December 2011. Volume XxvI. Issue III

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Table of ContentsEditors’ NoteLetters to the EditorClustered Knowledge Jane Caulfield

Simple Meal, Complex Problem Heather Ross

Building Social Change United by frustration Stefani van Wijk

A moment of hope and healing Lauren Walsh-Greene

Broadcasting Live...(from Middle Bay) Natascia Lypny

Something worth celebrating Pearl Chan

A Russian Play in Mexico City Philippe Wolfe

Double Dare Leena Ali

Photo essays Laura Thorne & Sophie Kuijper Dickson & Siobhan Fleury

don’t panic Davis Carr

A FYP guide to Youtube Kate Connolly and Yamini Coen

No Ifs ands or butts James Jenkinson

December 2011. Volume Xxvi. Issue IIi

Editors-In- Chief Board of Publishers

Publisher Online Editorgeneral manager

Production ManagerEvelyn HornbeckCharlotte Harrison

Davis Carr

Ben HarrisonBethany Hindmarsh Jon Finn

James Shields, Dave Etherington, Paul

Pritchard, Nick Gall, Alex Boutilier, Fred

Vallance-Jones

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But if the watchman see the sword come, and sound not the trumpet, and the people not be warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand - Ezekiel 33:6

photo editorAlex Estey

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Editors’ NoteIt’s been a heavy news semester.

We at the Watch certainly haven’t wanted for material. The halls of King’s have been buzzing with it. And we’ve got more for you: student protests (p.7; p. 8), an independent student radio station (p.12), and a rugby team holding its own in the university league (p. 14). And King’s students never seem to get less interesting, like Michael Wilson, who biked for eight hours straight to raise money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation (p.17).

While we like writing the news, we don’t so much like being the news. But there has been some talk around a certain letter we printed in our last issue. So we’d like to address that here.

As Adrian Lee mentions in his letter (flip ahead one page), we printed a note from Vice President Kim Keirans in the last issue, in which she criticised an article in the Watch and questioned several facts. We did not include a response. We’re going to go ahead and say that we probably should have—especially since the perception was not what we’d hoped. We learned from that. We will move forward as better editors for it.

Rachel Ward has been, and continues to be a highly valued Watch contributor. We stand by her. Unfortunately, her work in the last issue (Appealing to a Higher Power, Oct 2011) was overshadowed by the letter. We encourage everyone to go back and take a look, and congratulate her on a job well done, as we would like to do, now.

Finally, we do take the work of creating the Watch extremely seriously. This institution is incredibly important to the life of the King’s community, as we’ve noted before (see our Eds. Note, Sept 2011), and as we believe shows in the issues we’ve created. We will continue to, tell the stories of the community and ask the questions that need asking. With an exciting semester behind us and another around the corner, we owe you that much, at least.

Evey and Charlotte.

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I am dismayed by the Watch’s decision to run a rebuke by Ms. Kim Kierans in the October issue without any formal edito-rial response.

This, to me, constitutes passing the buck. By allowing some-one—indeed, a representative from one of the parties involved in the story itself—to criticize a contributor unfiltered is a shirking of accountability. By printing Rachel Ward’s article in Septem-ber, the Watch effectively stated that this article is factual and accurate, and we stand behind it. But by remaining entirely silent to the letter—without allowing Ward an opportunity to respond, without a defense or an apology from the Watch—the magazine chose instead to ignore the role its editorial team played, and the errors themselves. The lack of response also leaves me wondering, as a reader, who is actually correct, a question that remains unanswered.

My greatest concern is about the precedent this sets. It begs the question: for a magazine that relies on volunteers from inside King’s, with some having little to no journalism back-ground, why would contributors even get involved, knowing they might be thrown under the bus by the Watch’s executive?

Running a student paper at a university is a wonderful experience. You realize you have the ability to genuinely bring people together and to dictate the direction of an entire commu-nity’s dialogue. And somewhere along the line, you also realize you are running a very meaningful institution that needs to purvey quality works in a reputable way. I hope the executive of the Watch learns this in the near future. Having a space to write, opine and publish—and a place to learn from mistakes, on both the editorial and contributing sides—is an impossibly valuable thing, and I strongly hope that contributors continue to realize this.

Adrian LeeWatch editor-in-chief and staffer, 2009-11

letters to the editorThis October saw the first ever Alex Fountain Memorial lec-

ture, where Michaelle Jean spoke on ‘creating social change’. Before the talk, Dr. Fred Fountain, Alex’s father, came out and said a short piece about Alex, and why we were all there. He emphasized that this lecture series is about the students, and the importance of having speakers who are important to students, selected by the students and speaking about issues affecting young people. In light of this, I was disappointed by the seating arrangement at the lecture itself. The first four rows were reserved seating, and while I recognized a few students in the reserved seats, more than 9 out of 10 individuals sitting at the front were non-students. The rest of the lecture hall was a fairly homogeneous mixture of students, faculty, and visitors, as was the overflow room. At a lecture specifically set up for the benefit of students, shouldn’t the students have priority seating as much as local dignitaries do? Perhaps next year space could be set aside for student seating at the lecture, so that they can enjoy face time with the distinguished guest, and have their questions heard.

Judy Booth

ON THAT LETTER ON SEATING PRIORITIES

We heard from quite a few of you, our readers, on this subject. Here and now, we’d like to assure you all we take the responsibility of creating the Watch extremely seriously, and we’re distressed to hear that anyone thought differently. We also take great offence at being accused of throwing our writer “under the bus”. We communicate with our writers at every step of the editing process, doing our utmost to work as a team. We hope our writers find this as fulfilling as we do.

Also, we’d like to correct something mentioned in both Lee and Keirans’ letters--our writers are freelancers, not volunteers.

For more on this, please turn back one page to read our editors’ note. EN

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Clustered knowledge

In the modern world of science, technology and society are inextricably connected and ignoring that relationship could be considered as academically irresponsible. Since 2007, King’s actively tackles this connection by hosting Situating Science – a national group of researchers and scholars seeking to under-stand science within a human context. More specifically, Situ-ating Science is a knowledge cluster that brings social scientists and humanists together with researchers in the natural, formal and applied sciences to push disciplinary boundaries and facili-tate knowledge exchange.

