In this month’s issue... The CUP Wire CUP - The Varisty - Faculty members, librarians create solidarity fund for U of T workers affected by COVID-19 Faculty members and librarians across all three campuses of the University of Toronto have started a “Colleague to Colleague” solidarity fund to help U of T workers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations are currently being accepted and will continue to be collected until Sept. 6, at which time the organizers hope to have raised $350,000. So far, they have raised over $61,000.
CUP - The Ubyssey - Hummingbirds can see colours the human brain can’t imagine, new evidence shows According to Harold Eyster, UBC PhD student studying biodiversity and nature conservation and co-author of the study, this is possible due to the presence of an extra fourth cone — photoreceptor cells in the retina that are responsible for colour vision — among hummingbirds which allows them to see ultraviolet (UV) light.
CUP - The Gateway - eClass down for hours on first day of class at U of Alberta Due to COVID-19 precautions, the majority of University of Alberta classes are proceeding online, with approximately less than 10 per cent of students returning back for some inperson classes. Yet on Sept. 1, the first day of classes, the U of A’s eClass site crashed with some users not being able to log in at all and others getting intermitted slow access.
CUP - McGill Tribune - McGill students protest for the removal of James McGill statue Around 100 members of the McGill community rallied just north of the Roddick Gates on Aug. 1 to push for the removal of the statue commemorating James McGill—the founder of McGill University and slave owner. Protesters stood in solidarity with members from the Black Students’ Network of McGill (BSN), the McGill African Students’ Society (MASS), the Caribbean Students’ Society of McGill University (CSS), and the Black Law Students’ Association of McGill (BLSAM).
U of O drops in THE ranking P.5 University of Ottawa now finds itself 145th in the world. Fulclore P.7 A review of all the hot summer 2020 releases. O.K Computer! P.10 Students from summer sessions reflect on their virtual semester. Students create app to make school scheduling easier P.13 Discover uSchedule! Intramurrals return P.15 Find out all the new guidelines. Stop sending private memes P.16 A rant from Jasmine McKnight! Our stance on UOSU’s antiracism course proposal P.19 More details please!
NEWS
NEWS EDITOR
Karli Zschogner news@thefulcrum.ca Insta: @karli.zschogner Twitter: @KarliZschogner
Misunderstanding leads to two per cent hike in UOSU membership fee Increase based on U of O’s inflation rate when it should be based on Statistic Canada’s rate Charley Dutil Editor-in-Chief
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he University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) held an emergency meeting on the night of Sept.1 to approve a two per cent hike in its membership fee. The hike is the result of an administrative error that resulted in the fee being adjusted to match the University of Ottawa’s yearly calculated inflation.
In a 2019 referendum, it was voted that the UOSU membership fee would be adjusted each year to follow Statistic Canada’s inflation rate, this was instilled by the UOSU’s Transition Committee. The current UOSU Executive Committee originally rightfully believed that its constitution mandated it to follow the Statistic Canada rate of inflation but a misunderstanding by the Executive Committee led them to believe they had to follow the University
of Ottawa’s inflation rate. The University of Ottawa calculates inflation on a yearly basis based on the academic year. The U of O had calculated a two per cent inflation during the 2019-2020 academic year, their calculation mostly excluded the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. Statistic Canada’s inflation was of zero per cent because it calculated the impact of COVID-19 on inflation. “Back in June, I checked the Statistic Canada website to see what the inflation rate was and it was zero per cent, I decided we were not going to motion this to the board [of Directors] because it was just not worth it,” said Tim Gulliver the UOSU’s advocacy commissioner. “But recently we found out the University uses a different measure to calculate inflation and that students were being charged two per cent and we were like it’s too late fix this it’s a bit of a screwup not enough communication [and] it’s the first time for us doing this so I’ll just get the board [of Directors] to approve this two per cent increase.” On Tuesday night, after many expla-
while imposing a hike of our own.” Gulliver in the debate did admit that personally he was not a fan of the hike and that if they were to reject the hike the “Union wouldn’t burn down” but that down the road “the UOSU would have to make cuts to its staff and services if it didn’t follow with the inflation rates.” Gulliver also mentioned in the debates that without fees increasing to meet the “price of doing business, the UOSU could not fund their efforts to lower students’ tuition.” It’s only after the motion passed on Sept. 2 that Gulliver realized the Executive Committee had made a grave mistake. They had been misled this summer into thinking that they had to follow the U of O’s inflation rates when in reality their first inclination to follow the Statistic Canada inflation rate was the right one. If any solace can be found in this affairs it is that Gulliver believes that due to COVID-19, it is unlikely that the fee will go up next year meaning that students will not have to deal with another hike in UOSU membership fees next year.
Photo: Matt Gergyek/Fulcrum.
given the fact that the majority of courses will be offered online, most students will not be returning to campus. That being said, the students who are, will have limited or reduced access to social services and the like. Third, when asked if the hike was required, Tim [Gulliver] admitted that it was not necessary. Given the fact that students have already requested lower tuition fees, it is wrong to ask the university to fulfill our request
nations from Gulliver and about twenty minutes of debate between Gulliver and Matias Guerra, the BOD member for civil law, the motion passed with only Guerra objecting. “First and foremost, we’re facing a global pandemic and most students are having a difficult time navigating the economic uncertainty that comes with it,” wrote Guerra to the Fulcrum in an email following the meeting. “Second,
Picture of Protection Services officer sparks outrage among students Officer was sporting thin blue line flag patch on U of O Instagram post
Charley Dutil Editor-in-Chief
A picture published on the University of Ottawa’s official Instagram page featuring a Protection Services officer sporting a thin blue line flag patch on Aug.25 has sparked outrage in the U of O community. Taken down hours after it was published the University was lambasted in the comments of the publication and on social media for not only publishing a picture of a Protection Services officer
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wearing a patch associated with Blue Lives Matter but also for either allowing or not knowing that their Protection Services officers wear custom patches (such as the thin blue line flag patch) on their uniforms. “It’s incredibly inappropriate given the context and the climate we find ourselves in,” wrote University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) president Babacar Faye in a message to the Fulcrum. “It shows that there’s still a lack of touch with the Black community. Students raised con-
cerns about Protection and discrimination last year, and the fact that we still find ourselves dealing with this is disappointing given the University’s promise of action.” Blue Lives Matter is a countermovement created back in 2014 in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement has been criticized for attempting to diminish and ridiculizing the Black Lives Matter movement by creating a narrative where police are the victims of reverse discrimination diminishing the very real discrimination BIPOC folks feel on a daily basis. “Personally I think it’s extremely out of touch and in poor taste given Protection’s problematic history with carding Black students,” wrote Sam Yee a member of UOSU’s Equity Committee in a message to the Fulcrum. “And although I do not know what it’s like to be a Black student
on the uOttawa campus when Black students are saying that this makes them feel unsafe, that’s a huge problem. Protection is supposed to help folks on campus feel safe.“ There have been three incidents of Black students being carded on the U of O campus that have been publicized since April 2019. First was Jamal Boyce who in June 2019 was asked to show identification by U of O Protection Services officers while skateboarding on campus, he didn’t have his wallet on him and was subsequently handcuffed and left to sit on the sidewalk of one of the biggest intersections on campus for two hours. Then in September 2019 Wiliston Mason a Community Advisor at the Annex residence was carded by the security guard on duty that night at the residence. The security guard prevented Mason from entering his living
quarters until Protection Services were called and Mason showed them his fob that he had originally used to enter the residence in the first place. The security guard was not a Protection Services officer. Finally, this summer, Ali Mubiru, and his friends told the Fulcrum that in April 2019 he had been carded aboard his own car by a Protection Services officer in the 90U residence parking lot. Independent reports commissioned by the U of O’s Human Rights Office found that both Boyce and Mason were victims of racial discrimination. The university has yet to issue any kind of public statement about the publication. “It’s disappointing and strange that the University hasn’t issued a statement on this”, wrote Tim Gulliver the UOSU’s advocacy commissioner in a message to the Fulcrum. “The University cannot
and should not simply sweep this under the rug.” Following the publication and removal of the Instagram post depicting the officer wearing the thin blue line flag patch, the Fulcrum asked the U of O a set of questions including a question asking if Protection Services officers are allowed to wear custom patches on their uniforms. More then seven days later the university has yet to respond to the Fulcrum’s questions. This was not the first picture to be published by the university of this particular Protection Services officer circulating on campus with the thin blue line flag patch. On Aug. 20 the University Gazette (the U of O’s editorially controlled publication) published a photo of the officer in an article that has since been taken down.
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U of O students create Instagram pages to fight harassment, racism on campus Accounts are called @UntolduOttawa and @BlackatuOttawa They state that the purpose of this account is to shed light on experiences of discrimination of marginalized students at the University of Ottawa with the objective to be heard. Students can submit their stories anonymously through an online submission form. “It’s not right to have to go through traumatic and scarring experiences feeling like there is nobody to talk to who will take it seriously,” said the founders.“Lots of the submissions we’ve received ended up not being resolved but rather swept under the rug and we want that to change, for the sake of all students.” The founders are both 18 and entering their first year at U of O. They say they want the University of Ottawa to be a school that does more for its students and takes the issues that they are being presented more seriously. “We strongly encourage Indigenous students and Black students to also submit stories, since those are two of the biggest groups that face discrimination, especially in academia,” they said over email. “Racism isn’t exclusive to the United States of America and we believe that people tend to forget that a lot.” Since launching in mid-July,
karli zschogner News Editor
Photo: Karli Zschogner/Fulcrum
Incoming first-year University of Ottawa students have created a space to share and expose campus discrimination, including stalking, racism from professors, mental health stigma, noninclusive sports teams well as inadequate support for students with disabilities on campus. “We want students to feel like there is a place for them… and to let the voices of those who have been through any form of discrimination to be heard,” wrote the two co-founders of the Instagram account @UntolduOttawa in a message to the Fulcrum. They requested to remain anonymous to not face any repercussions from the U of O for sharing stories that may darken the University’s reputation. Both founders of the account identify as members of visible minorities
they have received 15 submissions regarding racism, homophobia and student-on-student stalking and harassment. Recognizing that people’s stories are being heard and giving a voice to the usually voiceless inspires them. In light of their campaign, some U of O organizations such as the Pride Centre have publicly displayed their support towards those sharing their negative experiences on the Instagram page. “It’s extremely disappointing to hear about this sort of blatant biphobia on campus,” the post includes. “At The Pride Centre, our values and mandates strictly condemn this sort of behavior and policing of identity. If you are a 2SLGBTQ+ student on campus and have experienced discrimination, let us know and we will do our best to help.” As stated on their pages and form, the founders of the account were inspired by other students who took the initiative to create accounts such as @ BlackAtHarvardLaw, @UntoldMcGill, and @StolenBySmith. They say that while they have received a few negative comments, they have received much positive feedback including the comments from peers and associations that show their support for those who have sub-
PIVIK to reopen in January STAFF WRITER
The well-beloved PIVIK store is being set to reopen in January 2021 after it was closed by the shutdown of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) in 2019. “We’re currently in the process of negotiating space with the university,” said University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU) president Babacar Faye in an email statement. “We have shared a business proposal with the University and are waiting to reacquire the space so that we can begin to hire initial staff for the re-opening,” he explained. “We’re working really hard to bring PIVIK back.” The UOSU has faced a series of obstacles in reopening PIVIK and one other business, Cafe Alt. Faye referenced a lack of manpower and operational capacity which resulted in an incremental process of rebuilding and the UOSU prioritizing reopening
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“There weren’t many staff or students that looked like us growing up so we understand how it is to approach someone and for them to invalidate/not understand or help you. We want to assure students that our page is judgement-free and that we will continue to publish their submissions and let them know
dents with physical, learning, developmental/psychological disabilities including peer-mentoring, education, and health care system support. “[Seeing the post] made me feel empowered as a student and member of the community,” she said. “I have this philosophy that school and a lot of society does not take care of the disability community so we owe it to each other to take care of each other, that we have each other’s back.” “I’d like to see more students involved in the rights of others, and a bit more intersectionality, “she continued. “And we need to hold our admin[istration] more accountable because they can get away with a lot, so we have to work together as a student body to hold each other and the admin accountable.” U of O’s Media Relations Manager Isabelle Mailloux Pulkinghorn did respond over email that, “the University of Ottawa is committed to providing a learning and work environment free from harassment and discrimination and where everyone is treated respectfully.” If you or someone you know is dealing with discrimination, harassment or sexual violence, please contact the Human Rights Office at 613-562-5222.
Assesment center located at Lees campus CHARLEY DUTIL
services that were more important to the needs of students. While it was always a focus to bring PIVIK back, he said the reopening was put in the background so that the UOSU could focus on more pressing needs and issues. The reopening was originally scheduled for September, however the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the UOSU focusing on their main priorities in the fall and PIVIK’s plans being pushed to the new year. “We may be opening a business amidst a worldwide pandemic and economic recession, and we’ve had to be more cautious in our planning and predicting the measures needed to re-open,” said Faye. With all of this, the USOU believed it was a wiser idea to push the reopening back to January. Be sure to keep an eye out for the return of PIVIK in the new year. Please visit the SFUO food bank’s website for more information about their services, or email foodbank@sfuo. ca.
