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Quantum leap

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Caroline Elias, Arts Contributor

 

Halifax born artist Katherine Vingoe- Cram is bringing a whole new dimension to her paintings. latest exhibition Portals consists of six oil paintings, each portraying a seemingly normal situation. But within each painting lies a discrepancy that indicates to the viewer that all is not right. Each piece has an element that creates a feeling of unease within the viewer.

The white walls of the gallery create a stark contrast with the dark paintings. This adds to the sense of mystery in the work. The windows of the gallery leading to the outside world also emphasize the “unfinished” aspect of the paintings. The small space the paintings find themselves in brings the work closer together, despite the fact that each painting portrays a different moment in time; a woman standing near a tree, a house with a pink room, the inside of a bedroom, a bonfire, a boat house and a gas station.

Every piece has a window to the unknown; an unexplained shadow, a room with a missing wall, a claustrophobic space, a window to and from nowhere. They each create a feeling of discomfort.

In a description posted in the gallery, Vingoe-Cram says she aims to show “points into other realities and dimensions.” And this is exactly what she does.

The artist includes portals into other worlds through specific moments of everyday life. She manages to capture normal moments and turn them into unsettling ones.

This exhibition was enjoyable and stimulating, and a great success for Katherine Vingoe-Cram.

Student groups frustrated by O’Neill report

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Laura Conrad and Samie Durnford, News Editor and Assistant News Editor

 

Student groups are preparing their responses to a report commissioned by the government of Nova Scotia that calls for higher tuition fees and more student loans.

On Sept. 17, economist Tim O’Neill released his report on the university system in this province. The report intends to influence the government’s upcoming decisions on tuition fees and university funding, and was highly anticipated by student groups

Representatives from student unions as well as the Canadian Federation of Students listened intently in the Province House press room as O’Neill outlined the new challenges universities are expected to face in the upcoming years. O’Neill identified two major challenges in his report.

The first challenge he expects is an expected decline in enrolments. The report states that the number of Nova Scotians aged 17 to 29 will shrink by 11,000 in the next five years, and by 2030, that age group will be 23 per cent smaller than it is now.

The other, newer challenge highlighted in the report is the restraint in the province’s fiscal plan. If the government intends to balance the budget by 2013/2014, it will have to place stricter limits on spending. This, he says, will affect government’s financial contributions to universities. In response to these challenges, the report offers several recommendations, including increasing government investment in student loans, modest university restructuring, and an increase in tuition fees.

O’Neill said that the tuition increase will ease the impacts of fiscal restraint. He also supports the recommendation by mentioning that tuition levels have a low impact on accessibility, and that the long- term benefits of university education outweigh tuition costs. Alongside this recommendation, O’Neill stresses that tuition increases must be accompanied by an increase in student assistance in the form of loans.

He told listeners that “Nova Scotia has one of the weakest student assistance programs in the country.”

O’Neill says that the tuition increase will be beneficial when balanced with an increase in government funding and financial assistance for students.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) strongly object to the O’Neill report. CFS says tuition fees in Nova Scotia already exceed the national average. In a news release that came out the day before the O’Neill report, the CFS hoped the report would include recommendations to make post- secondary education more affordable.

Gabe Hoogers, the provincial representative of the CFS, says that they “regard this change as a betrayal of students and their families.”

Hoogers says that the recommendation to deregulate tuition would mean a skyrocketing of fees for both in- and out-of-province students. More fees mean more debt, and the average student already graduates $30,000 in debt, he says.

Hoogers says that the raise in tuition fees is a short term fix for economic problems which will hurt our economy in the future since students will be driven away from Nova Scotia universities and will be end up leaving Nova Scotia after they graduate, due to high debt.

In response to the O’Neill report, CSF said in a release that high tuition fees are a barrier to post-secondary education, especially for students from low and middle income families and marginalized communities. The stress that students will end up paying more for their education over the years as a result of time and interest rates.

“I want to emphasize the complete falsity of the claims in this report,” says Hoogers. “Really a lot of what O’Neill assumes in creating these recommendations has already been disproved.”

He says that CFS will be fighting back and organizing rallies, such as one taking place this February.