SituSci is funded by a seven-year Social Science and Hu-manities Research Council of Canada grant and is comprised of six research nodes that are dotted across the country. The project’s main core is at King’s and is under the direction of pro-ject manager, Dr. Gordon McOuat. McOuat describes SituSci as a program that develops “networks of strategic knowledge”. He says that SituSci works “under the rubric of the philosophy, history, social studies and policy understanding of science in its context.”

International partnerships and increased knowledge exchange

On Dec. 12, researchers from SituSci will be leading workshops at the Sciences and Narratives of Nature: East and West conference that is being hosted by the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities at Manipal University in Mani-pal, India.

McOuat says that because university education in India is

dominated by science and technol-ogy, interest in social science and humanities can be generated if they ground it in science. As a result, Manipal University wants to estab-lish their own cluster, and looks at SituSci as a model.

The conference will bring the top researchers and scholars from Canada, India and South East Asia together to examine how different styles of reasoning arose in both an Eastern and Western context. This marks the second stage in a multi-stage collaborative and interna-tional initiative between scholars in the field of Science and Technology Studies.

Planning for the futureTo ensure that the valuable re-

search and collaboration continues after the designated seven years,

the national cluster wants to establish a permanent institute. McOuat said that the International Centre For The Study of Sci-ence in Context will be somewhere in Canada, but its location has yet to be determined. Each interested node was invited to present a proposal outlining why their location would be the most appropriate home for the institute. King’s, in conjunction with Dalhousie, has put its name in the hat.

Dr. Melanie Frappier is one of the managers for the Atlan-tic node of SituSci and a professor at King’s. She feels that King’s and Dalhousie would be the best place for the institute, referencing King’s History of Science and Technology Program. Frappier says that King’s advantage is due to the fact that HOST is “truly interdisciplinary,” and they have “built implicit relationships with the faculty of science, the faculty of architec-ture, and engineering.”

Clustering Students SituSci recognizes that the dialogues they are facilitating

amongst scholars are incredible learning opportunities for stu-dents. Kai Miller, a biology and HOST student, was one of a handful of students who attended and live blogged the Interface of Science and Policy Conference at the University of Ottawa earlier this year. Miller says that SituSci has done a lot “build and stimulate a science studies community that is interesting and engaged.” Miller cites courses that have been developed from SituSci conference topics and says that SituSci has “done a lot to get me excited about HOST.””

Examining the Situating Science knowledge cluster at King’s By Jane Caulfield

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Simple Meal, Complex Problem

Over 80 students gathered in front of the Westin Hotel on Hollis street to protest on Nov. 9—in the form a ‘lil mac and cheese.

The Kraft Dinner Cookout coincided with a three-course meal Premier Darrell was having within the hotel.

“We thought we’d come out and have a meal of our own,” said Gabe Hoogers, King’s Student Union (KSU) President and Nova Scotia director of the Canadian Federation of Students.

Last February, the government announced that tuition fees would increase by three per cent and overall grants to universi-ties would go down by four per cent.

“Students are very disappointed with the government and the NDP in Nova Scotia,” Hoogers said.

The pasta was cooked at one of the organizer’s homes and then taken to the Westin on hotplates.

Hoogers says that although eating Kraft Dinner is a humorous way to protest, there’s a more serious message being sent.

“It’s not just jokes that students are out here eating Kraft Dinner; it’s a serious prob-lem. Students are more than ever before going to food banks on a weekly basis.”

In Canada, students now make up four per cent of people going to food banks each year.

In Halifax, it’s double.Hoogers says the event is also about

getting students excited for the upcoming Day of Action, which this year will go national.

“Students from coast to coast voted on holding an action because the situation in post secondary education across the country isn’t very good right now,” Hoogers said.

“So we’re here to get people jazzed about that idea and

raise some of the issues and get some inspiration for that day in February.”

Michaela Sam, first-year representative for the KSU, says fun events help connect to people who are curious, but not yet involved with the movement.

“I think one of the biggest issues with student activism is that more people would show up if they were educated,” said Sam. “It’s great when you have a really fun event like this, where people can learn about the issues that are at hand.”

Heather Murray, a second-year student at NSCAD, passed around candy to keep up morale.

“I’m here to support our schools, and how un-financed we are by the government,” she said.

“We’ve gotta get some money up in hee-uh,” Murray said with a laugh.

She says though schools are being brought together over poor circumstances, it does prove something positive.

“That’s a good part about this,” Murray says. “It shows us that we are a strong com-munity of universities together.”

Murray agrees that this is just the first step.“I want to help out as much as possible to show our support.

The more people that show up the greater the cause is going to be.”

By Heather Ross

Students Cook out for lower tuition fees

"Students are more than ever before going to food banks on a

weekly basis”

Katie Nakaska

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The Watch sums up the first Alex Fountain Memorial Lecture

Alumni Hall was packed for the first Alex Fountain Memorial Lecture on Oct.24, with overflow spilling into Prince Hall.

“We wanted to do something in his memory...something that would be special, uplifting, good—something that might not otherwise happen,” said Fred Fountain, Alex’s father, who spoke before former Gover-nor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean took the podium.

Fred Fountain spoke about breaking the silence around mental health issues.

“Alex was friendly, outgoing, smart, a great student... Somehow he also suffered from depression, and somehow that led him to take his own life. It should not have hap-pened,” he said.

“We can all do something so that it doesn’t happen for other young people...We have to talk about it. We’re not going to keep it quiet. We want to stop it.”

Michaëlle Jean began by expressing great sympathy for Alex’s family, and by thanking them for their gift to the King’s community. “Alex’s spirit lives on; he is with us,” she said.

Building Social ChangeShe then asked for a minute of silence in his memory.

She then began her speech, Building Social Change, alternat-ing between English and French to emphasize the importance of bilingualism in Canada.

“Every language you speak broadens your horizons,” she said.

She spoke of her childhood in Haiti, and the political corruption which forced her family to flee the country.

“As soon as I was born, I learned that it is possible to ter-rorize an entire people and rob them of their rights...I discovered the value of resistance and of challenging established ideas,” she said.

Youth voting was an impor-tant part of her message. “Your voices are the very lifeblood of democracy,” she said. “You can build the world you want to live in, the country you want to live in.”

