Tuesday, March 20, 2018

SINCE 1906

westerngazette.ca TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER • VOLUME 111, ISSUE 24 fighting for what’s right since 1906

WESTERN TO OFFER PASS/FAIL CREDITS IN FALL PG3

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2018

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2 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

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QUINN FLEMING

Volume 111, Issue 24 WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA University Community Centre Rm. 263 Western University London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial 519.661.3580 Advertising 519.661.3579

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AMY O’KRUK @AMYOKRUK MANAGING EDITOR OF DESIGN JORDAN MCGAVIN @JMCGAVIN13 MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT RITA RAHMATI @RITARAHMATI

COPY PATTY HU LUCAS SONKE

“Band members ask me, ‘what do you do outside band?’ and I just say, ‘more band,” Quinn said.

Quinn is the director of Western University’s marching band. If you have been to any sporting events, you know how much the band loves engaging fans through their music and energy. From hockey games to football’s Vanier Cup, if you’re ready to cheer on your Western Mustangs, you know the band will be there with you.

Quinn said his favourite part of band is the football games.

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“There’s so much energy in the air already,” he said.

“Every time it’s game day, there’s a little spark in the air that makes all the work worth it.”

Music has been a part of Quinn’s life for as long as he can remember. Growing up, his father always played records in the house. Throughout the years, Quinn picked up multiple instruments including piano, trombone and percussion, but it wasn’t until Grade 11 when Quinn truly found his place in the city of Windsor’s marching band.

The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.

Aside from just Western, Quinn’s experience with bands has been nothing short of extensive. He was part of drum and bugle corps for two years, an experience Quinn described as marching band on steroids. Just last year, Quinn’s team, the Boston Crusaders, placed sixth in the world.

Quinn is always looking to apply the skills he learned from drum and bugle corps to develop Western’s marching band. So far, he is extremely proud of the progress they’ve made over the past few years.

“In the beginning, we did a lot of parades in the community outside of London,” said Quinn. “A lot of the focus this year is making sure that we are more so centred around giving back to the Western community.”

So far, Quinn says that the results have been phenomenal, and that he owes it largely to Dan Durack from athletics and Reid Schneider, the band librarian, for making a lot of it possible.

“As soon as the first note happened, it shook me, and I was like, ‘Oh snap, this is what I’m doing for the rest of my life.’ I was just hooked from the very first note,” Quinn said.

“The Western students have been really responsive; they’ve given back as much energy as we’ve been giving to them,” said Quinn.

In Grade 12, after hearing his musician friends saying that Western was the place to be, Quinn decided to pursue a music education degree for his undergrad. Despite his musical talents, Quinn still had a daunting task in front of

Quinn is looking to become a substitute music teacher after graduation but hopes to continue with the Western Mustang Band.

■■HILL DU

Blast from om the past

Gazette staff quits 1961 GRACE TO NEWS EDITOR @GRACEKTOE

All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.

“So I picked up the double bass in Grade 12. I had a very, very strenuous six months getting ready for the audition … and I was thrilled to receive my offer,” said Quinn.

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him: the audition. As a risk-taker, Quinn didn’t just play an instrument he was comfortable with. He planned to play the double bass, an instrument he never played before.

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OPINIONS RICHARD JOSEPH

INTERACTIVE MEDIA CONNOR CLARK

Most students are proud of having a myriad of hobbies, but for first-year teacher’s college student Quinn Fleming, there is only one. Band, band and more band.

1

CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE

VIDEO LAUREN COLES JOSH MERIFIELD

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE, BAND PHOTO COURESY OF WESTERN MUSTANGS BAND, GRAPHIC BY KYRA KARAKATSANIS

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At a University Students’ Council meeting in 1961, the entire Gazette editorial staff was in attendance as the room was sent into shock after an announcement by then editor-inchief, John Wilcox.

“We’ve had enough!” cried Wilcox, dabbing his eyes with his handkerchief. “We’ve been under constant pressure from the USC, the Purple Spur, the administration and our families throughout the whole year because of our editorial policies. … The only reason that we continued with our work is that we knew the students would be completely lost without us.”

He declared that the entire editorial staff had decided to resign.

The USC president at the time, Mike Hamilton, was shocked as he stood up to give his response.

“It never occurred to us [the USC] that the Gazette was sensitive to criticism, or we would never have launched such an all-out attack,” said Hamilton.

USC executives and councillors offered their sincerest apologies, but the Gazette staff was not appeased. Instead, they continued to exclaim that their hearts were crushed and their spirits have turned bitter.

After this exchange, the USC finance commissioner piped up: “If it’s money you want, we have more than enough to go around.”

Unfortunately, bribery and flattery did not satisfy the Gazette.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • 3

news

COURTESY OF JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE OF CANADA

Western to award Jane Goodall with honorary degree GAZETTE NEWS @UWOGAZETTE

LUCY VILLENEUVE GAZETTE OUR DEAR LEADER. Western University president Amit Chakma at the March 16 Senate meeting.

Western to offer pass/fail credits in fall GAZETTE NEWS @UWOGAZETTE

CHAIR OF THE WESTERN STUDENT SENATORS

students had complete alignment in the types of opportunities we wish for our students.”

However, the new policy advises students to carefully consider the impact of discovery credits.

Students will not be able to use pass/fail credits to apply to Ivey Business School’s honours business administration program, and the policy does not extend to firstyear students and students in the following programs: engineering, nursing, music, musical arts, law, education, business, and medicine and dentistry.

Discovery credits also cannot count toward the mandatory courses needed for an honours specialization, specialization, major, minor modules, or certificates and diplomas.

Further, organizations outside of Western may choose to only use graded courses to evaluate students for graduate programs or professional schools.

Regardless, Doerksen said the discovery credits offer a new opportunity for many students.

“This is an awesome time to explore things, but at the same time, students are rightfully concerned about their grades because they want to go on to graduate school or whatever their next step is,” he said.

“This is now an opportunity to do that without the risk around grades.”

law student, said Western’s decision is exciting.

“The fact that we have the opportunity to recognize someone that’s done a vast amount of research in the field of animal behaviour, specifically with chimpanzees, is amazing,” Balendra said. “She’s dedicated 55 years to her research study, which is extremely impressive. If you’ve had the chance to see her videos and what she has said in multiple interviews, you would be able to see why this is so exciting for Western.”

Goodall is a remarkable woman whose research with chimpanzees in Tanzania has been revolutionary.