“We’re going to see students go to the streets against this,” says Hoogers. “Ultimately students do recognize that higher fees aren’t what we want to see.”

Matt Anderson, President of Saint Mary’s Students’ Association believes that getting rid of the tuition freeze is not a good idea.

“When you have a proposal out there to get rid of the tuition freeze, that’s a huge problem for affordability and accessibility of post secondary education in Nova Scotia,” says Anderson.

He says that students at Saint Mary’s, much like any other university, rely not only on student assistance but also on the tuition freeze. Getting rid of the freeze will most likely deter students from coming to schools here in Nova Scotia.

“Imagine you’re a first year student and you’re making the decision to go to university,” says Anderson. “You look at tuition and think ‘is that a financial option for me, yes or no,’ and that is the barrier we’re going to have.”

He says that there seems to be very little recognition of the economic benefits and the social benefits of having an educated work force in Nova Scotia.

“When you have students grad- uating in debt, they don’t have the opportunity to invest in new jobs or be an entrepreneur and that’s where this proposal could hurt the economy.”

Anderson says that the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Association, of which Dalhousie is a member, is formulating their approach to the O’Neill report. He says they will wait to hear how the government responds to the recommendations before making a move.

“You never know,” says Anderson. “Someone could stand up and say ‘maybe we still need a tuition freeze.’”

Restaurant Review: Pete’s to Go-Go

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Meriha Beaton, Arts Contributor

 

It’s a warm and sunny afternoon, as the Halifax lunch crowd enjoys their fresh sandwiches and salads. The smell of salt water drifts from the waterfront onto the patio of Pete’s to Go-Go, complimenting the peaceful atmosphere of the new deli.

This offspring of Pete’s Frootique offers almost all the favourites of the grocery store’s takeout food section. Specializing in soups, sandwiches and salads, all the ingredients are fresh and assembled right in front of you.

Tuna, Club and BLT are some of the classic options from the sandwich menu and customers have their choice of fresh veggies as add-ons. Unlike other delis, Pete’s to Go-Go gives you the alternative of adding unusual ingredients like hummus, tzatziki or guacamole to your sandwich- making it one of a kind.

Appealing to its clientele of health- conscious Haligonians, the deli is vegetarian-friendly, with yummy add- ons like roasted zucchini and eggplant. The menu is also sensitive to those with wheat allergies, offering a gluten free option.

The famous salad bar of Pete’s Frootique is replicated and supplies

every ingredient and dressing you could possibly want. And for all the early risers, Pete’s to Go-Go has a breakfast menu and a small coffee bar. It’s impossible to be unsatisfied with your order as the menu is vast and considerate of every customer’s needs.

Unfortunately, Pete’s to Go-Go does not sell the smoothies that are available at Pete’s Frootique, nor do they have an exclusive Panini menu.The friendly staff, however, do give customers the option of having their sandwich pressed in the grill.

As awesome as Pete’s to Go-Go is, however, it may lose its appeal when the cold weather returns. What sets the new deli apart from Pete’s Frootique is its patio and location, which is much more enjoyable in the summer. When the seasons change for good there will be less of a reason to go to the Hollis Street location, as the original Pete’s is much closer to university housing.

Also with less space to eat in, Pete’s to Go-Go may become much more crowded in the winter, taking away from its relaxed vibe.

Nonetheless, Pete’s to Go-Go is a convenient new addition to downtown Halifax. It will be great for picking up your favourite Pete’s dish, when you are, in fact, on the go.

Rethinking the ethics of capitalism

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By David Bush, Opinions Contributor

 

When I turned on the CBC Radio the other day, I came across a discussion about the ethics of oil. Ezra Levant, right-wing activist and author of Ethical Oil: The case for Canada’s oilseeds, was debating environmental journalist Andrew Nikiforuk on the ethics of purchasing and consuming oil.

Levant defended the tar sands, saying that it was the most ethical oil on the planet because it didn’t fund terrorism or Chavez. Nikiforuk, on the other hand, stated that there is no such thing as ethical oil.

In his book Levant totally ignores the sovereignty and health claims of Indigenous communities downstream in the Athabasca river from the oil sands. He also doesn’t count the high amount of energy and water needed to extract the oil from the tar sands, or the massive amount of pollution dumped into the land.