She then spoke of poverty in Canadian society.“It’s hard to believe that you can find third world conditions

here in Canada. People are sick because they don’t have ac-cess to clean water...We should not accept that.”

She also discussed the importance of arts programs as a critical tool for social change. “Art and creativity are about saving lives. Art has the power to heal,” she said. She gave the example of youth writing hip-hop. “They are breaking the silence, exposing serious issues at the core of our society.”

Finally, she tried to empower students to overcome apathy and indifference.

“Each one of you can have an impact and become a change-maker in your community

and around the world. Be convinced of that,” she said. “I think of you all as the leaders of today. I encourage you

to look inside yourselves. How can you contribute to society?”

“Your voices are the very lifeblood of democracy”

Charlotte Harrison

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King’s occupies wall streetI found myself in a greyhound bus full of

hearts that deeply care for humanity. It was also full of minds consciously opened to ideas of justice, community and organizing. As a group of 35 folks from Halifax, Monc-ton and Fredericton, we wanted to visit Wall Street to see and learn how we could create an even stronger solidarity with those protest-ing monetary greed and promoting political awareness in the financial capital of the United States of America.

Enveloping the intentions of our 22-hour bus ride from Halifax to New York City was the theme supportive discussion; our minds were being challenged as we sped along our country’s highways.

United by thought, frustrations and intrigue, our comparatively miniscule group was immediately overwhelmed by Manhat-tan. In contrast to our assumptions however, the people greeted us with warmth and gratefulness. Passers-by kept asking us, ‘Are you folks going to Liberty Square?’ ‘On your way to Occupy Wall Street?’ ‘Going to Zucotti?!’ Appreciative smile and words of gratitude welcomed us. I was definitely not expecting this. I’ve become accustomed, in Halifax, to defending the occupation.

We arrived at night, and externally, it was easy to see from where judgements arise. The square was packed. Zucotti Park is surprisingly small. People were bustling about their business; many were in line for food, some sleeping in their tents, some sitting on the fence holding signs. Tents were set up tight side- by-side with a distinct network of trails crisply organizing the space for the different needs. There was a ‘people’s library’, an information/ media relations tent, a fully stocked kitchen run by bicycle-generated power, a meditation circle with a carefully adorned altar at the centre,

a medical tent, a women’s safe space tent. To think that so many people lived full-time in this park with this weather, with all this noise, exposed to the elements, exposed to passers-by. It was definitely not luxurious; these people were here for a reason.

We were once again greeted with welcoming words, but also with grief in that there wasn’t enough space to sleep us all. Someone sent us two blocks north to a church that had offered occupiers their front step, 50 feet by 20 feet, as camp over-flow. There we gathered and made camp for the night.

The next few days passed differently for all of us. Stories

One King’s student on her pilgrammage to the heart of the movementBy Stefani van Wijk Photos by Adriane Chalastra

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from all around recount beautifully packed days of work-shops, meetings, lectures, a Joan Baez concert, discussions, cooking for the community and General Assemblies. The Occupy food tent was very impressive. Three times a day, meals were open to the public for no cost whatsoever. The line would wrap around the entirety of the park and peo-ple would hold their containers up to the generosity of the community. They tried for a vegan diet to please the most people, but there were complaints by some, so they decided to offer non-vegan options. Fresh fruits, veggies and breads were always made available to munch on dur-ing the day, and the meals were made with love, and with the important objective of keeping us all warm.

I felt guilt for leaving home to go learn about an organization of folks in another city, in another country. The United States, I have heard many people say, is in an extremely different economic state than Canada. People tell me that only Americans have issues that they should be fighting against. They say that Cana-dians are living in security and luxury. This mindset scares me. I know it’s important to be grateful for comfort, but our government enacts horrific and destructive projects, and most citizens are not aware of them. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing quickly. Our corporations exploit land and people all over the world. We recently reached 389ppm of CO2 in our atmosphere and Canada dropped the Kyoto Protocol.

The Occupy movement is infi-nitely complex, and brings everything into discussion. As a student of this philo-sophically focused university, and as a person with huge amounts of privi-lege, I believe that it is my duty to learn about my country and to seek a way to do good for my community.

“These people were here

for a reason”

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A Moment of Hope and Healing

The goal of this event was to reconcile and revitalize the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and Canadian soci-ety, which greatly suffered from the 100 years of residential schools. Over 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend these government-funded, church-run schools, which were created to eliminate parental involvement in the spiritual, cultural and intellectual development of Aborigi-nal children.

One of the greatest consequences of these schools was the loss of Aboriginal languages. The seminar I attended discussed a language revival project that has been taking place in Eskasoni, a reserve in Cape Breton, with the largest Mi’kmaq community in the world. When I heard about this project, I saw a moment of hope for healing and true reconciliation; I felt com-pelled to raise awareness about the importance of supporting similar projects and Aboriginal language revival in general.

In 2000, Starr Sock and Ida Denny started a Mi’kmaq Immersion Program at the Eskasoni Elementary and Middle School. They had no resources, and had to create the curriculum themselves with the support from the Mi’kmaq Centre of Excellence in Eskasoni. Their program has been very successful, and it now goes up to the grade three level, with a transitional year in grade four. They hope to extend the program beyond grade four in the future.

In the research conducted by Starr Sock and Sherise Paul-Gourd, a Mi’kmaq teacher who joined their team, it was demonstrated that the program enhanced the students’ aca-demic success in English rather than hindering it. In a sample of 16 Mi’kmaq Immersion Program students (MIP) and 65 regular English instructed only students (EIP), 13 of the MIP students were reading at the highest level in English whereas only one English-only student was reading at this level. No MIP students were reading below the lowest level, whereas 40 English-only students were below this level.

This is was no surprise to me, since my French immersion education in no way hindered my competency in English, dem-

onstrating that immersion programs improve academic success in both languages.

Paul-Gourd also said that the MIP students are much more confident than the average student and more involved in extra-curricular activities. She gave the example of the many MIP students who volunteer to present at school ceremonies, where they make presentations such as reading poems in Mi’kmaq. One member of the audience was very touched by this. He said rekindling pride in Mi’kmaq culture is essential, since it was largely destroyed by the residential schools. “We need to teach our children that our ancestors were proud people without abuse,” he said.

