Saturday, August 30, 2025
Home Blog Page 89

New major in Black and African diaspora studies

Natalia Tola Maldonado
-
0
New major in Black and African diaspora studies

Dalhousie University is creating a new major in response to recommendations for more Black-centric education by the Report on Lord Dalhousie’s History on Slavery and Race, which examined the university’s history and connections to slavery. 

The new program will be officially titled a bachelor of arts major/honours degree in Black and African diaspora studies under the faculty of arts and social sciences. 

Dal professor Afua Cooper has spearheaded the push for more Black-centric education. Starting next fall, students can enroll in courses for the new program. (Photo by Karla Renic)

The program is among the first of its kind in the country, spearheaded by Afua Cooper, chair of the Lord Dalhousie scholarly panel on slavery and race. 

Cooper has been working to increase Black and African diaspora studies at Dal for nearly 10 years. She began pushing for a Black and African diaspora studies minor at Dal after being named the James Robinson Johnston chair in Black Canadian Studies in 2011. The minor was instituted in 2016. 

Cooper said she’s glad to see this major created after launching the minor “did seem like an uphill battle,” she said. “We have overcome that. I think the university is at a place where they are saying, ‘We are supporting this’ and it’s not just lip service but, as the saying goes, putting their money where their mouth is,” Cooper said. 

Registration for the major will not be available until fall 2022, but students will be able to register for courses that will count towards the major this fall, according to Rachel Banks, a master’s student in the department of philosophy, and a research assistant for Dal’s Black and African Diaspora Studies program committee, who are developing the program.   

Black history is essential to all history 

Cooper said she was shocked after coming to Dalhousie in 2011 and learning there was not even a Black and African diaspora studies minor at the school. 

If history departments fail to address Black and African diaspora studies, and its undeniable relevance, students aren’t receiving a complete education, Cooper said. 

“They are producing students who are absolutely unequipped to deal with the world,” Cooper said. “We are producing students who don’t have cultural competence. They don’t have the intercultural skills. They don’t have the knowledge.” By educating all students about Black history and cultures, the university can make an impact in dismantling racism within the community, Cooper said. 

For example, Cooper said some Canadians have told her they’re surprised she speaks English so well. Cooper was born in Jamaica where English is the only official language. 

“Why would you be surprised? English is my mother tongue,” Cooper said. “You have a bachelor’s degree, you should know those things. That’s basic.” 

The idea of Black history as a central part of education is echoed by the committee who are developing the major. 

 “Black history is a part of our history, of everyone’s history. And it should be taught as such and not separate,” said Banks. She said the goal is to make this program as big as political science or history at Dalhousie by inviting guest speakers, or potentially doing a co-op program. 

“What will be real progress is once the program is established, seeing how Dal continues to grow, and embrace and foster the program. So by that I mean setting aside funds to hire new Black faculty, and to bring in graduate students from all around the world to come to Dal and engage with the program,” Banks said.  

Banks said the current university curriculum is complacent in causing students to believe Black scholarship does not exist. 

“This further perpetuates the idea that there were no Black scholars back in the day or there were no Black thinkers contributing to the field of history or political science. And I think that is a failure on the department’s part,” she said. 

Dal moving in the right direction 

According to Cooper, it’s crucial for universities to support programs like this due to their role in the world. 

“Dalhousie University is a major influence on the province of Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region. It is the flagship university of the Atlantic region. So we cannot continue producing knowledge about one set of people,” Cooper said. 

The introduction of this program, and the greater integration of Black history and culture into Dalhousie courses is a key part of creating a more diverse campus, Cooper said. 

“We have to say, ‘Where are African Nova Scotian students? Why aren’t we seeing more of them on campus? What is going on?’ It’s not a simple matter of offering scholarships to African Nova Scotians,” Cooper said. 

Similarly, Banks believes the university requires deeper change than simply offering monetary supports to Black students.  

“It’s not just a matter of making an inclusive space, but it’s also about making Black students feel like their contributions matter, and are just as important and are taken seriously in any field at Dalhousie,” she said. 

Banks and the committee are open to student feedback regarding what they’d like to see in the program. She can be reached at r.banks@dal.ca. 

No captain, no problem

Andy Jung
-
0
No captain, no problem

A group of Dalhousie University engineering students are attempting to build the second autonomous sailboat to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean.  

The Dalhousie Autonomous Sailboat Team is aiming to launch a fully autonomous sailboat in August 2021 to compete in the Microtransat Challenge, a transatlantic race of autonomous boats between university programs and engineering companies.  

Dalhousie last entered the challenge in 2018. At that time the team was led by faculty who selected a group of students to work on the boat. But the 2018 team was disqualified when they lost contact with the boat after 76 days at sea. It was eventually found more than 200 days later on the coast of Ireland.  

The team is now being led entirely by students.  

“Once this is done, we’re going to put it in the water and we’re not going to give it any information,” said Nolan Cain, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student and the mechanical team lead. “Once it sets sail, it does all of its own steering and everything, and propulsion. We have a solar panel, so it can consistently recharge itself, and we just get location data from it every few hours.” 

The team 

SeaLeon was lost at sea in 2018. (Photo provided by the Dalhousie Autonomous Sailboat Team)

The team was initially run by the faculty of engineering, led by the past dean Josh Leon who became Dal’s assistant vice-president of information technology services in 2019. Leon and other faculty members on the team  selected upper-year students to work on the project, according to Jade Farr, the management team lead.  

The failed boat was called the SeaLeon. This year’s entrant is named Nautono.  

This year, the team is made up of more than 40 students that range in experience from second-year to graduate studies, said Farr. Having a variety of students with different expertise is a major asset to the team, she said.  

The team is divided into four sections based on students’ interests and skill. These sections are management, electrical, mechanical and software.  

The boat 

According to Cain, the most important aspect of each team’s work is ensuring it functions in harmony with the rest of the boat. While the mechanical team works on designing a mechanism to turn the rudder, they must regularly consult with the electrical team to ensure there’s space for the required technology that will bring the boat to life. 

