Darts & laurels 2023-24

Darts

The hazing incident that erased a prestigious Queen’s Commerce club: A hazing incident in October 2022 resulted in the indefinite suspension of Queen’s Finance Association (QFA), a long-running Queen’s Commerce club. QFA’s hazing was by no means an isolated occurrence—it was symptomatic of Queen’s culture of initiations, and consequently, of hazing. A culture change towards normalizing non-alcoholic socials, particularly in commerce, has been a positive outcome of the incident.

Queen’s community impacted by war in the Middle East: On Oct. 7, a missile attack on Israel orchestrated by Hamas, combined with ground offensive taking hundreds of Israeli citizens hostage, brought the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine to the consciousness of many. The result has been broad and sharp polarization of universities and the communities beyond their campus grounds. Queen’s saw increased violence against groups of students supporting both sides, yet notably, existing groups and resources were sparse when supporting the organization of Palestinian students.

Antisemitic incidents occur on and off Queen’s campus: Across Queen’s campus and Kingston, acts of antisemitism sprung up, the war in Gaza likely having aggravated existing prejudice. Every week saw the hateful removal of Mezuzahs—symbolic parchments inscribed with Hebrew verses from the Torah—from Leggett Hall Residence. Perhaps even more disturbing is how many incidents of antisemitic hate must go undocumented as those who experience them are silenced or understandably afraid to come forward.

‘Queen’s could cease to exist if we don’t deal with this issue:’ faculty and staff remain skeptical: Provost Matthew Evans and Arts and Science Dean Barbara Crow announced the University expects to exhaust its reserve funds by 2025-26, with the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) running out as early as next year without possible cuts. A significant contributor to Queen’s massive budget deficit is the Ontario government’s lack of support for post-secondary education. Lobby groups representing post-secondary institutions cite concerns Ontario’s failure to prioritize post-secondary education will impact the quality of education, teachers, and professors for generations.

Matthew Evans pulls out of AMS Assembly: Following news of the budget crisis, Evans pulled out at the last minute from attending AMS Assembly. Evans’ last-minute cancellation implies his disrespect for the AMS. Whatever the cause of that disrespect be, its display is concerning and will hopefully be reversed soon. Evans justified his cancellation with fears Assembly wouldn’t house productive dialogue, speaking to the often disrespectful and immobile activism some students exhibited online this year.

JNN is out, what happens now?: Following news of the budget crisis, Evans pulled out at the last minute from attending AMS Assembly. Evans’ last-minute cancellation implies his disrespect for the AMS. Whatever the cause of that disrespect be, its display is concerning and will hopefully be reversed soon. Evans justified his cancellation with fears Assembly wouldn’t house productive dialogue, speaking to the often disrespectful and immobile activism some students exhibited online this year.

Collateral damage, AMS withholds student fees: For months, the Health Sciences Society (HSS), Computer Science Students Association (COMPSA) and Physical Health Education & Kinesiology Student Association (PHEKSA) were waiting to receive their 2023-24 student activity fees from the AMS. The AMS failed to communicate how much the faculty societies had to pay to cover their orientation expenses—knowledge which would allow them to pay the fee required to receive their activity fees. This communication breakdown is just one in a string of lacking professionalism and details lost between cracks.

31.5 per cent increase to Community Housing rent over next three years: The disbandment of Team JNN—initially the only candidates to present themselves in the AMS executive election this year—left Queen’s with no incoming executives for the very first time. The result was a breakdown of democracy, which denied students the opportunity to vote and allowed AMS Assembly members to pick next year’s team unilaterally. Worse, JNN’s collapse emblematizes the increasing incompetence in the previous few AMS elections and teams and encourages the misperception of Queen’s students as disinterested and incapable.

Seven per cent drop in international students, report says: Though the seven per cent drop isn’t too substantial and is attributable to other causes including COVID-19 and universally rising costs of living, it’s a reminder the University’s rankings have dropped. For many students, Queen’s lacks a unique selling point. Recent policies capping international students will usher in an even greater decline.