FRANK YE THIRD-YEAR MEDICAL SCIENCES STUDENT AND SCIENCE STUDENTS’ COUNCIL PRESIDENT-ELECT

G AT E WAY CHURCH G AT E WAY CHURCH

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Western students will officially be able to take pass/fail credits in the fall.

Passed at a Senate meeting on March 16, Western University will introduce “discovery credits” effective Sept. 1, 2018.

The credits will allow undergraduate students to designate a course as a discovery credit, meaning they will receive a pass/fail grade instead of a course mark on their transcript. Students can take up to 1.0 discovery credit courses, which will count toward the overall credits required for their degree program.

Western implemented discovery credits to allow students to pursue academic exploration. The credits will not impact a student’s cumulative grade point average, will not impact student award eligibility and can be used to fulfill breadth requirements but not essay requirements.

The University Students’ Council and Western Student Senators have long advocated for pass/fail credits.

Courtney Hardy, chair of the WSS, said the credits allow students to take courses for pure interest while still being competitive candidates for graduate and professional schools.

“It’s really appealing for students that want more out of their university experience than just graduating with a degree and for students who want to get a more holistic education,” Hardy said.

The university administration said students played an important role in creating the new policy.

“Students for some years now have been really important advocates for this,” said John Doerksen, vice-provost of academic programs.

“I was very delighted to see that this is an area where the academic leaders in the university and the

It’s really appealing for students that want more out of their university experience than just graduating with a degree and for students who want to get a more holistic education.

COURTNEY HARDY

Jane Goodall is coming to Western University in April, and she’ll be leaving with an honorary degree.

Western will award Goodall with an honorary degree, it’s highest honour, at a special convocation ceremony on April 25, 2018.

Goodall is a world-renowned British primatologist and is considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees. She’s best known for her 55-year study of wild Tanzanian chimpanzees, leading to scientific breakthroughs in animal behaviour. Today, Goodall is one of the world’s most prominent and active conservationists, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Goodall has received many awards and accolades throughout her career, including The British

Academy’s President’s Medal in 2014.

Frank Ye, a third-year medical sciences student and Science Students’ Council president-elect, said Goodall deserves the honour.

“Goodall is a remarkable woman whose research with chimpanzees in Tanzania has been revolutionary,” Ye said. “Her discoveries that they are able to communicate, use tools and do a variety of other humanlike things have changed the animal behaviour field, and I think she will be a great asset to Western.”

Goodall received a PhD in ethology in 1965 from the University of Cambridge, becoming the eighth person in the university’s history who was allowed to pursue a PhD without first earning a baccalaureate degree. Her doctoral thesis, “Behaviour of free-living chimpanzee,” described her first five years of study at the Gombe Reserve.

Nevethan Balendra, a first-year

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4 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

sports

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Women’s hockey caps fantasy run with national silver medal

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE

CHARLIE O’CONNOR CLARKE SPORTS EDITOR @CHARLIEJCLARKE One year ago, the Western Mustangs women’s hockey team had been off the ice for almost a month, having bowed out in the first round of the Ontario University Athletics playoffs to the Waterloo Warriors. Today, the Mustangs find themselves again recovering from a season-ending loss but this time, perhaps, a more meaningful one.

Western’s 2017–18 season finished with a 2–0 loss to the Manitoba Bisons in the U Sports national gold medal game on Sunday at Thompson Arena. So the Mustangs come out of the championship tournament on home ice as silver medalists.

At the end of the game, the shots were 25–20 for the Bisons, who have made a name for themselves this season as a stingy team who can stifle opposing attackers and keep the puck out of their net. All they needed was two shots past red-hot Mustangs goalie Carmen Lasis, and they shut things down.

Tournament MVP Lauryn Keen scored the winning goal for Manitoba on the power-play, just before the second intermission, and Venla Hovi — who’s just a month removed from winning her second Olympic bronze medal with Finland — added the insurance marker early in the third.

Keeping things so close with Manitoba, who were ranked first in the weekly U Sports top 10 teams

for the last five weeks of the season, is something to be proud of for the Mustangs, who never managed to climb above seventh this season.

“A lot of teams in the league didn’t expect us to be where we are today,” said Mustangs veteran Megan Taylor. “Just to prove everyone wrong was probably the most amazing part. I’m so proud of everyone.”

A lot of teams in the league didn’t expect us to be where we are today. Just to prove everyone wrong was probably the most amazing part. I’m so proud of everyone.

MEGAN TAYLOR FIFTH-YEAR MUSTANGS FORWARD

Western repeatedly went into games as underdogs and came out victors in the provincial semifinals.

They swept the Guelph Gryphons, two-time defending OUA champions. They shut out the favoured Queen’s Gaels in Kingston to win the McCaw Cup. Then, in the national semifinal, they came back to beat the Saskatchewan Huskies, who spent time this season ranked first in the U Sports top 10.

“It’s a huge accomplishment to even be here,” said Western forward Shailyn Waites. “I think we’ve been the underdogs through every series, even in the playoffs.

We proved to a lot of teams that we come with 100 per cent.”

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE Mustangs centreman Shailyn Waites lines up for a faceoff against Erin Kucheravy of the Manitoba Bisons.

So ends their wild ride through the playoffs, where they went undefeated until this point and won the McCaw Cup as Ontario champions. Manitoba ended Western’s winning streak at 13, capping off a miracle run of their own.

The Bisons had an extremely tough run to the gold medal game.

They went to overtime twice in their Canada West semifinal series with the Alberta Pandas, winning the series in a 1–0 quadruple-overtime thriller. Manitoba needed the extra frame again in game one of the CW final, which they again won against the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Then, in their semifinal game of the U Sports tournament on Saturday, the Bisons went all the way to a shootout against the Concordia Stingers before booking their place in the gold medal game.

“There are no words. There simply are no words,” said Bisons goalie Lauren Taraschuk, who recorded a shutout in the final and averaged 1.00 goals against in the playoffs. “We’ve worked so hard for this moment, and the fact that it’s come today, we’re just so proud of each and every one of us.”

Manitoba lifted the Golden Path Trophy for the first time in their program’s history, making the moment a little more special for their school. Coming into nationals as the number one seed, the Bisons could’ve crumbled under pressure, but — despite a nervous first period where neither team could kickstart their offence — they ended up winning it all in the way they’ve

done all year.

When Keen broke the levee and put Manitoba on the scoreboard first, the Bisons found themselves in a position they’ve been comfortable with all year. Ever since the winter break, they’ve averaged an astounding 0.9 goals against per game, recording 11 shutouts in 20 contests.

