director of Colleges position has been a highly controversial position since Barry Townsend was hired by Robinson at the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year. He created a checklist of items to keep college staff up to date on their duties, which was unpopular. After a few of months, Townsend resigned from his position at Trent University.

Townsend did not have a background in colleges, and was an external hire from Guelph University.

Signs as to why he might have resigned can be traced back to a Heritage Meeting, where the purchase of furniture for the Great Hall in Champlain was a subject of contention.

In November 2015, Townsend purchased a large volume of furniture for the colleges, using $80,000 from the Pan Colleges fund. He resigned from his position shortly after. Robinson told Arthur that the purchase went through regular

procedures.

When this was brought up at the Heritage Meeting, members were shocked at this expensive purchase of furniture that did not correlate with the intended aesthetic of Trent’s architecture. When Townsend was questioned about this purchase, he stated that the furniture had already been bought and ordered, and there wasn’t any point in arguing about it as it was already on its way.

When he was further challenged on the matter, he stated that the conversation had digressed to make him feel unsafe.

It is argued that this move has severely depleted much of the College Reserve Fund.

One of the largest changes in the college restructuring was the existence of the College Reserve (Pan Colleges Fund).

Students still pay an annual college fee of $241.24, but a portion of each student’s payment no longer goes to the College Reserve. Instead, it is used for increased service levels, such as student events, Robinson explained.

With student fees being managed in this manner, students were generally unaware of where their fees were being shuffled to during the restructuring process. This brings into question if students had a say in these changes.

According to Townsend’s Facebook profile, he announced his resignation from Trent University on December 9th, and immediately returned to Guelph University to begin his new position as the manager of Student Accessibility Services.

Since then, the Director of Colleges position was posted on Trent University’s website.

At the bottom of the job posting, it reads: Trent University is actively committed to creating a diverse and inclusive campus community and encourages applications from all qualified candidates.

However, internal Trent staff and faculty, were not considered for this position, nor does the job description for the Director of Colleges allow for past College Heads to be applicable for the position.

The job description requires “At least five years’ progressive full-time experience in university student life programming, student support programming, staff supervision and management.”

However, if qualified individuals that have experience with managing and

engaging with students, such as past College Heads who do not have “full- time” experience, despite the amount of years they spent mentoring students, does not qualify them, then the nature of the Director of Colleges position automatically excludes the most qualified Trent staff who have experience within the colleges to fill this position.

Stephanie Muehlethaler, a Wilfrid Laurier graduate, has been hired as the new director of colleges and has begun her new position as of Feb. 24.

Associate Vice President Finance, Michelle Willson explained that all student college fees are recorded in a college-specific account to pay related expenses.

The surplus of the college revenue each year is put into a reserve to be made available for potential future deficits, “or to fund special projects or initiatives of the colleges.”

“This practice has not changed with the new college system,” Willson explained.

Colleges plan to increase their expenses to better match their revenues.

Former Provost Gary Boire, also a hire from the University of Wilfrid Laurier, established the committee in Spring 2012.

Robinson said the current college system is a result of multiple reviews involving the College Review and Planning Committee (CRPC), which she was immediately placed on when she was hired.

In September 2014, the CRPC distributed a College Needs Assessment Survey in order to establish a baseline of information about students’ needs and hopes for the colleges.

The survey was run again in September 2015, according to Robinson, but no specific dates or copies of the surveys can be found on the Trent’s website.

As a result, over half of the 1,277 participants (of which 970 completed the full survey) are part of Trent student groups or play a larger role within the Trent community.

Robinson explained that the college restructuring took place in response to the issue that only 43 per cent of students felt a valuable connection with their college.

This year, from the end of September into early October 2015, a secondary survey went out to the students.

The document explained that the survey resulted in a five per cent increase of students that feel a valuable connection with

The CRPC decided that a restructuring of the colleges was needed, with emphasis on student community life and activities of both entertaining and academic nature.

The restructuring would remove the academic faculty from the colleges, moving away from an academic-based college system, and replace them with college heads that could organize students to engage in “student life.”

According to Robinson, tenured academic faculty have significant workloads and are no longer available to fill the spot that they once did within the colleges.

This is due to a “problem with recruiting” as there are a low number of full-time faculty and an increased number of contract sessional teaching faculty, who are less likely to feel engaged in non-teaching activities.

The college restructuring introduced full time student affairs positions in place of the part time academic positions. The staff members add a level of administration between students and faculty.

The reports on restructuring of the Colleges were presented to the Board of Governors on April 25, the Senate Executive on May 6 and the Faculty Board on May 7, followed by Senate on May 13, and Alumni Council on May 24.

“The reports were for information only, just to ensure that people were aware of what was going on,” said Robinson.

“The mandate of the committee was to examine Trent’s colleges’ structures and activities in order to make them more sustainable and relevant, and to develop proposals to reinvigorate the college system,” as outlined in the revised report of CPC recommendations as of June 2013.

“The underlying premise was to build on the colleges’ strengths rather than to totally remodel or dismantle them,” stated the revised report.

However, these changes have directly remodeled as well as dismantled the academic nature of the colleges.

The change in the college system saw multiple reviews, recommendations and consultations. “This change was intended, and also, this was not something done just by me, but the provost and president at that time,” Robinson informed Arthur.

Rachel Arseneault, president of the Otonabee College Cabinet, who was involved in the process as one of the student body representatives, said an open forum was held for student consultation on January 29, 2014.

According to Arsenault, the consultation was a success that saw good student turnout. However, Arsenault confided, that regretfully no formal conversation proceeded with the student body at large when the change was proposed.

On May 13, 2014, during the 436th meeting of the Senate of Trent University, Robinson, AVP-Students, presented an update on colleges restructuring.

The comments offered by Senate, based on the report, allowed for more comprehension regarding the outlook the Trent community had towards the change.

“There was no consensus among students regarding the proposed changes,”

Senate observed.

It was commented that the proposed model of the new college system differed significantly from past practice and required proper plans in place to evaluate the new model. The proposed changes would be fundamental to the colleges.