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Discrimination is something we’ve faced all our lives, it’s something we didn’t ask for,” said the founder of @ blackatuottawa to the Fulcrum.
that their voices matter.” Carly Fox, 18, just moved this week to Ottawa from London, Ont. to begin her first-year at the U of O and saw the Untold Instagram page a month before arriving in the city. “I think it’s genius!” Fox said. “I think it is super professional and it’s bilingual! Social media specifically is a really powerful platform” “You have to be pretty brave to post about racism and all that because people attack you, but they have kept it very professional and safe.” It was two weeks ago, she came across the words of a student with a disability on Untold uOttawa’s page which got to her personally. Despite feeling moved and ‘disgusted’, she was not surprised by the experiences the student aired. “I’ve experienced both sides of the coin,” she said, sharing that midway throughout high school, she was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. “Being young with a disability is already such a weird and difficult thing, so that’s why we need groups to mobilize.” Despite the bad and the hurt, sharing experiences acts as an inspiration for Fox. So much so that she developed and created uOttawa Disabled Students Association (DSA) welcoming stu-
U of O opens COVID-19 site
Store closed for over a year jelena maric
mitted their stories. Inspiring more students towards advocacy One of @UntoldOttawa’s account owners created another Instagram page, @blackatuottawa, to tell the stories of Black students on campus. The founder refers to prejudice experienced by Black students during elementary and high schools including being put into classes that are below their actual learning skills and abilities. “[Within] a system that… continues to …. keep white men at an advantage of this system…imagine what it would be like in university or college.”
EDITOR IN CHIEF
The University of Ottawa announced on Aug. 27 that it will open its own COVID-19 assessment centre at Lees campus. The assessment centre is projected to open in September and will, for the time being, only serve students, staff, and faculty members on campus. The University predicts that two-thirds of its researchers and 5000 students will be present on campus in September. Located at Block D at 200 Lees Avenue, the U of O says “it will be easily accessed by foot, bike or by using light rail. Free parking will also be available to visitors.” “Having an on-campus testing facility will support people working and learning on campus and will ensure they have all the tools and resources they need to stay safe,” said U of O President Jacques Frémont in the school’s official press release. “Once the centre is up and running at full capacity, the hope is that the uOttawa assessment centre will also help lighten the load carried by other testing facilities
in the city,” The assessment centre is the result of a collaboration between The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. A physician from The Ottawa Hospital will manage and govern the operation of the assessment centre according to the University. The assessment centre will be open for six months with a possible extension depending on community needs. The Assessment Centre will be open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students, staff, and faculty members who wish to get tested for COVID-19 at the Lees assessment centre will need to book online an appointment in advance. For the moment, the centre will only have the capacity to test 50 people a day. Those who aren’t part of the U of O community can get tested at the Brewer arena assessment centre.
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U of O drops four spots in THE World University Rankings
University ranked as seventh-best university in Canada jelena maric staff writer
For the second consecutive year, the University of Ottawa cracked into the top 150 of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings but dropped down four spots from 141st to 145th. THE, based in London, UK, compared over 1,500 universities from 93 different countries, making the 2021 ranking the most diverse and largest ranking system to date. This year’s ranking compared over 80 million citations across 13 million research publications while also including over 22,000 survey responses, according to their website. Karan Mediratta, a first-year student in the microbiology and immunology graduate program at the U of O said in an email statement that he believes university rankings “are often a reflection of the role and importance of higher education to the economy.” THE ranks universities by taking a look at five different categories: teaching, research, citation, industry income and international outlook. Compared to last year’s ranking, the U of O saw a rise in several categories
The new Indigenous welcome sign. Photo: Bridget Coady/Fulcrum.
ing need for better mental health resources from the University of Ottawa could be one of many reasons to suggest that the university bureaucrats have been struggling in recent years to uphold that value among students and faculty alike,” said Mediratta. Looking ahead, Frémont writes that the University will continue to push forward in the areas of research, international collaboration, investment in research infrastructure and talent while also promoting and celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in their Screenshot of rankings. Photo: Emily Wilson/Fulcrum. approaches to research.
tional outlook – and is ranked as the seventh-best Canadian university for the fourth year in a row. “A full measure of the credit goes to our researchers, who are constantly pushing the boundaries of knowledge, making revolutionary discoveries, and proposing innovative ideas,” wrote Frémont. However, Mediratta criticized the U of O’s approach to mental health as perhaps being one of the reasons for the current ranking. “Though there is no perfect methodology for ranking universities, a long-
including: overall ranking, citations and international outlook. However, it fell in the categories of teaching, research and industry income. Despite the slight drop, U of O president and vice-chancellor Jacques Frémont wrote in an email statement that the ranking “consolidates uOttawa’s reputation as a world-class university, even though 129 institutions were added to the ranking this year.” Similar to last year’s ranking, the U of O is still in the top 25th percentile in four out of the five categories – teaching, research, citations and interna-
U of O welcomes students back with new Indigenous sign
Project is part of U of O five-year Indigenous Action Plan the James Bay region of eastern and western Ontario and Quebec
Karli Zschogner news editor
While most students and professors are returning back to school virtually or on campus, the University of Ottawa is welcoming passer-bys with a new welcome sign featuring various Indigenous languages. “I think [it’s] much more than just a sign, It is a beacon of art and culture,” said Tagwanibisan ArmitageSmith, a fourth-year bachelor of arts and Indigenous studies student. “For an Indigenous student, this makes all the difference in the world to finally feel included,” who admits has struggled with fitting in and contemplated dropping out. The addition is located beside the LRT’s University of Ottawa stop and includes five greetings of Indigenous languages from across Canada in addition to an English ‘hello’ and a French ‘bonjour.’ Kwey (kway) – Algonquin of the region U of O resides on She:kon (sae-gon) – Mohawk Wachiye (waa-chi-yae) – Cree of
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Macdougall confirms that the creation of the sign is part of the University of Ottawa’s Indigenous Action Plan (IAP) and Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers Guide to Indigenous Protocols created by the IEC. The IAP, in consultation with Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, is the vision for what the U of O should aspire to be and do within the next three to five years. The sign, in part, fulfills the University’s goal to transform “the campus’ exterior spaces to be more welcoming to Indigenous people… while also infusing the campus with an “Indigenous aesthetic” according to the IAP. “It was quite a smooth process to have the sign designed, to have everyone provide some input and then manufactured and installed,” said Macdougall referring to the collaboration of her team with Geoffrey Frigon, the senior director of Asset Management, Planning and Real Estate. Macdougall added she is looking forward to the next steps of working with the Research Ethics Office as well as Human Resources to build cultural safety/competency training programs that will serve the
Tansi (taun-tsi) – Rock, Plains and Northern Cree of Manitoba and Alberta Ullukut (oo-loo-koot) – Inuit within Nunavut and Inuvik regions Armitage-Smith, a member of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, is a student representative of the Indigenous Education Council (IEC) at U of O who assisted in giving input towards the creation of the sign. “We’re very happy that it’s in place for the beginning of the school year,” said Professor and director of the Indigenous Research and Studies Brenda Macdougall over email, referring to the collective effort of the 11 members of the IEC comprising students, professors, and community members. “Indigenous students have been advocating for more campus representation, so this is a shared outcome from our team listening and valuing Indigenous student voices,” said Macdougall.
The new Indigenous welcome sign. Photo: Bridget Coady/Fulcrum.
For Frigon, the collaboration has been a learning experience and continues to promote and gain more understanding for not only the student body but the public as well. “We would have liked to have had a ceremony at the time but because of COVID-19, we are going to delay that for now,” he said. Looking ahead, Frigon said there are plans for the installation of two more similar signs: one at Roger Guindon Hall and the other, a largescale development at Lees campus which includes accessibility and indigeneity planned by the end of July 2023.
campus. Frigon said the total cost of planning, design, and construction, was between $47,000 and $50,000 and that the location was a great way to welcome people to campus from the LRT. Along with the IAP, he said the sign fit the University’s Transformation 2030 plan. As previously reported by the Fulcrum, Jill Scott, the provost and VP of academic affairs at the U of O, said that the school is working with an operating budget of $3.6 million to cover the IAP costs over a five year period.
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Names to know at the U of O in 2020
Here are seven names you need to know this year at the U of O Karli Zschogner News Editor
Jacques Frémont – President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa Since taking over for Alan Rock in 2016, Jacques Frémont is the University of Ottawa’s President and ViceChancellor. Being the U of O’s figurehead, Frémont is also a member of the Board of Governors and Chair of the Senate and is Vice-Chancellor to elected Chancellor Calin Rovinescu in the case of absence. This past February he was re-elected by the Board of Governors for a second term till 2026. During his first term, he dealt with the dismantling of the SFUO, the U of O mental health crisis, and racism on campus. Twitter: @recteurUOpres E m a i l : p r e s i d e n t @ u O ttawa.ca Jill Scott – Provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs for the University of Ottawa Elected by the Board of Governors in September 2019 for a five-year term, Scott is U of O’s highest-ranking officer after the President, responsible for its academics, budgets, and setting its priorities. Born in Winnipeg, Scott has a BA from the University of Manitoba, MA from Carleton and a PhD from the University of Toronto, and was a professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Culture at Queen’s University, where she also serveed as Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) and Interim Associate VicePrincipal (International) at Queen’s University in Kingston. She said in U of O’s Gazette, that her work led her to Indigenous language cultural identity and is working with the Mohawk community of Tyendinaga on issues of language revitalization. In her role, she is in charge of accomplishing, in collaboration with the faculties’ deans, setting the Univer-
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sity’s broad academic directions; designing and regularly evaluating programs; recruiting and retaining professors; establishing student-recruitment strategies. She also chairs the Standing Committee on Francophone Affairs and Official Languages and is responsible for all sectors that play a strategic role in the University’s Francophone mission.
to share everyone’s concerns and propose solutions to remedy them. La Rotonde is located on the corner of Osgoode and King Edward, across from Father and Sons. Email:redaction@larotonde.ca Twitter: @Carxline_Fabre Elder Claudette Commanda, Elder-In-Residence & Special Advisor to the Dean on Reconciliation
Trilingual in English, French, and German, Scott can be found in her office in Tabaret and featured in news interviews. Twitter: @jillscott68 Babacar Faye – President of the University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU) Entering his fourth year in political science and second year in common law, Babacar Faye was elected as the UOSU’s first Black President this past March on his main approaches of reliability, wellness, representation, and inclusivity. Born in Kamsar, Guinea, Babacar and his family moved to Mississauga, Ont. as refugees when he was young. During his high school years in Markham, he was president of the student council and represented his school at the school board. It was not until his second year when the university made the switch from the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) to the UOSU that he became involved in post-secondary politics, specifically working on the International Political and Policy Studies Student Association’s (IPPSSA) public administration committee. During this, he says he was able to learn more about student governments and began to become frustrated by the lack of participation despite everything going for students on campus. As a result, he got involved with the Board of Directors for the UOSU and the rest is history. His main reason for running for president? It was an extension of his desire to help rebuild the U of O’s student union, while also
Babacar Faye is the president of the UOSU and definitely a name to know on campus .
contributing to making a better experience for his peers around him.
Email: editor@thefulcrum. ca
Photo: Babacar Faye/Courtesy.
learning opportunities in Indigenous history and governance.
Twitter: @CDuts98 When not studying and in meetings, he’s cooking or doing yoga and one day wishes to work in human rights.
Tim Gulliver – Advocacy Commissioner of University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU)
Charley Dutil – Editor and Chief of The Fulcrum, University of Ottawa’s Independent News Outlet
Appreciating older bands such as Oasis, Tim insists he is anti-K-Pop. Born in South Korea, he says he had a unique cultural-linguistic experience growing up having moved with his family to Sherbrooke, QC with his family.
A 2020 U of O grad in Digital Journalism, Dutil, is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to facts about music, cars, politics, hockey, and baseball. He is also the current Editor-in-Chief of the Fulcrum.
Elected in March, Tim is in his third-year of political science with the goal to decolonize campus and work with mental health groups. He says he remains steadfast to these goals, advocating to help reduce the challenges students are now facing with online learning since the entry of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally from Milton, Ont., he’s lived in both Quebec and Ontario. Alongside continuing the investigative journalism efforts of past Editors-in-Chief, he aims to broaden the horizons of the outlet “beyond a simple news source for students.” He believes the Fulcrum should not only be a news source but a beacon of entertainment on campus hosting live music and comedy nights in its offices. He was previously the Sports Editor of the Fulcrum in 2019-20 and the Fulcrum’s Associate Sports Editor in 2018-19.
In his role as Advocacy Commissioner he says at the defence for students his strategy is to balance between challenging and cooperation of working with the university administration and governance including the President’s Advisory Committee to find the best outcome solutions for students.