“We’ve done it all year,” said Manitoba coach Jon Rempel.

“We’ve got great goaltending, and we just play a suffocating style of hockey that’s up-tempo. It’s just hard for teams to score on us.”

For the Mustangs, the loss is hard to swallow in the moment.

To come so far and to fall short in front of over 1,600 home fans is heartbreaking. The details of the game will surely be replayed in their minds for a while.

“We felt like we definitely could play with them,” said Mustangs coach Kelly Paton. “There’s already moments that I’m going through in my head where I wish we would’ve done something different.”

Eventually, though, this year’s Mustangs team will be able to place this season’s accomplishments in perspective. All year long, they were the little team that could.

They had no first-team OUA allstars (Emma Pearson and April Clark were named to the second team) and no U Sports all-Canadians. Carmen Lasis was goalie of the tournament at nationals, but that was the extent of Western’s individual accolades this year.

Instead, they did it by committee. Eight players had more than 10

LIAM MCINNIS GAZETTE Mustangs forward Amanda Pereira moves the puck up ice while being pressured from behind.

points in the regular season and 10 scored a goal in the post-season.

They relied on hard-working, systematic hockey to edge them past some very talented teams.

“We’re not a team with all-star players. We’re not a team with a ton of skill,” said Paton. “We work hard and stay together. I think that’s where our success came.”

Western’s women’s hockey program is in the middle of its most successful period, having appeared at nationals three times since 2015 and emerging with two medals (gold in 2015). The team’s graduating players will be leaving a team where they’ve seen some of the greatest successes of their careers.

Ali Beres, Pearson and Taylor will leave Western with two OUA championships, an OUA silver, and a gold and silver medal from nationals.

“I’m so thankful,” said Taylor.

“Playing for Western has been an absolute dream of mine. I’m so happy with how I could go out.”

The Mustangs now have a long off-season ahead of them, with plenty of rest on the agenda before they start gearing up for a bid to return to nationals next year. Paton is optimistic about the class of recruits coming in for next season, and she’ll have a lot of her current roster at her disposal again in 2018–19.

Western’s experience at nationals in 2018 will be one to remember, even though they couldn’t claim the ultimate prize for the home fans. Now, the countdown begins until they return to the ice next fall.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • 5

pride

An open letter to our campus’ LGBTQ2+ community

W

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

hen discussing the planning for the PrideWeek edition of the Gazette and our editorial roles in it, it was suggested that we use this opportunity to address our community through a letter. However, we cannot do that without first addressing the concept of a LGBTQ2+ community. Most of us are born into many communities and cultures which are products of ancestry, history and nurturing. LGBTQ2+ people, however, are born across any imaginable category: races, ethnicities, classes, creeds, family structures, political affiliations... Our community contains multitudes of experiences that intersect in complex and beautiful ways.

If we look to our history, the pattern in our unification is clear. LGBTQ2+ people have come together in times of crisis. We united when police were brutalizing our communities, when our plagues were being ignored and we were dying in terrifying numbers, when they labeled us “dangers” to minors and tried taking our children from parents, and when the law refused to grant our partners equal rights and protections. Our community has been forged in its resistance and in its resilience. At the forefront of these fights have always been those who had no choice but to fight and to rally others to the cause. It is unfortunate to see they have been largely omitted and forgotten when our history is told. More disturbing still is that the rights and equal treatment they fought for are often not granted to those who share similar identities today – people who sit at intersections of transgender, non-binary and racialized identities.

We say this because we want to acknowledge the varying experiences and oppression felt across our community. Western University boasts having “the best student experience”. We know this just isn’t true for us. On campuses across our country, LGBTQ2+ people face disproportionate rates of harassment, threats, bullying, violence, assault and discrimination.What’s worse, so much of what we face is not one bigoted student we can report for hate speech. Often, what hurts the most is the general apathy and neglect from our entire campus community: students, administrators, professors and practitioners. In all this, we want you who are affected by this to know that these feelings of injustice, hurt and anger at being forgotten and ignored, or only addressed in the most superficial of ways,

are so incredibly valid. The lack of gender neutral washrooms was likely not an explicitly queerphobic act: people simply did not consider trans, non-binary and individuals with non-conforming gender expression when building them. Finding a therapist who can handle the nuances of coming out to non-white immigrant parents is next to impossible because finding a therapist competent in LGBTQ2+ or person of colour identities is so rare. Getting a name change isn’t hell because of purposefully erected barriers; we just didn’t consider this possibility when the systems were coded. It is important to restate that these issues are not the product of explicit bigotry but instead are a symptom of a system that actively contributes to the marginalization of LGBTQ2+ individuals through ignorance and erasure. They are often difficult to pinpoint because they are not singular incidents but part of the larger system that LGBTQ2+ people have been resisting throughout our history.

But it is important to remember through this that our resilience and resistance to oppression is not simply historical, it lives through the spirits of LGBTQ2+ students at Western.

To those of you who step up and commit yourself to this work — ­ largely unpaid, poorly supported, inadequately resourced, underrecognized and dismissed — thank you. We have so far to go, but we are as far as we are because of you.

To those of you who feel comfortable, remember that our community is a product of resistance — you are called to be there for all of our people in all of their fights.

To those who feel as if they have been regulated to the outskirts of our community — we commit to deconstructing our prejudices and oppressive tendencies, to uplifting us all.

To all members of Western’s LGBTQ2+ community: resistance and resilience are not only regulated to the history books. We are making history every day.

Kindly,

Layne Clarke President of Spectrum UWO

Marie Fiedler

Coordinator of PrideWestern

LAYNE CLARKE (left) President of Spectrum UWO and MARIE FIEDLER

Coordinator of PrideWestern, March 18

6 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

pride

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Explorations of queerness

Stag Woman (acrylic on unstretched canvas, 28 1⁄4x34”, 2017) uses natural imagery to express concerns about queer identity and embodiment. Binaries are a cornerstone of Western thought, and they pervade the way Western society interprets both nature and sexual identity. The canvas is split four ways according to two dominant binaries: the night and day and the sky and subterranean. The lone figure straddles the space between these seemingly separate realms, existing both in the day and night and in the above and below. Stag Woman is a character I use both to explore my connection with nature and to defy normative conceptions of nature and naturalness. Stag Woman, as their name implies, appears to be both male and female but also neither. Stag Woman is both an empowering figure who exists outside of repressive, dualistic classification, but they could also be interpreted as demeaning because of their association with the bestial and the non-human. This painting focuses on ambiguities.

