The Queen's Journal, Volume 151, Issue 24

the journal

Meet Team OAR, your new student government leaders

Incoming AMS executive team talks Queen’s Pub and Homecoming

Sofia Tosello

Assistant News Editor

After an extended election season, Team OAR is ready to assume their roles as the new AMS executive team.

The Journal sat down with incoming AMS President Owen Rocchi, Comp ’24, Vice-President (Operations) (VPO) Ayan Chowdhury, ArtSci ’24, and Vice-President (University Affairs) (VPUA) Ruth Osunde, ArtSci ’25, known as Team OAR, to discuss their vision for the AMS next year. Team OAR was appointed at a Special AMS Assembly on Feb. 29.

Despite running de-slated, President-elect Rocchi is eager to collaborate with his fellow executives, knowing their diverse experiences will add value to the team. The team reported their group chat is already active.

AMS’s supposed move to the JDUC

Under OAR, the AMS will return to its home in the new JDUC in September. The Student Life Centre (SLC) fee, necessary to operate AMS-run spaces for students in the new JDUC, failed at winter referendum. The incoming executive didn’t offer a plan B if the AMS can’t afford the move.

While it remains to be seen how the return to the JDUC will unfold, Rocchi plans to sit down with current executives to understand the situation.

With the new JDUC comes the re-opening of the Queen’s Pub (QP) which has been closed since 2020. Students can expect an expanded menu catering to students’ dietary restrictions, Chowdhury said.

The Vision for Services Chowdhury wants students to feel safe at events, ensuring all StuCons have proper Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism and Accessibility (EDIAA) training. Team OAR wants all students to feel safe on campus and to keep the AMS apolitical.

The AMS StuCon service underwent a re-brand last year, a change Chowdhury wants to bring home to applicants. He wants to offer additional incentives to become a StuCon, including discounts to services across campus for StuCons.

“[The re-brand] just takes away the image of policing. [StuCons]

are a peer support service that’s there to support students,” Chowdhury said.

Next year the contract between the City of Kingston and AMS for students’ Bus-It Pass is up for negotiation. Chowdhury hopes to keep bussing accessible, especially for students on West Campus.

we’re not privy to that information for the team to be talking about it,” Osunde said.

Even though the role split was discussed by Chowdhury at the debate, AMS Communication Director Mikayla Crawford maintained the change doesn’t fall under Chowdhury’s portfolio.

At AMS Special Assembly on Feb. 29, Chowdhury said he will continue the work of the current VPO Michelle Hudson to split the role into two: one position for financial planning and another for supporting head managers. When The Journal asked Chowdhury about the change, Osunde jumped in to clarify Team OAR hasn’t been privy to those discussions—yet.

“Until that conversation does happen and when they do happen, we’d be more than happy to sit down with The Journal. For now,

Investing in relationships

VPUA-elect Osunde wants to be involved in discussing town and gown relationships, or Queen’s connection with the Kingston community.

“We’re excited to be having important conversations with important people and increasing AMS awareness, working on new contracts, and just pushing for that advocacy in each commissioner portfolio,” Osunde said.

Osunde will maintain a positive relationship between the AMS and the City of Kingston, building on the

work of the current AMS executives and senior management team.

When having conversations with the City around Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day, Osunde knows she must represent students’ needs.

As the current AMS Social Issues Commissioner (Internal), Osunde spearheaded the “Know Your Rights” campaign and will continue to push for harm reduction initiatives.

Rocchi is committed to having hard dialogue; sharing his understanding of what students are experiencing on campus with the University administration. Whether it’s budget transparency or the JDUC rent, building trust with the University administration is at the top of Rocchi’s agenda.

“I really want to go to the table and work with the University. This will be a difficult process, but I’m looking forward to it,” Rocchi said.

Rocchi wants to support faculty society leaders. As the Vice-President (Student Affairs) for the Computer Science Student Association (COMPSA), improving communication between AMS and faculty society leaders is something Rocchi cares a lot about.

He plans to host weekly or bi-weekly Presidential Caucus meetings, providing constant touch points with faculty society leaders.

Team OAR is counting down the days until May 1 when they assume their roles.

journal_news@ams.queensu.ca

FEATURES — PAGE 4

Testimonies from students who made ChatGPT write that paper for them

NEWS — PAGE 3

Grad Club sees 400 per cent rent increase

EDITORIALS — PAGE 5

The AMS seems to think they’re still in high school

OPINIONS — PAGE 6

Queen’s should mirror U of T’s agreement with its postdoctoral scholars

Why Insomnia Cookies chose Kingston for its second Canadian shop The cookie parlour is now taking on Canada’s “best” university town

Aimée Look Business, Science & Technology Editor

The American chain Insomnia Cookies opened its second Canadian location in Kingston, a testament to the city’s awakening business atmosphere, but some experts warn the sugar rush might wear off after a while.

Since its humble inception in a dorm room at the University of Pennsylvania, Insomnia Cookies has grown exponentially, opening 265 stores over two decades. A subsidiary of Krispy Kreme (DNUT), Insomnia released its plans to expand into the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Canada and Manchester, UK last February.

After seeing success at York University in the GTA, Insomnia had its Grand Opening in Kingston on Feb. 10. Hundreds of cookie lovers stood lined up around the block to snatch a free goody. Many were students.

“I think the university will be their mainstay for sure,” Susan Bartholomew, a teaching fellow of international business at the Smith School of Business said in an interview with The Journal

Located near the student housing district, downtown bars, and offcampus student accommodation buildings like Unity Point, Insomnia can tap into late-night cravings from students on the way home or after partying, Bartholomew said. Because of these factors, Kingston was anointed Canada’s best university town last March in a HelloSafe report.

See Insomnia on page 7

From left: Rocchi, Osunde and Chowdhury. PHOTO BY JOSEPH MARIATHASAN

Cole Syllas hits a buzzer-beating three-pointer for the OUA title. GRAPHIC BY HERBERT WANG AND CURTIS HEINZL

Gaels clinch provincial title in men’s basketball Page 9

‘I almost cried on stage’

Cassidy McMackon

Editor in Chief

Tensions were high in the Duncan McArthur Hall auditorium when Queen’s Community Housing and the Queen’s Community Housing Residents Association (QCHRA) met to discuss policy changes and surprise rent increases.