He encourages the student body to follow the Fulcrum’s social media platforms for campus news coverage, events, and public meetings. Office hours with all editors are available in person or virtually.
Tim says while he appreciates the opportunity to be living at the heart of politics for his studies, he says that he craves what the program is missing – less Eurocentric politics of governance and wishes to engage in more
Inspired by them he says he looks forward to attending another ‘good protest’. He says he is very approachable and wants to hear directly from students, you can find him around campus or in his office UCU 035D. Email:revendication-advocacy@uosu-seuo.com Twitter: @tim_gulliver Caroline Fabre – Editorin-Chief of La Rotonde, University of Ottawa’s Independent French Newspaper Caroline Fabre is an international student from Senlis, France, entering her final year in honours bachelor of arts and has been the Editorin-Chief of U of O’s independent french newspaper, La Rotonde, since December 2019. While the core editorial team has also been adjusting to COVID-19 restrictions including more online interviews, the paper remains open and active this school year as it has over the summer. She says she would like La Rotonde to do more to address the inequalities that exist in our daily lives, whether we are aware of them or not. Whether you are practicing learning French or fluent, La Rotonde, founded in 1932, offers the space for everyone to learn about Francophone issues. She says their duty is
With wisdom and leadership in her veins, Elder Claudette Commanda is an Algonquin Anishinaabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg First Nation, Que. She is also the granddaughter of the renowned late Algonquin elder William Commanda. Elder Commanda is also a U of O alumna from the Faculty of Arts in 1993 and Faculty of Law, Common Law Section in 1997. Since, she has taught at U of O’s Institute of Women’s Studies, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Education, and the “Aboriginal Studies Program, teaching courses on First Nations Women, Native Education, First Nations People and History, Indigenous Traditions, and Decolonization.” In August of 2017, Claudette was invited and hired as U of O’s first Elder-in-Residence to provide guidance, advice, and counselling for Indigenous students. From this, she has also been the first First Nations person to serve on U of O’s Board of Governors and is also on U of O’s Indigenous Education Council. She is also the Executive Director of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres, a national organization with the mandate of protecting, promoting, and revitalizing First Nations languages and cultures, and has previously served on the Board of Governors for the First Nations University of Canada. She has served on the Kitigan Zibi band council on three separate occasions. In 2009, she was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society.
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A&C EDITOR Aly Murphy arts@thefulcrum.ca
ARTS&CULTURE Fulclore: Summer 2020 Music Recap
Insta: @aly_murph Twitter:@aly_murph_
The best new songs released during the summer of quarantine Released Aug. 7, 2020
Aly Murphy & Paige Holland Arts & Culture Editor
The latest hit from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion is the lead single from Cardi B’s upcoming album. “WAP” has received both criticism (notably from Ben Shapiro) and acclaim, as the sex-positive song features fairly graphic lyrics. The song debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100.
Summer of 2020 was (for most people) spent in quarantine, leaving time for lots of music-listening. Artists did not disappoint, with new albums and songs dropped continuously. This summer showcased eclectic genres of music, and frankly should make for an interesting Spotify Recap at the end of 2020. Here are some of the new albums and songs from this summer that caught our ears.
Drake feat. Lil Durk: ‘Laugh Now Cry Later’ Released Aug. 14, 2020
The Weeknd: After Hours Released March 20, 2020. We’ll start off with a Canadian artist, who released his new album After Hours early into COVID-19. This album has been described as psychedelic, and includes fourteen tracks each with their own layer of unique brilliance. Monster and Men: ‘Circles’ Released April,10,2020 A piano driven cover of Post Malone trap smash hit. The Icelandic duo adds a relax and chiling feeling that isn’t found in the original.
Billy Talent: ‘I Beg to Differ’ (Things Will Get Better) Released April, 14, 2020 The second single off the Mississauga band’s upcoming sixth studio album, I Beg to Differ (Things Will Get Better) is driven by yet another strong performance by Billy Talent’s guitarist Ian D’sa who shreds a pretty complicated riff through the whole song. Singer Ben Kowalewicz vocal performance is also remarkable proving he can still hit high notes with the same intensity that he did on the band’s first record Billy Talent I that came out back in 2003. Post Malone: ‘Nirvana Tribute’ Released April, 24, 2020 This was a pretty unique
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We curated an eclectic playlist of new releases from quarantine .
livestream, as trap artist Post Malone did a 14-song tribute to Nirvana in a dress with blink-182 drummer Travis Barker (who wore orange short shorts) to raise money for the World Health Organization. Both Courtney Love and Dave Grohl praised Malone’s performance, which emulated Kurt Cobain’s classic emotional song delivery perfectly. Malone was especially impressive on Heart Shape Box, School and Lithium. Luke Combs: ‘Six Feet Apart’ Released May 1, 2020 Combs wrote his new single, “Six Feet Apart,” in response to the new normal imposed by COVID-19. The song reflects the pandemic (especially in its title) as the world ensures that it stays “Six Feet Apart” to help stop the spread of COVID-19. (On a list of songs released during summer quarantine, it’s impossible to leave out this pandemic song!) Katy Perry: ‘Daisies’ Released May 15, 2020 Katy Perry’ released her single “Daisies” on May 15, in part as a celebration for her then-unborn daughter Daisy Dove Bloom whom she wel-
Collage: Dasser Kamran/Fulcrum
comed on Aug.27. The song climbed into the Top 40s in Canada and the United States, and is a lasting tribute to her daughter.
Tim Baker brings to fans a sweet and simple EP with songs inspired by his home in St. John’s, NL. Its title track is particularly fitting for quarantine, pushing us to “go outside / and move how your body was made / like a survivor / from a long line of the same.”
Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga: ‘Rain on Me’ Released May 22, 2020
Juice WRLD: Legends Never Die Released July 10, 2020
This song is a single from Gaga’s latest album, Chromatica. The song debuted atop of the Billboard’s Hot 100, becoming the first female collaboration ever to debut at the top of the chart. The song carries the message of continuing on despite the hardships of life – a positive message for Grande and Gaga’s younger fans.
The third album by rapper Juice WRLD came out after his death on Dec. 8, 2019. The 22-track record contains six singles, and was number one in both Canada and the United Kingdom. The tribute collection received mostly positive reviews after it was released.
Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher Released June 18 2020.
Chris Cornell: ‘Patience’ Released July 20, 2020
Phoebe Bridgers’ second studio album (biting at the heels of her acclaimed Stranger of the Alps) explores mental illness, wellness, and the liminal space there within. The album is deeply personal and melancholy, making good use of Bridgers’ haunting voice and her aptitude for relatable, specific lyrics.
Taylor Swift: folklore Released July 24, 2020 folklore is Swift’s eighth album, and hit streaming services after a surprise drop in late July. This album has a cottagecore aesthetic and
A Canadian favourite, former Hey Rosetta! lead singer
Oliver Tree feat. blink-182: ‘Let Me Down’ Released July 24, 2020 blink-182 and Oliver Tree’s collaboration on this one is magical, blink enhances another wise boring song with the mix of Adam’s Song sounding guitar work and a Brainstew era Green Day-inspired rhythm section. Also props to those who noticed the Green Day reference when Mark Hoppus sings “on my phone, here we go”. Bon Iver, “AUATC” Released August 5, 2020
A cover of the GNR classic and the first posthumous release from the late Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman this song can only be described as beautiful.
Tim Baker, Survivors EP Released July 10, 2020
portrays the heartbreaks and loss Swift has endured and observed. The album has 16 songs as well as a “cardigan” music video. Upon folklore’s debut, 3 songs landed in the Top 10 on the Hot 100.
This new track from indie darling Bon Iver features vocals from Bruce Springsteen and Jenny Lewis. It’s an upbeat, hopeful track from Justin Vernon, who asked listeners to donate to a number of charities promoting female empowerment and the eradication of classism alongside its release.
“Laugh Now Cry Later” is the lead single from Drake’s upcoming album, Certified Lover Boy. The song debuted at number two on Billboard’s Hot 100, and number one in Canada (Drake’s home country – go Canada!). Hopefully, the rest of this album is released soon! Miley Cyrus: ‘Midnight Sky’ Released Aug. 13, 2020 Cyrus’ latest single, “Midnight Sky,” touches on her divorce from Liam Hemsworth. The song topped charts within the first week of its release, and the singer explained the song is about “taking back control of our own narrative.” Arkells: Campfire Chords Released Aug. 20, 2020 With their latest release, the Arkells reimagined the concept of ‘Biggest Hits Albums’ by releasing an acoustic collection of their biggest hits. The songs Come to Light, 11:11 and Michigan Left are denitely the standouts of this record. Summer 2020 was one of the best summers in recent memory for music to be released (since everyone had time to just sit and listen); many artists jumped on this opportunity. This list doesn’t cover every drop from this summer, but showcases some of the popular ones.
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion: ‘WAP’
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Frosh Fashion 2020: Pandemic back-to-school trends at the U of O
U of O first-year students are still experimenting with their fashion choices, even for a mostly-digital school year
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ALY MURPHY
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Our staff photographer, Bridget Coady, and I went for a walk around campus with one goal in mind: spot the biggest trends in first-year fashion at U of O. Our results weren’t too surprising: mom jeans and ripped jeans are here to stay, right alongside white sneakers and baggy sweatshirts (the 90s are having another moment).
Alexa and Karlie, Criminology Ripped jeans never go out of style, and Alexa and Karlie rock them with a bright windbreaker (90s, anyone?), matching U of O lanyards, and a supercozy cardigan (we’re pretty excited for fall, too, ngl). Spotted outside 90U.
Bryce, Communications We stepped outside the Faculty of Social Sciences to find Bryce, who’s carrying a sweet Coach fanny pack over his shoulder (do we spy a new trend coming on?!).
Kat, Feminist & Gender Studies Kat thrifted her adorable skirt and altered it back home . She’s paired it with a daring chunky sneaker and a minimalist white tank top, giving her skirt the attention it deserves! Big cottagecore vibes, spotted at U of O LRT station.
But when it comes to 2020’s newest accessory, most people are opting for plain black or blue medical-grade masks (with the occasional pop of colour). As expected, there was lots of U of O swag all over campus, from masks to sweatshirts to backpacks. Gee-Gee pride doesn’t seem to be dying down!
Nina, Conflict Studies & Human Rights, and Txen, Psychology First, it wouldn’t be a true backto-school fashion gallery without Winners (we love a good deal!). Nina’s Adidas bag and Txen’s matching mask-and-crop-top combo are definitely on-trend. Spotted here outside U of O’s Biosciences Complex.
Caleb and Kensley, Public Administration & Politics We love Kensley’s all-white tracksuit and gold chain, as well as Caleb’s bright hoodie and Nikes, spotted right outside UCU. The Roots bag is also a definite U of O staple!
Here are some of some of the best outfits we found during residence move-in:
All photos taken by staff photographer, Bridget Coady/Fulcrum
Please email editor@ thefulcrum. ca for more details.
Soumaya, Psychology Soumaya’s outfit definitely reminds us of Billie Eilish and we are living for it. We love how she matched the logo of her top to her Nikes, and the plain white pants and black mask pull everything together. Spotted near CRX.
Canadian Museum of Nature set to reopen to public Aly Murphy
Arts & Culture Editor
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ooking for an offcampus activity to do with friends? Have family members in town? You’re in luck: the Canadian Museum of Nature reopens to the public Sept. 5, after spending the dormant months of the pandemic preparing for your safe return to one of Ottawa’s favourite cultural spaces. Things obviously look a little different than they did in March. For one thing, the Canadian Museum of Nature is a Heritage Building with a lot of shared staircases, tight entryways, and tactile exhibits – theoretically, a perfect storm for germ-spreading. The museum’s re-opening team has done a great job of revamping its space for a COVID-aware audience: signage is precise, masked staff members are around to guide you safely through the space, and hand sanitizer stations
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are sprinkled throughout each room and hallway. The Canadian Museum of Nature, a long-time favourite for kids and adults alike, usually attracts patrons with its touchable artifacts and activities. Some of these stations remain open and available to explore: you can still design your own volcano or match birds to their songs, provided you use the available hand sanitizer first. This freedom still allows visitors to kinesthetically learn about their changing world despite the new limits COVID-19 has imposed on our lives. Unsurprisingly, some “interactables” have had to be temporarily shut down. “Safety has to be our highest priority,” said Dan Smythe, senior media relations officer at the museum. It’s clear that awareness is the backbone of the museum’s re-opening strategy. “People are probably used to what we’re asking for; they’re similar to the measures we’ve seen in grocery stores since March.”