Stag Woman Receives Power from the Moon (intaglio print, 11 1⁄2x15”, 2017) is a more overtly positive depiction of Stag Woman.

Their prominent female sexual characteristics combined with their antlers again place them in the realm of ambiguity, but here they assume a strong pose and are receiving power from the moon.

The moon is associated with mystery, danger, changeability and witchcraft. The Stag Woman embraces the night world as a creative space for their subversive existence.

Union (acrylic on canvas, 11x14”, 2017) is inspired by the illuminated manuscripts of medieval Ireland and England. Frames of colour, pattern and Celtic knots surround two female figures who are clasping hands and whose bodies are connected to form a circle, symbolising their emotional and physical union.

Spiral Dance acrylic on canvas, 24x30”, 2017) depicts two abstracted female figures wound together in a passionate embrace.

The interlocking of vibrant complimentary colours confounds the separation between figure and background and results in the merging of the subjects with both their environment and each other.

Reilly Knowles rknowle3@uwo.ca

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • 7

pride

Questionably Queer

By Sade Stacey

D

ebate between straight people and the LGBT+ community has been an ongoing history. However, there are a variety of debates that take place within the queer community itself. In the summer of 2016, conversations on queer forums sparked an argument regarding the identity of asexuality: should asexuals be considered a part of the LGBT+ community? Those opposed state that asexual people are straight and are invading a minority community. Asexual supporters counter that asexuals are in fact queer, and it is malicious gatekeeping that makes the community unsafe. Asexual is a queer orientation on the grounds that it deviates from heteronormative expectations, that it faces both structural and social discrimination and that the experiences of asexuals do not have to be identical to samegender attracted people to be valid.

The current definition of asexuality is “someone who does not experience sexual attraction,” with this definition expanding to varying types of attraction that asexual people experience: aesthetic, meaning attraction to appearance in a non-sexual manner; romantic, the desire to be romantically involved; and sensual, the need for non-sexual, affectionate physical contact.

The use of the word “queer” to pinpoint oneself somewhere along the axis of the LGBT+ spectrum began shortly after the gay liberation movement in the 1960s. Those who did not neatly fit into the categories of “gay” and “lesbian” found that identifying as queer was a way to show difference from heteronormative expectations without restricting their identity. In today’s society, there is a considerable amount of importance placed on the concept of sexual attraction and desire.

This emphasis is what feminist author Ela Przybylo refers to as “sexusociety” — a term which describes the pervasive centrality of sex in society. Przybylo states that one’s level of sexual interest has falsely become a reflection of psychological and physiological health as

MICHAEL CONLEY GAZETTE

Asexuality in the LGBT+ Community

sex is considered to be “a natural force impressive musical talent have also been akin to eating and sleeping.” In a society linked to unusual prenatal development. where sexual attraction is considered the Stating that “it should give us pause about norm, it can be understood that asexuwhat is and what is not [considered] a ality deviates from these sexual expectdisorder,” Bogaert points out that there is ations and becomes queer. a form of structural bias working against However, there are some who asexuality. believe that being queer must include The pathologization of asexuality an element of structural oppression. also results in various forms of social discrimination. With society’s focus Those who do not consider asexuality on sexual desire, many believe that to be queer cite the fact that asexual sexual attraction is a key component people’s existence has not been perof the human experience. From this secuted by the government. However, point of view, to be asexual is not within the institution of medical merely abnormal but inhuman. In practice there is both a historical and contemporary oppression of asexBrock University’s 2012 study, results uality. The pathologization of asexconcluded that amongst various uality can be seen in the previous LGBT+ orientations, asexuals were Diagnostic and Statistical Manual perceived to be the least human. of Mental Disorders. Published in The majority of participants con2000, the DSM states that having sidered asexuals to be animalistic “absent/reduced interest in sexor machine-like and would not ual activity ... sexual thoughts” be willing to hire or rent space to are signs of various pathological them. With a dehumanized view disorders. It was only in 2013 of asexuality, people are able Stating that that the criteria was revised and to disregard the autonomy of those who “self-identify” as asexual people with the accus‘it should give ation that asexuality needs to asexual are to not be diagnosed. be cured. Sexual violence in However, asexuals who exhibit us pause about the form of “corrective rape” signs of “distress” or who cannot assure their orientation is what is and what is not is a common fear and reality within the asexual commun“lifelong” may still be diagnosed. Psychologist Anthony [considered] a disorder,’ ity. In the context of being asexual, the violator believes Bogaert addresses the heterBogaert points out that the victim will no longer onormative bias behind these be asexual if they experience diagnoses by deconstructing that there is a form of “sex” and believes that they what evidence has been used be thanked later. In the to justify the pathologization structural bias working will Huffington Post’s article on of asexuality. A link between asexuality, the following asexuality and abnormal against asexuality. quote showcases the harsh prenatal development has reality that asexual people been used to dismiss the face: “Some take [asexorientation’s validity; howuality] as a challenge … ever, not only is the link We are perceived as not small, but traits such as

”

being fully human because sexual attraction [is] seen as something alive, healthy people do … they believe that they’re just waking us up.” Asexuals do not just differ from heteronormative standards of sex but also experience institutional and social discrimination based on it: therefore fitting the described criteria of being queer.

Within the discourse of asexuality, there are some who claim that asexuals who experience hetero-romantic attraction do not belong in the queer community. Those with this viewpoint argue that because hetero-romantics can openly express affection to their partners without coming out they do not face true queer discrimination. This argument fails to recognize that the queer community is not a monolith. It is true that hetero-romantic asexual people do carry a degree of privilege that those who experience same gender attraction do not; however, it is their sexual orientation that makes them queer, not their romantic orientation. The experiences of queer folk can exist outside the realm of same gender attraction. Just as being heterosexual/romantic does not erase the transphobia a transgender person experiences, being hetero-romantic does not erase the previously outlined discrimination against asexual people. People who are asexual experience a unique set of struggles that positions them as queer in society, regardless of their romantic orientation.

The orientation of asexuality continues to be debated within online queer spaces and marks a pivotal point in the asexual community’s history; an orientation that is still perceived as fictitious is gaining enough attention for its position in the queer community to be discussed. Overall, asexuality is a queer identity as asexuals do not reflect society’s current standards of sexuality, do experience institutional discrimination in medical contexts, are at high risk of social harassment and have a unique set of experiences that reflect the polylithic nature of the queer community.