As I listened to the debate, part of me wondered: Why does Levant even bother to justify the tar sands using the language of ethics and social responsibility? What happened to the good old “up your ass, man needs his gas” conservative logic?

What is noteworthy is not Levant’s argument (his arguments are rarely worthy of note), but the form in which the debate is framed, and what this frame says about our current predicament. The old logic of capitalism of production and alienated, meaningless consumption (think Mad Men) is no more. Capitalism has perversely incorporated the critiques levied against it.

In the 1980s and 1990s, products were increasingly sold not as things but as experiences, as a way of life. Now, products are not just sold as personal experiences or lifestyle symbols: they are now marketed as ethical choices. This “cultural capitalism” allows consumers to do something meaningful while buying and consuming. The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek has noted, “the very act of participation in consumerist activity is simultaneously presented as a participation in the struggle against evils ultimately caused by capitalist consumption.” Shopping and doing good in the world can be accomplished with just one gesture of buying an ethical product.’

The freedom to choose in our society is now not on the collective political level, but at the grocery store. Individual consumption is now the place where we make our ideological preferences known. Rather than fighting to make trade fair, we accept an individual responsibility to purchase a fair trade product. Instead of having real alternatives, we are forced to choose among a range of options that may makes us feel better but do little other than sustain market operations that are creating the problems we are trying to counteract. Most “ethical products” are also expensive, making ethical purchasing a largely western middle class gesture. In the west, the people who can live the most sustainable lives are those who can afford it. George W. Bush, for instance, has one of the most eco-friendly homes in Texas. In this neo- colonial model, the rest of the people on this earth are subject to the whims of western consumers and multinationals. Let’s think about this on the political level. During last year’s United States health care debate, universal single- payer health care was a non-option not because it was more expensive, but because it was ideologically unpalatable. Hillary Clinton famously said that single- payer was not on the table, despite poll after poll showing that Americans supported some sort of single-payer health care system. Americans were then forced to choose between already broken options, such as government- subsidized private insurance.

With health care as with oil, when capitalism absorbs the realm of the ethical, the root of the problem is neither addressed nor discussed.

When we talk about ethical consumerism, it is important to keep in mind the framework in which that debate takes place. It locates problems and their solutions on the individual level. Your purchases or lack thereof may express your anti-consumerist position—nonetheless, you have still assumed that large structural problems, such as climate change and global poverty, can be solved with individual choices. This logic renders the systemic causes of these problems all but invisible. We can’t change the world by just changing our personal shopping habits. We can no more consume our way out of the coming ecological crisis than we can dig ourselves out of a hole. This doesn’t mean that we should stop buying fair trade coffee. It does mean that we should stop expecting those choices to have tangible impacts, or replace the necessity of collective political action. We should be critical of utopian liberals and conservatives who insist we can buy our way out of capitalism’s problems. The only realistic solutions to our various collective problems are the seemingly impossible options. To understand what those options are, we have to ask the questions that are not being asked, the type of questions which grapple with the root of the problem. Brazalian priest Dom Helder Camara once said, “I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” In this sense, if we are serious about dealing with issues such as climate change and global poverty, we should not shy away from being called communists.

An updated version of this article was published on Dave Bush’s blog, The Leftovers.

Tunes Review: The Tallest Man on Earth—Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Eva Garber, Arts Contributor

 

When it comes to the raw, rugged, often screeching vocals of Kristian Mattson, the talent behind the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth, you’re either on the bus or you’re off the bus. Personally, I am on the bus. In the recently released EP Sometimes the Blues is just a Passing Bird, Mattson offers up his usual tricks, melancholic ballads and folky love songs. After listening to the first few songs on the album, which features just five new gems, I breathed a sigh of relief to hear that Mattson hasn’t strayed from the style that we’ve grown to love.

Mattson, who hails from Sweden, has been likened to North American big timers such as Bob Dylan for his rustic squeal and the more contemporary Iron and Wine for the simple guitar riffs that provoke feelings of campfire nostalgia.