Queen’s Executive Director (Housing & Ancillary Services)

Leah Wales and Community Housing Manager Adam King held the meeting with representatives from QCHRA on March 6 to present a slate of what Community Housing called “Fair Access Policy Changes” to community housing.

Wales said the proposed policy changes are meant to offer better access to community housing for graduate students. The changes include implementing a lottery system to allow more equitable access for housing, fixed lease terms that last the standard length of a tenant’s program, refined eligibility requirements, and a set number of units allocated to postdoctoral fellows.

Wales announced rent to all units in An Clachan and John Orr will be increasing over a three-year period. In December 2023, tenants received letters

Rent raise sparks outcry Die-in protest for Palestine

under their doors disclosing a 10.5 per cent rent increase, which is four times above the legal provincial guidelines. Queen’s is exempt from the provincial guidelines when increasing their rents.

The rent increases will allow Community Housing to continue to offer quality housing below market value while keeping up with maintenance costs for aging buildings, Wales claimed. Community Housing currently runs a $57,000 deficit.

Though members of the QCHRA knew about the looming 10.5 per cent rent increase set to begin in September 2024, news of a three-year 31.5 per cent increase—35 per cent when compounded—came as a surprise.

“I almost cried on stage. It feels like a gut punch to be honest,” Jake Morrow, QCHRA member and PhD candidate in English told The Journal after the event. “I don’t know I can finish my PhD with those numbers.”

QCHRA objected to all rental changes, and claimed the University’s rental increases are illegal, per section 120(1) of the Ontario Residencies Act. According to this legislation, any rent increase above 2.4 per cent must be agreed upon by landlords and tenants through consultations.

Though Queen’s offers a slate of housing for students to live in during their studies below market price, low turnover rates at An Clachan Housing

Complex and John Orr Tower make it difficult for new students to find housing in Kingston, according to Wales and King.

In 2022, available units in An Clachan and John Orr were filled within 30 minutes of the application portal opening. The new policies would allow all hopeful tenants fair access to an affordable home.

Community Housing alleged some tenants of community housing abuse the system and sublet units at An Clachan and John Orr for higher prices to earn a profit, with King saying he learned about one instance of such abuse last week.

Several residents attending the event asked him to elaborate on how abuses of rentals occur.

“These situations are often identified from unit inspections, unusual requests to add occupants/sublets, online listings, or reports from other tenants,” Community Housing said in a statement to The Journal

Several QCHRA members demanded Community Housing reconsider lease terms be fixed to standard program lengths, stipulated as two years for Master’s programs and four years for PhD programs.

Many students don’t finish their PhDs in four years, several members explained at the event. Several members said this would restrict access from students who can’t afford Kingston’s housing

market prices.

Getting Community Housing to agree to an open session consultation with tenants about proposed policy changes was difficult, Morrow said. He said the University unilaterally decided on a date and time for the meeting outside proposed meeting times set forth by the QCHRA, a move QCHRA believes was meant to stifle communication between the two bodies.

QCHRA wants to see more transparent practices from Community Housing and hopes Community Housing listens to QCHRA members in good faith.

“We’d like to see a move away from the ‘we’re presenting to you’ energy to more ‘we’re coming to the table,’” QCHRA member and postdoctoral fellow Chloe Stewart said.

“She [Wales] said this so many times, but we want an actual ‘we’re listening’ and not a ‘I’m listening, I’m hearing I’m emphasizing.’ It all felt fake. Obviously she isn’t listening or hearing or empathizing, and you could tell.” Community Housing said they would post the slides from the consultation meeting to the their website. Moving forward, they will consider additional channels for tenant feedback and will continue to communicate with all tenants.

‘The Journal’ secures double win for excellence in student journalism

Three Journal staff recognized by JHM awards

Meghrig Milkon

Assistant News Editor

The Journal won under two categories at the recent John H. MacDonald (JHM) Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism.

Announced on Feb. 26, Senior News Editor Sophia Coppolino, ArtSci ’23, Assistant News Editor Sofia Tosello, ArtSci ’25, and Assistant Photo Editor Joseph Mariathasan, ArtSci ’24, were all recognized by the Canadian University Press.

Joseph Mariathasan, JHM Photojournalist of the Year

Being an English student, Mariathasan always finds himself having to capture moments in writing, and photography gives him an outlet to visualize the things he doesn’t want to write about.

“Instead of having to write down something to tell a story. I’m seeing what I see and just capturing it without having to explain why,” Mariathasan said.

Working at The Journal as the Assistant Photos Editor helped Mariathasan focus his work on telling important stories

while uncovering images for other people’s stories rather than just his own.

Mariathasan is grateful to The Journal for granting him access to opportunities he didn’t previously have. He encouraged other students to focus on the quality of their work, and let it speak for itself.

“Before this year, I never really thought of journalism as a career. Now I’m finding ways to get myself places because that’s the most important thing. The Journal has just allowed me to go places around Kingston that I barely walked in the city before this year,” Mariathasan said.

Sophia Coppolino & Sofia Tosello, News Reporting Award Coppolino and Tosello

took home the JHM for News Reporting for their article “Queen’s engineering exam question tweeted by Jordan Peterson.” The article discussed an exam question negatively impacting engineering students in the LGBTQ+ community.

“It was great to see The Journal recognized on a national level and stand out from all the other student newspapers that have journalism schools,” Coppolino said in an interview.

On the masthead as an Assistant News Editor for Vol. 150, Coppolino sees her job as a way of giving back to the Queen’s community, which has given her so much over her five years as a student.

“My approach to journalism is very people-focused and that’s

Meghrig Milkon Assistant News Editor

Outlined in chalk, students lay on the ground outside Mitchell Hall, representing lost Palestinian lives.

As part of the Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), running March 2 to 8, two dozen community members gathered in front of Mitchell Hall for a die-in protest.