When I later asked Paul-Gourd about how language is essential to Mi’kmaq culture, she said: “Mi’kmaq language and culture walk hand in hand. Many values pertaining to our culture are embedded within the language where without the

Mi’kmaq language, a lot of those values and moral lessons will cease to exist.” After hearing this, I understood just how this program was a true opportunity for hope and healing. By reviving Aborigi-nal languages in this way, much of the damage from the residential schools in destroying Aboriginal culture, spirituality and intellectual understandings could be repaired.

Many audience members commented on how they are very frustrated because there are no similar immersion programs in their communities. They said there needs to be more people starting these initiatives in their communities, and more poten-tial government funding to accompany these initiatives. One audience member said that she went to a very well-funded French immersion school in Manitoba. She felt this showed that government-funded Aboriginal language immersion schools are a complete possibility.

When I asked Paul-Gourd how the general public could help this cause, she said that the public must “remind the gov-ernment that it is their obligation to help in this fight to keep our languages strong in order to hold onto our precious culture.”

King’s student lauren walsh-greene’s experience at the truth and reconciliation event

“Mi'kmaq language and culture walk

hand in hand"

I attended the Truth and Reconciliation Atlantic National Event which ran from October 26-29.

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Therefore, in order to reach this full reconciliation between Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society, revival of Aboriginal languages must become an essential public concern. Many Aboriginal language immersion schools could exist, just like French immersion schools, if the public demands them.

By writing letters to your Member of Parliament and to the current government about the importance of increasing fund-ing in language revival, you can contribute to the recovery of our country from the horror of residential schools. By spreading awareness about the importance of language revival and the damages from residential schools, you can contribute to this reconciliation. Paul-Gould, Sock and Denny have demonstrated that healing is possible; however, reconciliation will only be fulfilled when each Canadian plays their part in supporting it.

The seminar ended with one man in the audience’s hope-ful words: “We must not think of our language as becoming extinct, but as sleeping,” he said. Let us act on this moment of hope and help support the awakening of these languages from their forced slumber.

“We must not think of our language as becoming extinct, but as sleeping.”

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Broadcasting Live… From Middle Bay

Axel Soos rolls out of bed at 7:30 a.m. four days a week, takes two steps across his residence room to his desk, and broadcasts a live radio show. During The Morning Show, Soos offers an hour-long solo commentary on life at King’s inter-spersed with ‘wake-me-up’ tunes. He considers it “one of the less obnoxious radio shows you’ll hear on the radio in Halifax.”

Or, more aptly, in the King’s quad.The Morning Show is a staple of 97.3 The Bay, a radio

station first-year FYP student Soos created from scratch. Soos characterizes himself as a person who takes a fledgling idea, one that people do not expect to be accomplished, and runs with it. That’s precisely how 97.3 The Bay began. A friend teased Soos, who is known for imitating radio voices, that he should begin a radio station.

And he did.“I thought I’d do it (the show) every once and a while for

a joke,” he says. “Then, there was so much interest around the school and people getting involved that it turned into that!” Soos points to the station’s programming schedule on his cork-board. Now, after its official Oct. 17 launch, 97.3 The Bay broadcasts to every corner of the King’s quad.

Sunday through Friday, listeners have their selection of four shows daily. All except Soos’ program air in the evening. The very first shows were the result of chance encounters. First-year journalism students John Cavan and Haydn Watters were intro-duced to CKDU at King’s society fair during Frosh Week. But CKDU’s training session proved disappointing to them, as they

didn’t like the station’s content restrictions and limited airtime for shows. Cavan and Watters bumped into Soos soon after, and were hooked on his idea for an independent station.

“I think that there’s a lot of apprehen-sion or pretension, or at least perceived apprehension or pretension, with the journalism school, or even something like CKDU because it’s in a real studio,” says avid 97.3 The Bay listener and second-year journalism student Evan MacIntyre. “This is just so back-to-basics, so or-ganic.” In fact, the whole community is buzzing about this station -- and it’s good buzz.

The organic station took form quickly. Soon after frosh week, Soos and a group of other, including Watters, formed a board of governors. They then sent out a call for show hosts and received up-wards of twenty responses within a few days, all from first-year students. “This being King’s,” Soos jokes, “there’s more

than one alternative show,” Watters’ own Smorgasborg being an example. Outside of music programming, topics cover a wide spectrum: from Sportacus (a sports report), to Wastelands (featuring spoken word) to FYP Me Gently (a sex show). Soos’ ground rules are be reasonable, limit swearing, and no slander-ing. So far, he hasn’t been disappointed.

“It’s so hyper-local and so relevant to King’s,” MacIntyre says of 97.3 The Bay’s appeal to the campus’ “niche” market. “You’re showing up to a guy’s res room and you’re shooting the shit about music. It’s a really good concept,” he adds enthusias-tically.

Soos’ third floor Middle Bay residence room serves as the studio. His desk is overwhelmed by two large screen Mac-intosh computers on which Soos transfers clips from iTunes to Radio Logic, the program he uses to run his shows. His walls are covered with taped-down wires connecting microphones to computers, computers to a transmitter, and the transmitter to his self-fashioned antennae propped in front of his closet.

This isn’t the first time Soos has toiled with technology. A native of Pickering, Ontario, Soos was surrounded by media professionals growing up: one of his uncles is a cameraman for Hollywood productions; the other, a director of international car commercials. His father is the owner of a company that designs and manufactures film equipment. In high school, Soos worked on tech crew for four years. Its members were given little instruc-tional guidance. “I think the most valuable skill is learning how to figure things out,” he says.

By Natascia Lypny

The Bay radio station puts FYP life on air

Alex Estey

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Broadcasting Live… From Middle BayTurning a residence room into a radio

station takes considerable figuring out.Although Soos’ project requires few

components, it needs a lot of effort to get off the ground, according to King’s School of Journalism radio technician Mark Pineo. Soos first met Pineo when he was selected to be the FYP technical assistant for lectures. He was then introduced to the Radio Room, where he sometimes helps with the School of Journalism’s broadcasts. Never in Pineo’s nine-year career at King’s has he seen a venture like this one. “He’s just a super smart dude and really creative,” says Pineo, adding that Soos “doesn’t really recognize the limits of what the imagination can do.”