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8 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

pride

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A compromise CALLIE CHANG-POWLESS

CAUTION: Discussions of depression and suicide in this piece may be triggering to some.

Following high school, when I was preparing to move to London, Ont., I packed all of my belongings for the cross-country move. As I was going through my bedroom, I had two major realizations: the first was that I decided I was finally going to rid myself of this silly phase, this unrealistic fantasy. I donated all the female items I had accrued in secret. I cut my hair, shorter than it had been for eight years. More comfortable with the idea of destroying a part of myself than the idea of being shunned for who I was, I decided to be a man. The other was that I found a folder, pillaged years ago from my grandparents’ house shortly after my grandfather died. Having been long abandoned in my closet, and this being a nice folder, I decided to bring it and to look inside. Inside, I found notes that I had written in fifth grade.

Eight years later, I read the notes, and in them was a simple desire: the desire to be dead. The note had a simple plan. At that age I was already planning: walk into the forest, and die. At such a young age, I had resigned myself to die. As early as my first encounter with death, I knew that I wanted to be dead. To this day, I always have a plan.

This desire has been inside me for as long as I can remember. It

has been sewn into the fabric of my being, which I would unravel without. It is a part of me, as much as my interests, my ideas and my personality. And it always will be.

Throughout high school, it stayed under control with only a few attempts, but in university, it became so much worse with the workload of a first-year engineering student, with living away from home for the first time, with having a dearth of friends and with the intense personal cost of being a closeted queer person. Intrusive thoughts that usually would come once or twice a day would now hammer me constantly from the moment I woke to the moment I fell asleep, causing me to sleep for 15 hours or to not leave my house for weeks at a time – anything for relief.

And then the school year ended.

I finished exams. My grades were good. My desire to die subsided. But it wasn’t gone. I knew that. Because as much as the adage “This too shall pass” aids us in times of suffering, it also whispers to you on your happiest days and tells you your joy shall pass.

The summer passed and the next year returned in full force, and this year, I knew I faced an ultimatum.

To myself I posed that I needed to transition or I would kill myself.

I decided to transition. The sheer prospect that I could have a future as I wished to be seemed to be enough. I did everything I was supposed to. I went to therapy. I went to support groups. I made friends. I

got medicated. And I did get better, but the desire to die stayed. I didn’t act on it, a skill I had honed over my life, but the desire didn’t disappear.

And it never will.

I have many friends and family members whom I truly love and whom I know that my death would adversely affect, but having that knowledge all my life didn’t remove my desire to die. It just added guilt to it. I often think it would be easier if I just got murdered. How hard can it be to get murdered as a trans woman of colour? You just need to walk on the wrong street, sleep with the wrong guy or be in the wrong bar. But one family member has given me pause.

A decade ago, my cousin had a child and named them the Cree word for eagle. A few years later, I heard that the child was a girl and wanted to live as one. This was before I truly knew what to live as transgender entailed. I only wished I could be a woman, and here was this child, too young to know the implications of living as a transgender, indigenous girl in small town Alberta or Northwest Territories, but knowing who she was nonetheless.

Always hearing the news of the death of another trans woman drains the life out of me as an adult.

As a member of a community constantly rocked by death and violence, I feel for the loss. I selfishly feel for myself, for how easily I could have been in the same situation but wasn’t. It is very cruel knowing that these women, many of whom life

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had just recently seemed to be worth living, are killed with such malice, such torture, such inhumanity. With how much I am affected by the news of a stranger’s death, countries away, I cannot imagine how it is affecting this little girl. But I do know that if I had an aunt who was native like me, was transgender like me and was barely 10 years older than me

and that she had violently died in her teens, in her twenties or at nine years old like my original notes, that would destroy me. So now, I live with a compromise. I keep my deepest desire; my oldest desire; and the thing that I wanted, still want and will always want: the desire to die.

And pair it with a need: the need to not destroy this little girl.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • 9

pride

Princess hunting GRAPHIC BY SISSI CHEN GAZETTE

CIARÁN MURDOCK The sun glinted off steel as the Brave Knight reined in his steed on a grassy knoll, atop which stood a tall tower.

“Avast, foul beast!” he proclaimed in the deepest, most dignified voice he could muster. “I have come to slay thee! Thy reign of terror hast come to an end!”

“Hm?” mumbled the Dragon as it sleepily opened its eyes. “Oh, jeez. Look, come back some other time. I’m rather tuckered out at the moment.”

The Knight blinked. This was not the response he’d expected.

“I beg thy pardon?” he asked.

“It’s just that I’m not really in the mood for all that bother right now, so could you come back tomorrow or something?” the Dragon responded.

“I’d really appreciate it. Today is one of my ‘me’ days, and I’d like to enjoy it.”

“I-I say, no I cannot just come back on the morrow!” the Knight said, trying to retain his composure.

“Thou have kidnapped the Princess, and she cannot be allowed to suffer even a single day more.”

“Oh, is that what this is about?” asked the Dragon, slightly uncoiling itself from the tower it had been firmly wound around. “The Princess is right here. She’s perfectly fine, so go away, please and thank you.” And indeed, the Princess now stood and revealed herself, having been lying down peacefully within the Dragon’s grasp.

“I — Princess?” the Knight sputtered. “Hast the serpent not harmed thee?”

“Oh, dear heavens no,” laughed the Princess. “I was just taking a nap with her; she’s oh so warm and cuddly.” She scratched under the Dragon’s chin to show her appreciation.

“There, you see?” the Dragon said. “Everything’s fine, so would you kindly buzz off?”

“And what happened to it being one of thine ‘me’ days?” the Knight retorted.

“Oh.” The Dragon seemed almost abashed at being caught in this lie.

“Well, the Princess here doesn’t really count, you know?”

“I daresay I do not know, beast,” the Knight said. “Pray tell wherefore the Princess hast come to ‘not count’ as it were.”

“Oh really, Gerald, don’t call her a beast,” the Princess said, exasperated.

“She’s a heck of a lot smarter than you are, OK. As for why I don’t count — that’s none of your business.”

“None of mine business?” Sir Gerald repeated incredulously. “Mine business be the Kingdom’s business and that includes the whereabouts of the Princess! As well as any…” he looked pointedly at the Dragon, “unsavoury connections she might have to enemies of the Realm.”

“That’s just outrageous,” the Dragon protested. “I’m just trying to live my life and you people won’t leave me alone! Just like you’re doing now.”

