the journal Queen’s University
FEATURES Where do student journalists end up post-grad? PAGE 4
—
Vol. 151, Issue 7
—
F r i day , S e p t e m b e r 2 2 , 2 0 2 3
Protesters face off at City Hall over LGBTQ+ education
LIFSTYLE
PAGE 3
“I’m afraid to have a daughter.” PAGE 12
STUDENTS ENTER THIRD WEEK WITHOUT RUNNING WATER Jean Royce Hall under construction
“The goal of the NDA isn’t to make students feel they’re signing a legal document,” Osunde said. “We do aim to have transparency at the AMS so the goal [of the NDA] is not to keep [discussions] hidden. It’s to make sure whatever is going out to the student body is factually correct.” Osunde and Mills promised to take into account the points raised by Walters, but the document will remain unchanged in its current form. Accessibility Concerns for Event Sanctioning Students have raised concerns about the AMS’ event sanctioning form and process. Simarjeet Singh, ArtSci ’26, expressed the long, online, event approval form assumes students planning events are able-bodied and primarily English speakers. Singh explained one of his friends with carpal tunnel syndrome wasn’t able to fill out the online form, forcing him to cancel his event. See AMS on page 2 @queensjournal
@thequeensjournal
Counter-protesters to the ‘parental rights’ movement line the west side of Ontario St.
Proposed AMS policy requires consulting students to sign NDA
PHOTO BY ALEX DAWSON
AMS Assembly convenes for first in-person meeting Sofia Tosello & Mikella Schuettler Assistant News Editors
queensjournal.ca
Since 1873
First-year students moved into Jean Royce Hall (JRH) without running water. Since Sept. 1 approximately 60 residents of Roy House in Jean Royce Hall Phase Two have been without running water in their subsection due to a damaged pipe. Construction on the pipe means toilets, showers, sinks and other amenities in the subsection are out of commission. JRH is predominantly a first-year residence building on West Campus, housing 597 students, 60 of which have been affected by the construction. Students residing in Roy House are expected to use the facilities and bathrooms located in Miller House, based on emails from Residence Facilities Control Centre which were obtained by The Journal. Kalan Morris-Poolman, Comp ’27, a student living in Roy House who has been affected by the construction, reported waiting a long time to use facilities because they’re much busier. “The lack of water has made tasks such as going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth, and taking a shower quite inconvenient,” Morris-Poolman told The Journal. Construction to restore running water to the subsection began on Sept. 18, with crews entering the residence to gain access to the damaged sanitary pipe. Several students living on the first floor of the residence were relocated to other residences across main and west campuses to accommodate the construction. Currently, Queen’s Facilites estimates running water won’t be restored until Sept. 25, leaving residents without water for over four weeks. Although running water will be reinstated, construction on JRH Phase Two isn’t expected to be completed until Oct. 2. “We regret any inconvenience being experienced; all efforts have been taken to minimize the impact of this unexpected service interruption,” said Matt Savoie, director (facilities & infrastructure) housing & ancillary services, in a statement to The Journal. “Residence Facilities continues to provide regular updates to students, and the repairs are expected to be completed by early next week.” Students expressed they don’t think the University is adequately addressing or responding to their concerns about their living conditions. See Water on page 3
Buzz buzz... do you hear the bees?
AMS Assembly kicked off fall semester with discussions around elections and budget approvals. The AMS and faculty societies met in-person in Mitchell Hall for the first AMS Assembly on Sept. 19. Members updated Assembly on their activities over the summer, reviewed budgets and elected an Assembly speaker. All motions passed unanimously, including the debated AMS Recognition Policy. All commission budgets were reviewed and approved. Following a land acknowledgement and the announcement of the beginning of Consent Awareness Week, Assembly elected Sean Lee, ConEd ’26, as speaker over Kai Siallagan, ArtSci ’24, who emphasised his commitment to fostering an inclusive environment at Assembly. “I want to make people feel comfortable speaking even if it gets tense. I want people to feel comfortable raising their voices,” Lee said. Rector Owen Crawford-Lem informed Assembly students caught with open liquor will now be issued a Part I Court Summons, requiring them to show face in court, despite the conclusion of the University District Safety Initiative on Sept. 10.
the Anishinaabe and
Haudenosaunee peoples.
Lauren Nicol Contributor
CROSSWORD PAGE 11
—
Situated on the
traditional lands of
Signs from opposing factions are seen as the two groups mix in the street.
Recognition Policy for Student Consultants The AMS is requiring students sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) as part of a new policy. The proposed “Recognition Policy” is designed to compensate students who volunteer their time consulting with the AMS, specifically on equity topics. The goal of the policy is to reduce the burden experienced by equity-deserving students at Queen’s, contributing to equity work for the AMS. The policy passed unanimously and will go into effect on Oct. 1 after being reviewed by the AMS’ controller and Human Resource Officer. Victoria Mills, vice-president (university affairs), expressed her excitement about the policy given its five-year-long journey. “[The policy] was worked on by our predecessors but it was never successful,” Mills said. “We’re incredibly excited to recognize and amplify equity-seeking @queensjournal
students’ voices.” As part of the consultation process, student consultants will be required to sign an NDA, requiring information about the consultation process isn’t disclosed to anyone. Amaiya Walters, president of the Arts and Science Society (ASUS), raised concerns about the NDAs, citing student consultants are often representatives of equity-deserving student groups and need to discuss the topics of the consultation with their communities. She emphasised equity-seeking students not only feel stressed about committing to a legally binding contract, but desire the chance to share important discussions about marginalized individuals with their community. “When something happens in the community, people want to go [to] their community and tell them,” Walters said during Assembly. Ruth Osunde, AMS social issues commissioner (internal), reiterated the policy is still in its infancy and may undergo changes in the future. @queensjournal
PHOTOS BY JOSEPH MARIATHASAN