Pineo isn’t the only staff member who is impressed with Soos’ work; Soos says other journalism professors and CKDU produc-ers have also offered their praise and help. But Soos would rather stick to student support. He has decided not to apply for funding from King’s (although he did ac-cept funding from the Residence Life budget to host the launch party) opting to co-op the costs of his equipment instead, with show hosts pitching in a few dollars. The model is not unlike community radio station funding drives where hosts fundraise individually. “The one part I like about this is our autonomy and being able to do everything as we see fit.”

‘Everything’ being the operative word.It seems as though little can hold Soos

back. Recently, Soos has been working on building up 97.3 The Bay’s station image. He found a professional radio voice to record a series of humorous station IDs. He’s getting the likes of FYP professors (Direc-tor Daniel Brandes among them) to do the same. The station’s website in under construction and its Facebook page is growing daily. The broadcasters hope to get live streaming of their shows in the near future. For now, they’re posting previous episodes online at thebayradio.blogspot.com.

But Soos says he cannot handle the amount of work in-volved with such a transition at the moment. His project eclipses the fact that he’s a FYP student, juggling schoolwork and a per-sonal life as well. When asked how he does it, Soos replied: “That’s an incredibly good question, and when I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

At least the station’s schedule gives him Saturdays off.The other six days of programming have become so popular

on campus that students are buying radios simply to be able to tune into 97.3 The Bay.His antennae will soon be mounted in a

storage space under the bays.As the number of listeners increase, questions of legality

arise. The station is not licensed with Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and Soos has little intention of undergoing the minimum six-month process. Pineo says with 97.3 The Bay’s low wattage, small broadcast-ing range and lack of paid advertising, it’s unlikely the station

will run into trouble. “What’s the worst that could happen?,”

says Cavan. “We get shut down. We had fun.”

“I’ve been talking to a lot of professionals lately regarding the legality of our station,” Soos wrote in a later email. “According to Industry Canada, you can legally broadcast

FM on your property as well as 50 feet off of it.” However, it was recently announced on the show that there were listeners on the other side of Quinpool Road, which exceeds this 50-foot radius.

The directors have a commitment to the station without taking themselves too seriously. Still, they recognize the impact it’s having on themselves and the campus. “The radio station has made me feel at home at King’s, I must say,” says Wat-ters. Cavan agrees the station gives the first-year population an important voice and fosters community at King’s through people participating and listening: “I love our radio show. I love King’s, and if we can do something to bring more community to this place, I’m very happy to do that.”

"The Lennon and Marx Power Hour" with John Cavan and Thomas Lute. Alex Estey

“His one day off is Saturday”

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Something Worth Celebrating

By Pearl Chan. Photos by

Katherine McEwen said. “It was one or two degrees, if even

that,” said front row forward Justis Danto-Clancy.

“I was frost-bitten from my fingers to my elbow – I still can’t feel them.”

Many players were similarly af-fected, but, despite the cold, the King’s team persevered and played as well as they could, considering the circum-stances.

“The other team was hiding in their

The men's rugby team goes up against two tough opponents: St. FX and the weather

bus,” said McEwen. “Our team was warming up and doing drills.”

“Everyone had their game face on.” said first-year forward Tom Davison.

Playing the first half against the wind, King’s was down by two conversions and a try by halftime. They didn’t lose hope, despite the fact that the game hardly reassembled rugby, and they caught up in the second half when Will Robinson scored two conversions.

“Everyone was frozen – the ball was

In the last game of the season, the King’s rugby team, which came first in the regular season, met its match: the cold. Its official opponent, St. Francis Xavier University (or, as it is commonly referred to, St. FX) managed to maintain its play-ing style despite the harsh weather, but unfortunately the skills of King’s rugby team were not compatible with the weather.

“It was a lovely day of sleet and hail, ridiculously cold and windy,” spectator

Calum Agnew

By Pearl Chan

15

“The weather favoured their

way of play– bone-headed-

ness and blind crashing”

frozen. It was intensely frustrating to see the ball you could catch any day fly off,” said Danto-Clancy who, when tackling, found himself in the bottom of a puddle, as if he were swimming.

“I closed my eyes for a moment to rub the water off and I found my eye-lashes frozen over,” said Gray Little, who played wing. “It’s the worst feeling to come off because you’re too cold, and not because you’re injured or the game is over. “

“The weather favoured their way of play– bone-headedness and blind crashing,” said Danto-Clancy. “We’re a creative, fast team – skilled, nimble, and above all, smart. But on days like Sunday, teams like St. FX do very well.”

That is not to say that St. FX is a poor team, only that they play differently. “They rarely used their backs,” said Little. “They are very forward-oriented team, but the weather favoured forward play.”

For our usually nimble team, who had beaten St. FX in the regular season in rain, it was a strange and punctuated game. “St. FX didn’t do anything techni-cally illegal, but they did some things that you normally wouldn’t see,“ said McEw-en. “Will Robinson hydroplaned into the

sidelines. We just took a step back.”With the score at 12-10 for St. FX,

it seemed that, despite the freezing rain and wetness, King’s had a chance. But, as the game drew to a close—cut short due to the weather—St. FX scored the last try.

And that was that. Yet, despite the loss, there is still a

silver lining for the players who saw this year as a victory, and are more deter-mined than ever to bring back a medal

next year. “A lot people were expecting a down year,” said Little, “but a lot of players upped their play.” The King’s team, which rejoined the university league after five years in the now-defunct collegiate league, came in first in the regular season against more established teams.“We’re the smallest school

by far,” said Danto-Clancy. “We thought we’d get our butts kicked, but we did very well.”

Playing against schools with much bigger programs, King’s has really pulled through this year.

But those burly rugby players aren’t content with second place: it’s time for a championship. And King’s has the team to do it.

“I see us being, at the very least, a contending team,” said Little. “I want to come back with a championship with my little brother next year.”

“We have good potential to go far” said Davison.

However, King’s Rugby can-not expand alone. “King’s Rugby is intimately tied with Rugby in Canada: formalization and regu-lation” said Danto-Clancy. “It’s hard for small schools like King’s and Bishops to have a meaning-ful national championship.”

After the game, the team returned to the wardroom for a celebration that was long and emotional. For some guys, this was their last season; for others, this was just the beginning. King’s ended a worthy season with what can only be called the most frustrating lost. But win or lose, there’s something worth celebrat-ing.