“Leave thee alone? By heaven!” Sir Gerald responded. “Thou abscond with the King’s cattle and child! Thou art a threat to our peace and order.”

“Psh, hardly,” said the Dragon.

“You humans threaten peace and order quite enough by yourselves with your petty wars and other nonsense.”

“The King’s wars need not be questioned by the likes of thee,” Sir Gerald said testily. “And what have thou to say in regards to the theft and slaughter of our prized herds?”

“Oh, as for that,” the Dragon leered. “I’m a dragon; they’re cows. If you bring them into my territory, I’m going to eat them. What else would I do? Get tea with them?”

“I see beasts know not of property nor respect,” Sir Gerald responded haughtily. “These lands belong to the King. A lowly animal such as thyself cannot hope to lay claim to them.”

“I hunt as I please. I fly as I please.

I bask as I please,” the Dragon listed off. “It certainly seems like I own the land, doesn’t it? But I’m given to understand you humans settle these squabbles in personal combat, so I’m more than willing to cook your King if that’s what’s needed.”

“Really, Verixa!” Sarah interjected.

“That’s my father. You are absolutely not allowed to kill him.”

“Sorry, Sarah,” Verixa said, her head drooping a little. “I got carried away.”

“This is preposterous!” Sir Gerald exclaimed. “An ignoble beast threatens our divinely sanctified King!

This demands comba — hold fast, Sarah?” He turned to the Princess.

“Thou art on a first-name basis with this wyrm?”

“Yes, I am,” Sarah said defiantly.

“And you have been asked to leave.”

“Thou wouldst choose this scaly terror over thy Kingdom? Thy father

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needest thee to secure an heir for the throne. Thou have a duty!”

“Look, Gerry,” Sarah said. “It’s not that you’re not a great guy and all that.

I just don’t really want to marry you, okay? That was all my dad’s idea, and I’m not really into it.”

“N-not into it?” Gerry stuttered, a little hurt. “That hast nothing to do with it. Thy Kingdom needest thee to avoid a succession crisis.”

“Yeah, I just think there’s more to life than popping out babies ‘cause of some dumb rule, you know?” Sarah said nonchalantly.

“For shame!” Sir Gerry said. “The Salic Law of Succession hast been in place for centuries and thou turnest thy back on it for-for what?”

“For freedom! Pete’s sake, Gerry,” Sarah responded. “You think I just want to sit around all day letting you pump babies into me while you get to make all the important decisions?”

“That is thy role,” Sir Gerry said, not getting it. “Thou art needed to secure a stable succession whilst I am needed to provide a stable regency for the child until he comes of age.”

“That right there is what I can’t stand,” she said angrily. “Until he comes of age. This whole succession business wouldn’t be an issue if I, the King’s eldest and only child, were allowed to take the throne.”

Gerry seemed nonplussed. “If thou couldst succeed His Majesty?

Why, that would be blasphemy against Providence’s appointed order.

Women cannot wear the crown anymore than they can fight wars. Their delicate sensibilities art not strong enough to withstand the tests of high office.”

“So do you want me to just crisp this guy?” Verixa asked Sarah.

“No,” she sighed. “He’s just an idiot.” She turned to Sir Gerald. “I don’t care what the crusty priests say, Gerry. I want my own life, and that wasn’t going to happen at the castle, so I left. You can tell my father that.

Just get out of here already.”

“Heresy! I cannot go back without having accomplished mine quest or dying in the attempt.”

“Look, Gerry is it?” Verixa asked, baring her teeth and getting quite close to him. “I believe your Princess gave you an order, and as for dying in the attempt….” She let a few puffs of smoke escape her nostrils. “That can be arranged.”

As the thoroughly unmanned Knight rode down the hill, the sun glinted off his tears.

Verixa turned to Sarah. “What do you want to do now? I doubt that’ll be the end of it.”

“You’re right,” she acknowledged.

“Maybe we should go somewhere far away. Explore the world or something.”

“Well, if you’re looking for somewhere to start, I think Princess Highgarden meets the standards you humans have for attractiveness.”

“Hm.” Sarah thought. “She is very pretty. Did you actually manage to figure out what makes people attractive or is there some hot reptile you just want to see?”

“Ah,” Verixa hemmed, embarrassed. “Well, now that you mention it, there is someone there with just the most beautiful blue scales.”

“Hah! I knew it,” Sarah said with a grin. “Alright let’s start there.”

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10 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

pride

•

My experience as a queer-ner SAHIL PATEL The scientific method demands that the series of systematically-designed experiments, which ultimately inform our understanding of the world, exclude subjectivity.

As a queer person pursuing higher-level studies within the domains of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, I would be content with this exclusion. One’s politics, ethnicity and identification as queer are not predictors of the quality of research one produces, yet, I often find that as social beings, we struggle to level this methodical dispassion against others in our everyday lives.

The influence of our social matrix is complex and wide-reaching, and for many scientists, lived experiences inform their decisions to pursue their chosen career path.

Even my aspirations, as a novice trainee, are motivated by personal experiences. Because the maths and physical sciences have always been a natural fit for me, I was never at odds with being queer and pursuing STEM. Don’t get me wrong; passion and experience are great. However, I think that mentally transforming our experiences and stereotypes into “rules,” which we then use to homogeneously paint the motivations of groups of people, is a misstep.

While it is no surprise to me that I am readily identified as “queer,” my queerness has never been determinative of my choice, or ability, to pursue STEM. Until I spoke with others, that is.

I grapple with how others grade my academic success based on my assumed or known queerness. This has been received from my mother, my friends and even co-workers, with comments such as “Are your grades going to drop now that

you’re … ?” or, my personal favourite, “I would have never guessed you’re queer because of how big of a nerd you are!”

Indulging the thought that perceptions of my work might change in light of my queerness, I decided to speak to other queer individuals.

Sure enough, they shared similar experiences. I eventually realized that people struggle to understand that academic success in STEM and identifying as queer are not mutually exclusive. And no, my 4.0 GPA doesn’t have a big “queer” in front of it (although for the purpose of visibility, sometimes I wish it did).

While I am thankful most of my research experiences have been very positive, this isn’t the case with many other queer individuals with whom I’ve spoken.

Precipitating out all other factors, my biggest fear is the prospect of an individual’s merit and academic potential being unnecessarily interrogated as a result of their queerness. I also fear the loss of collaborative opportunities because of how an individual may present themselves: aurally, physically or otherwise. Unfortunately, these fears aren’t without merit as they’ve been realized in either my experiences or in those of some of my friends.