According to the minutes of the Senate meeting, members expressed apprehension that the model for change should have been brought forward before the staffing cuts were made.

“There is more concern about the process that has been followed than the actual outcome,” reported the minutes.

It was also opined that the new system represented a student management model of colleges and that it might be unrealistic to think that any model implemented would bring students and faculty together.

Robinson, along with Boire, human resources and the union worked together on how to implement those changes. At that time the contract of the former College Heads was completed, Robinson added.

From the information available, as well as the conversations with Robinson, Arthur discovered that the college restructuring did not go through the traditional channel of senators or Board of Governors’ vote.

No conversation had occurred between Senate and the Board of Governors regarding whether the college restructuring was a student life or academic issue.

“It was not determined that there needed to be a vote in Senate or the Board of Governors,” Robinson explained.

“There’s lots that will happen administratively at the university that is done without a formal vote,” she said.

“This change was intended, and also, this was not something done just by me, but the provost and president at that time,” Robinson informed Arthur.

Alumni Council, in a resolution sent to the Board of Governors in April 2014, expressed concern about “potential adverse consequences to the college system if the relationship between the college head and the academy is fractured,” and advised the issue be raised before the university’s two governing bodies.

Alumni had explicitly focused on the “inadequacy of the review process or consultation, and the lack of detailed information to allow the members to either endorse or not endorse the plan as designed,” although they supported the positive change.

It was pointed out at the Four Hundred and Thirty Seventh Meeting of the Senate by the Alumni Council that: “The direction of the plan to focus on administrative positions threatens the historical relationship between the college and the academy.” “...Creation of the current realignment plan has not undergone any consultation, despite the need for consultation with the alumni council.”

It is unclear whether a review of the college restructuring will be implemented as recommended by Senate when the restructuring was brought forward “for information only.”

11

Volume 50 | Issue 20 | March 21|2016

community

Wall call and all: a community art project

By Troy Bordun

In January I met with Wendy Trusler to discuss Peterborough’s public art plans.

Trusler is the public art coordinator for the city’s Public Art Program. During my interview she was enthusiastic about the city and the Downtown Business Improvement Association’s commitment to a multi-year mural project.

“Wall Call and All” is the name of this project. At the end of January, landlords in the downtown core submitted photo-

12

www.trentarthur.ca

graphs and specs for potential mural space.

Seventeen landlords expressed interest and generated a total of 22 possible sites.

The jury, composed of “community members with expertise in contemporary art, architecture, design, history and cultural tourism” evaluated the spaces.

On March 10, the jury then submitted their results and Peterborough’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee selected two sites for 2016 and 2017.

The site for development in 2016 is Highway Enforcement Legal Protection

(HELP), located at 114 Simcoe St, on the corner of Queen Street.

This building has a large wall facing directly onto Queen Street. Pedestrians and cyclists on their way to and from Millennium Park, as well as transit patrons on the Ashburnham line will easily see the mural.

Both the large canvas and the high traffic ensure that HELP will be a great first site.

The 2017 site is the Youth Emergency Shelter (YES), which opened in 2002. The building itself has a unique history. It might be the second brick house built in the city.

The year is likely around 1845 and Dr. Hay first occupied it. The house changed hands for decades, but continued to serve some sort of communal or medical purpose.

Certainly the teens at the shelter will see the mural regularly. But this old house on Brock Street is also directly across from Freshco, a frequently visited locale in Peterborough’s downtown.

Additionally, many other people see the mural on a day-to-day basis: the parking lot next to YES is full on week days; a path besides YES leads from Brock Street to St. Paul’s Presbyterian on Murray Street; and a huge apartment building is adjacent to the shelter.

The mural will presumably go on the east wall facing the parking lot. This spot appears to be a wonderful space for art

and the Brock Street parking lot may be an excellent place for events.

Trusler explained that the jury’s conversation about sites went from examining two-dimensional “surfaces to a discussion of how a mural could impact the space around the site, both as a catalyst for further urban renewal and bridge to other activity.”

On this note, she observed that the small HELP building often goes unnoticed.

“It’s not difficult to imagine how, as a public art site, it is going to change that entire neighbourhood,” she continued.

Trusler mentioned that these murals would be on display for a period between four and six years. The other proposed sites may also be used for future projects. In the recent “Wall Call” media release, Trusler and associates were “impressed by the deep commitment to public art demonstrated by the community’s participation.”

The next step is a call for artists.

The call will be circulated at the end of March. Trusler mentioned that artists in Peterborough and surrounding regions such as Durham, Halliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Hastings, Prince Edward County, Lennox, Addington and Frontenac are encouraged to submit.

For more information about the Public Art Program visit peterboroughdbia.com/ news/wall-call-all.

comic by Ad Astra comix

community

Queer Coll(i/u)sions: Re-envisioning academia and activism Photos by Samantha Moss

By D Dmuchowski

Queer Coll(i/u)sions was a conference that took place from March 4 to March 6.

The purpose of this three-day conference was to “invite people from a variety of perspectives on queerness to discuss, interrogate, and explore LGBTQ2 and Queer perspectives whether academically, artistically, or through activism. The Queer Coll(i/u)sions Conference feature[d] academic panels, art installations, discussion panels, and performances.”

“We hope[d] to provide space for the collision of different queer discourses and push the boundaries of the traditional conference by allowing for different modalities of expression and examination. Traditional academia often limits the potential modalities for expression of critical queer questions and our hope is to push beyond the traditional modalities, to queer academic practice,” shared organizers Cait P. Jones and Derek Newman-Stille.

The conference kicked off on March 4, with a seminar on “Slashing Popular Fiction, Film, and TV: Using Fan Fiction to add that LGBTQ Flavour.”

LGBTQ themes were predominant during the conference, including other events such as Queering Fan Fiction and Popular Media, autoethnography and story readings featuring Kate Story and Tanya Huff, spoken word performances, a “Writing Queerly” workshop, queer storytelling, and author readings featuring Charlene Challenger and Fiona Patton.