Seana Stevenson

Calum Agnew

16

A Russian Play in Mexico City

Though 2b theatre company has been touring their double-bill production of Hannah Moscovitch’s The Russian Play and Mexico City in Nova Scotia and British Columbia since the summer of 2008, the show hasn’t made it to audiences in 2b’s home, Halifax.

That changed on Nov. 29 when it had its Halifax premiere at the Neptune Studio.

“Typically we premiere shows here (in Halifax),” said 2b artistic co-director Christian Barry by e-mail from Vancouver, where he is directing a run of the show. “For a variety of rea-sons, this double-bill premiered away, and now after years of success (it) is returning home.”

Andria Wilson, 2b’s producer, said that this fall was the ideal time for 2b to finally bring the show to Halifax.

“We didn’t have anything in the creation cycle that was ready to premiere this fall, but we wanted to have something at home … This seemed to be a good fit,” she explained. “From a producing standpoint, we have to spend the money rehearsing it to put it on tour (in British Columbia) so we may as well tag a home run on the end of it.”

Wilson said the show has been very well received, a senti-ment playwright Hannah Moscovitch echoed in a phone call from Toronto. Having seen the 2008 premiere of the produc-tion in Chester, she said the show had “incredible grace and beauty.”

“There was a stronger thematic tie between those two plays than some of the other plays of mine that I’ve seen billed together,” she said of the choice in double billing.

For Barry, bringing the two plays together into one produc-tion was an obvious choice.

“Mexico City is a comedy about love, and The Russian Play is a tragedy about love,” he said. “As a double bill, these two sharply written gems shed a great deal of light on the subject of love and relationships.”

Barry said that the cast – Colombe Demers, Tessa Cameron, Anthony Black and Scott Stephenson – is what excites him most about the show.

“It’s thrilling every night to watch these skilled actors craft a new relationship with the audience,” he said.

Moscovitch said she shares Barry’s admiration for the cast, adding that she finds Demers’s work as The Russian Play’s Sonya “genius.” She also called attention to the specificity of Barry’s lighting and sound design.

“I’m always trying to convince them to take (the show) eve-rywhere because I really like the production and so I’d like that

2b brings double-bill to Neptune Theatre

(production) to be the one that travels,” Moscovitch said.Considering its humble beginnings, Moscovitch said, seeing

The Russian Play in particular rise to prominence is exciting.“I went from having a tiny little play in a backspace that I

had written as homework for an assignment in a writing class,” she said.

“I’m happy to have people like my work and I’m happy to have people feel like the stories I’m telling are communicating.”

The show played at the Neptune Studio from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4. Barry said that the studio was a “great space” for the production.

“The studio has the vibe of a black box even though it’s a thrust stage in there,” Wilson added.

“It’s really spectacular. It’s almost like a blank slate. We can put the show in there and you can get completely sucked into that world.”

They held a student night on Nov. 30. Tickets for students cost $15 and included admission to the performance, priority seating, a pre-show cocktail hour and a post-show question and answer period with the creative team including Barry.

“You want people to feel special,” said Wilson. “We know what it’s like these days if we’re asking people to spend $30 (the approximate regular price of a ticket with tax) on a theatre ticket. We want them to feel like they’ve made a good invest-ment and they’re getting good value.”

After Halifax, Wilson said there are high hopes for the future of the play.

“We keep the shows alive,” she said. “We keep touring them as long as we can, as long as there’s interest.”

By Philippa Wolfe

17

Double Dare King's student Michael Wilson biked 160km for the Stephen Lewis Foundation

Imagine, you’re getting ready to bike 160 km on a cold, dark and icy November morning.

For part the ride, you’re hugging the shoulder of highway 103. Trucks and cars are thundering by–and there you are on your little bike.

Feeling vulnerable yet?Michael Wilson sure did. But he was up for the challenge.“There’s a very fine line between pushing yourself and being

foolish,” Wilson laughs. “That was one of those moments.”Wilson challenged himself to bike 160 km towards St. Mar-

garet’s Bay and back to Halifax as part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Dare Campaign.

Last year, Wilson dared himself to run 60 km towards Peggy’s Cove, and to raise at least $2000 for the campaign. The funds went directly towards supporting community-based organizations, working to turn the tide of AIDS in Africa.

This year he ‘double dared’ himself to raise $4000.Wilson first heard about the campaign through his Inter-

national Development Studies class. “I thought it was a really

By Leena Ali unique opportunity to get actively involved in the community and do something larger than myself,” he says.

Wilson’s interest in the Stephen Lewis foundation was an-other reason he got involved.

“For the Dare campaign, you’re really given a lot of free-dom and the opportunity to do something creative, which is very inspiring for yourself and also for the people around you,” Wilson said.

The bike ride took eight hours, and Wilson was on his own. “To tell you the truth, I was really relaxed on the way out there. I had breakfast at a café, and I just thought I was making better time than I was,” he says.

But he faced some setbacks along the way.“I made a bit of an error reading my odometer. It had

included 20 km from my previous training ride, meaning that I had a ton of time to make up and a bit of distance,” he says.

Even after mistaking the distance and going off his original route, there was no turning back for Wilson.

“You have to have strong internal motivation because things aren’t always going to be going well. Just keep a positive mindset.”

So what kept Wilson motivated?“The kindness of everyone who helped me along the way

and who’d been so supportive… and the fact that I’m not alone in doing something like this,” he says.

For Wilson, being part of the Dare Campaign has been an empowering experience.

“You can easily get overwhelmed with everything that’s go-ing on the world. Just to know that there is a huge movement for change, and to be able to be part of that in some small way is very rewarding,” he says.

After the physical grind of biking all day in cold, windy weather, Wilson was excited to be back in Halifax

“I saw the sign for it and I think I probably pumped my fists in the air and cheered a little bit,” he says, laughing.

So far he has raised over $3300, and donations are still welcomed.

Wilson encourages anyone interested in taking on a dare to go for it.

“Just go into it with an open mind and come up with a dare that you’re passionate about and that you’ll have fun doing,” he says.

Wilson says that the challenge allowed him to have a greater trust in himself and his ability to accomplish his goals.