With supporters lying on the ground, marshalls protected the protesters. They recited Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die.” The poem describes a child in Gaza waiting for the return of their dad, who won’t be returning. Alareer was killed in an airstrike by the Israeli military in December.

During the protest, a group of students allegedly mocked the protestors by taking pictures and recording videos.

Student protesters declined The Journal’s request for interviews due to safety concerns. Most wore keffiyehs and masks, concealing their identities and showing solidarity with Palestine.

Speaking on the significance of the protest, community member and protester Christina Avery explained the die-in is a fight for liberation and is interconnected with the fight for justice and peace people share collectively.

“We’re not free until we’re all free, everyone should collectively be showing up. This is a declaration of our human rights. If we don’t stand up, it’s just going to get worse from here,” Avery said in an interview with The Journal.

...story continued online queensjournal.ca/news

something I hope every story I’ve ever written demonstrates. The priority for me is people,” Coppolino said.

Tosello discovered her passion for journalism during high school, travelling to Washington D.C. to learn at the School of The New York Times. There, she shadowed a New York Times journalist and became hooked on the exciting and fast-paced world of news reporting.

“I would say it’s impacted my life because I’ve just become a lot more aware of the world around me and what’s happening. In turn, that means I can put forth productive solutions to problems because I’m well aware of them as a result of my reporting,” Tosello said.

While writing their story, Coppolino and Tosello wanted to highlight more than the questionable exam question and the online rhetoric it generated; their focus was on understanding the impact of the questions on students. EngiQueers’ decision to go on record grounded the story in a people-focused approach, Coppolino said.

With one piece combining their love of writing, community involvement, and journalism, both authors are proud to be sharing this award.

CORRECTIONS

Black Excellence: Wanda Costen diversifying Smith from the top

A previous version of this story incorrectly said Dean Costen was born into a Northwestern family and was a member of the 10th West Point class to admit women. The story has been updated to reflect the correct facts.

NSBE is putting down roots for Black engineering students

A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Nathalia Rosalle’s name throughout the story.

Moderation the pathway to restoring broken trust between University and students

A previous version of this article mischaracterized one of Chilcott’s quotes with respect to course enrolments and mischaracterized a statement on the use of investment income to fund capital projects.

Incorrect information appeared in the Feb. 16 issue of The Queen’s Journal. The Journal regrets these errors.

From left: Coppolino, Mariathasan, and Tosello.

PHOTO BY MEGHRIG MILKON

University to raise rent for the Grad Club by 400 per cent over next five years

The future of the Grad Club remains uncertain amid financial difficulties

Meghrig Milkon Assistant News Editor

Financial difficulties and a rent increase cast uncertainty over the future of Queen’s Grad Club.

Starting in September 2024, Queen’s University, the Grad Club’s landlord, is raising rent from approximately $1,000 to $4,200 per month, a figure that excludes utilities and maintenance of the building, Grad Club Director of Operations Astrid Hobill explained. Hobill was unable to disclose the Grad Club’s exact rent costs.

Rent for the Grad Club hasn’t increased since 2013 and is more than four times below typical commercial rent for buildings of the same size in Kingston, Queen’s University said in a statement to The Journal.

There’s a gap between the rent and the investment the University is putting into the

building, including updates to the plumbing, general maintenance expenses, and the installation of an accessibility ramp.

Operating costs and building

Hobill said.

Lost revenue from pandemic closures, and a flood last February at the Grad Club have strained its finances, threatening

investments have consistently surpassed rental income for The Grad Club, the University said. Since 2017, close to $650,000 has been spent on repairs and maintenance.

Hobill said the University has deferred maintenance to the Grad Club for years, and the Club pays for its own repairs, a costly portion of operations.

“If [Queen’s] were willing to come in and do all the repairs, we’d be super happy to pay that amount,”

the club’s ability to keep its doors open to students.

“I definitely know we need to find a way to figure out the finances, otherwise, in its current iteration, the Grad Club will probably not be quite the same anymore,” Hobill said.

Students are still coming to the Grad Club, Hobill said, but are spending less under rising costs of living. Although they use food and drink to subsidize the space for graduate students, its leadership wants to

MPA students bring home gold medal

‘What we have a lot of is passion, curiosity, and team cohesion’

Meghrig Milkon Assistant News Editor

For the first time in 12 years, Queen’s Masters of Public Administration (MPA) students brought home the gold at an annual case competition.

(CAPPA) with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).

The annual competition brings together the brightest and most excellent Canadian public administration students across Canada to compete in debates about relevant policy matters that mirror today’s world.

The team included Kokul Sathiyapalan, MPA ’24, Sally Twin, MPA ’24, Sarah Homsi, MPA ’24, Thomas Goyer, MPA ’24,

The MPA student team beat out 11 of Canada’s public policy schools to win the gold medal at the National Public Administration Case Competition between Feb. 14 to 24. The competition was run by the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration

and George Melika-Abusefein, MPA ’24, while being coached by Eugene Lang and Jianyuan (Andy) Hu.

Winning the gold medal signifies the value of Queen’s MPA program, the team said. The win is a testament to their work ethic and passion for

preserve its status as a community hotspot.

The Grad Club is exploring fundraising options and hosting events to balance its books. Money raised will cover capital costs, including repairing several beer fridges damaged by the flood, and repaying loans incurred during the pandemic.

The University said it will collaborate with the Grad Club’s management and Board over the finances. The Grab Club has been run out of the University-owned heritage house

on Barrie St. since 1976.

Hobill described the unique identity of the Grad Club and emphasized its importance as a one-of-a-kind space for graduate and professional students to connect.

“We’re not a regular bar pub, we’re a community space for graduate students. That’s kind of a communal space for graduate students and professional students alike and this is the one place where everyone can come and connect,” Hobill said.

Beyond the bottle, students hustle for brands

Students’ newest side hustle sweeps Queen’s campus

Mikella Schuettler Assistant News Editor

Becoming a brand ambassador is the new student side hustle, and alcohol companies are the predominant employers.

their studies.