All of this harmony, and the possibility of Nautono’s success in the transatlantic competition, begins with its software.  

“Our main focus is an upgrade to the navigation system, so that we can ensure that the boat actually goes where we want it to,” said Seamus MacInnes, a third-year electrical engineering student on the software team.  

Nautono will navigate its way across the Atlantic using a series of GPS waypoints that have been pre-programmed by the software team. To capture wind speed, it will be equipped with a weather station that senses the wind’s direction and reacts accordingly.  

Nautono also has the ability to make its own decisions, through software such as the automatic identification system (AIS). The AIS tells Nautono if any other vessels are nearby, allowing it to change its course as it sees fit. 

Nautono will be constantly recharging itself through a solar panel equipped to the boat.  

The boat is being built with both cast resin and carbon fibre, which will make it both strong and lightweight, Cain said.  

The project costs between $7,000 to $8,000, said Farr. The team was able to make up half of its budget through a $3,000 donation from Dal faculty, as well as $1,000 in sponsorship through a student on the team in the capstone program –– a program within the faculty of engineering where industry members sponsor student projects that solve real world problems. The rest of the funds are being made up through corporate sponsors. 

A challenging transition for a new team 

Due to COVID-19, the team is facing the challenge of not being permitted to use Dal facilities.  

“Going into Dal would have been easier,” Cain said. “We know the layout of the labs and what we’re able to use and what we have access to there.” 

Instead, they were able to gain access to the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) in Dartmouth, N.S. “That’s been a huge help for us,” Cain said.  

Another large challenge, according to Farr, has been the lack of information available about the SeaLeon, Dal’s last autonomous sailboat.  

“It’s really important to have those transition documents and we just didn’t have them,” Farr said. Additionally, no one on the current team was also on the 2018 team.  

“I’d say the transition has been a struggle for everybody,” said MacInnes, “we don’t have anyone on the software team that knew much about the old code coming into it. So, a lot of effort has to go into understanding the old code and finding out where it needs upgrading.” 

Despite the challenges and previous failures, the team is still inspired to see the project through.  

“It’s just a really cool project,” said MacInnes. “And it would be real fun to have our names on a boat sailing on its own to Ireland,” he said. 

Cuddles during COVID-19

Morgane Evans
-
0
Cuddles during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to work, relax and play all day with their pets at home. For some pet owners at Dalhousie University, this experience has been a mixture of labour and love. 

Added love during lockdown  

Grace Metcalfe, a first-year science student from Toronto, has discovered that just by caring for her 11-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Disney, she has had an easier time coping with the pandemic.  

Canine companion: During the pandemic, Henry has provided a daily routine for his owner Kate Cameron. (Photo by Morgane Evans)

“Even just having her with us will boost the morale of the entire house,” she said. “I feel very lucky to have her.”  

Kate Cameron, a third-year sociology student at Dalhousie has had her Maltese, Henry, for 12 years. When she moved back to Halifax in her second year, she decided to bring Henry with her, and has been travelling with him back and forth from Calgary ever since.  

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have interacted with Henry more,” Cameron said, though this has mostly been inside, as she’s been worried about catching COVID-19 while leaving the house with him. 

The isolation of the pandemic has created a deeper bond between pets and owners. To bond and to take care of Henry, Cameron has created a pandemic routine.  

“I feed him in the morning and let him out four times a day to go to the washroom, give him lots of cuddles, feed him treats and groom him,” she said. 

Similarly, Metcalfe said having Disney around is a welcome distraction from the current state of the world.  

“It’s great to have [Disney] because she keeps me busy. Having her is helpful. She reduces depression and anxiety, and improves [me and my roommates’] mental health.” 

It’s not all love and long walks 

Caring for dogs during the pandemic has produced some challenges. Such as when Metcalfe and Disney completed their 14-day self-isolation after entering the province. 

“It was pretty difficult just because you’re not able to take them for like walks or anything like that, and we had to stick strictly to the backyard,” Metcalfe said. “It was also difficult to have her in [my house] for the entire day because normally she’ll spend like a couple of hours outside.”  

She has also noticed that social distancing rules have made it challenging to get Disney to socialize with other dogs.  

Owner Grace Metcalfe credits Disney with boosting morale in difficult times of isolation. (Photo by Morgane Evans)

“I find other people have changed, and don’t really come up and socialize their dogs. [On the sidewalks] people go across the street so they don’t have to walk past us. It kind of worries me because I don’t want my dog to get socially anxious because she’s not seeing other dogs.” 

Cameron has found a way to get Henry to socialize just by virtue of living with other people.  

“He always has people around him because of my roommates,” she said. 

Both Metcalfe and Cameron believe their dogs have noticed a change since the pandemic began.  

“[Henry] could probably sense that there were changes in the beginning,” Cameron said. The pair spent a lot more time together than usual when the pandemic began. She thinks that Henry has grown accustomed to the pandemic life and probably does not notice the changes as much anymore. 

“[Disney] definitely has noticed a change in scenery, and she would have noticed a difference just because she’s not seeing dogs or family members as regularly,” Metcalfe said. “[She’s also] in this confined space and sees the same six people who live in my house a lot.” 

An expert’s take  

Silvia Jay, a dog behaviour consultant who has been working with dogs since the late 1990s, said in an email to the Dalhousie Gazette that the lack of socialization for dogs during the pandemic is not much of a concern.  

“Even with ‘COVID-19 puppies,’ as long as they were still exposed, and as long as they’re with the odd visitor, that is typically enough to prevent neophobia [the fear of something new],” she said. 

However, what is a concern is the effect of owners’ changing schedules on dogs during the pandemic. Jay explained newly adopted dogs can get separation and isolation anxiety when their owners go back to work in person.  

Dogs who were adopted pre-pandemic whose owners now work at home may not get enough rest –– something they’d usually do while their human is at work or class –– which “can lead to all sorts expressions rooted in frustration and overstimulation, including barking and generally overreacting to stimuli,” Jay said.    