What’s the deal with the JDUC?: The JDUC’s current renovations proceed from a long history of debating its suitability and potential uses. Today, the JDUC renovation is one of the AMS’s greatest failures—a 20-year project now $23 million dollars over budget and potentially not destined to house AMS offices and commissions. Most current Queen’s students have paid for the JDUC renovation for years and won’t get to use it. The continued obscurity of details about the JDUC is the cherry on top of the lack of transparency at Queen’s this year.

Laurels

Queen’s appoints first chair of Indigenous health: Queen’s appointed Sarah Funnell (Minwanimad) the first Associate Dean (Indigenous Health) for the Faculty of Health Sciences. Funnell will establish the new Office of Indigenous Health, promoting Indigenous ways of knowing in the Faculty of Health Sciences. The incorporation of indigeneity into science at Queen’s is particularly exciting as it challenges the absolute acceptance of western medicine.

In-person voting revived for upcoming AMS election season: This year’s AMS election season was conducted in-person as well as online. The addition led to higher voter turnout by making it possible for students to stumble across the election traversing campus. Integrating elections into the everyday, walking lives of students is a beneficial approach to increasing students’ engagement with politics.

Smith engineering is transforming engineering education at Queen’s: We all heard about Stephen Smith, Sci ’72, and his $100 million donation to the newly renamed J.R. Smith School of Engineering. Aside from new resources to the University’s engineering faculty, Smith’s donation sparked fun chatter on campus and very amusing lore by giving two rival faculties—engineering and commerce—the same name. Smith’s investment in his alma mater conveys Queen’s space in his heart.

Queen’s hosts first ever Vanier Cup: The Vanier Cup is the national championship game for Canada’s university football teams. Queen’s hosting the game is a positive step towards re-igniting Queen’s spirit around its sports events. Spirited attendance at sports games is a fun experience for current students, an open invitation to alumni, and an enjoyable diversion from harmful traditions.

$100,000 goal to save the Grad Club: The Grad Club recently launched a “Save Our Club” fundraising initiative to cover their costs of operation and maintenance for the aging building. The Grad Club’s campaign is one of optimism, hoping to call upon fondness in the hearts of faculty, students, and Kingstonians who have frequented it.

Black poetic voices take centre stage highlighting themes of joy and pain: Black History Month (BHM) issue this volume, The Journal spotlighted three Black artists, D.M. Bradford, Britta B, and J-Marsh. Joy is a powerful emotion and worthy motivator. Although BHM has only been celebrated in recent volumes of The Journal, we’re proud of the progress made in our representation of the Black community and we look forward to bolstering diverse voices on campus.

Team STD most popular AMS executive ‘candidates’: AMS executive “candidates” Team STD amassed hundreds of followers on social media based on platform pillars of alcohol affordability, access to contraception, and resolving Queen’s budget deficit. Their satiric campaign contributed some much-needed levity to this year’s unprecedentedly confusing and alarming AMS executive election. The team’s popularity online fostered togetherness among students, united by a campus-wide inside joke. Team STD directed the curiosity of many students towards AMS proceedings, hopefully encouraging them to educate themselves in earnest for future elections.

The mastermind behind QBarLive speaks on inception and termination: During its life, QBarLive live streamed footage of popular bar lineups in Kingston every night to help inform users as to whether going out would be a worthy endeavour that night. Its founder, Lucas Gordon, Comm and Comp ’24, paid for all the necessary equipment and software himself, going as far as paying students living in other buildings to install cameras outside their residences to expand the site’s coverage.

Queen’s Men’s Basketball win OUA Championships: With 13 seconds left on the clock, Queen’s Men’s Basketball team secured the Wilson Cup against the Brock Badgers. This game showcases the power of sports rallying communities, unifying fans in rooting for a team together, and celebrating their constituents after a big win.

‘The Journal’ secures double win for excellence in student journalism: The Journal’s Senior News Editor Sophia Coppolino, ArtSci ’23, Assistant News Editor Sofia Tosello, ArtSci ’25, and Assistant Photo Editor Joseph Mariathasan, ArtSci ’24, were recognized at the John H. MacDonald (JHM) Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism. Staff at The Journal dedicate significant time and efforts to produce high quality work, in addition to pursuing their degrees in a variety of often unrelated disciplines. The awards are a heartening and well-deserved recognition of our staff’s talent and devotion.

Journal Editorial Board

Tags

Darts and laurels

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content