Keynote speaker Dr. Rinaldo Walcott was invited to the conference as an academic and activist who teaches in the Department of Sociology and Equality Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.

He researches “Black Diaspora cultural studies, particularly as it relates to queer

sexualities and masculinities.” As a keynote speaker, he elaborated on the “critical space where academia and activism interact.”

Other events were also held, including a burlesque show, a panel on sex positivity, “Gender Euphoria: an Exploration through Art and Movement,” trans identities and gender fluidity, phobias and erasure, disability, the body and aging, black queer intersections, transgender autobiographical comics as self-documentation, self-exploration, self love, and queerness and popular culture.

Many of these events facilitated the exploration of discursive identities than are often marginalized and underrepresented.

In the workshop on gender euphoria, participants were encouraged to recreate a memory, through visual mediums, in which they felt euphoric about their gender identities; a clever play on words nodding to the fact that many transgendered identified individuals experience gender dysphoria, or the negative emotions associated with feeling that one’s physical body does not accurately represent their gender identity.

The facilitator of the event, Marty, commented on why this was important to them.

“I decided to do this workshop and the art piece on gender euphoria because I’ve been feeling frustrated lately with people in my personal life, as well as in the media, who almost exclusively focus on the sad, despairing parts of trans people’s lives.

I’ve also been encountering this issue with health practitioners who have power over trans people’s access to healthcare and choose to limit that access according to how well they fit into ‘the trans narrative’ of suffering.

“So I made this online survey and 41 trans people responded with their experiences of gender euphoria, and it was quite beautiful and empowering for me. With

the workshop, I wanted to create a space for trans people to feel empowered and happy and beautiful. I also wanted to do an activity that involved some introspection and exploration of one’s gender(s) or lack thereof. It turned out even more amazing than I had expected. It was important because self-care, resilience, and celebration for trans folks is important”.

Further explorations of queer gender identities were also discussed. In “Deadnames: Transgender Memory and Queer Hauntings in Gender Transition,” a forum was created in which old names, pronouns and lives that can sometimes haunt individuals into their ‘new’ identities, and the occasional necessity of meeting these hauntings with violence in transition.

The conference also delved into exploring other intersections, such as queerness and disability in “From Slash Fan Fiction to Crip Fan Fiction: What Role Does Disability have in Fandom?” as well as race, asexualities and class positions.

Discussions of disability ranged from physical to psychological. Panel speaker

Robin Alex McDonald spoke to the phenomenology of depression and queerness, in addition to spatial orientations we inhabit in both states, and our ritualistic relationships to objects in normative versus non-normative states.

Dr. Susan Hillock, director of Trent’s Department of Social Work and associate professor spoke about the critical component of “queering” higher education in order for it to be inclusive to all identities instead of just a privileged few.

The theme of allies taking responsibility for educating themselves in becoming more inclusive of marginalized people rang clearly.

According to the organizers, “queerness and queer discourse provides a rich space of collisions between different ideas, perspectives, thoughts, and bodies, but it also provides opportunities for for collusion, collaboration, and cooperation.”

This conference definitely accomplished what it set out to do, and hopefully we will see more of these conferences in the future.

Photo of keynote provided by Cait. P. Jones

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Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016

community

Saving the scene: talking with Mike Landry of Echo Studios

By Leina Amatsuji-Berry

Echo Studios has a mission on its hands.

“So many clubs are slowly destroying the small music scene, so we want to bring Peterborough back to having a good music scene,” said producer and business handler Mike Landry.

He added another goal: “[to] show bands from out of town that this is a great tour stop; not only do we have great venues and cheap venues, we have great bands that can open for you as well.”

In 2015, Echo Studios’ owner and sound engineer Riley Farmer was recording artists in the attic of his father’s Peterborough home.

“That just goes to show that we went even further. We were originally kids, not even allowed to go up into the attic,” Landry said, reflecting on Farmer’s work.

Due to the overwhelming response, the studio moved out of the attic and into a location at 423 Parkhill Rd. E. Echo Studios re-opened for business in February 2016,

and business has not slowed down for the Peterborough natives.

Apart from being a recording studio, Echo Studios hosted its first coffee house and open mic night on Feb. 22.

“We were expecting only a few people.

We were thinking, ‘Maybe just a few of our friends will come and we’ll end up jamming and talking’,” recalled Landry.

“We were overwhelmed. We ran out of chairs within the first 10 minutes. [There were] at least 50 people in and out the door that night; everyone was just there and having a great time.”

At just 23 years old, Farmer and Landry are a dynamic pair.

Landry completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in culture and music management at Brock University in 2015, while Farmer earned his diploma in audio recording technology from the Ontario Institute for Audio Recording Technology in 2014.

“When they’re emailing me, they think I’m a 40-year-old dude. I honestly had a

girl say, ‘I thought you were just going to be like, two 50-year-olds in a building!’

No. We’re young dudes,” Landry said with a laugh.

Their youthful energy has drawn in a variety of artists. While the Peterborough music scene tends to be home to a lot of rock, folk, country and acoustic acts, Echo Studios remains open to all.

“We will record anything and everything. In a few weeks, actually, we’re doing some Foley sound for a movie. We’ll do anything.”

Echo Studios also does mixing, mastering and live sound.

“Me and Riley always say we want to be the people we wish we had in high school.

We wish we had some young guy who’s not as intimidating that would welcome us into the studio,” he said, noting that studios can be intimidating for young artists. Echo Studios wants to change that.

“I’ve had people come up to me, and they say - and I love the word - that they want to be a ‘team’ [with us],” reflected Landry.

“We love the idea that this is going to be a community team effort. We want to give back to the community.”

Echo Studios is already giving back to the community by holding its coffee houses, as well as Song Circle events for songwriters.

The current Song Circle project aims to write a new theme song for the Peterborough Huskies special needs hockey team.

When asked about the future of Echo Studios, Landry answered simply.