To help dogs get used to the constantly changing nature of the pandemic, Jay recommends owners take dogs out to explore the outdoor environment, leave them alone for a short time if they have developed separation and isolation anxiety, or provide them with a resting place  away from humans. 

Dal burns through $9.5 million pandemic handout

Lane Harrison
-
0
Dal burns through $9.5 million pandemic handout

The provincial government gave Dalhousie University about $9.5 million in January 2021. According to Maddie Stinson, the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) president, the university owes students a better explanation of where that money is going. 

The DSU continues to press Dal for details on spending. (Photo by Geoffrey Howard)

The province announced in January it would be providing $25 million to universities across Nova Scotia to help them “manage the impact of the pandemic,” according to a provincial news release. Dalhousie received $9,479,700 in total. 

The university will be using the money to cover a $9.8 million shortfall in its operating budget, according to Janet Bryson, Dalhousie’s associate director of media relations and issues management. 

Without government assistance the university would have to use funds from its reserve budget to cover the shortfall, Bryson said. The reserve budget is made up of budget surpluses from previous years.  

According to the fiscal update published in June 2020 the university believed  it would be facing a $28.5 million shortfall due to COVID-19. At that time, the university planned to reduce faculty budgets by 2 per cent and cut funding for teaching equipment purchases in half to help address the shortfall. Dalhousie has a reserve fund of  $12.2 million, bolstered by a $6.4 million surplus in the 2019-2020 operating budget. At this time, the university planned to reduce faculty budgets by 2 per cent and cut funding for teaching equipment purchases in half to help address the shortfall. 

The shortfall took place because of several expenditures the university had to make due to COVID-19, Bryson said in an email to the Dalhousie Gazette.  

According to Bryson, “Dalhousie has an open and transparent budget process.” But only if students know where to look and understand institutional budgets, Stinson said. 

“I think it’s Dal’s responsibility to continue to educate students about how they’re spending our fees in a way that’s digestible to students,” Stinson said. “That’s something we’ve brought up repeatedly, being that our student body doesn’t have the time to look through a budget report.” 

From surplus to shortfall 

The new funding “will allow the university to support much-needed programs that were approved in the 2020-2021 budget,” Bryson said.  

The shortfall is a result of both new investments made in response to COVID-19 and the waiving of certain student facility fees, which resulted in a revenue loss that contributed to the shortfall, according to the 2020-2021 budget.  

“The university provided significant financial support for students through increased bursaries and by waiving some fees,” Bryson said. 

According to the budget, the university spent $10.6 million on this support, $4.2 million on increased bursaries and $6.4 million in fees normally paid by students.  

The university waived all athletic programming and fitness centre fees for both the fall and winter terms, according to the budget.  

“The fitness centre is open, but access is limited due to Public Health requirements, and many students are completing their studies remotely,” the budget said.  

Increased bursaries for students also contributed to the shortfall covered by the provincial funding, Bryson said.  

The university doubled its bursary funding from $3 million to $6 million due to the pandemic, according to the budget. Additionally, the university increased its support for student assistance programs for international students and students in designated groups by $455,000, according to the budget.  

Other expenditures that contributed to the shortfall are those that were needed to transition all classes at Dalhousie online for the 2020-2021 academic year.  

The university had allocated $6 million to focus on strategic initiatives, things such as equity, diversity and inclusion, or student recruitment, according to the June 2020 fiscal update.  Due to the pandemic, $2 million of that had to be re-allocated for immediate spending on pandemic preparation.  

According to the budget, that includes additional teaching assistants and other supports for faculty, funds for Academic Technology Services, and the Centre for Learning and Teaching to facilitate online learning through new software, as well the Together@dal project –– a program launched in the fall meant to connect new students with the campus community.  

Students deserve more transparency 

Every month, Stinson and the DSU executive team meet with members of Dalhousie’s senior administration to discuss student issues on the DSU radar.  

Prior to the January meeting, the executive team consulted with members of the DSU council and other students to gain their opinion on how the funding could best be used.  

“When the executive brought it up, we were very quickly told that the topic of the $9.5 million in public funding wasn’t up for discussion,” Stinson said.  

Covering the shortfall is the goal of the funding, according to the provincial press release, which said the province issued the dollar amounts in response to information provided by the universities on expenses incurred during the pandemic.  

“I do recognize that having a deficit in our budget does require attention,” Stinson said. “But when the university very publicly receives funding from the province, I do think that our community should be made aware of where that funding goes, and in this case, saying that that information is present, and the justification for that choice is present in our budget, I don’t think is enough of an explanation,” she said. 

Baseball legend trailblazed path for Black players

Tiger Cumming
-
0
Baseball legend trailblazed path for Black players

Hank Aaron, one of the greatest MLB players ever, passed away in January 2021. (Photo by Steve Burns on Flickr)

When Hank Aaron retired from baseball in 1976, he did so as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Aaron died in his sleep on Jan. 22, 2021. He was 86.  

The feat he’s most famous for was breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714. Even after Barry Bonds eclipsed that record in 2007, Aaron still holds the Major League Baseball (MLB) record for career runs batted in (RBI) with 2,297 and total bases with 6,856. He is third all-time in career base hits with 3,771. 

Before taking the MLB by storm, Aaron got his start playing for Negro League teams like the Indianapolis Clowns. In a recent decision, the MLB elevated the pre-1948 Negro Leagues to the status of the American and National leagues. This means while Negro League statistics before 1948 are included in MLB record books, Aaron’s five home runs he hit for the Clowns are not counted as part of his major league home runs, having debuted in the ’50s. 

Although they may not leave a huge impact on where he stands in all-time leaderboards, the Leagues (before and after 1948) are commonly considered to be roughly as good as the MLB at the time. Considering players like Aaron played in the Negro Leagues after 1948, perhaps it’s time to elevate all Negro League stats to the major league level. 

Paving the way for Black baseball players 

Aaron’s Hall of Fame career came to be over the course of three decades worth of civil rights movements in the United States. Growing up playing semi-pro baseball in Mobile, Ala., he broke the colour barrier in the South Atlantic League in 1953 with the Jacksonville Braves.  