In this album, Mattson combines the trials of what sound like depression and

love lost and a variety of other generic sap song elements with all that is natural such as rivers, wheat and dreams. I would consider this particular album to be of the “whimsical folk” genre.

A personal favourite on the album is “Little River.” With its folky guitar picking and its dreamy lyrics, this one is particularly touching. I have yet to determine an equivalent to last year’s track “The Wild Hunt,” which gripped indie hearts, or “The Gardener” from 2008, which showcased the most extreme degree of Mattson’s raw, organic talent.

Mattson has proven himself to be redundant and one dimensional, but I mean this in a good way. It’s refreshing to throw on any of Mattson’s albums and rest assured you’re going to get exactly what you bargained for.

I would never go so far as to call his latest work “innovative,” but for those of you who love a sappy love song, this album features five new songs to add to your rainy day, break-up or nap-time playlists.

Light is the Day

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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by Cheryl Hann, Arts Contributor

 

Let’s not call this a review. Let’s call this a preview, and since Dalhousie grad Laura Dawe’s first feature film, Light is the Day doesn’t come out until later tonight, let’s not spoil anything.

If you picked up last week’s copy of The Coast, you already know the romantic DIY tale of how this movie was made. With its budget, actors and soundtrack taken from outside the system, Light is the Day is a bona fide testament to what can happen when you mix equal parts ambition, talent and aesthetic wherewithal. Throw in a dash of an incredibly supportive arts community, and you’ve got a pretty impressive film/cake.

Light is the Day (henceforth abbreviated LITD) makes full use of Dawe’s artistic perspicacity. The movie opens with a credit sequence that’s so good it will make you puke. It’s like someone sent Jared Hess back in time to do the credits forPretty in Pink.

Post-credit sequence, the film continues to deliver powerful right hooks, directly to your eyeballs. From tight shots of the most attractive people (stars Corey Hinchey, Erika Ellsworth and Tim Mitchell), to wide shots of the most wonderful, golden-in-the-sunlight scenery (shot outside a magical house in Pictou County), LITD never lets you forget Dawe’s first love: painting. The director’s background in visual art imbues the film with a kind of ethereal charm that makes it easy for you to overlook any of Dawe’s “Hey, this is my first film” mistakes.

The film is sincere, and though some of the dialogue feels stilted, it comes from a real place. The scenes in the movie where apocalyptic refugees Painter (Ellsworth), Michael (Hinchey) and Charlie (Mitchell) make drunken small talk around a fire are wonderful. Perhaps because everyone is actually drunk, and Dawe just let the camera roll.

And while it’s true that the film’s stars are non-actors, and that prior to this film, Dawe was a non-director (actually, she was the Gazette Arts editor for the 2009/10 season), it is equally true that, as the film progresses, everyone comes into their own.

And they do it to an uncontrollably rad soundtrack. LITD features music from atomically cool and uplifting local bands such as Cousins, Omon Ra, and OmmaCobba. It also features shout outs to a ton of super talented local artists, and a scene wherein (I’m pretty sure) Charlie masturbates to a picture of Ruby Jean front woman Rebekah Higgs ironing clothes.

But, even if you’re not winked at directly by LITD, you should still check it out. It’s really amazing what a close-knit group of like-minded people can accomplish with only $15,000, a shared passion, and a lot of wine.

Light is the Day *screens at Park Lane this Friday, Sept. 24 at 9:30 p.m.. You can get tickets at atlantic.bside.com/2010/films/lightistheday_atlantic2010

Tuition myths déjà vu

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Gabe Hoogers, Opinions Contributor

 

Last Friday, after eight months of anticipation and $95,000 of government funding, former Bank of Montreal economist Tim O’Neill released his Report on the Nova Scotia University System. The report, commissioned by the Nova Scotia government, relies heavily on debunked theories about tuition fees and their impact on access to education to justify the complete de-regulation of tuition fees in the province.

According to O’Neill, the path to an equitable university system is through higher fees and higher debt. It doesn’t take a PhD to understand the absurdity of such an approach.

Currently, average undergraduate tuition fees in Nova Scotia are $5,495. That’s $357 above the national average. Nova Scotia graduate students pay the highest tuition fees in the country, at a staggering $7, 350.