Visitors can still get acquainted with their favourite exhibits. Photo: Aly Murphy/Fulcrum
panied by a myriad of social distancing arrows (that, truthfully, sort of make you feel like you’re in a dinosaur-infested IKEA) should give visitors confidence that they’re safe to explore one of Canada’s most treasured national museums. The one downside of these new safety features is that a few of your favourite activities may have had to be taken out for now. Angeline Laffin, director of visitor experience at the museum, says that these choices were made purely due to lo-
To that end, visitors must complete the City of Ottawa’s COVID-19 self-assessment questionnaire before entering the museum, and all visitors over the age of two must wear masks. Entry times to the museum are staggered, giving visitors a fifteen-minute window for entry into the main building. Before entering the museum, visitors must line up in a physically distant manner in an ancillary tent and wait for a staff member to scan a digital ticket. These measures, accom-
gistics: the building’s layout means that quite a few exhibits have the potential to form “pinch points,” or places where families are likely to block the natural flow of traffic if they hover for too long. Rather than risk a crossfamily contamination, the museum has made the smart move to simply close these tactile experiences for now. However, visitors can still enjoy much of what the museum has to offer (including the ability to take those classic selfies with moose and dinosaurs). Unfortunately, large in-person events like Nature Nocturne are unlikely to return to the museum any time soon, per Smythe. Again, it’s a necessary loss to the pandemic – safety has to come first. Just because COVID-19 is still in flux doesn’t mean the museum doesn’t have new and exciting additions to their collection. Gaia, a new sculpture by British artist Luke Jerram, is a breathtaking scale model of planet Earth, suspended over visitors’ heads as they enter the museum. Gaia hangs
slightly below the Canadian Museum of Nature’s suspended moon sculpture (Museum of the Moon, also by Jerram), mirroring our real-life lunar positioning. It’s a beautiful addition, and puts into perspective just how tiny our everyday lives are; COVID-19 is just a blip in the world’s history, and Gaia could not have reminded us of that at a better time. The museum will also be launching a special new exhibition entitled Planet Ice: Mysteries of the Ice Age on Sept. 25, guiding visitors through humankind’s roles in global warming and cooling, spanning over 80,000 years. This exhibition does have an extra associated charge ($6 for students), but will feature over 120 new models, artifacts, and multimedia installations. General student admission to the museum is $13 with your student card, or free for certain times if you book on Monday morning. The Canadian Museum of Nature is a super fun few hours of learning (with plenty of potential for silly photo ops).
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U of O COVID-19 Move-in: No watermelon salads in sight ALY MURPHY & AMIRA BENJAMIN aRTS & cuLTURE Editor fEATURES EDITOR
U
niversity of Ottawa has set its move-in plans into motion, precautions keep new students safe and comfortable
Whether you’ve been on TikTok since the app first launched in 2018, or you downloaded it a few weeks into COVID-19, you probably saw a LOT of videos about New York University (NYU) this August. Any incoming first-year U of O student, might be a little fearful after seeing these videos about NYU or University of North Carolina (UNC) on their ‘for you page’. Well, have no (or at least less) fear. The University of Ottawa doesn’t look like it’s going to be the subject of these TikTok trends any time soon. Over the border, NYU enforced a mandatory fourteenday quarantine for most incoming students this Fall, promising to provide three meals per day
to those in isolation. This guarantee has since been upgraded to an offer of two meals and a $30 GrubHub coupon per day due to backlash from videos of substandard (and downright bizarre) meals that surfaced on TikTok. But not many meals lived up to incoming students’ expectations, from single spread packages of cream cheese and Nutella for breakfast to a steak and watermelon salad as a vegan lunch; these meals have been strange, to say the least. @nyuquarantine is a TikTok account dedicated to documenting NYU quarantine cuisine, and has garnered approximately 12,700 followers since the beginning of their 14-day quarantine period. These issues aren’t limited to single schools; COVID-19 is affecting North American campus culture globally, and it’s undoubtedly difficult to prepare for a return to campus. Angela Taborek, a first-year management student living in
the 90 U residence, said that the U of O has handled the complications of the incoming COVID-19 cohort remarkably well. Especially after a few confusing weeks over the summer, in which “frequent emails gave students incorrect move-in information, with slow responses to concerned emails.” The email situation improved throughout August, and incoming freshmen were eventually provided with detailed information on how to move in quickly and safely. 90 University residence, for instance, is operating at a reduced capacity this semester, with some suites now occupied by just one person. Elevators are also operating at a two-person maximum, and masks must be worn in all common areas. Unlike other return-toschool plans, there is no enforced quarantine (or even suggested social bubbling) for any domestic students arriving at U of O. Only international students must complete a fourteen-
day quarantine in which they are provided (edible, diet-appropriate) meals at Les Suites Hotel Ottawa before moving into their on-campus residences. This quarantine isn’t perfect; per Taborek, some of her cohort weren’t able to arrive in Ottawa in time to accommodate the university’s requirement, so they’re starting their university experiences completely online from their home countries. For the most part, though, the U of O seems to be taking the comfort and well-being of its incoming freshmen seriously. There’s still a learning curve to come (we all know what’ll happen when new first-years discover the joys of Hull’s clubs and bars), but Taborek feels safe from COVID-19 despite being in a university setting. “People understand the protocols, and people want to be smart. We’re paying attention to the news and the new cases. I think res[idence] is going to be fine,” she said.
We’ve learned from NYU: here’s how U of O is making move-in easy as possible for you. Illustration: Dassar Kamran/Fulcrum
Movies You Should Have Seen: Prisoners (2013) like films which aim to tap into the viewer’s panic response, Prisoners gradually builds a sense of dread and unease in the viewer, begging those watching at home to deadbolt the door and triple-check on their sleeping loved ones. The film was Villeneuve’s first English-language feature film. Regardless of the all-star ensemble the film boasts, Prisoners missed the surface for many because, at this time, Villeneuve was still largely unknown (he would go on to create Arrival, arguably one of the best films of the millennium thus far).
Lucas Gergyek
fulcrum contributor Why it’s famous French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is well decorated, to say the least — he’s collected a number of Academy Awards throughout his filmmaking journey. When he unleashed Prisoners, a film stacked with the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Viola Davis and Dylan Minnette, he caught the attention of even the pickiest film festival goer. Prisoners pushes the boundaries of the thriller genre, posing the question: how far would you go to protect your child? The film focuses on the abduction of two young girls in suburban Pennsylvania and the subsequent chaos that follows. Films such as The Call, Taken and Savages have each taken a unique aim at the kidnapping plotline, but no such film paints the accompanying sense of dread and panic as thoughtfully as Prisoners.
Why you should see it anyway
Prisoners challenges viewers to get comfortable with the sense of dread the film radiates. Viewers must come prepared to face strapping themes of loss, turbulence and anxiety, delivered by emotionally raw performances by some of Hollywood’s best. Inherently, the film begs viewers for a strong emotional response. The film is full of symbolism and subtle cues that the uninterested viewer might miss
Prisoners is neither a lighthearted nor an easy watch. Un-
ents a top-notch cast who truly give some of their best work in this film. Famous Lines Keller Dover: Every day she’s wondering why I’m not there! Not you, but me! Detective Loki: With all due respect captain, go f**k yourself. Keller Dover: We hurt him until he talks or they’re going to die.
Beneath the anxiety-provoking plotline runs a number of important themes explored throughout the film. Prisoners questions morality and the boundaries of good and evil, exploiting each character to situations most of us couldn’t even begin to imagine how we’d handle. Moreover, Prisoners has been praised for its cinematography. Sleepily rolling hills, suburbia and almost constant rainfall mirror the existential angst captured by Villeneuve throughout the film. In addition, Prisoners pres-
Why it might be tough to get through
Why you haven’t seen it
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– either commit to being disturbed or give this one a skip. Moreover, a strong plot-twist might leave many viewers saying, “Huh?” But if you catch on, it’s an unbelievably satisfying twist. The film may also hit too close to home for some. Prisoners pushes past the ghost and zombie tropes many films are plagued with, but rather, centers around every parent’s worst nightmare – their children vanishing.
Fun Facts Before being anchored by the likes of Hugh Jackman and Viola Davis, the script for Prisoners bounced around Hollywood for quite some time. It’s rumoured that other A-list actors Leonardo Dicaprio and Christian Bale were previously attached to the project. The film centers around Detective Loki obsessively searching for two kidnapped children. Interestingly, in Norse Mythology a tale titled Loka Tattur describes how the god Loki persistently tries to protect a child from a giant named Skrymir.
Prisoners was Villeneuve’s first English-language feature film. Photo: Alcon Entertainment.
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FEATURES EDITOR Amira Benjamin features@thefulcrum.ca
FEATURES O.K. Computer!
Insta: @amira.img Twitter: N/A
Students from summer sessions reflect on their virtual semester Amira benjamin features Editor
It took less than six months, but COVID-19 has changed and revolutionized education as we know it. With university students all over Canada preparing to start their first fully virtual semester, Canadians are tentatively watching to see the results of this forced switch in education methods. Although a small fraction of in-person sessions will be offered, a large selection of Canadian universities — including the University of Ottawa — will host the majority of their classes online. After a first completely virtual semester in the summer, it’s important to reflect on the varying degrees of success of the U of O in preparation for this new, unique fall semester. Initial Speed Bumps Thrusted into a sudden change over a couple days in March, students and faculty alike were unable to adjust to the drastic shift to online courses towards the end of the winter semester. Some didn’t have the proper technology and support, while others found it difficult to focus, especially in home settings. Others who had taken online courses in the past still thought the adjustment to an online-only environment was hard to make. “I’m used to taking maybe one course online at a time, so it was really weird having to balance multiple online courses,” said Phoenix Holt, a secondyear psychology student. “I’m used to being in school for a lot of my lectures, so you really have to motivate yourself to do these courses. A lot of it was just me getting it over with, like my essays and exams.” Like students, professors had to quickly adjust themselves and adapt the way they teach classes. When it came to online instruction, students and professors had to work together to avoid any added confusion.
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Erica Branco, a third-year social science student details the confusion she faced due to the different methods her professors used. “At first, it was a little difficult because all of my professors were doing different things. Some are doing voice overs with slides and some weren’t even posting slides for weeks on end, so I didn’t even get to cover all of the material in some classes before the final exam.” Points for Presentations Each professor has a different method of teaching content ranging from pre-recorded lectures to virtual live lectures where professors taught via web conferences or a hybrid of different mediums. In an anonymous survey conducted by The Fulcrum, a majority of respondents preferred video conference lectures, using software like Zoom, Adobe Connect, or Microsoft Teams. The secondmost preferred method was presentation slides without commentary. Some students also enjoyed studying via prerecorded lectures, which offered extra flexibility. “I liked the chat box feature, I could ask a question and other students could answer. It was hard to explain over text what exactly confused me to the professors,” one survey respondent commented.
Photo: Dasser Kamran/Fulcrum
What Professors Need to Do
“I liked that the lectures were recorded so you could go back and listen to the information again,” another respondent said. “I disliked that Adobe Connect would crash (happened a couple times) and the professor would have to cancel class.” “I like that a lot of my profs recorded the lectures and then posted them afterwards so that I’m able to go back and relook over my notes, and if I missed something in the lecture I can always go back to it,” said Sam Sheldrick, a second-year biopharmaceutical sciences student. Alongside the modifications, students like Desmond Staples acknowledge the stark difference between professors teaching in recorded lectures from previous in-person lectures. “I did find that in class when my professor’s speaking, it would be more like a conversational tone. It was more like he could kind of gauge how the class was responding to the information, and if there were questions or how fast they were reading or writing things down,” he said. “But I found that online since he didn’t have that sort of instant feedback, you’d go a lot faster and just, you know, he’s recording himself, so it was just a lot faster paced in class which I did not find, was very helpful for me.”