“This signifies and is reflective of the spirit of the program. We’re not the biggest policy program, we don’t have the most money. What we have a lot of is passion, curiosity, and team cohesion,” Homsi said in an interview with The Journal

Their road to victory was not easy. This year, teams were presented with a “wicked problem” concerning Federal IT procurement, an area the team was unfamiliar with.

Given only a week to conduct an analysis and propose recommendations, the team put hours into drafting their policy proposal. The experiencetaughtthemhowtowork effectively as a group.

“The final seven days before the competition, we were meeting for long hours every day, usually coming in late morning, early afternoon and staying late at school usually, five to as late as eight O’Clock at night,” Goyer said in an interview with The Journal.

At these late-night meetings, the team “ripped to shreds” their ideas until they were satisfied with them. The ability to critique each other’s work was their greatest asset, Melika-Abusefein said.

Under extreme pressure, they came together and turned ideas into gold.

...story continued online queensjournal.ca/news

Alcohol companies are recruiting students as a new marketing technique at universities across Canada. Unlike social media influencers, who boast thousands of Instagram followers, brand ambassadors are ordinary students who receive free merchandise and other monthly stipends to share products with friends and post on social media.

Colton Sun, ArtSci ’24, spent last year as a brand ambassador for Cottage Springs, and found the marketing works.

“It’s a little bit more relatable to see your friends posting with a drink rather than just an Instagram ad that comes on your feed, but you kind of just scroll through,” Sun said in an interview with The Journal.

“You’re seeing your friend consume it. You’re getting the option to try it if you like.”

Companies such as Bud Light, Black Fly, Blue Lobster, and Bacardi have used student brand ambassadors at Queen’s. The Journal reached out to multiple other current and former brand ambassadors, but none responded in time for publication.

Sun isn’t surprised more brands are realizing the potential of student brand ambassadors. Brands establishing loyalty with university students may have made lifelong customers he said.

“I think they’re recognizing that if their brand is realized at this age, and maybe it’ll create further potential for purchases, that’s just what I believe,” Sun said.

The gig paid Sun approximately $300 a month for posting on Instagram, and an additional

$1,000 to buy Cottage Springs products and distribute them amongst friends. After making his monthly trips to the LCBO, Sun received Instagram DMs from other students hoping to pick up free drinks for their weekend—Sun never struggled to unload his product at Queen’s.

Becoming a student brand ambassador has less to do with how many followers you have and more to do with your connections to different clubs or groups on campus, Sun explained.

“Their whole goal is to target different social groups and just expose the most amount of people possible to their products,” Sun said.

Cottage Springs would host biweekly meetings with brand ambassadors across the country to compare notes on how to give away products and support each other’s successes.

The Journal contacted Cottage Springs, Bacardi, and Black Fly to understand their marketing campaigns through student brand ambassadors, none of whom responded in time for publication, despite numerous attempts at contacting them.

Brand ambassadors aren’t the only way alcohol companies market themselves to university students. In a highlights reel on Instagram, Cottage Springs advertised their university-colored stands in LCBO stores located in university towns like Kingston, promoting free giveaways.

Though Sun acknowledged alcohol can be unhealthy, he said student brand ambassadors don’t capitalize on vulnerable students to turn a profit.

“I’m not forcing anybody to drink and I’m not targeting them when they’re vulnerable,” Sun said. “They’re reaching out to me sober, and then they’re getting drinks, because they plan on drinking.”

...story continued online queensjournal.ca/news

Left to right: Homsi, Melika-Abusefein, Goyer, Sathiyapalan, and Twin.

The rent increases will be implemented in Sept. 2024.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

SUPPLIED BY GEORGE MELIKAABUSEFEIN

FEATURES

Cheaters tell all: How students are cheating with ChatGPT

‘The Journal’ sits

down with students who have cheated using AI software

Vineeth Jarabana Features Editor

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Queen’s published a set of guidelines for its use in academic settings in August 2023.

The guidelines asserted that Queen’s won’t proceed with banning the use of generative AI tools, but instead instructors will have the liberty to choose parameters of its use in their courses.

Since the publication of these guidelines, professors at Queen’s have taken varying approaches. Some have encouraged its use because they value AI literacy, for example, whereas others have penalized its use as they believe it prevents a full understanding of course materials.

The Journal spoke with four students across different faculties, each of whom used ChatGPT in ways that departed from academic integrity.

Amy*, Comm ’25, has used ChatGPT for a variety of nonacademic purposes, including generating potential interview questions when applying to clubs.

In the academic environment, she’s taken advantage of ChatGPT to convert rough ideas into paragraph form. She finds Chat GPT works best when it is given a lot of information prior to generating answers.

“If I’m trying to write an assignment from scratch, I find that ChatGPT doesn’t really hit the mark. I found it’s a better way to just come up with most of the ideas on my own, but then leave the bulk of the wording to ChatGPT,” Amy said in an interview with The Journal

As a Commerce student, Amy finds herself working on a lot of writing-based assignments that use the same skill set ChatGPT offers.

“I had an assignment where we wrote memos. You have to basically summarize the points [of an article] in a way that’s digestible to, say, the CEO of the company. That’s basically what ChatGPT does best,” she said.

Among her peers in Commerce, Amy has noticed that while not everyone is using ChatGPT, its usage has ticked upward recently. She often hears comments like “just ChatGPT it” from her peers.

Amy alleged one of her peers used ChatGPT during an exam for an international business course.

“It was just a lot of short answer, long answer questions where we read a case and we answer a question about it using course material, linking back to course concepts. You can get by that exam quickly if you use ChatGPT. It can’t do all the work for you unless you feed [the course concepts] into the prompt.”

While she appreciates the convenience of ChatGPT, Amy believes it has weakened her ability to brainstorm and summarize ideas.

Despite its drawbacks, she wants to see ChatGPT integrated into academics because she has seen its use encouraged in work environments.

“I’ve never had an employer tell me ‘don’t use ChatGPT.’ In fact, sometimes, I’ve heard them say ‘just use ChatGPT, don’t spend too much time on this, we just want an email out,’” she said.