Students in Nova Scotia paid the highest tuition fees for 20 years until last fall which resulted in an average student debt of nearly $30,000, the highest in the country. According to a 2010 Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) report, of those Maritimes students who borrowed more than $30,000, 21 per cent still owed at least that amount five years after graduation.

The central recommendation contained in O’Neill’s 188 page report is that the provincial government lift the current three-year tuition fee freeze. The report advocates for the complete de-regulation of tuition fees, thus letting each university set their own fees with no government control. We need only look to the sky-high fees paid by international students and those in medicine, dentistry, law and engineering to see the negative affects de-regulation could have. To pay for these fee increases the report recommends that the amount of money a student can borrow through the student loans program be increased, or even unlimited.

In an NDP e-newsletter sent out just hours after the release, Premier Dexter called O’Neill’s recommendations “innovative and strategic.” There is nothing innovative about O’Neill’s recommendations to de-regulate tuition fees and increase student loan limits.

In 2005, former Ontario Premier Bob Rae produced a review that recommended de-regulating tuition fees and targeted and increased financial aid. The Ontario government used the Rae Review to justify ending a two-year tuition fee freeze and allowing fees to increase between 4.5 and 8 per cent, per year. As a result, Ontario now boasts the highest tuition fees in the country.

O’Neill uses three major arguments to justify de-regulation and tuition fee hikes. He argues that high fees have moderate to no impact on low-income participation in post-secondary education, that low fees serve as a subsidy to students from high-income backgrounds, and that the individual benefit of a university degree far outweighs the cost.

Students have heard, and discredited, these myths before. There is plenty of research both nationally and here on the East Coast that directly contradicts both O’Neill and Dexter’s assertion that high fees and high loans somehow improve access.

According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers, youth aged 18-24 with parents earning more than $100,000 were almost twice as likely to have been enrolled in university than those whose parents earning $25,000.

A 2007 study from the Maritimes Provinces Higher Education Commission states that “tuition fees seem to influence students’ choice of institution. This appears to be an important factor explaining the increasing number of Maritimers studying at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.” Students in Newfoundland and Labrador pay the lowest tuition fees in the country. Tuition fees in that province have been frozen and reduced since 1999, and are currently just over half of those in Nova Scotia.

The government may control the provincial purse-strings, but students have two important tools in the fight for accessible post-secondary education in Nova Scotia: public opinion and our strength in numbers.

In a recent national Harris Decima poll, 90 per cent of Atlantic Canadians said that they supported either a freeze or reduction in tuition fees; that’s the highest percentage in the country. Governments ignore groups that pose no political threat to them, but by working together, students have been able to win many important victories at both the provincial and national level, including our current tuition fee freeze.

So arm yourself with arguments against the ‘high-tuition fees, high student loan’ model proposed by O’Neill. Spread the word; write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. Get involved in the campaign to make post-secondary education a priority in this province; sign the petition to increase funding and grants and reduce tuition fees.

Because education is a right, and we can’t afford to give up the fight.

Gabe Hoogers is the Nova Scotia Representative of the Canadian Federation of Students. The Federation is Canada’s largest students’ organization, uniting more than 500,000 university and college students from all ten provinces.

 

Editor’s Note: Katie Toth is the Women’s Representative of the CFS-NS Executive.

The Sex Collective presents:

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Hayley Gray, The Sex Collective

 

You might have already mastered the refined art of casual sex. For many, however, such attempts in the incestuous world of residence and university life have left them hurt, uncomfortable, or feeling like it just wasn’t worth the drama.

When we get our STI talks, we’re always told that “there is no such thing as safe sex, but you can take precautions to have safer sex.” This tactic can also be applied to your emotional safety when it comes to sex. So how, as the kids say nowadays, do you bring your emotional condom? Fun, drama-free sexy times are possible, with a bit of self-knowledge and some helpful tips.

The study of casual sex is complex. Dr. Marla Eisenberg, at the University of Minnesota, found that individuals engaging in casual sex were no less psychologically healthy than individuals in committed relationships. That being said, Catherine Grello at the University of Tennessee found that women engaging in casual sex were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than men.