“I just hope we record a lot of good music. I just hope we can really give back to the community. I want people to know if they need sound, if they need music recorded, if they have some kid who’s amazingly talented and they don’t know what to do, send ‘em our way. We want to be, essentially, a one-stop shop.

“We want you to be able to come in, record your songs and let us help you get it out there. Whether it’s with you in person, or it’s online.”

Echo Studios is hosting its second coffee house event on March 21, from 7 to 10p.m.

Arthur’s spring elections are happening soon!

Elect the editor(s) and board for Volume 51

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

14

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

www.trentarthur.ca

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

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

- 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

Volume 50 Staff Collective as of Issue 20

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.

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 Leina Amatsuji-Berry

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

The Dirty Nil release debut album : Higher Power

Source:YOSH Photography

By Tyler Majer

The Dirty Nil is a three-piece band out of Hamilton, Ont. They are self-proclaimed classic rock n’ roll musicians.

However, their sound comes closer to punk than it does to classic rock. Their lyrics are very angst-influenced with a basis in the disparagement of youth. Many songs are about broken relationships, societal flaws and the general issues with living in a world of disillusionment.

Their first album entitled, ‘Higher Power’ comes after a string of Singles and 7” releases. Their early singles, such as ‘Fuckin’ Up Young’ and ‘Little Metal Baby Fist’ were regarded as a breath of fresh air, in a genre gone almost stagnant.

This enthusiasm continued in later works such, ‘Guided by Vices/Cinnamon’ a 7” and the single, ‘No Weaknesses.’

It is these types of shorter releases that built The Dirty Nil’s sound; short, highenergy tracks, almost perfected by the time of release built an amount of reliability within their sound.

Prior to Higher Power, each single or 7” was solid. However, something is lost within this longer length release.

Maybe it’s the loss of disillusionment, and subsequent forays into more general sounds and subject matter. Maybe it’s the lack of growth in their sound.

There is no real difference in these songs, besides the fact that some are less catchy and less emotionally driven than before. The Dirty Nil presents a record that although inherently sounds good, is also a tad disappointing.

The listener expects something bigger

to be going on, but rather finds a world slightly smaller than hoped.

This world, however, is filled with singable lines, and head-bangable guitar riffs, so not all is lost.

Seemingly built upon the influence of alcohol and a general sense of disembodiment, The Dirty Nil’s tracks are aggressive, loud and easily accessible to the listener.

Easy listening hooks mixed with powerfully distorted chords and angered screams build an ambience of shared dishevelment.

The Dirty Nil’s sound is angry, yet poppy.

It is made for the losers of the world, while containing preppy influences.

The Dirty Nil is jock-punk. They are something to listen to when one wants to purge emotions, but they also fit beside a beer pong table.

They sound almost like a slightly morescreamy Offspring.

Moderately distorted guitar lays a basis for each track. Feedback is utilized often, and choruses that engulf the listener within their pseudo-punk, rock n’ roll aesthetic, drive the songs.

The album starts strong with two previously released songs. These tracks are entitled, ‘No Weaknesses’ and ‘Zombie Eyed.’ These tracks act almost as a definition of their sound.

All of the things listed above, be it accessible lyrics and hooks, just enough distortion to make you want to move and anger are present here.

The album then moves into its most interesting direction. ‘Wrestle Yü to Husker Dü’ presents a move toward a slower,

almost ballad-like style. ‘LowLives’ presents a darker, almost nihilistic influence.

This influence can be seen also in the songs, ‘Know Your Rodent’ and ‘Fugue State.’

These songs are all bass-heavy and laden with punk imagery. The bass thumps and makes the listener move with it.

The fast-pumping distortion of the guitar and the heavy beating of the drums forces the singer’s volume to rise into an incomprehensible scream. These songs are cathartic and angry, yet accessible, which is everything this record hopes to be.

However, the rest of the album hovers between catchiness and predictability. It is good, but nothing really stands out.

Each song feels similar, falling closer to that of commerciality instead of a true and original sound. ‘Helium Dreamer’ holds the most promise out of the rest of these tracks.

Starting with throbbing feedback and

arts

a bass ridden introduction, the listener is intrigued, yet becomes complacent by the almost whiny, predictability of the chorus.

This song is the representation of what the album embodies. It represents the thin line between being progressive and predictable, interesting and forgettable.

It is this line that The Dirty Nil struggles with on their first release. The record as a whole is good. It has highs and it has lows.

It often feels genuine, and progressive, but then, at other times, feels foreseeable and presupposed. It is not that The Dirty Nil presents a bad record, but a record that fluctuates often, and in that, disappoints a little too much.

Their anger and emotion is still evident.

This presides throughout the mindset of these disappointed youth and throughout their whole record.

An unfair world influences them, yet somehow they are able to break through, for better or for worse, and create.

Inspiration in ink: a profile of local artist Jeffrey Macklin

By Keith Hodder

Stepping into Jeffrey Macklin’s workshop is like stepping into a time machine.

The seemingly small space is crowded with tools that have been long forgotten in the realm of graphic design and typography.

Other than the phone in his pocket, and the speakers that play everything from David Bowie to Sonic Youth, Macklin’s Jackson Creek Press has reanimated the letterpress, a technique and tool that saw its decline in the late 1950s.

There are no computers here, only a patient imagination that Macklin has honed since his foray into the print-press world 13 years ago.

A Sheridan graduate and a long-time Peterborough resident, Macklin has always had a love for typography – the study of fonts and their composition.

Despite leaving Peterborough to explore his education in fine arts and graphic design, he returned after the four-year stint to continue his work as an artist, motivated by his love and longing for nature.

Macklin’s connection to the wilderness is reflected in his calm and laissez-faire disposition.

He is not burdened by his art’s intensive

process, which involves digging through his many cabinets of typeface in search of every single letter needed to spell out what needs spelling, but rather he is freed by it.

It is in this search, and in hand-carving designs in wood and hockey pucks, that he is at peace. He finds solace in improvising.