Many students are suggesting that professors be more accommodating when it comes to participation as students can have additional responsibilities such as part-time jobs or taking care of relatives when studying from home. “Just being understanding that we also may have a lot going on for those who aren’t on campus [in Ottawa] because I’m going to be working while I’m home,” Branco explained. “I would be spending more time studying but now that I’m home I have other commitments, as well. I’m gonna have to learn to balance these commitments with schoolwork, so I just think professors need to understand that life might be a little more difficult for some people than it would be for others.” Fourth-year international development and globalization student Andrea Raymond said professors also need to be more flexible with students in rural regions. “I know there are areas where the internet either drops all the time or they don’t have it. And so they might be having to go somewhere like a library or the next town over to have access to the internet,” said Raymond. “I think they need to keep in mind that not everyone has the same setup, some people will live with multiple people in
the house and they don’t have a quiet area, especially when it comes to exams and Respondus.” Other survey respondents discussed their long hours spent on class work every week as a downside. “I’m seeing that many professors are having three hours of lecture posted a week and then a three hour ‘in class’ session to answer questions and solve problems, one student said “This increases the length of classes to six hours for one class this wouldn’t normally happen in person. Hoping this changes as it would be overwhelming if all five of my classes were running at six hours a week.” It’s also crucial to remember that not all students can remain seated or focused for long periods of time and to be considerate for those with physical or mental disabilities. “Please remember that your students are human and have mental health to deal with, as well as other commitments,” one survey respondent commented. “It is incredibly hard as is with COVID-19, without making the course harder. We understand you’re concerned about cheating but it’s not worth the amount of breakdowns students will be having because of the increased difficulty.” When it comes to student success, regular communication and virtual office hours are a frequent suggestion. “I feel like the professors who held office hours or a kind of weekly discussion… were super helpful,” said secondyear criminology student Kate Brown. “I feel like that’s good because then during a live lecture, I always wasn’t super comfortable asking a question in front of everyone. So that way, I’d be more comfortable and I could still get the clarification I needed.” Matt Kord, a second-year mechanical engineering student, explained having weekly group assignments kept him engaged in his course. “It was a lot of fun because
I worked with my friends and I was actually learning stuff because I had to do the assignment,” he said. “Generally I think engagement is the biggest thing; you have to find some way of engaging with students and like keeping them engaged, so that they actually learn because if you’re just talking, and you’re not doing anything, then they won’t pay attention.” Learned as much online? When it comes to comparing online learning to in-person learning, students gave mixed answers. Kord said he didn’t learn as much online as he did in-person, largely due to the differences in motivation. “I think you can definitely learn just as much online, I feel like I know I could, but it definitely takes more self-discipline and I definitely know that that’s a very difficult thing for a lot of people,” he said. One anonymous responded to the survey believes that professors need to reapproach their teaching methods due to the shift to online courses. “Some professors have been really bad at knowing how to evaluate students because they expect the way that people learn is to just absorb information and then regurgitate it on a piece of paper,” they said. “I want professors to get better at asking students, how they learned and what they learned from something, and the way that we convey what we understood.” According to survey results, there were varied answers between “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe”. For those who answered no, answers varied from disliking open book exams to struggling with distractions. “The content that was thrown at us in a way that was hard to process,” another respondent said. “ The professors should have taken the time to help us with self-learning.”
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To frosh or not to frosh
Is 101-Week important for the student experience? Abby McLeod
Associate Features Editor
Photo: Dasser Kamran/Fulcrum
Frosh week is embedded in popular culture as one of the most memorable moments of a student’s time at university. Images of students and their families swarming campus the weekend before classes start, freshman mingling with their peers in matching t-shirts, and group photos in front of campus landmarks are plastered all over university promotional material with hopes of drawing more students to the school in the coming years. Getting to know your way around campus, meeting future classmates, moving into residence halls, and shedding any inhibitions from your high school self are all connotations of the typical frosh week stereotype. For many, welcome week, frosh, 101Week, or whatever ongoing campus event is occurring, it is an exciting time to be on campus. Gearing up for a new chapter in their lives, freshmen students partake in the events and workshops hosted by their new school, all with the hopes of getting familiarized with their new environment and meeting those who they will be sharing that space with. With the transition to mostly online programming this year, there arises an opportunity to take a closer look at the traditional frosh experience, and how this year’s shakeup provides a valuable frame for constructive criticisms. Does frosh really provide students with the social foundations for their next few years at university, or does the hype overshadow the reality of its impact? Frosh at the U of O At the University of Ottawa, 101-Week is hosted between the University of Ottawa Students’ Union and numerous student associations. The first two days of the week are largely reserved for 101-week kit sales and icebreaker activities. Campus is flooded with students from Tabaret lawn to Minto, while music blares from any given direction. In many ways, the University of Ottawa produces a stereotypical frosh week. As one of the few universities in Ontario
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that has a “wet frosh”, U of O hosts many events for freshmen over the course of the week that take students over the border to Gatineau, where the legal drinking age is 18. These events, usually held in the evenings, largely consist of loud music, dark venues, and a lot of drinking. Though the university provides these opportunities, it claims not to endorse irresponsible alcohol consumption, just to provide a safe environment where students can socialize in familiar ways. Despite these types of activities being included in the schedule, the U of O maintains that this week is to be called “101 Week”, not frosh. This stance could be criticized as one of mere optics, where the university administration wants to distance themselves from the negative connotations of “frosh”, but have not made substantive changes in the events hosted as a part of the week.
have much the opposite experience. One student, who requested to remain anonymous said that still being 17 and participating in their 101- Week felt like they were being excluded at times. “The night events are really what everyone looks forward to, and some of those don’t allow students under 18 to even attend. Or there are crossed wires, and guides would tell me I wasn’t allowed to go to certain events only for me to find out the next day that they were given false information and I could have been there with my new friends.” Off-campus events also can be extremely inconvenient for students who don’t live on campus. For insurance reasons, those attending off-campus frosh events must travel to and from the venue with the organizing body running the event. For example, if a student lives in Gatineau and wanted to participate in one of the drinking events, they would have to make their way to campus, board a bus with their peers, and at the end of the night get back on that bus that would take them to campus, then find their way back to Gatineau on their own. With OC Transpo and the STO’s services usually gearing down after midnight on weekdays, it can become a difficult and even dangerous trek for off-campus students to fully participate in their orientation events. There have also been concerns regarding the larger narratives behind frosh events, and what kind of behaviour and attitudes the week encourages. Rape culture is a big part of this concern. As has been reported in previous years, there have been red flags raised with the content of and behavior that exists in frosh culture, from discriminatory chants to instances of assault and harassment. Frosh week is supposed to cater to the entire freshman class, which means the environment created must be a safe space for all invited to participate.
Positive student experience Many students cherish their 101-Week experience. Danica Weir, a fifth-year co-op student spoke positively about her frosh week in 2016, saying it was an overall great experience. The events she attended hosted by the student union or the Development Student Association were typically full of new students and student leaders who were eager to be a part of the event. Over the course of the week, she immediately met and clicked with a group of people in her program, who then became a tightknit group of friends, eventual roommates and project partners in the future. This element of expanding her social network so rapidly was the real highlight of 101-Week for Wier, who has maintained many of the connections she made in her first week throughout her years studying. When asked if she would recommend taking part in 101-Week to an incoming U of O student, Wier was encouraging but recognized that the experience is catered to those who feel comfortable in new and dynamic social situations. “Someone who doesn’t love being in that kind environment might be overwhelmed and not enjoy their time,” she went on to point out how the intensity of the week could be potentially very anxiety-inducing for students less extraverted than she. While many of the larger events may not appeal to all students who signed up for the week’s events, there has been an effort in recent years to have a variation in the kinds of events offered. such as movie nights, which is one example of 101-Week attempting to appeal to a broader student population. Many student association’s weekly schedules are careful to have at least one other dry event held during the same time as the Gatineau party nights so that students who may not feel comfortable in that environment have another option to participate in.
Focus on consent As an official event hosted on university grounds and organized by elected union representatives, negative experiences – especially those so serious in nature – have not been taken lightly. There have been some recent additions to the 101-Week schedule that seek to address concerns of rape culture. Take Back the Night is an event hosted each year after the week’s Opening Ceremonies, which all first-year students are invited to attend. The event is hosted in collaboration between the University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) and the Womxns Resource Centre (WRC). Jade Sullivan, coordinator at the WRC, emphasized the importance of having a collective – on campus. “Take Back the Night is an annual event where people come together to rally and protest sexual, relationship, and domestic genderbased violence in all forms (cont. pg., 12)
Negative student experience Despite the university’s goals and the positive experiences of most of the students who partake in 101-Week, some freshmen
UOSU Hires Respondus to make sure froshers don’t cheat in online 101-Week games Students who are caught cheating will have their virtual bracelet cut. On Sept. 2, the University of Ottawa Student’s Union announced that it had hired a familiar presence to ensure the legitimacy of the results of its online 101-week games: Respondus. The news comes following complaints of cheating during online Residence events, such as virtual ‘Cards Against Humanity’ and ‘Uno’. “To aid with additional security and protect the student body, we are exercising the services of Respondus Lockdown Browser,” said UOSU’s Tom Gullible to the Tomato. “This is to ensure that all residential guidelines are being followed and students can’t cheat during online 101-week activities.” “Please be wary, Respondus cannot deal with sudden movements or talking,” said Vacant Position, the UOSU’s director of communications. “Respondus ensures that all 101-Week activities results are accurate and free of fraud.” Students who are caught cheating will have their virtual bracelet cut, Respondus will also make sure that underage students aren’t in possession of alcohol by asking them to give us a virtual tour of their bedrooms with their webcams. “This way the University won’t get mad at us this year because we are ensuring that 17-yearolds don’t have to consume alcohol during online 101-week events,” said UOSU’s Padmé Vader to the Tomato.
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S&T EDITOR Ryan Matte Science@thefulcrum.ca
SCIENCE & TECH
Insta: @ryanmatte55 Twitter: @rmatte1999
Tips for building your own PC
An in-depth look into what components to buy for the new school year RYAN MATTE SCIENCE AND TECH EDITOR For a lot of students working from home, having a computer that can handle your workload for the fall semester is essential. Oftentimes, building your own computer can help you avoid that problem and all while maintaining a strict budget. After building a few PC’s in the past, here are a few things I’ve learned that will help you make the best decisions Getting started The first thing is to understand what tools you will be using this semester. Solidworks, Adobe Photoshop, and video editing tools may require a more expensive system, while typing essays, and attending online lectures may require a more budget-oriented system. Make sure you really need the PC, as many students prefer the portability and convenience of a laptop to the power and speed of a desktop. This does not consider any Apple computers, which may be better suited for video editing, photo editing and especially audio applications. If the tools you
will be working with are only available on those platforms, a custom PC may not be the best option. When building a PC, there are a few great guides online, however, if this is not something of interest to you, there are great pre built desktop computers and laptops available. Another thing to note is the release of the RTX 3000 series of Video Cards, which may lower the prices of the current cards, so waiting out may be a better option. The budget option This is the PC oriented towards those looking for something that will be able to get some work done, and even play some Esports type games on the side. The idea of this PC is to have something that can be upgraded overtime and has a good foundation, with a quad core processor, 16 gigabytes of RAM, 256GB of m.2 SSD storage and a terabyte of hard drive storage, there is more than enough power for web browsing and getting work done. At around $500, this is a system on the lower end, however
Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.
there is a good amount of power. If desired, the CPU could be paired with a graphics card like the GTX 1650 super or 1660ti from NVIDIA for around $200 more. AMD also has the 5500XT and the RX 580 which would pair well with a system like this. The Intel i3 9100f was the choice for CPU, as the price to performance is a bit better compared with AMD’s offerings. Having integrated graphics isn’t ideal for rendering videos, playing games or working with more intensive applications, however this is a good foundation for any future upgrades.
working with heavy photoshop files, and running most games. The CPU of choice is AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600, a 6 core processor that should help with having a more responsive system, with more CPU power. This system introduces a video card, which will help with rendering any graphics, or videos. This will help with video editing, rendering as well as any games you may plan on playing on the side. The Radeon 5600XT was the choice for the system but for a bit more money the RTX 2060 Super from NVIDIA is a good choice, as it introduces ray tracing and tensor cores which assist with machine learning. The total is $1100, this is a bit more expensive, however, you
The midrange option This option is more suited towards video editing, rendering,
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... It is a powerful opportunity for survivors and their supporters to actively build connections, assertively reclaim our right to safety, and courageously stand up against violence.” This year’s schedule will include “performers present[ing] their pieces and testimonies, calls to actions to address prevalent issues in our communities, resource sharing and we will end the night by having a 30-minute decompression yoga led by Sydnee from Yoga Unity.” The event will be prerecorded and thus available to students to watch either at the allotted time in the 101-Week schedule or later at their convenience. When asked if there are inherent issues with traditional 101-Week programmings, Sullivan stated that the downfall tends to be in the inauthenticity about issues such as “consent,
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land acknowledgments, etc.”, where certain blurbs are repeated constantly, – “no means no” – but the conversations are rarely developed further. “Accessibility needs to be removed from the able-bodied standard,” said Sullivan. “The accessibility needs to be introduced for COVID-19 shows how broad range it is, and that it is not normalized.” Despite its shortcomings in some areas, the Womxns Resource Centre believes that 101 week remains an important part of the freshman experience. The whirlwind of events and information being imposed on students is really the “essence of beginning this new chapter”. The connections and awareness brought to campus resources like the WRC are cemented during 101-Week are essential for these services to be known.