Nevertheless, as we iteratively apply the scientific method, what is certain and what instills hope in me is that the process of knowledge production is recursive. Much has changed over time, and our manuscript is not yet published. So, for those who are willing, I invite you to continue unpacking these misinformed prejudices; because at the end of the day, I’m even more determined to continue being a queer-ner, with whatever capacity I elect to demonstrate.

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Sexuality as an identity: Liberation or confinement?

JACOB MEDLAND Race, class, gender, religion and other forms of identity are seen to influence one’s actions because they define the identity of oneself. Defining the self can be liberating, but definitions can also have limitations depending on how one identifies; for example, while public identification can feel restrictive, it also provides a pedestal for empowerment through the process of explaining and affirming one’s selfhood.

A strong sense of empowerment for an individual comes from finding oneself and being able to understand one’s sexual orientation. Many queer people are left in the dark about their sexuality, not knowing who or what they are because of a lack of queer-based discussion.

Sexual education and open queer discourse provides an opportunity to normalize deviation from heterosexuality. Personally, I identify as gay, and coming to terms with my sexual preference required a shift in ideology regarding same-sex attraction. I viewed it as “strange” or something to be ashamed of, but as I learned to grasp the naturality of my preferences, my internal struggle of hatred and confusion dissipated.

I felt empowered having an identity and knowing its validity. There is a breath of fresh air in having the option and comfortability of defining oneself outside of the societal norms of heterosexuality.

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From personal experience, I can attest to how coming out and living my true self made me a stronger and happier person. There is no anxiety or fear of being exposed.

With society refusing to acknowledge the possibility of queerness in children, children are denied the chance to understand queer identities and are taught an imposed identity of heterosexuality. This makes identifying with sexual feelings more difficult for queer people as the stray from the norms that have

been instructed early in their lives.

Assumptions regarding sexuality can create a rigid definition of what one’s feelings, lifestyle and sex life “should” be, putting subjects in a box — restraining their actions to what fits inside. For example, bisexual-identifying individuals who enter a monogamous relationship are often viewed as gay or straight depending on their sex and the sex of their partner, erasing and marginalizing bisexuality. Identifying sexuality can also be restraining to romantic lives, as sexual desire and romantic attraction are often understood to be experienced solely in relation to gender attraction. For people who may have differentiations in their romantic and sexual attractions, their romantic identity is often disregarded. Having to explain an identity can be a nuisance and can influence a restriction on how one expresses sexual identity.

While it can be exhausting having to prove an identity to those who challenge it, there is also a sense of pride in this defence. One can find strength in working to change individual or societal views on sexuality and promoting open-mindedness.

Another empowering tool is the proclamation of one’s identity.

“Coming out” provides queer individuals with control over how and when to explain their identities.

From personal experience, I can attest to how coming out and living my true self made me a stronger and happier person. There is no anxiety or fear of being exposed. Defining and defending oneself also helps people find a community which empowers people who feel they do not fit in with societal norms to embrace their differences, and it disperses feelings of loneliness.

Personally, I have found comfort living on an LGBTQ+ floor in my university residence. Having people to relate to and comprehend my feelings makes my identity feel more valid and enhances my self-esteem.

While self-expression can be liberating, it unfortunately can also influence potential acts of homophobia when an individual is identifiable by their sexuality. Silence and shame regarding queer identity is produced through laws around the world legalizing discrimination,

Many queer people are left in the dark about their sexuality, not knowing who or what they are because of a lack of queer-based discussion. Sexual education and open queer discourse provides an opportunity to normalize deviation from heterosexuality.

censorship of queer education and media, and acts of violence inducing fear or causing death. This puts excess stress and anxiety onto those who deviate from heterosexuality, as they constantly may be in situations where they are the target of homophobia. The subhuman treatment queer people receive limits their opportunities for employment, housing, public services and other aspects of daily life; certain types of discrimination can hold back individuals from reaching their full potential. Having sexuality identify someone can add unnecessary difficulties to their life as others target them for being themselves.

Limitations to an identity can create constraint in one’s life, but holding onto that identity and being true to it can free the self of the chains locked in place by societal expectations. Viewing sexuality as identity can be both restraining and liberating when gaining an understanding of one’s identity, affirming and proclaiming sexual preference and being identifiable within society. Accepting an identity can feel empowering; however, that identity can be met with preconceived notions as to how one must act.

Owning oneself and one’s sexuality opens the doors to meeting others and building a community of support, but these doors are also an entrance to a world of discriminative condemnation of queerness.

Comprehending and analyzing the ways in which identification through sexual orientation can be both liberating and repressive makes it possible to move forward in building a more open society based on inclusivity.

• www.westerngazette.ca

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018 • 11

culture

Forget Richmond Row, come to The Rec Room CARMEN MALLIA CULTURE EDITOR @CARMMALLIA

MAX MAO GAZETTE

CAISA fashion show Innova breaks own record, donates $50K to charity VIVIAN CHENG CULTURE EDITOR @VIVIANCHENG20 A buzz filled Centennial Hall Friday night as 1,300 audience members waited for models to take the stage.

The Canadian Asian International Students Association held their 20th annual fashion show, Innova. The hit fashion show broke its own record this year, raising $50,000 for the Children’s Health Foundation.

Innova’s story revolved around an ordinary girl (Sabrina Stashin) gaining the courage to defeat a villain (Anastasia Kolotova), who had infiltrated her city.

In the opening act, Stashin and Kolotova emerged onto the stage for an intense fight scene. Stashin sported casual streetwear while Kolotova wore a fitted, black bodysuit with vibrant red stripes. The fashion show’s clothing ranged from mainstream brands to independent designers.

The pair had a fierce, shifting dynamic between them, but in the opening, Kolotova dominated the stage with a femme fatale allure that was both seductive and unforgiving.

Kolotova and Stashin left the stage but made recurring appearances, telling a story throughout the show.

The first scene featured an impressive and diverse array of casual wear. The models sported denim and bold prints. The colourful, sleek and retro clothing along with the hip-hop and EDM music conjured images of high-end Tokyo.

The casual wear then progressed to neutral-toned semi-formal apparel.

The dancers’ mobility became evident as the girls twirled around in dresses and the boys leapt around in their slim-fit chinos. At the end of each dance performance, the models walked the stage to showcase their outfits, like a traditional fashion show.