She believes ChatGPT should play a role in the future of academics because she thinks the current honour system in many of her courses penalizes students who follow the rules.

At the same time, Amy acknowledged normalized use of ChatGPT in academics could have an unintended effect: unreasonably raising the standards for writing assignments.

Amy’s not the only person

who has deferred to ChatGPT for written assignments. When it comes to getting essays for his philosophy courses submitted on time, Timothy*, ArtSci ’24, has found ChatGPT to be an essential resource.

He has also used ChatGPT to summarize long readings and save on time.

While he first thought ChatGPT wasn’t useful, Timothy discovered giving ChatGPT specific information improved the quality of its output.

However, he found ChatGPT is isn’t helpful for all his classes. When it comes to his economics courses, ChatGPT hasn’t been able to help Timothy with tasks such as graphing.

Timothy has appreciated ChatGPT for its ability to support his painting business.

“In terms of captions on posts for social media and email templates for bulk emails, ChatGPT helps revise and smooth them out. It does save me a lot of time to do things that are more worthwhile than sitting down and handwriting specific emails tailored to each person I’m working with,” he said in an interview with The Journal

Timothy believes a key consequence of ChatGPT’s rise is that it will force education to transition to more of an in-person format. Rather than take-home assignments, which are prime material for students to use ChatGPT, he predicts there will be more presentations and in-person tests.

Benjamin*, Sci ’26, has taken advantage of ChatGPT to understand concepts that his professors are often unable to properly explain.

“In terms of my use [of ChatGPT], with certain concepts like MOSFETs [metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors], I’ll search on ChatGPT ‘please explain MOSFETs to me’ and then build my understanding off that and ask additional questions to reinforce my understanding,” Benjamin said in an interview with

The Journal

Benjamin leveraged ChatGPT’s

abilities to complete work in his design courses.

In these courses, he must often complete weekly reports that provide updates on a semester-long project.

“It’s a lot easier to ask tools like ChatGPT to spew out some text and you might tailor it a bit [for these weekly reports],” he said.

However, Benjamin has been more careful recently in terms of his ChatGPT use because of a recent cheating scandal in the engineering faculty.

“In the fall term, in our data structures course, there was a cheating scandal involved with ChatGPT. Fortunately, I wasn’t involved, but it involved a lot of people taking code from each other but also using ChatGPT to generate code. ChatGPT outputs really similar code for most people.”

Benjamin aims to reduce his reliance on generative AI tools because he believes that overreliance will widen the learning gaps between him and his peers who don’t rely on these tools.

“I guess for writing code, ChatGPT, for the most part, can do a pretty good job at giving decent enough code that will probably run. The issue with that is that you’re messing up your understanding of the content because you’re not actually learning and you’re just complicating things, and that has a big snowball effect.”

In his courses, he has mostly seen his professors taking a strict approach that prohibits the use of generative AI tools.

James*, HealthSci ’25, has used ChatGPT in various areas of his life—ranging from figuring out what to cook with the ingredients he has in his fridge to coming up with ideas for club events.

However, when it comes to his academics, James told The Journal he has seldom used it in an ethical manner.

When he was working on an assignment about a specific drug, James used ChatGPT to find

research articles related to that drug. He proceeded to use ChatGPT to also write the actual assignment.

When it comes to finding research papers for his assignments, James has found ChatGPT to be a much more navigable tool than conventional research databases like PubMed.

However, he believes his writing skills have stagnated and even worsened due to his dependency on ChatGPT. “On a personal level, I think [dependency on ChatGPT] can lead to regression in the sort of skills you’re meant to be developing during an undergraduate degree,” he said in an interview with The Journal

James has been particularly concerned by how his professors have handled the use of ChatGPT in academic settings. He pointed out how some of his professors have claimed they’re using AI detection software.

“None of the AI detection softwares are reliable and there are issues with using a third-party software that’s not approved by the University and exposing students’ copyrighted assignments to that third-party software without their consent.”

Research has shown that AI detection softwares are often inconsistent and produce many false positives, meaning that human-written text is frequently flagged as AI-generated by these softwares.

With respect to the future of generative AI tools in academics, he’s excited by the prospect of these tools facilitating the personalization of education.

“If an AI software can somehow compile all the personality traits and statistics and history of a certain person and figure out the best way to disseminate that information to them, I think it’ll only be a benefit to the education of humanity. It means that every single person can learn at the most efficient pace that they can,” Benjamin said.

*Names protected for safety reasons.

ChatGPT has become a major concern for academic integrity in recent years.

PHOTO BY HERBERT WANG

It would be difficult to conceive of an image that better justifies the allegations of unprofessionalism and cliquiness within the AMS than the tableaus of its latest Assembly.

On Feb. 29, the AMS gathered for a Special Assembly to elect next year’s AMS executive team.

What was meant to be a public, procedural conversation informing the subsequent vote dissolved into whispering and giggling as current members of AMS Assembly gathered in huddles, with their backs turned to the audience. Watching the structureless shuffling of execs moving between huddles—which embodied the bubble of exclusivity surrounding student government many individuals have accused them of maintaining—felt disturbingly reminiscent of walking into a high school club room, and nothing at all like the operations of government in charge of a $20 million budget.

Students attending the Special Assembly or live streaming it from home should have been able to hear the remarks of their government officials, especially since this year’s unprecedented election process disallowed them from casting votes of their own. If the AMS had any reason to believe the information they were sharing about candidates couldn’t be shared publicly—like overheard whispers of encounters at bars—it had no place in a professional context to begin with.

had already influenced each other’s decisions in conspiratorial huddles across group chats and the La Salle Building throughout the day. Students may very well have been excluded from the AMS’s discussion even before their representatives turned their backs on them during Assembly, both literally and figuratively.

Student engagement is undoubtedly a problem at Queen’s. Yet expecting students to participate when those who attempt to do so are consistently shut out is senseless and frustrating.