In Grello’s study, when asked about their last casual sex encounter, 18 per cent of women believed it to be “the beginning of a sexual relationship,” where as only three per cent of

men held that belief. On the flip side, twice as many men as women believed it was the start of a “casual sex relationship.”

I think these studies should be looked at critically, and I believe that much of the neurochemical differences betweenmen and women are a result of our environments and social experiences. However, there does seem to be a large difference between men and women with their beliefs around casual sex. Within hetero relationships, this is often where the hurt, discomfort and drama can fester.

Differences in the post-orgasm brains of men and women are not as distinct as one might think: we all get surges of prolactin and oxytocin released during orgasm. However, these two

neurochemicals can display different effects when teamed up with high levels of testosterone in men and a smaller amount of testosterone in women. Often, males report feeling satiated and sleepy post-coitus, whereas females feel bonded and ready for more.

But in keeping with my dislike of gender binaries, the best advice I can give is to be aware and considerate, whatever your junk looks like. Know that you might feel like ignoring the person lying on top, beside, behind or across from you. With this in mind, make an effort to be respectful and affectionate.

Also, be aware that you might have feelings of attachment and bonding: know that they are fluid and might just be in the moment.

If you didn’t orgasm, acknowledge that you might become frustrated and irritable. You are responsible for your orgasm, so don’t waste your time on resentment.

Before you go into casual anything, you need to be critically assessing your standpoint. If you are looking for a more long-term relationship, don’t agree to casual sex. You’re just going to feel like crap post-orgasm, when all you want to do is bond with someone you’ve agreed to engage with casually.

Be respectful and take hints.  If someone doesn’t want you crashing in their bed, peace out. If you sext someone and they are busy, remind yourself that you are not in a relationship with them: you don’t get to make yourself their priority. If you see your casual conspirator in the cafeteria a day later, be polite and ask how class was.

But most importantly, if at the end of the night it turns out to just be you, make sure that you’re ready to get yourself off.

As much as Katie Toth loves her sex column, she can’t talk about dildos forever. Thus, she’s passed the torch to a new, rotating collective of sex-positive folks (including herself!) who’ll offer unique and diverse perspectives. Have a story pitch? A sex-related question? Want to join the team? Email opinions@dalgazette.ca.

Froese gets quashed

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Ian Froese, Sports Contributor

 

I rested my hands on top of my knees and embarrassingly looked at the ground below, if only for a second. Why am I already exhausted? I motion towards my left forearm at the place where a watch should be and call out to my comrade, “What time is it?” He chuckles and I follow suit. Little does he know, I was not entirely joking.

This was the sight nearly 30 minutes after yours truly participated in an introductory squash training session at the Dalplex racquet courts.

“Squash players are probably, I think, the third ranked in the professional level in terms of overall fitness. Lots of people don’t realize it’s a demanding sport,” said David Westwood, president of the Dalhousie Squash Club.

I may not have agreed when he uttered this statement prior to my attempt, but I am a believer now. It’s a game very much dependent on footwork and anticipation.

For the uninitiated, squash is played by two players (four if it is a doubles match) in a four-walled enclosure; the walls are glass in some courts. Participants equipped with a racquet hit the small rubber ball to the portion of the front wall designated for play. The competitors will then alternate shots until the rally falters. The ball can hit any of the ‘in’ areas on the other three walls as long as it ultimately reaches the front wall.

Sporting my gym clothes, a pair of goggles, and a racquet, I walked inside the court confident I would impress the club president. My instructor began the session by displaying the proper technique for hitting the ball. It appeared simple enough. With my experience of playing tennis and badminton, I did not think smacking the ball required much talent.

Of course you could probably see this coming, but once it was my opportunity to connect my racquet with the ball, things did not go according to plan.

The miniature-sized squash balls, about 40mm in diameter, deceived me frequently. On a regular basis, I swung for the home run and instead found myself twirling around without contacting the ball. I was quickly frustrated at my newfound dilemma.

Unable to master that challenge, I graduated with less than flying colours into attempting a regulated game where a point is rewarded to the winner of each rally.

This was where I, being a beginner, recognized a further surprise: the lack of bounce in the playing ball.