“Just work through the lows keep that confidence, and know that you’ll get through it in the end. I think it’s a good metaphor for life –what you put into something, you’ll get out of it.”

Wilson’s blog can be found at http://michaelwilson-sdoubledare.wordpress.com/blog-posts/

Alex Estey

18

For King’s, Quad and country“There was blood, and like black eyes, and nudity... a lot of weird stuff going on. Face paint. War paint.”

At King’s, the first snow of the year means serious business, according to first year student Claire Burnard.

On Wednesday, Nov 23, when the quad turned white with fresh-fallen snow, Burnard knew just what was needed to help King’s residents get into the spirit of winter. Creating a Facebook event enti-tled Night Fight, she invited as many of her fellow students as possible to partake in what would become the greatest snow fight many had ever seen.

“I’m from a small town in Ontario, so I’ve done some snow ballin’ in my

day,” recalled Burnard.“Snow fights were really serious, like

tournament events. Even up until high school, some of us would get together for night time snow fights, and kamikaze sledding.”

Even still, Burnard was impressed with the enthusiasm her classmates demon-strated.

“Somebody came up to me and was like, ‘You’re our commander, I need to paint your face!’ People really went all out, it was awesome,” Burnard said.

Students gathered in the quad a half hour early to begin building snow forts, which were promptly demolished at 10:00 PM when the first snow balls took to the air. Patrol generously pushed back quiet hours to allow for battle cries.

As for the outcome?“If you ask Elizabeth, the girls definite-

ly won, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Burnard said laughing. “But really it just ended in people mingling with inter-spersed snow balling.

“We’re all just big kids,” she goes on to say. “I think that part of being mature is accepting that we really do still want to do this kind of stuff.

Laura Thorne

Laura Thorne

By Siobhan Fleury

19

Backstage at the

fashion show

Photos by Sophie Kuijper Dickson

20

Every year it’s the same. From the end of November to mid-December students across the country are swept up into a horrific ritual known as “finals”. If you’re anything like me, you’re stressed. You’re tired. You’ve been living off coffee and muffins for a week now. You haven’t seen

Don’t Panic

Basic Library etiquette

And other exam-time advice

or, how not to be a douchebag

your friends in days, and you mother keeps send you texts like “R U OK?”

Don’t worry. You’ll make it. I promise. In the spirit of giving, I have compiled a basic guide to surving exam season, based on personal experience and out-landish statements.

Don’t talk in the libraryThe first and second rule of the library. The occasional whisper or simple exchange is acceptable. Continued banter, recounting of the night before or breaking up with your boyfriend is not. Nobdy wants to hear all the sorrid details of your one-night stand, I promise. Stage whispers don’t count as quiet.

Sound doesn’t stop at the front deskA continuation of the first, but equally important. The giant glass wall at the front of the library bounces noise back into the reading room and everyone can hear you. If you get a phone call, go into the foyer. Just remember that glass is not concrete and if you start yelling, we can all hear you, asshole.

Don’t eat chips. Just don’t. Not only are they loud and annoying... No, that’s pretty much it.

Want to procrastinate on your school work and get paid for it?

Write for the Watch! That’s what I did.

Study rooms are there for a reason At King’s there’s a room you can book for group study. I hear there are a bunch in the Killam, too. There is no excuse for group (read: loud) studying in the library.

don’t take up the entire tableNobody likes the douchebag who is taking up an entire table for themselves. I’m sure you have a million sources to read, but that’s no excuse. Oh, and for the record, sitting down at a table with someone you don’t know is perfectly acceptable. Sharing space is what the library is all about. Just be considerate and don’t eat chips.

Make sure your earphones are plugged in“You don’t want to be in the stacks rock-ing out to the entirety of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September before you realize the music isn’t coming from your ears.” -- Melissa Pike, fourth year student.

By Davis Carr

Join the conversation at www.watchmagazine.ca

Procrastination 101Twitter

Go on, live-tweet that CSP 2000 es-say. I know you want to.

FacebookObviously.

8tracks.comMy personal favourite for study music.

Choose from a wide variety of playlists to craft the perfect study soundtrack.

StumbleuponThis is so elementary I almost didn’t

include it. If you haven’t heard of it, I’m sorry. I might have just made you fail your orals.

21

Some legitly useful

Tips

Killam vs. Kingspro • It has food and coffee op-

tions.•Late Hours: 8am-3am.•More options for quiet

rooms, computer labs, etc.•Generally more comfortable

seating options•More books relevant to Dal

courses.•Nobody is going to judge

you for procrastinating.

Underrated Study SpacesSir James Dunn Law LibraryCan’t focus at King’s but the Killam is too crowded? The Dunn is a great alterna-tivea, mercifully free of giggling and populated by Grad students who have mastered the first rule of the library. Plus you’re unlikely to run into procrastination-enabling friends. Definitely worth braving the dirty looks from Grad students.Monday, Tuesday Wednesday:8:00am - 10:45pmThursday: 8:00am - 8:00pmFriday: 8:00am - 4:30pmSaturday: 12:00 noon - 6:00pmSunday: 12:00 noon - 10:45pm

The Peter G. Wilson Common RoomCouches to read on and arm chairs to write essays in, what more could you ask for? You also get natural daylight which is a bonus. Open 5:00pm-2:00am.

24 hour study spacesFormer Dean’s Suite, Alexandra Hall is available until December 19.

NAB ClassroomsKTS Lecture Hall, Archibald Room, Alumni Hall are all open 5:00pm-2:00am

Con •Second Cup is more expen-

sive than Starbucks.• It smells like Subway (ew).•Printing requires putting

money on your DalCard and I have no idea how to do that.

•The desks are too tall for the chairs and it is so annoy-ing.

• It destroys your soul. •

pro •Great for socializing• It’s really really pretty. •Natural light.•Staff are around to help. •The cubicles in the basement

are great for some serious studying.

•Great selection of obscure philosophy books.

•The busts of Cicero and Demothenes are bad-ass.

Con•Great for socializing•All the good spots fill up

quickly.•Really bad hours -- 1pm-

6pm on a Saturday? Re-ally?!

•Working in the basement is akin to working in a ma-hogany dungeon.

• Can’t print double-sided, colour is more expensive.