Early in his pro career, Aaron’s time in the minor leagues  is often forgotten, but might be just as important as his MLB accomplishments. Throughout the season while playing in southern American states that enforced Jim Crow laws, Aaron, his fellow Black teammate Horace Garner and Puerto Rican native Félix Mantilla experienced racist abuse  from both Jacksonville’s and its opponents’ fans.  

Despite this abuse, and not being able to live, eat or stay at the same hotel as his teammates, Aaron was described by Jacksonville manager Ben Geraghty, in a 1957 Sports Illustrated interview, as “the most relaxed kid” he ever saw.  

It’s easy to forget widespread racism in baseball didn’t disappear with Jackie Robinson signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson opened a path for other People of Colour into the MLB, but the injustices he faced with the Dodgers, and the entrenched racism that Aaron had grown up in, was felt by every Black player trying to make it to the major leagues. The abuse would continue through Aaron’s career, especially as he closed in on Ruth’s home run record.  

Recognition of the Negro Leagues 

Just as Robinson’s historic appearance with the Dodgers didn’t end racism in the major leagues, it didn’t immediately end Black baseball as it had existed for decades as the Negro Leagues. In his first professional contract, Aaron had previously played in the Negro American League for the Clowns in 1952. 

The Negro Leagues of the early to mid-20th century boasted players of extraordinary talent, though many aspects and initiatives in the leagues were underfunded and disorganized. Immediately after Robinson broke the colour barrier, the best way for a Black player to make it to the majors was through the Negro Leagues even if only a brief stint like Aaron had with the Clowns.  

“It’s easy to forget widespread racism in baseball didn’t disappear with Jackie Robinson signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.” 

  

 Players Like Aaron, Ernie Banks and Willie Mays — all Hall of Famers during the ’50s and ’60s — got their starts in the dying days of the Negro Leagues. So the possibility that their achievements as Negro League players after 1948 might now be included as MLB-calibre is an interesting and exciting prospect. 

While disorganized, the Leagues had spent decades growing into a premier competition with immense talent, and while breaking the colour barrier was the best thing that has ever happened in major league baseball, it severely hurt the Negro Leagues. 

In this sense, the Negro Leagues sort of went out with a bang. It wasn’t from a lack of talent that doomed the Leagues, but issues on the organizational side. How can we overlook these players simply because of how the Leagues were run aground? That’s like saying if the MLB went broke today then the next  baseball league wouldn’t recognize present-day stars like Trout, Mookie Betts or Bryce Harper because they were only around near the end. 

As with the MLB, the calibre of competition in the Negro Leagues remained consistent throughout as elite-level baseball. And Aaron, the greatest player to ever come through the Leagues, played after 1948. Could that mean the post-1948 era was even better? Regardless, the whole pre-1948 rule just doesn’t make sense. 

Validating Negro League achievements from post-1948 would go a long way in acknowledging how Black players joining the MLB was a process and not a moment frozen in history. It would further cement Aaron’s reputation as one of the greatest baseball players ever and one of the greatest athletes to lead the way for Black players into the upper echelons of their respective sport. 

Love in the algorithm age

Mayowa Oluwasanmi
-
0
Love in the algorithm age
Swipe left, swipe right: Consumers look to apps like Tinder and Bumble to find potential matches. (Photo by Geoffrey Howard)

Algorithms are now a part of our human experience, forecasting the outcomes of numerous activities from driving to takeout to social interaction. Now valued at US$4 billion, the online dating industry is one of many tech innovations aiming to make life easier by helping us navigate the dating landscape and find the one. 

Companies like Tinder and Bumble accumulate data from billions of users, using sophisticated algorithms to analyse and predict our potential matches. But are algorithms an effective means of finding love? 

Dating app algorithms  

According to Sucheta Soundarajan, a computer science professor at Syracuse University in New York, dating app algorithms are like recipes. You must have specific ingredients for your meal, and they must be combined in a certain order to produce the final result, Soundarajan says in an article by Syracuse’s online master in computer science program. 

Soundarajan defines proper algorithm design as including the ability to identify a problem, find an efficient solution to the problem and use the right data to solve the problem. In a dating app, the problem would be finding love, sex or whatever connection the user is looking for. The solution uses mathematical algorithms to identify matches for each user, based on data like inputted location and other biographical information — for example, interests, photos, location, preferred age range and so on. While not all dating apps work the same, they all aim to tackle this problem.  

“Harassment is a key concern on dating sites, especially for younger women.” 

Tinder’s parent company Match Group reported as of the fourth quarter in 2019, Tinder has an average of 5.9 million subscribers. According to a 2019 Pew Research Center report, 30 per cent of American adults have used a dating app, with 12 per cent entering a long-term relationship. Additionally, the Pew report found dating apps and websites are more popular amongst American LGBTQ+ adults, where 55 per cent indicated they were users, than with straight adults (only 28 per cent said they used online dating services). Needless to say, dating apps are becoming the new normal of dating. 

The downsides 

Like any of its counterparts, dating app algorithms are ripe for bias. Companies like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge implement a technique called collaborative filtering.  

Collaborative filtering generates matches based on both personal preferences and majority opinion. When a user first joins, the matches recommended are mostly dependent on the majority of users profiles. Over time, collaborative filtering creates a digital hierarchy where certain human choices are lauded and certain types of profiles are marginalised, despite the user’s ability to alter specific preferences. In an article by Wired, video game designer Ben Berman noted how niche dating platforms such as Jdate and AmoLatina are evidence of how minority profiles are excluded from major dating platforms by collaborative filtering.  

The nature of online dating can make the dating environment somewhat riskier, as it is harder to keep users accountable. The study shows more than three in 10 users report matches through a dating platform continued to contact them after stating they weren’t interested. Additionally, 35 per cent said they were sent unsolicited sexually explicit photos or messages by other users to contact them after stating they weren’t interested.  