It’s insulting to see the AMS exclude students from its governance, as if they’re too stupid to understand its intricacies. Equally insulting is the AMS’s apparent refusal to take their jobs seriously or follow procedure.

The unprofessional conduct of this year’s AMS spans beyond last week’s Special Assembly to failing to approve invoices for months at a time, in addition to refusing to release an equity consultant’s report on the experiences of marginalized staff

at the AMS. Perhaps the lack of student engagement makes the AMS incorrectly believe they can act however they please without repercussions, but this isn’t the case.

Although AMS President Kate McCuaig, Rector Owen Crawford-Lem, and Undergraduate Trustee Reema Al-Rawi sit on the Board of Trustees, it remains unclear for what purpose they do so. Such lacklustre participation validates permanent staff members in steadily taking over responsibility from and losing faith in student leaders within the AMS, doing irreparable damage to student voice across the University.

The current AMS team must pull up their bootstraps and get serious for the remainder of the year. Of all government bodies, an organization run by students for students should be able to rally and represent its constituents.

—Journal Editorial Board

The Journal’s Perspective EDITORIALS

Each of the three elected candidates won their respective positions by a landslide majority. Bearing in mind the AMS’s exclusive conduct during Assembly and throughout their governance thus far, this majority implies the possibility that Assembly members

Barbie should promote diverse expressions of femininity to young girls, including athleticism.

On Feb. 29, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and Mattel Canada announced Barbie as an official partner to the league for its inaugural season.

In general, women’s sports deserve more respect and attention from advertisers and audiences. The publicity this partnership offers will benefit the PWHL by allowing its up-and-coming athletes some of the much-deserved support and engagement they could expect playing in men’s leagues.

Male athletes receive much higher wages than their female counterparts, in large part because advertisers don’t invest in women’s sports. Companies don’t believe female athletes can attract comparable fanfare. Mattel’s partnership signals its confidence in the profitability of the PWHL, hopefully setting an example for other brands to follow in the future.

One centrally important demographic this partnership must appeal to is young female viewers. The partnership will include a video series for children featuring Barbie alongside PWHL players, themed in-arena rink

Despite its potential for positive change, paid plasma donation has negative ethical implications.

In 2022, Canadian Blood Services (CBS) announced a partnership with a private Spanish firm called Grifols to open plasma collection centres in Canada. Grifols pays its donors, and currently has one operational Canadian location, in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba.

In Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, it’s a federal offence to pay people to donate plasma—this restriction is set out by each province’s Voluntary Blood Donations Act. While CBS is exempt from this rule in exceptional circumstances, it currently operates on an entirely voluntary basis in these provinces. Yet Grifols plans to open its first Ontario location this year, with

boards, and in-game interactions. Ideally, the promise of seeing Barbie at a hockey game will encourage more girls to watch and, perhaps eventually, play the sport.

Barbie must seize this opportunity to pivot away from the Eurocentric and impossible standards of beauty and femininity it has historically promoted, opening expressions of femininity to strength and athleticism instead. Girls deserve to learn femininity doesn’t only look one way and developing their athleticism doesn’t have to be at the cost of their femininity—a strong, fast body can be just as pretty and feminine as one in high heels and a tight skirt.

As much as wanting to look pretty can coexist with playing sports, hyper femininity isn’t the only acceptable expression of womanhood.

a total of 15 Canadian centres by the end of 2025.

This move into Ontario is worrisome as it could undermine the current voluntary nature of Canada’s existing donation system. As paid plasma donation centres become more widespread, donors will migrate away from voluntary systems toward compensation.

Some plasma is frozen and transfused directly to patients with major traumatic injuries or undergoing surgery. However, the majority goes towards creating plasmaderived medicinal products (PDMPs) such as immunoglobulins or coagulation factors, which are used to treat various conditions, including immune deficiencies and bleeding disorders. Canada’s plasma supply only satisfies about 13 to 14 per cent of its immunoglobulin needs.

Currently, this missing supply of PDMPs is imported from American pharmaceutical companies, who pay their plasma donors.

Increasing compensated donations could increase Canadian plasma supply and would result in less reliance on American donors.

For-profit plasma donation centres are known to exploit individuals living below the poverty line, and those with low or unstable incomes, including university students.

Continued online at queensjournal.ca/ editorials

The Barbie partnership can yield fun opportunities to model supportive male viewership. Hopefully we’ll catch glimpses of Ken the Zamboni driver gliding across the ice or waiting adoringly in the stands, holding Barbie’s Gatorade.

Even in encouraging more girls to follow their passion for sports, it will take time and effort for this campaign to meaningfully change the landscape of women’s hockey or sports. Not only will its young viewers first have to grow up before we can see if they’ve been encouraged towards sports, but other social barriers to playing will have to be addressed.

Continued online at queensjournal.ca/ editorials

OPINIONS Your Perspective

Better academia is possible, why not at Queen's?

JUSTYNA SZEWCZYK EL-JASSEM

Contributor

Mondays are usually the hardest day of the week when you’re a graduate student worker—it’s when emails, assignments, and phone calls start coming in. March 4, however, was different. I woke up to announcements from CUPE 3902 and CUPE 3261, who signed tentative agreements with the University of Toronto just minutes before they were set to go on strike.

The agreements they signed put real money into the pockets of the University’s most precarious workers: graduate workers, postdocs, and all the custodial and support workers without whom no university could open its doors for students and faculty.

It’s a stark contrast to the current

negotiations between Queen’s University and the postdoctoral scholars who comprise PSAC 901 Unit 2. Queen’s latest offer to Unit 2 workers was a shocking $38,000 minimum wage with no other increases that could account for the inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, or the unconstitutionally low wages mandated by Doug Ford’s government and upheld by a select few conservative employers, including Queen’s University, under Bill 124.

Mondays, it seems, don’t have to be bad if you’re lucky enough to work at UofT. They do, unfortunately, if you work at Queen’s.

Those currently earning the Queen’s postdoc minimum salary earn roughly $18.44 per hour—only slightly higher than

Ontario’s minimum wage. Imagine going to grad school, doing exceptional research, earning a doctorate—being an expert in your field—and then being offered a salary barely above the funding you could survive on in grad school.