Talk to tour profThis is something I rarely do, but it’s actu-ally a really good idea. Most profs are actually really helpful and friendly. Plus, chances are they’ll remember your initia-tive and think kindly of you.

Drink WaterConsidering how much coffee your typical stressed out student consumes, it’s a wonder we don’t all shrivel up from dehydration. Drink water. It’ll make you feel better.

Stretch Before/During SessionsDon’t worry about looking like a tool in the stacks. They’re just jealous they didn’t think of it first. Download TV shows while you studyNot only will it help you keep track of time, you’ll also get to reward yourself with an entire season of Fringe. Yeah!

word from the Wise:

22

A Youtube Guide to FYP (Or, Alternatively ‘A FYP Guide to Youtube’?)

The Ancient World: Have You Ever Had a Dream Like This? So, you get to FYP, and words are as confusing to you as they are to this kid. But look at how happy he is to get through it! That’s how you felt after you finished reading Plato’s Republic. Good job.

The Middle Ages: How to Make Iced TeaSo, this guy is middle-aged... (and very creepy). We sure hoped that Neo-platonist philosophy would go down as smoothly as this delicious iced tea.

Renaissance and the Reformation: Bonjour, Girl!Renaissance is a French word! So let’s look at French people! This video is a re-dubbing of the song “Belle” from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, with hilarious results.

By Yamini Coen and Kate Connolly

Age of Reason: Daddy Long Legs, Who Did Name You?Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am”; this guy explores simi-lar deep philosophical questions, such as “Is it a short form of father long legs?”

Era of Revolutions: Jersey Shore Gone Wilde (in five parts)The cast of Broadway’s “The Importance of Being Ernest” performs lines from Jersey Shore in the style of Oscar Wilde. Revolutionary? Possibly.

The Contemporary World: Keeping Your Refrigerator Stocked Will Get You Many WomenRomance in the modern world - through soft drinks. (Warning: some strong language in this one)

All the FYP tutors love these videos! If you mention them in your oral exams, they will automatically give you an A+! High five!

We may not be proper journalists, but we sure do spend a lot of time on Youtube. As oral exams approach, we thought FYPers might need a hand with some of the larger concepts. Based on nothing other than the title of the sections, here are some study tools.

The widest & wisest selection!

5262 Sackville Street, downtown Halifax (902) 425-2140101 Portland Street, downtown Dartmouth (902) 444-2140

toll-free 1-866-6-COMICS www.strangeadventures.com

Canada’s oddest comic book stores!

To watch these videos, visit our website:www.watchmagazine.ca

23

No Ifs, Ands or BUTTSIt’s Wardy time and you’re outside chatting with some

charming creature, sharing a Belmont in the biting breeze of fall. The mood is social and the conversation is stimulating. The dart’s giving you something to do with your hands. Suddenly PATROL appears, crushing the autumn ambiance by shooing you off the A&A steps. Just feet away, you look back at your warm bum prints and can’t help but wonder why such measures are necessary.

“People just like sitting down to smoke,” says Newfound-lander Jesse Burns.

“It’s kind of annoying when people are on either side of the A&A steps, “ adds Aonghus Garrison. “But that doesn’t really bother me too much. As long as the butts don’t wind up everywhere, that’s really all I care about.”

Rather than where people are smoking, the primary concern amongst students seems to be that the cigarettes don’t become an eye-sore. That means no more attempts to impress your friends with a 10 metre butt flick over the heads of some poor passers-by.

Even non-smokers such as Grace Jackson agree the whiff of cigarette smoke between the A&A and the library is no cause to get your skinny jeans in a snarl.

In total, there are five butt stops on King’s campus. Only one of these five, the one near the library steps, is in the proximity of where students actually smoke. The others all look like they’ve been placed with all the carefulness of a drunken dancer. For example, the one ‘closest’ to Middle Bay is 20 metres from the door. If it was any closer to the curb, it might get more use as a parking meter.

“I like that they have the butt stops” says Liam Hannah. “But they really need to be closer to the buildings. I know they’re trying to draw people away from the entrances, but it really doesn’t end up happening. In reality, if you want the butt stops to serve a purpose, move them closer to the building because that’s where people are.”

According to Nick Hatt, Dean of King’s, it was the Occupa-tional Health and Safety Committee, of which he is Chair, that gave the final ruling.

“We have ensured that the university is in compliance with the Smoke Free Places Act of the Province of Nova Scotia,

which prohibits smoking within four metres of a door, window or ventilation intake at a place of employment.”

If four metres is the legal requirement, the limo’s length divid-ing Middle Bay and its butt-stop is unnecessary and counter-productive. Have a glance around each of the Bay’s doors to figure this out.

Also troubling is the absence of an ashtray by the NAB. Anyone with a class in the NAB knows that professors and students alike frequent this area to smoke. The grass outside the doors is littered with butts. If the NAB doesn’t get a butt-stop soon, Edward Burtynsky could very well be paying a visit by next spring.

“I used to sit on that grass”, says Owen Woodside. “Don’t really want to nowadays though.

The situation is puzzling. On the one hand, most students re-ally aren’t concerned about people smoking near the entrances. On the other, the receptacles are placed far enough away to ensure they’ll seldom be used.

Although a solution is likely complex, requiring the joint-ef-forts of many a panel with an array of bright button-down shirts and heels of varying thickness, first year Ben Singbeil thinks he’s got it.

“Really man, can’t we just move them?”

By James JenkinsonButt stops are scarce where smokers gather

Alex Estey

Are you a student preparing to begin a Master’s level programin Business, Earth Sciences, Engineering, or EnvironmentalSciences at a Nova Scotia university? Consider energyrelated research – it’s more than just oil and gas.

The Pengrowth-Nova Scotia Energy Innovation Grant supportsresearchers investigating areas of importance to Nova Scotia’senergy sector. Up to four $15,000 AWARDS are availableeach year for priority research areas.

For application details and information on other programsplease visit: www.gov.ns.ca/energy

Application deadline for the 2011-2012 academic year is January 20, 2012.

“Funding from this grant will allow me tocombine innovation with creative thinkingto aid in the understanding of offshoreresource potential.”Darragh O’Connor, Master’s student in Applied Science, Dalhousie University, winner of the 2011 Pengrowth-Nova Scotia Energy Innovation Grant

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