Clearly harassment is a key concern on dating sites, especially for younger women as 60 per cent of female users aged 18 to 34 report someone on a dating app contining to contact them after they said they weren’t interested. Dishonestly is another issue that comes up with dating apps, where 71 per cent of users believe others lie about themselves in their profiles to appear more desirable. In an ecosystem of collaborative filtering, how can this even be avoided? 

What’s the verdict? 

Dating sites haven’t fully perfected the ultimate love-solving artificial intelligence that will match everyone with their perfect soulmates. Despite this, romantic love is fair game for any algorithmic solution, and a significant portion of today’s dating landscape relies on these algorithms.  

Online dating is a tool using sophisticated algorithms and making the virtual world as ripe for love as a bar, a school or anywhere in reality. It is also important we recognise the bias entrenched in algorithms, and that data is not always just, fair or even accurate.  

DSU vice-president (student life) candidate: Mazen Brisha

Lane Harrison
-
0
DSU vice-president (student life) candidate: Mazen Brisha

Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and clarity 

Why are you running for this position? 

The main reason I’m running is I am really passionate about making a positive change in my community. As an international student, the main reason I came to Dalhousie University was because I fell in love with the city. I really want students to have that sense of home with the university.  

The Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) is the main uniting factor between all of us. We all come from completely different backgrounds, different interests, different everything. The one thing we all have in common is the student union. There’s something very empowering in that. I think there is a lot of wasted potential at the DSU, which I’d really like to change. So, the main reason why I’m running is I really want to utilize the DSU’s resources to make a positive impact in my community.  

What do you think the biggest issue is on campus right now?  

If you asked me a few days ago, I definitely would have said discrimination. There’s been a lot of discrimination going on over the past year, whether it’s towards international students with the whole hotel quarantine, or incidents of gender-based or racial-based discrimination. I know a lot of people that encountered discrimination and I have myself.  

But currently, I think the biggest issue students are facing without a doubt has to be food insecurity and financial insecurity. Because at the end of the day, we fail as a union, we fail Dalhousie society if there are students that can’t afford to eat. In terms of severity, that is without a doubt the most important issue we’re facing today. But I think it’s very important to note that a very pertinent issue right now is Dalhousie trying to raise tuition prices again. There’s a very dangerous pattern that’s developing here, which is the university clearly does not care about its students. With the financial insecurity and food insecurity people have been suffering from, it’s ludicrous to see Dalhousie be so inconsiderate.  

You have advocacy experience working as a United Nations (UN) youth leader. What skills did you learn that could translate to being a DSU leader? 

The main thing I have noticed in every single campaign I’ve handled is each person from a different background has something unique to offer. The fact that we’re all so different, whether it’s as a university, as a union, or as a UN committee, exponentially increases the amount of positive impact we can make in our community. So, the main thing I really want to implement is making sure each student’s inherent differences are utilized correctly, in a way that’s empowering. Empowerment happens when each part of who you are, each part of your identity is fully utilized.  

Mental health is a big part of your platform. What kind of plans do you have around mental health supports?  

One of the more most important things I really want to see is a proper mental health committee, one that is properly represented with all minorities, and also very importantly each campus. Because at the end of the day, we’ve been ignoring the Sexton and Truro campuses for way too long. Incorporating these campuses into this committee will enable us to make sure that across all camps and across all faculties mental health is a priority.  

Culturally and linguistically diverse mental health support is also something I strongly believe in. I remember the first therapy session I had at the university, over half the session was spent trying to explain to them how it’s different where I come from. . . It didn’t feel like they were prepared to help me, which is no fault of their own. But if we want to be an inclusive union, we have to make sure mental health is prioritized and customizable. Mental health is different for each and every one of us. We all have different needs, so making sure we account for those needs and cater to them is vital. 

Increasing student engagement is also central to your platform. The DSU has struggled with this issue for a while. For example, annual general meetings (AGM) haven’t been able to meet quorum in years. If elected, what would you do to try and meet quorum at the AGM?  

Student engagement has been something everyone talks about every single year and we never see change because every single plan that’s put forward is always short-term. For us to tackle student engagement, the most important thing is to figure out why our students are not engaged. Why are students paying a union fee, but they don’t care at all about this union? They don’t even know it exists. That’s the central issue here. The central issue is a divide between students and the union leadership. 

I think there’s a lot of bureaucracy that goes on with how the DSU is operating that isn’t necessary. We should be able to have a lot more transparency in these sorts of things. We want to take all steps towards making sure that students know we exist and know what we offer.  

For example, social media is something that’s been, in my opinion, very underutilized for the past few years. I really want to utilize the YouTube channel the DSU has, but never really uses. Due to COVID-19, we might not be able to hold as many in-person programming events. So, we need to have a different way for students to engage with the DSU, such as starting a DSU podcast. Want to know what’s going on at the DSU? Join the podcast, I’ll tell you transparently. I won’t just post something on Instagram or release statements all the time. Who has time to read statements?  

Is there an issue you think the DSU handled poorly this year? If so, how would you handle it differently? 

One specific issue they should have dealt with better would have been the whole fiasco with international students. I think international students did feel a little bit left out. I know they created bursaries, the mental health bursary for example. They tried to support foreign students financially where they could and I appreciate that. But at the end of the day, what international students such as myself were really looking for was to feel heard. To be very honest, we didn’t.  

I saw Halifax media publishing stuff, newspapers publishing stuff. The Dalhousie Gazette wrote about it multiple times. But [the] DSU itself seemed very silent. It didn’t feel like they were lobbying for us. We lobbied, a group of students and I, lobbied Dal. We told them that this is ludicrous. 

The DSU failed to represent a large part of the student body this year with the international student fiasco. I want to emphasize though that, the situation was not their fault. It was the university’s fault, but the DSU could have done a lot more around that. 

Is there any positive thing you think the DSU did this year for students? 

I think they did a great job with the academic part of the year especially with the pass/fail option. That was revolutionary for students’ mental health and their year academically. Without that, I would have lost my scholarship. I know other people that would have lost their scholarship[s]. I know people that would have been on academic dismissal. It was a lifesaver in many ways. That was honestly one of the few moments in my three years as a Dalhousie student where I felt like the DSU actually had my back. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a screen this year? 