“I can break rules. I can run text across spines. Nobody is telling me what to do.

I can type collage. I can do anything that I want. It doesn’t have to be commercial, ”Macklin shared.

While his music playlist tells tales of going against the grain, Macklin does just that in the layers and grooves of ink and paper. He’s the Moonage Daydreamer of print.

His newest project was 50 years in the making. Spasm at the Spill, a wordless narrative that uses 21 hand-carved blocks, visually portrays the Peterborough performance by London-based artists Nihilist Spasm Band.

“They’re Canada’s oldest noise band.

They were formed 50 years ago by visual artists who made and modified their old instruments to create a cacophony of sound.”

In listening to Macklin talk about the project and the band, it’s easy to see the

passionate connection between the artist and his subject. Both are calloused creators whose love for art can be seen and heard in their handmade work. It’s difficult to imagine a stronger pairing and eventual output.

Macklin is currently in the middle of the creation process. He’s gone about carving each of the images and is hoping to complete it sometime this summer.

Only 50 copies of the book will be handprinted to commemorate the band’s 50 years of operation.

This release speaks to the charm of the letterpress, as every book is handmade and contributes to a growing trend that Macklin has capitalized on.

“I think there’s a drive to buy things directly from the maker. Whether that’s supporting the local farmer’s market or a print that someone made, there’s something about the letterpress that cannot be reproduced in a modern and digital way,” explained Macklin.

“It has an innate touch and feel to it because of the debossing of the image into the paper. It has a feel that cannot be recreated any other way.”

It’s clear that Macklin’s rebellious nature thrives on the uniqueness of his art, the

fact that its human connection means that every piece is different and bears the qualities of the maker.

The same design can be printed endlessly, but each is different in the faintest of ways.

In many ways, the method itself speaks to his counter-culture cravings. There are no rules; there is only the pursuit of art and happiness.

It’s a pursuit that Macklin plans to keep up with for the rest of his life.

“I don’t imagine I’ll ever retire. I plan to never stop printing. I don’t consider it work.”

Until then, if you see posters in the Peterborough streets adored with the Jackson Creek Press moniker and a message urging you to seek out your better self, know that you have come face-to-face with Macklin’s work.

Not only should you heed its message, but you should recognize that what you’ve seen is not only the product of ink and paper, but also the blood, sweat and tears of a passionate artist.

For updates on Jeffrey Macklin, Spasm at the Spill, and Jackson Creek Press visit jacksoncreekpress.ca or follow Jeffrey @ jacksoncreek (Twitter, Instagram) and Jackson Creek Press on Facebook.

15

Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016

arts

The numbers game: films reduced to ratings

By Keith Hodder

I’m a filmmaker, but I’ve also dabbled as a film critic. The practice is still new to me and there are times where exploring such work inspires an uncomfortable sentiment within me. Who am I to critique to a film?

My worry is that, given my background, one may take my words as overt judgment and ask, “Well, can you make a better one?”

It’s a fair question, but that isn’t the point.

Whether or not you agree with me is none of my concern. This piece is not an arched-back or drunken blog post diatribe.

My point of view is one of millions. You can read it, you can ignore it, and you can use the Arthur to start a fire or line your kitten’s litter box, and it doesn’t change my opinion or manipulate my words.

My words and the opinions they create continue to exist in the meat cosmos that is my noggin. With that said, I’d like to assume that yours is capable of the same – the creation of independent thoughts and opinions.

Fortunately, I’ve yet to hear anything negative from any of you save for a bit of blame thrown my way for scaring everyone

out from Sadlier House, which is haunted by the spirit of its former owners and the horses they slayed, but otherwise things have been peachy. This surprises me.

A lot of people ask my opinion on films.

I think it’s their polite way of starting a conversation, knowing my background.

I tell them exactly what I think, holding nothing back, and while some are totally fine with the exchange, others seem to be upset with my reply. My words are met with a twisted visage and crossed arms as though last night’s sushi isn’t sitting too well. This confuses me.

I have no qualms over differing opinions.

In fact, I welcome them like the woodsy aroma of patchouli. That’s the whole point of opinions; all of us have them and should communicate them. What upsets me is the fact that so many moviegoers are dependent on the thoughts of others to make up their minds.

Sure, I can understand reading the prose written by a skilled reviewer – of which I’m not – to perhaps sway your evening’s movie purchase, as things are getting expensive, but I think it’s ludicrous to take their words to heart in the construction of

your own judgment. If you like the movie, great, revel in your enjoyment. Why should my contrasting thoughts or those of others upset the balance of your satisfaction?

To make matters worse a lot of moviegoers no longer care about the written word. It has all come down to numbers.

Everyone seems to care about the IMDB score, the Rotten Tomatoes rating, and the Metacritic total.

People are taking something that has been built for at least a year, is the work of close to a hundred passionate individuals, and have reduced it to a split-second’s number or a star rating. This is what movies have been reduced to. What’s the fear in watching a movie and creating your own thoughts about it? Are you afraid your money will be wasted? Nonsense – you’ve already torrented it.

Movies cannot be boiled down to numbers. Neither can video games, books, or television shows. You cannot rate a person. There’s simply so much within us that we fail to discover it all by time we die.

We’re complex things, humans. So complex that science cannot even begin to explain

all of it. Movies are the same. They’re living things that are brought to life in the light.

And like people they are subject to opinion.

I’m privy to mine, you to yours, and the late Roger Ebert to his.

Numbers aren’t opinions. And though they may be fact in the realm of math and science, they are an insult to the arts. You are an insult to the moviegoing experience to believe in their weight and value in relation to the enjoyment of film.

If all you want to do is visit a website and read a number before seeing a movie than you probably shouldn’t be seeing a movie at all. Most are at least an hour and a half and I’m afraid your attention span cannot bear such a burden.

Here’s a challenge for you: avoid the movie trailers, avoid the reviews, ignore the Facebook posts, and go into a movie blind. I assure you that you’ll enjoy it a lot more than you’ll have ever expected, and god forbid you may just come face-to-face with your very own opinion on the matter.