university experience. They explained that every year there are topical considerations for programming available, all heavily influenced by concerns of the times.his year will be shaped by the “emotional landscape of 2020”. The accommodating and considerate environment centred in OPIRG’s 101-Week exists in a stark contrast to traditional 101-Week programming. “The emphasis placed on the first week of university is really debilitating for a lot of people,” said MacDiarmid. Big events are not really for certain kinds of people, MacDiarmid finds that there was not a consideration for how connection works for many people in traditional 101 events and that people have different social needs. Alt 101 week seeks to chal-
Alt 101-Week Besides the Student Union and RSG-organized 101 weeks, the University of Ottawa Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) chapter runs an “Alt 101 Week” every year for students that may not be interested in more traditional frosh programming. Since 2005, OPIRG centres the week around involvement in activism and community, advocating for a green and progressive agenda. Accordingly, the programming is completely free for freshmen students, with events ranging from racial justice panels to drag shows to anti-capitalist book fairs. Dan MacDiarmid, the Alt 101 week coordinator for OPIRG says their events offer a different perspective on the
have a system that is much more powerful and gives you the opportunity to play games on the side, or work on more intense projects. There is a 500GB m.2 SSD equipped with this system, which you can use for the operating system and to store more frequently accessed applications, and a one terabyte hard drive that is used for any games, or larger files that you may have. This is the option that you may need to wait on for a bit, as the release of the 3000 series of graphics cards from NVIDIA, will cause this system to be obsolete very quickly. The high-end option This is the option you chose when your OSAP has gone up, and you really want to spend the extra money on a more expensive system. This is not the most expensive that you could consider, but the option sits around $2000, that is hard to beat. The CPU is an impressive Ryzen 7 3700X, an eight core processor that has more power than you will need for most projects. The system is equipped with
lenge many existing frosh stereotypes, including the idea that the first person you meet will be your best friend, that making friends is now or never, and that students need to spend a lot of money to have fun and meet classmates. MacDiarmid feels the message comes off as, “if you don’t participate you will not be happy in this community, ultimately”. OPIRG comes from a perspective that is less exclusive, maintaining that if you don’t talk to anyone until second year, or aren’t aware of niche groups or resource centres on campus from the jump, you can still make friends and be a part of the community in your own time.s Conclusion
16GB of memory, which can be upgraded to 32GB if you tend to run out of memory quickly. Another choice made for this system is going for a B550 motherboard rather than a B450 motherboard. The first option will offer more features including PCI 4.0 (a faster slot for SSD and Video cards), and longer support. This leaves plenty of room to upgrade as well as overclock the system, leaving plenty of power available for any tasks at hand. Another welcome addition is the use of an AIO, which is a closed water cooling loop that will lower the temperature of your system compared to the one that comes with your processor. This improves the overall aesthetics of the system. The one issue with this build is the graphics card. The RTX 2070 Super is a more than capable card, however with the RTX 3070 coming out at $500 USD, and outperforming much more expensive options it is most definitely worth the wait. The RTX 3070 will allow for more powerful tensor cores to assist with any machine learning work, and the improved design will help with any video rendering tasks.
nificant issues with traditional 101-Week programming that need to be addressed moving forward, certain elements of the week remain as cornerstones of the freshman experience. Namely, campus orientation, introduction to campus resources, and the opportunity to meet your peers. Whatever your social inclination, there is 101-Week programming that can provide you with a fun, informative frosh week that you will make lasting connections from and look back on fondly. So to answer the question ‘to frosh or not to frosh’, we say go for it. If you’re unsure about whether you would enjoy the traditional programming, do some research and look to some of the lesser-known but excellent alternatives available.
Where there remain sig-
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U of O student-created tool helps students build schedules more efficiently
uSchedule combats the difficulties associated with the U of O’s course building tool RYAN MATTE
personalize their schedule.
SCIENCE AND TECH Editor
With students enrolling for their fall and winter semesters, many have been reluctantly using the course selection tool provided by the University of Ottawa on uoZone. This tool has become notorious for being difficult to use, and having schedules that are very difficult to plan with conflicts that are hard to track. To combat these difficulties, a group University of Ottawa students consisting of David Dearden, Andrew Nagarajah, Jon Bastien, Ivana Elrich, Sahil Tara, Hudi Friedman, and Natalia Maximo, created uSchedule, a new tool that makes building a schedule easy, and adds functionality that helps with productivity throughout the semester. This schedule builder allows students to select courses offered at the U of O, and view all possible schedules available. Its easy to use interface allows students to customize their weekly schedule and even introduces activities like lunch breaks to
How does it work? By eliminating schedules with multiple classes, the tool will automatically show schedules that are possible and eliminate any that aren’t. Being able to view your schedule before actually adding the courses not only saves time, but gives students more freedom to look into alternative course choices. All of the classes shown on uSchedule are classes that are offered at the University of Ottawa. Most importantly, what’s called a “scrapper” will populate a database that will hold all information about when the classes are offered. When loading the page, a REST API (an API that gets hit by requests coming from the web) generates the schedules based on the data stored in the database. In order to create schedules that do not have any conflicts, a searching algorithm known as a breadth-first-search is used to generate proper schedules. The university’s current enrollment
tool on uoZone will only show if there is a conflict once the student chooses to add a class to their schedule. The website’s user interface was created using the popular framework bootstrap 4 in order to give the site a modern aesthetic. jQuery (a JavaScript framework used in conjunction with bootstrap) and Open Iconic (a tool to add icons to websites) were also used to boost the site’s visuals.
says, plug some stuff in, try it out.” Another issue brought up is the visualization issue. Erlich said a lack of visibility would cause problems. “It’s so hard to picture what your schedule is gonna look like on uoZone until you’ve actually fully enrolled in it. You can’t even look at your options and what the possibilities are.” For Bastien, “the most useful part of it is eliminating all the conflicts”. When adding courses, students on uoZone need to constantly check for this, and have no way to visualize if a conflict occurs. “Trying to figure out ‘Oh, I want this section and this section and then oh, no, that that blocks off every other section, after this other class.’ That was insane, that was ridiculous,” he said.
A need for change Frustrating personal experiences is what sparked the team of creators to invent a new scheduling tool. A collection of issues with the U of O’s current class selection tool led to the belief that a new system was necessary. “Basically my issue is the inability to easily sift through possible schedules for classes that have lots of different sections with lots of different options for each section,” David Dearden said to the Fulcrum. “The school only provides a spreadsheet and
What can students expect from future updates? While the app is available now for students to use, the team is still working on updates
whenever possible, and will be looking into any notable improvements that they can add. Possible additions could include searching for courses using specific course levels and subject keywords, the ability to block out certain times and filtering to only show English or French sections. Others include suggested electives, listing travel time between classes, searching through interests and developing student user accounts which would allow students to be notified of any future changes, store past schedules and review any necessary prerequisites for future classes. Having feedback from the University’s student body will help the team of creators pursue a long list of possible updates. “One thing that I really can’t stress enough, please go on the website, fill out the feedback form, and send it into us,” said Bastien. “We read all those things, and we try our best to get those things in at some point”. uSchedules developers advice to the U of O
Illustration: uSchedule Team & Dasser Kamran/Fulcrum
“You know what, the one piece of advice that I’d have to give them is, talk to students,” said Bastien. One of the sticking points with uSchedules development team was the uoZone developers disconnect with students’ concerns when it comes to the enrollment tool. According to them this disconnect went back to prior tools the university also used to use. “Make sure that you talk to the people who are going to be using the app, because that’s where you’re going to know what’s wrong with it,” said Bastien..”
What students should know about the U of O’s migration to Office 365 ABBEY KERkMANN CONTRIBUTOR
Illustration: Dasser Kamran/Fulcrum.
This summer the University of Ottawa’s Information Technology Department announced by email to all students that their emails will migrate from Google’s mail platform Gmail, to Microsoft’s Outlook platform. While employees at the U of O have been using Office 365 for the past few years, students have been using Gmail and G Suite for school related tasks. The migration from Gmail to Outlook will be taking place in phases throughout the next few months with some students waiting until 2021. With the online fall semester set to begin on Sept. 9, the University is taking extra steps to ensure that all students can participate in their
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of Ottawa students for free as part of their Office 365 accounts. As well, Microsoft applications can be downloaded locally as desktop applications, which in contrast to Google Docs and other Google apps, are always available offline by default once on your personal computer. All Microsoft applications you install from the University of Ottawa will be connected to your OneDrive account where all files can be saved to conserve space on your computer. If students do not want to save files to their OneDrive, they can also save work locally on their computer for easy access and editing. The migration to Office 365 will provide students with unlimited online storage on Outlook so there will be no need for deleting or saving emails in order to save space. As well, students will have access to Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Security is another reason why the University of Ottawa is switching to Microsoft. added Mailloux-Pulkinghorn. “Also of importance given the number of hacking attempts against the University community, is the investment in security they have incorporated into their products.” Considering the recent hacking issues that applications like Zoom have experienced this past summer, the U of O administration expressed concerns regarding the protection of their students’ and staff’s personal information.
courses from wherever they are in the world as many have chosen to learn remotely. However, international students are facing more difficulties when it comes to online learning. Isabelle Mailloux-Pulkinghorn, manager of Media Relations at U of O, explained switching email programs will hopefully overcome some geographic restriction issues. “The main reason [we switched] is that some countries block Gmail. This is out of our control and prevents the University from communicating with some of its students in other countries,” said Mailloux-Pulkinghorn. “And given that the pandemic dictates that we continue to adopt an online course model for the upcoming semester starting in September, it was necessary to start migrating students this summer.” Countries that have restricted access to Google products include China, Iran, Crimea, and Myanmar. In many cases, Gmail may still be available for personal use, but the government restricts its use for business and educational purposes due to privacy concerns. After switching to Outlook, students who previously could not open their student inbox from their home countries will have access again.
Comparison of programs As per the university’s email, there will be no need to transfer files saved in the Google Cloud to Microsoft’s OneDrive. Emails, calendar entries and contacts will automatically be transferred from their Google account to their new Office 365 account. Much like GSuite, Office365 will continue to allow students to operate programs on both mobile devices and through their browser. Students who are more comfortable working with Google Docs, Slides and Sheets may continue to use these online tools. Typically, the Office Suite of applications requires a paid subscription but they will be offered to University
Student reactions After the email from the University, students were initially concerned about the possibility of losing access to Google Drive, where many school projects and assignments have been saved. “When I first found out about it, my first reaction, like many, was what was going to happen to my Google Drive,” said Chukwuemeka Ajaero, a fifth-
year software engineering student. “I have four years worth of reports and assignments that I didn’t want to have to manually download out of the fear of having it. [But] we got an email from the school mentioning that they’d notify us a couple of weeks before the migration will take place and that it won’t affect our G Suite tools.” “I don’t mind using Outlook although I prefer having everything under one umbrella,” added Ajaero. Michele Lamarche, a fourth-year psychology student is happy the switch will benefit both domestic and international students. “As much as I miss Gmail, I’m glad that our international students, especially those unable to access Gmail in their home counties, will be able to access their U of O email.” Splitting the use of email, applications and cloud storage to two separate platforms may cause confusion for some students, but the platform migration might be an incentive for students to use more Office 365 products. Students who wish to transfer their Google Drive files into their OneDrive can do so using a few different methods. Updates on the migration process can be found on the University of Ottawa website.ca.
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SPORTS
SPORTS EDITOR Jasmine McKnight opinions@thefulcrum.ca
Insta: @j.mcknight08 Twitter: @Jazzle59
Gee-Gees athletes faced with uncertainties from COVID-19 Athletes stuck on yellow light waiting for green light to play
“When we actually do come back to play we need to know that we can do it safely,” he added. Many teams are in the same boat, doing as much practicing and training as they can while staying safe through the uncertainty of both the fall season and the new year. As time goes on, athletes will be adapting to ongoing changes in guidelines and regulations put out by the OUA, RSEQ, Ontario Ministry of Health,Ottawa Public Health and the University of Ottawa.
Montpetit Hall and Minto Sports Complex facilities to reopen on Sept.9 Charley Dutil The University of Ottawa’s Recreation and Wellness service will be reopening the Health and Lifestyle fitness centre located in Minto Sports Complex, the Montpetit pool, Montpetit Hall and the Montpetit fitness centre (for personal training and group classes only) on Sept.9. A number of new procedures will be in place to protect students and staff from COVID-19. Students who wish to access any of the facilities will be required to fill out the COVID-19 self-assessment tool. Masks will be required in all facilities but students will be allowed to remove them while performing an exercise. As usual, students will be asked to disinfect a machine after using it and of course, physical distancing will be a must for all who wish to use the facilities. Students who wish to use the facilities will be required to register online before showing up to the facility in person. Students can only book one workout per day, and workouts are limited to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Swimmers will also have to register online for the right to use the pool at Montpetit Hall. There will be a maximum of only four swimmers per lane, if swimmers need to rest they will be asked to exit the pool. Physical distancing is required at all times, masks must be worn everywhere but in the pool. Lockers will not be available.