I don’t know if it counts because it wasn’t my computer screen, but my friends and I got our friend a new computer for their birthday. We pranked them by painting over their old computer screen to make it look broken before giving them the new one. 

DSU vice-president (internal) candidate: Truelee Love

Lane Harrison
-
0
DSU vice-president (internal) candidate: Truelee Love

Why are you running for this position? 

I am running for vice-president (internal) because I’m really passionate about being involved with the student community. I’ve done so in a multitude of ways. I felt that the position fit me best because I knew it was a lot of work to do with supporting students around the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) itself and working with societies on their relationships with the student union.  

I’ve been a society leader. I’ve had lots of acquaintances because of the work I’ve done with DalOUT who’ve also been leadership in societies so I felt that I had the most experience relating to this position. I felt that I could really add something being someone who’s been on the other end as a society leader trying to engage students that way. I’m hoping that experience will give me the chance to improve things for other society members. 

What do you think is the biggest issue on campus that the vice-president (internal) will face? 

I think that specifically for vice-president (internal), there is a lot of frustration both within societies and students in general with the student union. We had a rough year, the year before last with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and with the liquor license. There were a lot of things that people were unhappy about.  

Then we went straight into COVID-19 and our current executive has done a great job. I respect anyone who does this job. It’s not easy work, but I feel like there’s probably a lot of students who felt the DSU hasn’t resolved a lot of those issues, and may not trust the student union, or may not feel connected to them anymore.  

Especially after a year of being off campus, I think it’s really important that we really do the work to earn students trust back. To work to let them know that we are here and what we’re doing. During the rest of the pandemic being virtual and as well as when we go back to campus. 

What do you think the biggest issue is on campus in general? 

One of the biggest issues is mental health and resource access. We’ve had a lot of issues with students being able to access mental health resources, both those who are here in Canada and those who are studying from abroad. Especially during COVID-19, it’s definitely something that students have needed more.  

But also, the other aspects of mental health that come from everything being more expensive. Students have had to pay out of pocket for more technology, for having to move, having to adjust to being in COVID-19 as well as facing increasing tuition prices. So, I think there’s a lot of areas that we can support our students for better health overall. Because I know, probably now more than ever, students are under a lot of stress that isn’t just due to being in classes. 

Speaking of mental health, you said during the debates mental health support doesn’t just mean having access to a person, but it also means having access to some resources. Could you speak more about that and what that would look like if you were vice-president (internal)? 

One of my big goals as vice-president (internal) is to make sure that we have clear and accurate guidelines for students accessing resources. Dal itself and the student union do offer quite a few resources. But I think that there’s definitely room for advocacy on improving those and providing more access. I think another big piece that the union could do, that is more of an immediate action, is making sure students understand how to access those resources.  

Because a lot of the problem is that students are bouncing between different departments. It’s this time in this place versus over here versus they do this, they do that. I think that having really easily understood guidelines and sort of like resource-mapping so students can go, “OK, I need help with this. Who do I talk to? Where do I call? Who do I meet with? What are my different options?” I think the student union should be working as a navigation tool for students to be able to do that especially now being at home.  

Is there something positive you think the DSU did this past year for students? 

I’m not going to lie; I’ve been a little bit disengaged with the DSU this past year. But I do know that this DSU did a lot of work towards trying to help students online. They had to take on that big role of taking everything with a big shift. It was a rough year for all of us, but they have done a really good job of keeping up to date with societies, keeping up to date with students, being really understanding and flexible trying to adapt to this whirlwind of a year that we just had. Props to the entire team, that was probably so much work and such a hard thing to adapt to. I hope to be able to take the foundation that they’ve created and run with it further. For however much longer we’re online, which arguably is probably going to be a lot more than just this year. 

Is there any issue you think the DSU handled poorly this year? If so, how would you have handled it differently? 

I don’t know if I can think of a specific issue. But I think broader overarching, the sort of difficulties that I think the DSU has had in the past is finding the best way to communicate with students. For example, I’m thinking of especially the year before last, with a lot of changes with CFS and with losing the liquor license. I think that there was a lot of room for explaining to students and improving communication to help students understand the situation that the DSU was in.  

I think that it’s a difficult thing to do, communicating with such a large student body is not easy. I know. I’ve been there. I can put up a million posters, and post 27 times on Facebook and people still don’t know. But I think that is probably something that I’ve seen my entire time at Dal, is every student union struggles with figuring out the best way to communicate with students.  

I don’t know if I have the right answer. But if I get to be vice-president (internal) I want to try different channels of communication. I want to try engaging more directly with students on social media. I want to put my face out there, and give it my best shot to try things that I haven’t seen the union necessarily try when it comes to engaging and communicating with students. Because I think it’s just a matter of, you [have] got to be willing to do things differently and to put yourself out there. Because it is hard to engage with students especially now when no one’s on campus. 

What specifically would you want to try that the DSU hasn’t tried before? 

I’m really hoping to see, and you know what, there might have been some of this and I just missed it. But I think it would be really important for the student body to see our faces as executives more in connection with the student union. You know, when you see a post from the student union, it’s often a graphic or information, which is great, but I also think it is really important students recognize us and see our faces.  

If we were on campus in person, a big thing I would try to work for is going to events. Before I went to Dal I went to a much smaller university, which granted this is a lot easier to do in that kind of environment. But the executives were at everything. Everyone knew their faces. You could pick someone out and go, that’s our vice-president or that’s our president. Because their faces were everywhere. They were speaking, they were the ones answering students’ questions. I think that creates more of a connection with students. You’re seeing a face, you’re seeing a person you elected, not just a graphic on screen.  

Something I really want to work towards is potentially doing livestreams on Facebook and Instagram to answer students’ questions. Doing more where students can see my face, ask me questions and know that’s our vice-president (internal). That’s what she’s doing. 

You spent a lot of time on the society side. What have you learned about communication between DSU and societies that you would hope to bring to the role? 