In the meantime, take my opinion on all of this with a grain of salt. Who am I to tell you what to do? If a movie interests you, go and see it, take the risk.

This work presents vibrant colors across what appears to be a moving landscape.

The idea behind this work was to make visible filmmaking processes and concerns such as materiality, temporality and the reception of space.

Pro-Can(Ibalism) was the next film. It was made by Montreal’s Keenan Poloncsak.

This 2014 zombie film had more than its share of guts and gore (and a few audience members had to step out of the auditorium).

Angel’s Bike (2010), by Angel Hamilton and Nathan Kopjar, resumed the event after a brief intermission.

The two directors made the film while they were attending film school in North Vancouver. The very personal film, described as a “vulnerable piece” by Hamilton, documents her struggles with unlocking her bike after her key broke.

The bike and accompanying struggle serve as symbols of Hamilton’s difficulties living in Vancouver, finding housing there and financial stress. Overall though, Hamilton said there was a definite positive transformation during the time of filmmaking.

Olya Glotka dances in the following film.

Letters to Friends: Natalka also narrates the titular letter to Natalka, a friend, we learn, who passed away a year prior.

The location of the dance is an old abandoned church. Making use of emotional music, lens flares and slow motion, Letters expresses a deep sadness that we will all unfortunately come to experience in our lifetimes.

The evening concluded with Milkweed (2015), a film by Matthew Hayes. Milkweed premiered at the UFO Congress in Scotsdale, Arizona in February.

Hayes’s sci-fi drama stars the talented Kate Story and tells the tale of the character, Kate, visiting her mother’s home after the latter had mysteriously disappeared.

Kate gleans some clues and perhaps encounters the cause of her mother’s disappearance.

Milkweed was shot on a shoestring budget with a crew of five in Mt. Pleasant.

While Hayes was keen to explore UFO tropes, he was also interested in familial drama. The film was such a success that the Trent Film Society co-directors chose the film for its “Snowy Palm” prize.

Vosper explains that there was a fight to decide which film takes home Best Picture.

Dollface and Art took home awards and gift certificates as well. In the spirit of inclusivity, the other four films received honorary awards.

Snowdance was undoubtedly a hit.

Vosper and the rest of the TFS team had a red carpet, a photographer and snacks prior to the screenings. Doors also opened

an hour earlier so spectators could mingle with the filmmakers.

“What a great event! We are lucky to have Trent Film Society and their film screenings for free!” expressed Katie Green, an audience member at the event.

Let’s hope we see Snowdance 2 in March 2017. Hayes stated that this type of event is something Peterborough has needed for years.

Snowdance Film Festival a hit with local movie-lovers

By Troy Bordun

The stars were out, popcorn was popped, awards were gleaming and the red carpet was teaming with excited filmmakers and filmgoers. No, this wasn’t the Toronto International Film Festival. This was Snowdance, Trent Film Society’s first annual short film festival.

The name of the event is a humorous play on one of the biggest festivals in the USA, Sundance, held in Park City, Utah.

Trent Film Society, whose members grace the pages of Arthur every week, selected seven short films to screen at Market Hall on March 16.

For co-director Amy Jane Vosper, the selection process was a challenging one. They received 25 submissions and narrowed it down to a manageable evening of fare.

“We were overwhelmed by the talent in this city,” Vosper mentioned enthusiastically.

The program began with Kirsten Johnson’s Dollface (2016). Johnson is one of two filmmakers from outside of Peterborough.

This quirky five-minute film features a fictional mother lying on a pile of dolls.

Shot entirely from above, Dollface animates several of the doll’s faces whom then engage in hilarious and sad conversation with the mother.

Two dolls represent two poles of the character’s mental state – either “mess” or “fantastic.” The animation was simply brilliant.

Peterborough’s Lester Alfonso has been an active filmmaker for years. His “What is Art?” series has also been screened in various venues across town.

Alfonso showed his 2014 film Art is Constructing a Symbology, which first premiered as part of CinePoetry at Artspace. Alfonso followed slam poet Tessa Nasca around Peterborough and intercuts Nasca’s recitation of the titular poem on the street and at the local slam poetry venue, The Spill.

Trent University’s Kerri Kennedy followed Alfonso’s. Her two-minute film, made for the Cultural Studies Experimental Film course, is entitled “Projection: Reproduction: Distortion: A Digital Landscape.”

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www.trentarthur.ca

The Anne Shirley Theatre Presents: Heathers

arts

All photos by Samantha Moss

By Reba Harrison

The Anne Shirley Theatre Company (ASTC) presents a musical each spring at Market Hall in downtown Peterborough.

This year, director Lucas DeLuca brought the company to a new level.

The two-hour musical developed by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy is based in Westerberg High School, Ohio, where three means girls all by the name of Heather rule the school. The main character, Veronica, is a misfit interning as one of the Heathers when she falls for a new bad boy J.D. The two of them murder the most popular students in school before Veronica has to save the school from the escalating violence of J.D. The ASTC performance is only the third time Heathers: The Musical has been shown on the Canadian stage, said pop cultural historian Sam Tweedle in his review in Kawartha Now. It will not be the last. Samuel French, Inc. has a list of 49 upcoming productions that will see Heathers on stages across North America.

Seven of the productions are taking to the Canadian stages between now and the end of July. Kingston and London are showing two different productions of the musical in May. Throughout the ASTC musical, there were unfortunate technical issues with the microphones, but the cast of Heathers did not hold back.

Christina Pidgeon played the role of Veronica as a much nicer version of Veronica. Instead of cold and cynical, Veronica appeared frustrated and kind, as do most high-school based main characters.

Pidgeon gave her best performance during her song Dead Girl Walking.

After deciding that the Heathers will run her out of the school, Veronica looks to the new bad-boy in school for a night of adult fun. The whole song has a ‘fuck everything’

vibe that was full of life and attitude.