James Flemming. Photo: Parker Townes/Fulcrum
welcomed new head coach, Marcel Bellefeuille, to lead the team. For Oladejo, having extra time to develop a strong team-coach relationship is a benefit. “It’s kind of a blessing in disguise that we get a full year to get acquainted with him and everything he’s trying to get us doing,” Oladejo said. “We can take advantage of the whole year and get on a different level than we were before.” While the team has no scheduled games until next fall, they continue practicing throughout September and November. The team looks to take their game further, while getting familiar with each other, and learn what their new coach plans to implement. . Like the football team, the women’s rugby team and men’s rugby teams are partaking in practices. These teams, along with others in the Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), are hitting the field with the hope that they will be able to compete in the next month. “Quebec teams are already starting to hit and do scrums where we can
Jasmine McKnight Sports Editor
COVID-19 carries on with bringing uncertainty in many aspects of our lives, sports is an area that continues to change in order to adapt to the growing situation. Various University of Ottawa teams that would usually begin their season in the fall are doing their best to shift their mindset appropriately. In June, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the cancellation of all sanctioned sports programming until the end of Dec. 2020 leaving a handful of Gee-Gees teams to shift their focus to their 2021 seasons. Daniel Oladejo, a wide receiver on the Gee-Gees football team, explained the team’s feelings upon hearing the announcement regarding the cancellation of the 2020 season. “When we heard the season was cancelled it was obviously upsetting. We put a lot of time into this and we look forward to the next season when the previous season ends,” Oladejo said. During the off-season, the team
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only pass and we still have to social distance,” said James Flemming, a player on the men’s rugby team. “We’re still running our training camp, and the guys are hitting the field and in the gym like crazy.” Rachel McCallan, a fifth-year player on the women’s rugby team, shared the positives and negatives of the current situation. “We do have to follow Ontario guidelines and what the university has allowed us to do with hopes that we will get to play. We’re still not doing body-on-body contact in order to follow guidelines and keep our physical distances,” she said. “Sometimes I wish things were how they were at previous training camps, but what we’re doing now has so many benefits we didn’t have before. Our team is so much more connected on a relationship level that it’s making our rugby better.” Both teams are waiting on decisions to be made by RSEQ regarding the season. An announcement is expected in the next two weeks. From there, it is up to the University of Ottawa whether or not Gee-Gees teams
will be able to participate, and under what regulations. “What we can control is the fact that we can work hard, support each other, and get better everyday. What we can’t control is the decision that ultimately comes from powers above us,” Flemming said. “We’re just progressing like we normally would until we find out in the next two weeks,” added McCallan. “Obviously it’s not easy to have the uncertainty, it is a little stressful not knowing what my fifth year is going to look like.” As the rugby teams await decisions on their seasons, both the men’s and women’s ultimate frisbee teams are going forward with practicing under the university’s guidelines as they wait to hear whether they will get the opportunity to play in 2020.. “Ultimate Canada has basically cancelled everything for 2020 which means that our season is pretty well over, but we still plan on training with the hopes of playing in 2021,” said Simon Walker, a captain on the men’s ultimate team.
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Sports Services releases new intramural guidelines due to COVID-19 With COVID-19, how will students play in intramural leagues this Fall? Paige Holland
Staff Writer
According to the University of Ottawa, over 8,000 students, employees, and alumni played one of the 45 intramural leagues in the 2019-2020 academic year . For the 2020 Fall term, these sports include ultimate frisbee, soccer, hockey, and volleyball. The registration period runs from Sept. 8, until Sept. 16, with various time slots to register for the different sports. In light of a new-look season, Sports Services has released their “Safe Return to Play” guidelines that instruct players on COVID-19 rules. Rosters may have no more than 12 players,an additional 10 minutes between games to allow for adequate sanitization of all equipment, players must arrive only five minutes be-
fore their games at the facilities and leave immediately after (except Minto where they must arrive 15 minutes prior). Teams will be divided into tiers, with around four teams per tier to allow for minimal contact with opposing teams. On each team, it is required to appoint a Team Safety Advisor (TSA) who will enforce physical distancing, check attendance, and ensure every player completed their COVID-19 self-assessment prior to games and meetings. All Gee-Gees staff will also be equipped with PPE and hand sanitizer at games. There are also leaguespecific rules for this fall including modifications for each sport. Generally speaking, teams will be downgraded to 5v5 or 7v7 for soccer; no sharing of water bottles; no handshakes, high fives, or
huddles; the ball or disc will be also be sanitized a couple of times during the game; and players will be mindful of contact during defences. However, even with all of the new rules, Ahmed Youssef, a fifth-year bio-
Photo: Dasser Kamran.
chemistry student, says he is pleased intramurals will continue. “[They are] a super important part of the student experience,” he said. “Plus, this upcoming semester of intramurals will be “even more
impactful” with the lack of social interaction in recent months.” Yet, students should also be aware that “There is a possibility that a league or tier will be paused, suspended, or cancelled
due to participants not following protocols, a change in restrictions, or contact tracing” in accordance with Sports Services new guidelines.
Mongo and Gee-Gees hockey team create “Mongo’s Brave Buddies” Club members will get to discuss with Mongo their experiences Jasmine McKnight sports Editor
O
n July 3, the University of Ottawa men’s hockey team announced the creation of a special club called “Mongo’s Brave Buddies” on its different social media platforms.Yvan Mongo, a forward on the University of Ottawa men’s hockey team, created the club to make a positive difference in the lives of BIPOC minor hockey players. While discussing with his head coach, Patrick Grandmaitre, about the recent events that fill social media and news outlets and important discussions about racisms taking place, Grandmaitre encouraged Mongo’s to find a way to contribute and help the community. “Right then and there I felt like I had to do something,” Mongo said. “Racism has been out there for a long time, but
the events that have started in the states, especially the death of George Floyd have opened the eyes of many people. This was the spark that made me feel like this was the time to get involved and do something.” Together, Mongo and Grandmaitre threw ideas back and forth until the idea of creating a club began to
Photo: Desmond Staples/Fulcrum
take shape. “We had the idea that the kids could come in and just have a chat for a bit before practice or a game and (I could) tell them about my experiences and let them express themselves as well,” Mongo explained. “I feel like I’m in the position where I can help young-
er kids because I’ve been through stuff, I’ve experienced racism on a couple of occasions,” Mongo continued. The idea of talking to visible minority youth hockey players turned into a bigger experience. Those who participate in Mongo’s Brave Buddies will get to attend a Gee-Gees practice or game where they
will get one on one time to talk with Mongo, as well as get a picture, a gift from the Gee-Gees team, and even hit the ice with Mongo. There are various things Mongo wants to share with youth players through the club. “I want to motivate them and make them feel like they can shoot for the stars. I want
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them to feel like the colour of their skin and their ethnicity doesn’t matter as an athlete but also as a person,” Mongo said. “I want to give them hope and make them appreciate the game of hockey. I want them to feel like no matter what they look like, they can achieve great things in hockey.” Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 health guidelines, the Gee-Gees 2020-21 season is on hold. This means there is no set date for when people will sign up and participate in Mongo’s Brave Buddies. Regardless of the uncertainty in the timeline, since the announcement of Mongo’s Brave Buddies, Mongo has received positive feedback. “A lot of people have been saying they are proud that I am doing it, or that they are supportive of the idea,” Mongo said. “It’s great to see that people are appreciative of it and I hope that a lot of kids are going to be signing up and wanting to participate.”
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OPINIONS HECKLE: Stop sending memes from private pages Private meme accounts don’t even make sense
Scrolling through Instagram can be hit or miss. Sometimes it is just selfies, scenery, and advertisements not worth your time. If you are lucky, sliding over to your explore page can be more captivating, especially if it’s filled with absolute fire memes and videos that keep you scrolling all night long. Unfortunately, the search for memes is not always that easy, and some digging throughout the explore page is required. That is why one of the best notifications you can receive is ‘@someone sent you a post’. Knowing someone saw a post and went as far as to send the hand-picked post straight to your direct messages, is a nice surprise, with little work. Those few seconds that go by in between clicking on the notification and actually seeing what promises to be a glorious DM are truly thrilling. Then all that excitement builds up just to be blindsided and betrayed by the sight of the message ‘This photo is hidden because @stupidmemeaccount has a private account.’ It is almost offensive, and it is completely heartbreaking. But who is to blame? The meme accounts for being private and hiding whatever gems they have from the general public? Or my friend for lifting my hopes just to crush them because they chose to send me something from a private account
even when they were probably aware it’s unavailable? Both are guilty in my books. Who’s idea was it to make private meme accounts a thing anyways? Private meme accounts don’t make one bit of sense. Honestly, they’re a bit of a scam. How are users supposed to know about the accounts fire memes if they can’t see whether or not the posts are worth it? Why request to follow then wait to be accepted before viewing the meme that was sent to me? Plus, most of them post awful advertisements on top of it all. It’s kind of unreasonable if you ask me. As for the people sending others memes from these private accounts, stop it. Not only is it an inconvenience to the recipient, but chances are that you are going to have to screenshot it and resend it, or worse, screen record a video and send it. Save yourself the trouble and find memes on a public account that everyone can enjoy. I think it’s pretty clear that private meme accounts are not enjoyable for anyone besides the few people willing to hit follow. If you happen to be the owner of one of these accounts, please make it public so that everyone can laugh and enjoy your content!
opinions@thefulcrum.ca Insta: @j.mcknight08 Twitter: @Jazzle59
Frosh 2020; redefining the 101-Week kit
Many student associations at the U of Omade changes to their kits
Hannah Sabourin Contributor
Jasmine McKnight Opinions Editor
OPINIONS EDITOR Jasmine McKnight
The University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) 101-Week is set to start on Sept.8 with freshmen gathering in Zoom chat rooms instead of on campus meaning new students won’t receive the usual 101-Week kits as per campus tradition. Frosh kits are prepared by student associations and are gifted to the freshmen of the student associations faculty. Normally, these kits are filled with student essentials — e.g. campus maps, ramen noodles, mini toiletries, condoms, shot glasses, and coupons for local coffee shops. But this year, student associations have had to redefine the 101-Week kit to meet the needs of students who are starting university amidst a global pandemic and also to be easy to ship to students who live off campus all around the world. Here are the best ways student associations have found to alter their kits to best fit the needs of students staying home for the fall semester. Online Stores Some student associations launched online stores to sell merchandise and other essential items. This system allows for direct shipping to students who live off campus. For example, the International, Political and Policy Studies Student Association (AEEIPPSAA) is running an online store where students can easily buy discounted items such as mugs, shot glasses, reusable utensils, and wallets that can be attached to phone cases. According to Liam O’Brien, AEEIPPSAA’s representative for social events, freshmen can also order the following items for free: “hand sanitizer, condoms, and AEEIPPSAA branded stickers”. Focus on Useful Information
OPINION | 16
Other student associations are putting more energy into providing information to students instead of distributing 101-Week kits. The Communications Students’ Association (AEEC-CSA), prepared a, “‘university survival guide’ filled with a bunch of information [about the campus], places to get student discounts, [and…] the university cheers,” said Ilona Szabo, the association’s vice-president of communications. The Science Students’ Association (SSA) took a similar approach— having abandoned the 101-Week kit to increase their focus on the dissemination of information and the creation of peer-bonding activities. Practical Items For the student associations maintaining traditional 101-Week kits, including essential, practical items is key. For example, The Undergraduate Nursing Student Association (UNSA) is distributing items such as hand sanitizer, stress balls, melatonin supplements, and Vicks cough drops. Advertising fun prizes And finally, some student associations are focusing on giving away prizes to students. Another added incentive to make the newlook kits appear as appealing as possible. Shawna Perron, president of The Association of Nutrition Students (ADÉNUT), says her team, “decided not to sell kits [to make 101Week] free for everyone. Nevertheless, [the team] bought prizes and received items from [their] partnerships”. This year, they are giving away cookbooks, gift cards, and a University of Ottawa hoodie. They plan to give away these prizes to encourage the participation of students in 101-Week activities. Overall, freshmen this year will be privy to items and information that are both useful and accessible for this year’s truely unique 101-Week.
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DISTRACTIONS Dear Di
FEATURES EDITOR Amira Benjamin
features@thefulcrum.ca Insta: @amira.ing Twitter: N/A
Best places to have sex on campus Dear Di,
My partner and I are both incoming first years at the University of Ottawa, we’re both fans of kinky, public fornication. As someone more familiar with campus, could you tell me where the best spots to shag are on campus? -Expeditionist Couple
Dear EC, Here are my top 10 recommendations for you two young love birds. Hopefully, me and Ty Daniels don’t run into you when we’re out and about doing our business on campus.
Number 10
To open up my top ten, me and Ty both like the 14th floor of the Faculty of Social Sciences Building (FSS). It’s a classic! Both of you will get to enjoy a beautiful view of the city as you bang it out on the windows. However, make sure to go to the 14th floor because intrusive tourists on campus all flood to the top floor to admire the view.
Number 9
The sauna in the Montpetit Hall men’s change room. Great place to get hot and steamy with your partner!
Number 8
The press box at Gee-Gees field on Lees campus. You get this strange feeling of intimacy as hundreds of eyes stare down from the apartment buildings next door and watch you guys duke it out through the huge windows.
Number 7
The Morisset basement has a number of soundproof studios if you’re the kind of couple who moan their lungs out while you do the deeds.
Number 6
Book a study room at the Crossroads Learning Centre (CRX) or Lamoureux and get to work as people peek through the window at your glistening bodies
Number 5
On Matt Anthony field at night. Everyone loves gameday, so take your game outside and get in shape like our Gee-Gees athletes. The field should be free around 3 a.m.
Number 4
Anywhere in the STEM or SITE Buildings as engineers are sure as hell not getting laid.
Number 3
In case you haven’t told everybody that you guys are from Telfer already, let them know by conducting your business on the Telfer sign behind Desmarais.