I think one thing I definitely could have benefited from as a society leader with the student union is more frequent communication. There’s a lot of communication around ratification and it’s difficult for societies. But I think a lot of that difficulty is the handover process within societies. The fact that a lot of the times when you’re a student and you join a society, you’re not necessarily completely aware of all the student union processes. So fairly regularly, it’s a whole new team where people are jumping into a role and they have no idea what the processes are. I really want to create a situation where societies are connecting with the vice-president (internal) more frequently.  

Where the vice-president (internal) is like, “Hello, I recognize you’re new or I recognize maybe you, specifically, didn’t have a lot to do with the handover process last year, or the ratification process, here are the steps.” Because I know, it’s so easy to miss things. 

 There’s a long list of things you have to do as a society leader and most society executives are unpaid. So as a volunteer, having someone to really be your guiding force is important. The staff at the DSU I think do a great job. But I think there could be more of a student-to-student basis with a vice-president (internal) that you don’t always get from the staff who also have so many other things on their plate. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a screen this year? 

There’s been a few things. Probably one of my favorites was actually, DalOUT did an Among Us game-night a couple weeks back. It was a lot of fun. It was the first time I had done an event in quite a while that wasn’t a speaking engagement or a lecture. It was just being fun and silly, playing games and laughing. 

It’s hard to recreate those spaces during COVID-19, where it’s just getting together with no agenda, no specific goal in mind. So yeah, that was probably my most fun. I’m not the best at Among Us, but I’ve been practicing. 

DSU LGBTQ+ Students’ rep candidate: Tam Pham

Lane Harrison
-
0
DSU LGBTQ+ Students’ rep candidate: Tam Pham

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and style. 

Why are you running for this position? 

There are a lot of reasons why I’m running for this position. Just to summarize it in short, I myself identify as LGBTQ2S+. I’m part of the community, my experience is as a QTBIPOC, as a person of colour. Also wearing the transqueer, you know, different types of hats as a grad student, definitely sort of motivated me to run for the position.  

Also, I believe that the more marginalized, the more intersectional you are, the more you should be involved with –– or at least, like participating in –– any decision that kind of just dictates your life, I guess, your narratives. In my case, I don’t like it when, you know folks, not like folks speaking on my behalf. It’s more so I don’t like it when folks don’t bring up the issues that are relevant to me and kind of just leave that swept under the rug, you know? So, I wanted to be able to bring all that stuff out on the surface and that’s why I’m running for this position. 

Why is the intersectional perspective so important? 

I think that the intersectional experience is important in the sense that oftentimes it’s overlooked. Oftentimes, it gets silenced or even suppressed in a way.  

When it comes to let’s say access to PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis, an HIV preventative medication] . . . if we also look at it from an intersectional lens for the QTBIPOC community, African Nova Scotians, Indigenous students, those people are usually more limited in terms of access to PrEP. There’s a lot of issues not being brought up. I think having that intersectional experience can help with identifying these issues.  

What do you think the biggest issue affecting students in the LGBTQ2S+ community on campus is? 

There are a lot of things that affect the LGBTQ2S+ students on our campus. I’ll just address a few of them. Like I mentioned PrEP access, but also access to hormones for hormone therapy, testosterone and estrogen. As well as mental health supports, finding psychologists or therapists who are queer-friendly, first off, and who are also BIPOC friendly, it’s another layer of the issue. And it has to be trauma-informed because oftentimes, rainbow community students have experienced trauma, a lot of mental health challenges and struggles. I think that needs to be addressed when it gets up to the Senate caucus. There are also other things such as the rise of anti-Black, anti-Asian and anti-Indigenous violence, which also affects a lot of Black trans folks and Asian Pacific Islander folks as well. So that in itself definitely affects folks under the rainbow community. 

Is there anything you think the DSU did well this year? 

I’m not going to be able to talk much about their involvement in this year or before that because I’m not as up to speed on the older stuff that they have done. But I would say for this year, in the DSU election, I saw the profiles of other folks who are running for different positions. I see quite a good amount of representation, a good amount of diverse candidates, diverse experiences, different perspectives. I like that. I think COVID-19 has definitely brought out a lot more like unheard or silenced folks, like folks that usually tend to stay quiet are now out on the surface. We hear more experiences, and that’s great. 

Is there anything you don’t think the DSU handled well this year? If so, how would you have handled it differently? 

There are a lot of things they could, I mean, I don’t want to go too much into details about things that they could have handled better, but I do see tuition fees as an issue. The rise in tuition fees is an issue. But I also see that health and accessibility is a huge issue, especially with COVID-19. It definitely exacerbated the issues around access to supports.  

I understand that this is also not like a one-time event. This has been an issue for a long time. It just got drastically exacerbated because of COVID-19, the social distancing and digital learning. I think that’s something that I want to adjust when I get to the DSU. I want to be able to create some kind of survey or even have a community dialogue to bring in more perspectives. Because I myself and my perspective may not be able to address all of the other issues that need to be brought up to the surface, right? I want to be able to gather as many perspectives as I can and bring them up to the surface. 

Speaking of the survey, on your candidate profile you wrote you want to use those survey responses to “reimagine” ways of addressing LGBTQ2S+ issues. What do you think needs to be reimagined? 

When I think about reimagination, I think of a different approach. When issues are brought up, most of the time it’s the representative who speaks on behalf of others to try and bring that issue up. But oftentimes, some of these issues that representatives bring up may be relevant to them, but not to the rest of the crowd that they’re representing, right? I want to have a more intersectional lens looking at what is going on.  

Also, I want to hold Dalhousie University, hold the DSU, even myself accountable when issues don’t get fully addressed. I think that’s the first step, is acknowledging that we definitely need to do more, we definitely need to work harder on this. We need to be able to come up with a better strategy, not just better, I think a different, alternative strategy in how we can really make this more accessible for students. Especially when it comes to things I’m passionate about, things that are relevant to rainbow community students, like PrEP, or hormone therapy, or mental health. 