No wonder PSAC 901’s Emergency Food Support Program received applications from 72 postdocs.

As it stands, 66 postdoctoral scholars at Queen’s earn less than $49,999. These 66 exceptional, brilliant minds decided to launch their academic careers here in Kingston, only to arrive to find they can’t make ends meet.

On top of that, Queen’s removed postdocs’ access to the Health and Family Project Team (QHFT) to send a message on the first day of bargaining. Not only do these 66 top-level scholars have to fight

for survival, they have to live with the knowledge that, if they get sick, they might not have access to medical care.

Most postdoctoral scholars aren’t from Kingston or haven’t been here long enough to qualify for a family doctor, so this loss of critical dignity and support is especially cruel. It seems that Queen’s expects these people to produce world-class research at work every day that it can bank its reputation on, while endorsing a view that postdocs deserve to stay poor. The Union came to the table with a comprehensive proposal that would end the abject poverty of our lowest paid postdoc members, but also help lift others out from the cost-of-living crisis and into the dignity of relative comfort. Fairness isn’t just about the minimum, but

about the quality of life for all postdocs. That’s why PSAC asked for wage increases across the board to help alleviate the wage suppression and cost of living crises they face, both exacerbated by Queen’s.

Queen’s didn’t agree with the Union. It saw it unnecessary to offer any wage increase to above $38,000, which only marks an overall increase of $0.73 per hour over three years. Queen’s also disagrees with the need for unit-wide salary increases, even amid the current financial context.

We’re left hoping once again Queen’s will be embarrassed by how their offer compares to U of T’s, and be shamed into the moral choice. We can only hope the University take an example from U of T’s nine per cent increase for 2023.

But it’s only up to Queen’s to do right by postdocs. Reading the news out of Toronto, we also felt renewed in our efforts to do right by each other.

That’s why PSAC 901 fine-tuned a package that would put money in the pockets of all postdocs by additionally proposing housing and relocation support, mental health and hardship fund, and enhancements to childcare benefits.

The Union also believes that members remain an integral part of the Queen’s community even when they’re no longer an employee or student. That’s why we asked that those who suffered unconstitutional wage suppression should be retroactively paid for their work, even if they no longer work at Queen’s. They worked as hard as those who remain here now, and they too deserve fair compensation for their work.

As arbitrator William Kaplan recently explained, there’s no justification to pay some employees the full value of their work while not granting this rate to others doing the same work.

There’s nothing unusual about providing retroactivity for current and former employees. It’s simply the standard practice in the private and public sector from coast to coast to coast.

Continues online at queensjournal.ca/opinions

PHOTO BY JOSEPH MARIATHASAN

Justyna belives Queen's should mirror U of T's agreement with its postdoctoral scholars.

Queen’s welcomes newest Canada Excellence Research Chair

Nuclear materials to be explored in context of extreme conditions

Violetta

Zeitlinger Fontana Business, Science, & Technology Editor

World renowned scientist Yanwen Zhang was announced today as the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Impact of Radiation in Energy and Advanced Technologies.

This appointment will see Zhang move her research program from the University of

Tennessee, Knoxville, to Queen’s University, where she will begin her term in Spring 2024.

Zhang’s research is focused on nuclear materials, looking at how these materials behave under extreme conditions such as radiation. This is highly relevant research, particularly in the domain of nuclear reactors and renewable energy.

As safe and reliable nuclear reactors are being developed, particular attention must be placed on the materials used to construct these reactors and how they behave when exposed to high levels of radiation—the fundamental idea behind Zhang’s research.

As the world turns to renewable

energy sources, demand for nuclear power is growing.

Approximately 15 per cent of Canada’s energy production comes from nuclear reactor systems, but this number jumps to 60 per cent for Ontario.

“I am excited to be continuing this research at Queen’s—a university with a long history of expertise in materials science and a commitment to advancing research to combat climate change,” Zhang said in a press release.

Zhang’s appointment will see her receive $1 million per year for eight years.

Zhang joins Paul Kubes, CERC in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy, as the second chair Queen’s has recruited as part

Bank of Canada interest rates impaCt kingston housing

Policymakers continue to ‘fight’ against inflation

aimée look

Business, Science, & Technology Editor

The Bank of Canada (BoC) held its policy interest rate at five per cent on Wednesday, a highly-anticipated move from policymakers who continue to battle elevated inflation.

“We need to give higher interest rates more time to do their work,” Governor Tiff Macklem said at the press conference.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation by the change of price of a basket of goods, remains elevated at 2.9 per cent. CPI inflation reached a historic high in June 2022 at 8.1 per cent.

The BoC raised the policy interest rate—or overnight rate—10 times between March 2022

and July 2023, according to BoC data. It’s called the overnight rate because financial institutions are able to borrow from each other for a day, and this is the rate the BoC wants them to charge for these loans.

“We’ve come a long way in our fight against high inflation. Monetary policy is working, inflation is coming down. But it’s too early to loosen the restrictive policy that has gotten us this far,” Macklem said in opening remarks.

Policymakers increase interest rates to combat inflation, as higher interest rates reduce demand for goods and services. Interest rates are the “cost of borrowing,” so higher interest rates mean fewer people are likely to take out loans and embark on large purchases. As demand decreases, prices are pushed down.

The biggest contributor to inflation in Canada is high shelter prices, according to Macklem. Although the housing market has slowed slightly in the

face of higher interest rates, there’s potential the market could speed up, Macklem added.

“If you look at our January projection, we expect some rebound in housing,” Macklem said.

In Kingston, rent has remained elevated. High interest rates disincentivize the purchase of homes, as taking out a mortgage is more expensive. So, there’s more demand for rentals—and higher prices.

Rent prices for properties in Kingston have increased by two per cent over the past year, according to data from Zumper.

In the past year, one-bedroom and two-bedroom accommodations have increased by 11 and 10 per cent, respectively. But four-bedroom accommodations have seen 19 per cent price decrease, bringing the average down.