Andrew Little played bad boy J.D. Unfortunately, his wonderfully deep voice did not do much for the higher range that is associated with JD’s character.

During the song Dead Girl Walking, Little was barely audible with his lines and somewhat awkward in his movements.

Pidgeon took control grinding Little during an on-stage make-out session that gave the scene a genuinely good ending.

It may say something very good about Little’s personality that J.D.’s character was missing the attributes of a disturbed and, slightly delusional, emotional boy.

Little projected his J.D as more serious and sombre. It should be noted that Little stepped in as J.D. only a few months before production to fill the suddenly vacant spot, and likely had much less time to rehearse.

The musical version of Heathers combines Martha (the unattractive, fat girl) and Betty (Veronica’s former ‘loser’ best friend).

Kalene Lupton played the new Martha and delivered a wonderfully cheesy performance. Lupton shocked the crowd when she stepped onto the stage for a solo of Kindergarten Boyfriend and delivered the best vocals of the night.

Even more impressive was Josh Butcher who played the high school coach, Ram’s father named Mr. Sweeney and Big Bud Dean.

Butcher gave one of the top performances of the night with a strong voice and large stage presence even when he was not the character in song or speech.

Jesse Morrison delivered a solo for her character Heather McNamara. During Morrison’s song, Lifeboat, her constant awareness of her movement, gestures, facial expressions and voice made for a wonderful monologue.

There are two brilliant cringe-worthy pieces in the musical.

Samantha Hurl played both Mrs. Fleming and the mother of Veronica.

As Mrs. Fleming, Hurl became the

annoying character that she was meant to be. During the cast’s performance of Shine a Light (led by Hurl), it was clear that the writers wanted to add a ridiculously cheesy song, and they succeeded.

The other cringe-worthy moment was the song Blue, led by the two football players Ram (Karsten Skeries) and Kurt (Ed Sweeney).

The two are supposed to be misogynist dirtbags and sang the song ‘you make my balls so blue’ while pretending to have sex with a prop pig.

The phallic and alcohol-obsessed jerks pull off a very convincing performance, but there was obvious discomfort when the two were meant to caress each other.

On a personal perception, Audrey Messenger stole the show with her character Heather Chandler, the meanest and the first to die.

After her death, Chandler returns to haunt Veronica and showing another level of cruelty to her character. The over-thetop, witch-like cackles and strong, sexy presence made her the most amusing character to watch.

The stage direction was good, no actor appeared to be leaving or entering the performance space confused or awkward.

However, there were a few times the characters sang with their back to the audience.

Costume designer Kathy Blackwood put her best foot forward for Heathers, and with the exception of some strange verticaldesigned lighting patterns, Gil Ruston did a wonderful job with lighting.

The props of the production were minimal, but of great quality. Real

lockers, a portable bar, snacks and a motorized wheelchair were used. For more complicated props like a car, the cast settled on a bench.

The musicians that played for the night did a flawless job and deserve recognition for their incredible work.

Ending the show, Veronica (Pidgeon) ripped the red scrunchy from the hair of Heather Duke (Hop Clarkin in green). The symbol of power within the high school did not come out of Clarkin’s hair easily and the audience giggled a bit as Pidgeon struggled and succeeded.

The incident did not seem to fracture the success of the play, but instead created an unexpected moment of connection between the audience and cast members.

I would like to make a shout-out to Tom Middleton, who played the dorky student, for pulling off hilariously creepy one-liners throughout the play and for his adorable dancing at the production’s end.

The cast was organized by the end of September and rehearsals began in October.

The atmosphere during rehearsals is good, but tensions can get high as most of the cast are involved in other Trent and Peterborough groups, as well as enrolled at Trent University, explained Morrison.

The biggest challenges for Morrison have been constantly keeping up without stressing too much and singing with a cold.

But spending time both working hard and goofing around with the talented cast had been a wonderful experience, she said.

At the end of the day, she shared, they all feel like a family and many friendships have been formed.

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Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016

Jake Stanley Memorial Boxing Club

By Matt Douglas

A friend had suggested to Sarah Jennings that she run a boxing club at Trent, but she thought she was too busy. Later that night her boyfriend Jake Stanley, a boxer himself passed away. “It was one of the toughest times of my life,” Sarah says. But a couple days later she knew what she was going to do with the heartbreak. Sarah had decided she was going to remember Jake by running the boxing club.

Much to Sarah’s surprise the boxing club took off at Trent. “We don’t always have enough space, depending on how many people show up,” she said. They have had ninety members sign the waiver form and participate in a workout and around forty come regularly to their sessions Tuesday and Thursday night’s at the Trent Athletic Centre.

Alex Mitchell, a fourth year History and Anthropology student, has ten years’ experience with boxing and other combat sports. He helps Sarah with training and says he thinks the atmosphere they’ve created at the club keeps people coming.

“We don’t have any alpha-male vibes going on in the club,” he says, “and I think that’s why people enjoy it. Nobody is worried that they are being judged, everyone is at a different level. We get to have fun, be goofy, but also do work.”

For some members it isn’t about the boxing necessarily. Sarah and Mitch try to make sure it’s always a good workout.

“Some come to work out, some come for the boxing, it doesn’t really matter,” Sarah said.

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The two trainers have varying levels of experience boxing, but they’ve managed to use it to their benefit. “Sarah is really good at teaching the fundamentals well.

She’s been boxing for just under two years now,” Alex said “but sometimes that’s better because the basics are fresh in her mind and she know how to communicate with new comers. She’s a good teacher.”

Alex is able to bring more knowledge and is able to work with the more experienced boxers in the club.

A difficulty with running so many classes is keeping things fresh every week, but Sarah takes ideas from wherever she can find them. “Sometimes I’ll workout at the other clubs in town and I’ll get new drills there. It’s nice to always be mixing it up a bit.”

The club isn’t allowed to charge membership fees per TCSA rules, but they have asked members to donate what they can and that money has gone towards Team 55 foundation in honour of Jake Stanley.