Obviously, you’re very concerned about all the well-being aspects of your constituents’ student experience. But are there any other kinds of topics you want to focus on? You could say healthcare is one umbrella, but is there another umbrella? 

I’m part of the FMGSS, the faculty of medicine graduate students society. So my hope is also that I can bring in my experience as a grad student, and as somebody who’s been pretty much involved with the graduate students’ circle. Also, we want to address all the concerns, all the needs that graduate students have from the university. Because if you have looked at all the folks that are participating in this DSU election, I don’t even think there is another graduate student running for a position. So, I just wanted to bring that up as well.  

I also am in full support of, and am passionate to talk about trauma-informed training and holding sexualized violence perpetrators accountable for what they did. So, addressing that, and also to be able to make the university a safer space. That’s also another thing that I’m very, very passionate about, but I know that to make it a safe space I need to address the other issues.  

What’s the most fun you’ve had at your screen this year? 

I made lots of friends on Zoom, even though that sounds kind of funny because with distanced learning we’re not meeting anyone face to face. But I’ve made more friends from Zoom through all those interactions.  

DSU vice-president (finance and operations) candidate: Mohab Brisha

Lane Harrison
-
0
DSU vice-president (finance and operations) candidate: Mohab Brisha

Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

Why are you running for this position? 

Well, I’m running for this position because I believe I can make a difference in this position. I believe that using this position I can better represent the students, actually represent the students. I feel like that is not something that has been done well so far. I do recognize there have been some valiant efforts that have been spoken of, but not much real action yet. There’s a lot of indication we still have a long way to go in that area.  

I believe I’m a very good fit for that specific goal. I really believe I’m able to communicate with as many different people as possible. I have a lot of engagement with societies at Dalhousie University. I have a lot of information about how everything generally works. And my background as well, as an international student I’ve lived in an area with so many different cultures, so many different backgrounds. And we just learn to get along. I feel like that’s taught me a lot about how to bring everyone equally forward. 

What do you think the biggest issue affecting students on campus is at the moment? 

I feel like right now, I would say it’s definitely the fee rise for Dalhousie. I think that’s completely absurd that Dalhousie would increase the fees in this situation. I genuinely cannot, you know how sometimes things seem irrational from your point of view? I pride myself in usually being able to see the other side. Even if I disagree with it, I usually am able to pick up what their side is thinking. I can be like, “OK, I understand you, but I think otherwise.” This is not one of those times. This really isn’t one of those times at all. I just genuinely can’t see any reasonable justification for this. So yeah, I think that’s definitely the biggest problem right now. 

How would you approach that issue in your position? 

The problem is that it is a Dalhousie issue. I’m not going to lie. This is not what I ran for. At the time I entered the race, this was not the biggest issue. There were other issues I was considering that were more relevant to the position I’m running for. But as a completely general question, this is definitely the biggest issue. I don’t claim to have a plan to run with it, and I don’t think anyone else can claim to have a solid plan to deal with this.  

But I do believe that if the DSU had better communication, a better connection with the student body, we may have been able to bring about change. Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening. Mainly because the student union has very little influence at this point with the students. It’s a big problem. It’s our job as the leaders of the student union, or the future leaders of the student union, to rally the students behind a cause that is affecting every single one of us. That, in my opinion, is the main core of the job. 

One main student complaint about the DSU is students don’t know what the DSU does with their membership fees. If you were the vice-president (finance and operations), what would you do to help students better understand where their money is going and how the DSU spends its money? 

That point has definitely bothered me in the past. I don’t get to choose whether or not I sign up with the DSU. I don’t get to choose, if I don’t like what they’re doing, to say I’m not going pay you anymore. 

What I would try to do to make the problem much, much better [is] the communication part. That’s my main priority, if we can be able to engage the students throughout the entire decision-making process, then they will be able to understand it. They will be able to relate to it more. For example, if students want more Sexton campus engagement, they want the DSU to care more about the Sexton campus or the Truro campus, they’ll be able to see it on the budget the Truro campus support increased compared to last year’s budget, for example.  

At the same time, accountability is very important as well, and that comes hand in hand with transparency, with communication, with the students feeling that they are part of this union.  

On your candidate profile you mention some varied accounting experience, from managing finances for your family to more professional settings. Can you talk about how both would translate to the position? How do you think the skills you’ve gained accounting for your family would be able to help you in this role? 

Basically, with my experience with my family, I’m the one who manages financial affairs. Generally, my parents don’t really take to it as well as I do. So, I’ve been taking care of the books for almost five years now. We have accounts here in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — I’m currently living in the UAE right now — and we also have accounts in Egypt. I also take care of those, make sure those are in order, make sure there are no discrepancies. 

I also have some very light, I would say, experience with some volunteering opportunities where I had to draw up a budget for an event. 

I think the most important thing I’ve learned from these experiences is responsibility. If something goes wrong with these accounts, this is someone’s life. This is literally our money here. We need to be very careful with it. I think that’s the biggest thing you learn when managing any kind of financial aspect of anything, just the sheer responsibility of it. It’s a massive responsibility and that’s the main thing I’ve learned. I’ve also learned a few basic skills with Excel. I don’t really do all the fancy stuff with specialized software and websites. I just do mostly Excel. So, I’m not the most experienced there, but I feel like it’s a very good starting point. 

Is there any positive thing you think the DSU did this year for students? 

Even though I criticized the DSU last year when I was running in the 2020 elections, I make it a point to always stay on their side until massive errors have been made. It’s a very exceptional year. I honestly have no idea how anyone could have handled being in that position of responsibility, or how I could have done better. It’s really, really hard to put yourself in their shoes when they’re faced with a situation that’s completely unprecedented, such as the situation that happened.  

Is there any issue the DSU could have dealt with better this year? If so, how would you have dealt with it? 

I genuinely don’t want to criticize them just for this year. Pass for me for this year. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a screen this year?  

I guess maybe a group call with friends. Sometimes we just get on a group call and just talk, then maybe we decide to play a video game and stuff like that. 

1...888990...567Page 89 of 567

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

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

Contact us: admin@dalgazette.com

FOLLOW US