The athletic wear segment stole the show with its lively choreography. Models did variations of exercise movements, like one-handed

pushups, to flaunt their athletic ability and apparel. Western University cheerleaders also made an appearance, performing a series of backflips and cartwheels. Keeping the narrative strong, Stashin came into this scene to train with some of the athletic-wear models as she prepared to battle Kolotova.

The audience’s enthusiasm rose to a peak as the lingerie models came out. For the boys, fitted black boxer briefs were the undergarment of choice. The male models strutted up to the stage, each addressing the audience with their own personal pizzazz — a wink here, an air kiss there. These gestures were met by general applause. The women were equally well received. They came out in pink silk robes and then later took them off to reveal diverse sets of lingerie. Some of the models wore intricate, violet and maroon body suits while others wore more traditional forms of lingerie. The charm and confidence of these women reverberated through the room and drew boisterous applause from the audience.

Finally, formal clothing dazzled the audience with its elegance. This scene showcased a series of impeccable tuxedoes and form-fitting gowns. The set transported viewers to a high-class ballroom, with Frank Sinatra music playing as the models displayed their ballroom dance skills.

By the end of the show, Stashin transformed from a timid, uncertain girl to a confident hero. In another highly intense fight scene, Stashin defeated Kolotova, providing a conclusion to the narrative arc and a moment of satisfaction for the audience.

Innova can be added to CAISA’s long list of fashion shows that combine modelling, acrobatics, theatre and fashion into one big production.

Combined with its charity fundraising, CAISA’s fashion show Innova was a win for Western students and the community.

For perpetually broke students who claim to have a demanding workload, the common trend is to spend Friday and Saturday nights in a dark, obnoxiously loud bar slinging back shots until something interesting happens. The Rec Room, an entertainment juggernaut owned

by Cineplex, will help diversify London’s weekend options for students by bringing virtual reality, live-action Mario Kart and axe throwing to CF Masonville Place.

The 35,000-square-foot millennial playground, which is set to open late April, will combine a state-of-the-art dining experience, a venue for live entertainment and a plethora of arcade and physical gaming options.

“The idea is to have something different going on all the time, not just getting pigeonholed into live music,” says Sarah Van Lange, director of communications at Cineplex. “I think that’s part of what makes it fun too; you’ll be able to see a variety of things going on here.”

While The Rec Room runs four other locations across Canada, the

London location will be the first of its kind in Southwestern Ontario.

From the outside, The Rec Room is an elegant, upscale building that doesn’t look like your typical arcade centre at first site. Walk in and your eyes will light up to the assortment of goofy games combined with sophisticated wood fixtures. By playing Skee-Ball, customers can feel a sense of nostalgia that brings them back to their youth, often spent hopped up on sugar and raging with tickets at Chuck E. Cheese’s. The location has been completely reconstructed from it’s previous owner, Target, which closed in 2015.

Once students are done gaming, they can head over to Three10 or The Shed, two restaurants within the venue that serve everything from wood-oven pizzas to customizable donuts to local craft beer.

David Terry, vice-president of The Rec Room, estimates that a typical night at the location would cost students anywhere from $10 to $40, depending on how much they want to game.

“There are lots of different levels of spending on the menu and lots of shareable items,” says Terry. “I think students will appreciate the

fact that they can come in and do a variety of things and not have a very expensive experience.”

After a night of gaming, students can head over to the trophy case were they can redeem prizes. It’s more of a shopping experience compared to the pegged wall of dingy prizes that most arcades offer; The Rec Room has a wide variety of options, ranging anywhere from Ring Pops to drones.

Western University fourth-year management and organizational studies student, Zeeshan Ahmed, has checked out the Toronto location with friends and enjoys the overabundance of options The Rec Room provides. He says he’d prefer an experience-oriented arcade as opposed to a night of binge-drinking on Richmond Row. Even though Ahmed knows the entertainment-eatery can be on the more expensive side, he’s excited to check out the virtual reality, since there really isn’t any other place to experience the cutting-edge technology.

So next time you decide to go out drinking, consider doing it at The Rec Room, where you can ride Formula One race cars, fight zombies and throw axes all in one night.

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12 • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

games

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SAMIT KHALSA GAZETTE A SCHOOL LIKE NO UDDER. Students rode a mechanical bull in the University Community Centre for a chance to win tickets for the University Students’ Council’s Purple Finale with James Barker Band, March 19.

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CLUES ACROSS 1. Sexual cells of fungi 5. Communication device 10. Consumers 12. Kindness 14. Argentina’s capital 16. Spanish be 18. Ad __: done for a specific purpose 19. Fiddler crabs 20. Type of wrap 22. Picnic invader 23. Hammer ends 25. One-time Roman emperor 26. Pounds per square inch 27. Not pleased 28. Father’s Day gift 30. Wildebeests 31. Algerian coastal city 33. Thoroughfare 35. More lucid 37. “All __ on deck” 38. Singel-celled animals 40. Iron-containing compound 41. Where golfers begin 42. One who is gullible 44. Type of tree 45. Popular form of music 48. Makes a mistake 50. Recorded 52. Basics 53. Facilitates 55. Where a bachelor lives 56. Ink 57. Bibliographical abbreviation 58. Furnishes anew 63. Popular James Cameron film 65. With many branches 66. Flat pieces of stone 67. Sixth month of the Hebrew calendar

CLUES DOWN 1. Had a meal 2. Monetary unit 3. Civil restraint order 4. Distributed 5. Pliable 6. Not him 7. Singles 8. First month of the Assyrian calendar 9. And (Latin) 10. Ingersoll and Moss-Bacharach are two 11. Ones who accept bids 13. Pined for 15. A team’s best pitcher 17. Noses 18. Lansdale characters __ and Leonard 21. Replaces lost tissue 23. Peter’s last name 24. Female sibling 27. Kate and Rooney are two 29. Flammable, colorless liquid 32. Confederate soldier 34. Popular Dodge truck 35. A cotton fabric with a satiny finish 36. __ Hess, oil company 39. Stopped standing 40. Concealed 43. Documents 44. Man’s hat 46. Degrade 47. Amount in each hundred (abbr.)

49. Stage in ecological succession 51. Political action committee 54. Invertebrate structure 59. Touch lightly 60. Excellent!

61. Doctors’ group 62. Hill 64. Against

For crossword solution, see page 9

PUZZLE RUBIK SCRABBLE

SCRAMBLE SEARCH SOLUTIONS

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