“If you’re used to playing tennis, it takes a long time to get in the habit of getting really low and getting underneath the ball,” Westwood answered. “Most people find it challenging at first because they don’t realize exactly how hard they have to hit it.” He is also an associate professor of kinesiology at Dalhousie.

Appreciating the physics of the ball is one thing, but competing against a veteran of the sport was another entirely.

Westwood was gracious while I suffered defeat on nearly every rally. Regardless of if the ball landed towards me, was fired to the back corner, or was a short drop shot, I flailed my arms and legs in every which direction to propel myself to the ball’s target. Usually I came up short as I instinctively delayed my movements following each shot I took. The second or so I lost could not be recovered in time for me to reach the ball.

Although my body was drained in what was probably record time, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. If you are interested in following my sweat-drenched footsteps, do not attend one of the regular court times asking for a teacher, but rather contact Westwood for a free lesson through his email: david.a.westwood@gmail.com. If the lesson has you hooked, consider joining the 85-member club for $35 if you attend classes at Dalhousie or $45 for non- students. For further details on everything squash, go to http://dalsquash.org

Fan culture is a tricky thing

Dalhousie Gazette Staff
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By Dylan Matthias, Sports Editor

 

How much is too much?

Forgive the cliché, but it’s something we’re wondering around the Gazette this week.

Last week, we brought you a sit-down interview with Jeff Pond, president of Dal Football and his (and others’) thoughts on how Dal could generate some fan support. This week, we bring you a story about fan culture gone overboard when Neil Hooper, King’s athletics director, was sprayed with a water gun at a rugby game against Mount Allison.

We don’t want to sensationalize this. It was a water gun, and Neil and the rugby teams will be just fine. Hooper has a point, though, when he says to sports reporter Allyson Kenny that  it “could have been a brick, not water.” And if a rowdy, probably drunk fan can get a brightly-coloured large water gun over to the bench, what else could be hidden?

ACAA rugby is a fantastic thing. Well-supported, high-quality university sport. It is a spectacle. It should be—that’s why people come to see it. Last week, Jeff Pond suggested that Dalhousie games need to be “events.” Spectacular events, even.

Gazette Sports agrees. I agree. I want to see fans cheer and jeer. I want Wickwire Field, the DalPlex, and Memorial Arena to be tough places to play. Why do I want that? Because it’s a story and we tell stories. And also because, somewhere deep down in my J-School-hardened soul, I want Dal to win.

Last year, I was elated that a residence group came out to support the Tigers soccer teams. They cheered and they taunted. For a short time, Wickwire was a tough place to play because players focused on fans and not on soccer. We accepted that, though. It was a good thing, and it showed us what we can be.

Where does that line get drawn? When there are students in a community, they act like young people. Young people can be rowdy. When we talk about building a community of support at Dal, we’re building a community of students.

What kind of supporters are we? Everyone wants to see the Tigers win, which means the other team losing. The athletes are passionate and so are the fans. Both love their school. Passionate people, though, occasionally do stupid things. They yell at players. They yell at the ref. They bring water guns to sporting events. Somewhere in there is a line, and it may take an incident at Dal for it to be drawn clearly.

University sport is not simply a way for the intelligentsia of society to exercise their mind. That thinking is not only outdated, it’s also a myth. The thinking that fans will simply come out and cheer on the Tigers belongs to that myth. The fans are invested in the game, too.

Next month, Dal will host homecoming. On one spectacular day, there will be a Dal rugby game followed by a soccer double-header and a Dal football game. It will be a festival of sport and community, an overload for sports-addicted Gazette writers like me and for students and alumni looking to celebrate Dal. If we’re fortunate, everyone will leave with a sense of school pride, the Tigers will leave with several more points, and our reporters will retire to write out more 600-word match reports.

We all know, though, that what happened at Mount Allison could easily happen that night, too. It only takes one. We all—athletes, officials, leagues and fans have to decide what we’re comfortable with and where we draw the line.

Ultimately, it’s only a game. Sometimes, though, it seems like a lot more.

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The Dalhousie Gazette is the main student publication at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The paper first began publishing in 1868, making it the oldest continually operating student newspaper in North America followed by The Harvard Crimson and The Columbia Daily Spectator

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