Despite the club’s success this year neither Sarah nor Alex are sure whether the club will continue next year. Alex is graduating from Trent and Sarah will going through the placement part of the nursing program, which means neither will be on campus.

Although the future of Jake Stanley Memorial boxing club is uncertain, Sarah says it has been a great way to remember Jake. “If Jake saw it, saw what was happening with the club,” Sarah smiles, “he would be revved, he would love it.”

sports

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 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

SUDOKU

Walkhome—Pre-book your safe walk. Do you regularly have practice Monday night,

work in the Library Tuesday night or go downtown Friday night? Our team of volunteers walkers can meet you, on campus or downtown. Monday to Friday: 7pm to 1am, Saturday & Sunday: 9pm to 1am. Call us 705- 748-1748 or email walkhome@tretnu.ca to Prebook a walk.

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!​ Critical Play Seminar-Centre for Pixel Culture: The Sadleir House Centre for Pixel Culture is dedicated to the preservation, collection, study, and appreciation of video games and related ephemera as important cultural texts. Through talks, seminars, and curated play exhibitions, the Centre for Pixel Culture encourages interaction with these pixel texts and promotes recognition of the video game medium. All Seminars @ 7:00pm Sadleir House Lecture Hall.

Trent Academic Skills in the Colleges: There is now an academic skills instructor at each college office. Writing papers and/or labs? We can help: from starting the writing process, revising a draft or any stage in-between. You can make an in-person or an “online” appointment at www.trentu.ca/sep.

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: Ornamenting the Ordinary: Crafts from South Asia is an exhibition on loan from the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) on display from Dec 19, 2015 – Mar 27. This exhibition brings together the craft traditions of South Asia. Most of the objects are taken from the collections of the Royal Ontario

send yours to listings@trentarthur.ca

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.

Chains Across The Border: Policing and Prisons In Central Ontario, Canada, and the United States: Thursday, April 7th, 7:30 PM-9:30 PM, Peterborough Public Library Auditorium A panel discussion bringing together scholars and community members to discuss policing’s impact on communities, and incarceration policy. It will provide an opportunity for those affected by these issues to meet, share ideas, and to compare and contrast local, national, and international situations. Free, everyone welcome. Reception to follow at Artspace.

Hosted by the School for the Study of Canada. For more info, please contact canadianstudies@trentu.ca

Local Seasoned Spoon is hiring: The Seasoned Spoon Café is a not-for-profit cooperative that serves locally grown, organic food at Trent University. We are currently hiring TWSP eligible students to work during the 2016/17 school year. The application deadline is Monday, April 4th at 12pm.

Cover letters and resumes can be sent to seasonedspoon@trentu.ca. Visit our website for more details www.seasonedspoon.ca Seed Starting Workshop: Find out about different types of seeds and where to source them, growing mediums, lighting, timing and tips for growing healthy seedlings.

Plus there will be a hands on component in which you will get the opportunity to seed the Trent Vegetable Garden’s onions & leeks together! Meet at the Spoon and we’ll head over to the Greenhouse. 5:30-7pm at Seasoned Spoon Cafe on March 23.

Ecological Disease and Pest Management: Join the Trent Vegetable Gardens and Seasoned Spoon Cafe for this informative workshop on how to solve persistent problems in the garden. As the past coordinator of the Trent Vegetable Gardens, CSA operator and owner of Dan Ledandan foods, Dan Legault has the experience and know-how to deal with some of the toughest trouble shooting in the garden. Learn the basics of pest prevention, including cucumber beetles and leek moths, critter control, attracting beneficial organisms, and how to get rid

Thursday

of fungus and mildews! This workshop may just be the key to breathing easy in the garden all season long! March 30 from 5:007:00pm. $5 or PWYC. Be Love. Serve Life: ECK Worship Service: Realizing the fullness and sweetness of who we truly are as spiritual beings ultimately brings a love for all life and a desire to give back in some way. Join us for an uplifting program. Hear others’ experiences and try a spiritual exercise to help connect with Divine Love within. Fellowship follows. March 20 at 4pm. Sadleir House Dining Hall.

Arts 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. March 24 at 8:00.

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!

Peterborough Poetry Slam: Thursday, March 24th, the Peterborough Poetry Slam is Proud to host March Slam and Open Mic, Featuring Raïssa Simone in Honour of International Women’s Day. Head to The Spill Cafe to sign up for the slam or open mic at 7:30 p.m.

The slam starts at 8:00 p.m. $5/PWYC. Fat Plant Presents: Fet.Nat, Watershed Hour, Everett, and Puberty Hands at The Spill. Thursday March 31 at 9pm. $8.

Listening Party #15: Liam Kennedy-Slaney hosts Listening Party #15! Head to Curated at 203 Simcoe St, Unit #5. April 19 at 8:00. Bring your headphones!

Cold Tea Records Presents: Clairvoyant (Toronto Indie Rock), Cleopatrick (Cobourg Rock Duo) ,C.Clarkin & The Residents (Peterborough Indie Blues), and Jesse Foster, (Psychadelic Indie Rock). April 1 at The Spill. $5 at the door.

Rising United 10:30. tunes,

Friday Friday

Saturday

•Vacant Music Show- • Lucas Huang, Nick Zucase @ The Garnet (9pm) beck, Joyful Joyful @ Catalina’s (9pm) •Country Night @ TankHouse Pub (4pm) • Manitoba Hal @ St. Pauls United Church (9pm) • Briannah Cotton Tankhouse Pub (7pm)

This Weekend in Live Music: presented by ElectricCityLive.ca

Appalachia: Head to George Street Church on April 7 from 6:30 to Experience some spoken word, banjo fiddles, and a wealth of variety in

• Ellen Froese and Kendall Sullivan @ Gallery in the Attic (8:30pm) • 24h Music Project @ The Red Dog (10pm)

@

• TUMS Battle of the Bands @ Historic Downtown Peterbough (7:30) • Moonfruit and Lotus Wight @ Gallery in the Attic (7pm)

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Volume 50 | Issue 20 |March 21| 2016