Number 2
Bang on the iconic Tabaret Lawn, but watch out for the raccoons. You’ll be sure to appreciate the nicely trimmed grass as it rubs against your bare cheeks.
Number 1
The offices at the Fulcrum offer a number of very comfortable couches. If the editors are nice enough they’ll even let you pick from a selection of expired condoms.
Love, DI
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DEAR DI | 17
Volume 81, Issue 1, SEPT 7, 2020 Ripping off classic record names since 1942. Instagram:: @instafulcrum | Facebook: The Fulcrum | Twitter: @The_Fulcrum King Edward Ave. Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5
Charley“Dookie” Dutil Editor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca Emily “Rumors” Wilson Managing Editor content@thefulcrum.ca Karli “Strange Days” Zschogner News Editor news@thefulcrum.ca Aiy “All Summer Long” Murphy Arts and Culture Editor arts@thefulcrum.ca Amira “In a Daze” Benjamin Features Editor features@thefulcrum.ca Jasmine “Illmatic” McKnight Sports & Opinions Editor sports@thefulcrum.ca Ryan “Colors” Matte Science & TechEditor Science@thefulcrum.ca Dasser “Nevermind” Kamran Visual Editor visual@thefulcrum.ca Leyla “Give the People What They Want” Abdolell Online Editor Online@thefulcrum.ca Jelena “Superunknown” Maric Staff Writer staff.editor@thefulcrum.ca Paige “Taller Than a Book” Holland Staff Writer staff.writer@thefulcrum.ca Abby “Backspacer” McLeod Associate Features Editor associate.features@thefulcrum.ca
EDITORIAL
The UOSU’s proposed anti-racism course needs more framework before implemation Too many unanswered questions, referendum necessary before asking university to implement an anti-racism course in the name of all students. On Aug. 27, the University of Ottawa Student’s Union (UOSU) and nine recognized student governments formally offered their support to Carleton student Khadija El-Hilali in demanding for an antiracism course to be made a mandatory requirement for all undergraduate students. The letter representing the University of Ottawa laid out three arguments in favour of its implementation. The first is that it would establish the University of Ottawa’s “institutional commitment to combating racism” and handle “its own role in perpetuating racism and colonialism on campus”. The second suggests encouraging students to “explore their own privilege” and finally that it will lead to the “existence of safer places for the racial-
ized members” of the U of O community. Although these are valid points of departure for a mandatory anti-racism course, the letter fails to address the countless questions students may have when it comes to the implementation and, to a point, its purpose. First, will students have to pay extra tuition for the proposed mandatory antiracism course? This also brings on a moral question: should students have to pay for an anti-racism course? Large corporations usually offer free diversity training. The UOSU is also advocating the University to reduce tuition if students are forced to pay for this course; isn’t that hypocritical? Or is it alright with the UOSU for the university to charge high tuition rates when the course fits in their agenda?
There is also the format of the course – is a full semester course necessary? Could an online training or an obligatory hour-long lecture on anti-racism during 101-Week achieve the same results? Next, how will this course be implemented, exactly if it lasts for the duration of a semester? Will it be added to students’ already full schedule? Will it replace an elective course or replace an existing mandatory course? If it replaces an existing course, does it replace a course that provides students with essential skills for their future careers? Knowing the University’s ignorance to social issues, who will teach this course? Will it be a BIPOC or will it be a white person? What will be taught in this class? How do you quantifiably teach anti-racism?
What will the curriculum look like? How will students be evaluated? And, what about the answer to arguably the biggest question? Can the course really change a person’s perspective on race? If it aims to make students more accepting of others and less racist, can it also teach forgiveness and tolerance for past actions? When the UOSU says it wants to “shift itself and the institutions away from performative allyship” isn’t suggesting a quick fix like this proposed course a prime example of performative allyship? It would be foolish to believe that students who are actually racist will change their views based on a class. If anything, this course has the potential to make those who disagree with the curriculum even more reactive in the face of evident
conflict. Before implementing an anti-racism course, the student body needs answers. The union doesn’t yet know if a majority of students agree with their position therefore shouldn’t they have a referendum asking students where they stand? To its credit, the union does recognize that there are many unanswered questions, but if they’re going to ask for such a course, shouldn’t there be a solid public framework as to how they believe it should be implemented? If the UOSU really wants to defy the conventional and move away from performative allyship, why doesn’t it donate the two per cent hike in its membership fee it accidentally charged students towards some real action at the University?
Bridget “The Firewatchers Daughter “Coady Staff Photographer photographer@thefulcrum.ca Sam “Smash” Coulavin videographer videographer@thefulcrum.ca
Contributors
Abbey”Abbey Road”Kerkmann Hannah “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory”Sabourin
Board of Directors
Justin “Dude Ranch”Turcotte Kalki “The Wall” Nagaratnam Kate “Trompe le Monde” Murray David “Ten” Campion-Smith Benjamin “AM” King Raghad “Siamese Dreams“Khalid Patrick “Apetite for Destruction” Mangan
Cover: Dasser Kamran.
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Photo: Jaclyn McRae-Sadik.
EDITORIAL | 18
ARCHIVES
Editor-in-Chief Charley Dutil Editor@thefulcrum.ca insta: @cduts98 Twitter: @cduts98
Live from the Archives: frosh stories from the past Charley Dutil
By: Eric Davidson. Originally published September 10, 2017
Editor in Chief
An Afternoon at the races By Steve MacSween. Originally published on Sept.22, 1983. The pit area is the scene of barely suppressed tension as fifteen drivers inhale the oily bluish smoke of idling motors. “Quinze secondes…fifteen seconds!” yells the grey-haired priest as he prepares to drop the green flag on the sleek racing machines. The black suit he wears contrasts sharply with the white wedge cap on his head which proclaims “Semaine d’accueil-Welcome Week.” A distinguished-looking man with the salt and pepper beard sits calmly in the lead machine, sun glinting off his helmet. He is sucking his thumb. “Five seconds…cinq secondes bellows the cleric as he exchanges jokes with the crowd standing on the sidewalk behind him. He turns and makes hand gestures to ensure they will leave him room to jump out of the racers’ way when he drops the flag. Then the flag is down and the drivers are gone in a cloud of oily exhaust. Pedestrians make their way around bales of straw placed at strategic portions of the university circuit. Confused? The smiling clergyman with the flag is rector Father Roger Guindon, and he just opened the most unusual event of Welcome Week 1983 – the University of Ottawa’s first on-campus road race. The U of O’s first go-cart grand prix, to be exact. Billed by the Students’ Federation (SFUO) as the “longest go-cart race course in Ottawa.” The first annual University of Ottawa Grand Prix was held during the afternoon of Wednesday, September 14. An admissions fee of $5 entitled entrants to a two lap run around the streets surrounding the complex bordered by Montpetit Hall, Thompson residence, Morisset library and the unicentre. The afternoon of racing began shortly after the 14h with the rector’s race, in which most of the carts were driven by members of the University administration. Contestants included Peter Lloyd, director of Public Relations for the U of O; Pierre Boulet, director of Students Services; Yvon Richer, head librarian; Robert Charbonneau of the University Development Office; and ViceRector Pierre Bourgeault. Vice-Rector Dr.Pierre Bourgeault was the first administrator across the finish line in the Rector’s Race and was the recipient of the U of O Grand Prix trophy for his first place finish. Donald Rancourt, a first year electrical engineering student, was the first student to cross the finish line. When asked if he was having a good time, Rancourt replied, “for the past few days, yes! Other special races held throughout the afternoon included a support staff race, a residents’ race, a Student Services race, and a deans’ race. A winners race was held at the end of the day to bring together the first place finishers from the previous races. While the SFUO executive says it is too early
19 | ARCHIVES
Illustration: Christine Wang/Fulcrum
to determine how well the go-cart race in particular and Welcome Week, in general, have done financially, Social Activities commissioner Eli Turk notes that the idea behind the event was to provide an alternative form of entertainment to the usual Welcome Week fare of concerts and beer bashes.
Said Jennex, “I had no choice I had to try and get someone out there.” Jennex said that he was only informed of Housing’s decision around 5 p.m. the night before. Hubert Reiter, Protection’s chief of prevention and investigation, said Protection identified seven or eight people in connection with the incident, which has been listed as a disturbance. Both the SFUO and the participating frosh leaders claim that the posters were the work of two independent frosh leaders and were not endorsed by the Federation. Said SFUO president Maxime Pednault-Jobin, “because of the two individuals, (Beausoleil) destroyed one of the biggest events of Welcome Week.” Beausoleil, however, cited the existence of at least five groups who attempted to recruit froshers for the pub crawl. The advertising also issued the frosh team names. Beausoleil defended her decision. “I can understand that they’re upset but I have the well-being of 2,000 people to look over… For me, alcohol abuse is a major problem on campus and any action I can take to prevent abusive drinking explains my decision,” Linda Debono, a coordinator of Welcome Week, feels that a worthwhile cause has been compromised by Housing Service’s actions. “I think it’s a shame that someone would have to exercise their power in such a way that it would harm a community event and such a good cause,” she said. For his part, frosh leader Stéphane Braün believes that Housing could have handled the matter with more delicacy. This was for a charitable organization,” he said. They jumped right down our throats — it could have been done in a much more civilized manner.” Beausoleil insists that stifling a good cause was not her intention, and believes that she made the right decision, but there were a number of events which led up to it.” If the same situation occurred tomorrow, would Beausoleil still make the same decision? “I don’t have any regrets,” she says.
Frosh bosses locked out of residences as Shinorama 1990 turns into disaster for SFUO By Erik Rath and Andrew Milne Originally published September 13th, 1990 This year’s University of Ottawa Shinorama was a failure. Housing Services barred frosh leaders from entering the residence after a violation in housing policy was discovered late Thursday, Sept.6. As a result, the leaders were unable to rouse students for the event. Shinorama is a benefit for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Housing services had originally granted the federation permission to recruit students from the residences to participate in the event, providing Housing policy was respected. When posters proclaiming a pub crawl (whose existence violated a strict policy prohibiting alcohol advertising were found in residences late Thursday Residence Life coordinator Noëlla Beausoleil informed SFUO VP (Social Activities) J.J Jennex that the federation’s frosh leaders would be prohibited from recruiting in residence. Jennex said this year’s Shinorama cost the Federation at least $3,300 to organize. Although the final count has yet to be completed, Jennex estimates that only about $2000 of the original $20,000 goal was raised. Jennex was visibly disappointed, and described the event as, “bad, a total failure.” Said Jennex, “Housing locked us out. We couldn’t get our frosh leaders into the residences and as a result, Carleton was everywhere and we were nowhere.” Jennex had tried to send some of the frosh leaders into residence despite Housing’s decision. The Stanton receptionist called Protection, who expelled the group.
Students disappointed over French Montana FEDStock performance
Opinions abound across the University of Ottawa campus following a rocky 101 Week concert featuring Moroccan-American rapper French Montana. A brief performance, tech issues, and confusing admission requirements led to a night that left a sour taste with some students. The majority of the criticism was directed at French Montana himself. Consistent promotion of hard drug use during the concert and some questionable lyrics have contributed to a public image that some have claimed is not consistent with the values of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) or the university. Bethany Fourtin, a participant in 101 Week, questioned what kind of precedent the SFUO was trying to set for first-year students. “There was definitely some whiplash … getting a lecture on consent and personal responsibility 20 minutes before a concert with some dude telling me to do cocaine and downgrade my sense of self-worth,” she said, referencing Take Back the Night, an event on campus rape culture and sexual violence which preceded the show. Several other studnts echoed those sentiments. “I really don’t have a problem with (French Montana)— plenty of guys are worse. But to have a school endorsement is… weird? I really don’t think my fees should be spent supporting a guy who brags about getting shot in the head,” said Sarah Roy-Brown, a first-year biology student. Others argued that public institutions have an obligation to give back to domestic artists. “There are a ton of Montreal rappers that you could get on stage for half the price,” said Jonathan Tepay, an attendee. “They could put on a banger of a show, introduce some of the (students) from out west to the Quebecois (music) scene.” He went on to say that flying a rapper in from the United States “doesn’t really inspire a lot of faith in our local guys.” Others felt that hiring out massive international artists was a frivolous expense, particularly given the SFUO’s ongoing financial difficulty and the increasing cost of tuition. “It’s like they want to prove the school is cool or whatever. I’ve already paid my tuition. You don’t need to get my attention. Invest in your clubs, because that’s what I am going to remember, not a 20-minute concert,” said Tasha Steinhower, a firstyear criminology student. Beyond a few hiccups, 101-Week has otherwise been a resounding success, introducing new students to the school and the city. Students commended the social opportunities it provided them and said it helped them break out of the isolation and uncertainty that first-year students often experience after moving to a new city. “A lot of people tell you it’s hard but it doesn’t really hit you until you get here how lonely it’s going to be,” Tepay said, “But I think 101-Week and the residence staff were great in helping people get out of that funk.” As of the date of this publication, the SFUO has not responded to requests for comment.
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