The median rent for all housing units in Kingston $2,035—four per cent higher than the national average.

of the 2022 CERC Competition, totalling a $16 million investment in the University.

“These are great research areas of tremendous impact societally,” Vice-Principal (Research) Nancy Ross said in an interview with The Journal

The CERC program was established in 2008 as a way for Canadian universities to attract high calibre researchers and scholars, particularly from international institutions. The program plans to invest $248 million to recruit 34 CERCs across 18 institutions, including Queen’s.

This announcement highlights opportunities for both current and future undergraduate and graduate students at the University.

insomnia Cookies

...continued from front page

With its many hospitals, the city is also home to a large population of shift workers, many of which take to nocturnal schedules.

“Kingston has the benefits of being a mid-size market,” she said. “It's got enough size that there's going to be some sort of scale returns on the investment of entering, but the intensity of competition isn't going to be as big as a larger city like Toronto or Vancouver.”

Bartholomew said Kingston’s international student and tourist presence makes it an ideal place for the company to learn, similar to what informed Starbucks’ expansion into Japan.

“Starbucks was a very popular destinations [sic] stop on Japanese tour buses. It gave them a little bit of insight and confidence that there would be some brand connection or popularity, should they go to Japan,” she said.

But the novelty of a cookie

“Research is people, and our CERCs come here partially because we have great students,” Ross said.

Both CERCs at Queen’s will involve students in their research projects. As part of the forward looking nature of the CERC funding, there’s significant discussion around the training of highly qualified researchers, explained Ross.

One of the Principal’s priorities is to integrate teaching and research in a fundamental way. Ross hopes students, and graduate students in particular, see the addition of these major research projects to Queen’s as good news.

—With files from Asbah Ahmad

store with a high price point might wear off, Bartholomew warned. She likened it to an ice cream parlour, where frequency and regularity of purchases tend to dwindle when companies focus on treat items.

Still, compared to Toronto or Vancouver, there are less places to spend your money in Kingston—and that could work in Insomnia’s favour.

“We've seen a pretty good tolerance for Starbucks’ price point in this town on a pretty regular basis. That shows a certain willingness to spend, to get the product or possibly the brand,” Bartholomew said.

Kingston faces similar economic challenges to other cities across Canada, according to Shelley Hirstwood, director of business development at Invest Kingston.

Post-pandemic inflationary pressures, high interest rates, and slowing consumer spending aren’t unique. What is unique is the city’s ability to be a “testbed” for various markets, due to large, concentrated sectors in the town—like manufacturing and military.

PHOTO BY JOSEPH MARIATHASAN

The Queen’s Varsity teams that came just short of a banner this season

Recapping these Gaels’ seasons

Women’s Hockey

The Queen’s Women’s Hockey team concluded their season on Feb. 25 against the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues.

The Gaels’ Feb. 25 loss was the second of two losses in their best-of-three series. The game was win-or-go home for both teams.

In the first game of the series, on Feb. 21, the Gaels beat the Varsity Blues 3-1 in Toronto, but when they returned to the Memorial Centre for game two, the Gaels lost 2-1 in double-overtime.

If the Gaels won the

double-overtime game, they would’ve advanced to round two, but instead game three was forced on Feb. 25 and they lost 6-1.

The Gaels saw their fair share of friction in the regular season, going 15-12-1. However, it wasn’t out of the ordinary, as their 2022-23 season saw a 13-10-4 record.

Beating U of T 1-0 and 2-0 in their two matchups this season, the Gaels knew the first round of playoffs would see close games.

The Gaels finished the regular season behind U of T, placing third in the OUA East Division. Goaltender Emma Tennant, Sci ’25, finished

third overall in the OUA for saves with 614 in 27 games.

Leading the Gaels, rookie Mikayla Cranney, ArtSci ’27, had 21 points and 10 goals. Sarah Campbell, Comm ’24, lead the team for assists with 12.

Campbell was named an OUA Second Team All-Star, while Tennant and Cranney were named to the OUA All-Rookie team.

This bright first-year class gives the team a good leg to stand on going into their 2024-25 season next year.

“One thing we were really looking to ramp up, from a recruiting perspective, was just the

Varsity Figure Skating finishes fourth in OUA; four medals awarded

With grace and flare, the Queen’s Varsity Figure Skating (QVFS) club concluded their 2023-24 season in Thorold, Ontario on March 6, finishing fourth overall.

“Everybody had a really great outlook on the competition,” Co-Captain Colleen Tordoff, ArtSci ’24, said. “[The team] going into the competition had a good attitude and mentality about what we were going to do and kind of how we were going to strategically prepare ourselves.”

Jade Paganelli, ArtSci ’24, and Juliana Ye, Comm ’24, were awarded the gold medal for their Star 8/9 Pair Dance. Zander Neilson, ArtSci ’26, won silver in the Gold Artistic event. Tordoff won bronze in the Gold Solo Dance event, and the team was awarded bronze in Synchro.

“Synchro was kind of the big takeaway in terms of the big result. It was the perfect emotional climax to the end of the two days

of competition,” Co-Captain Aidan O’Connor, ConEd ’25 said.

QVFS participated in two additional meets this year. The first was their 2023 Ice Show on Nov. 26 at Slush Puppie Place (formerly the Leon’s Centre) and their second was the Brock University Figure Skating Invitational on Dec. 5.

Competing for QVFS provides unique experiences not typically found at other levels of the sport. Individuals can compete in multiple disciplines including free-skate, dance, and synchro—all of which have their own events at competition.

This year, an additional event titled Gold Artistic was added, creating even more flexibility for athletes to compete in the events they want to compete in.

“We do a really great job of creating and fostering a really collaborative environment where students get to choreograph their own programs, with coaching assistants,

hockey IQ and finding those players that can really think the game and sort of take that next level and the next step,” Head Coach Morgan McHaffie said. “We have a great class this year of first-year rookies.”

Men’s Hockey

The Queen’s Men’s Hockey team followed a similar fate to their women’s hockey counterparts, making a first-round exit from the OUA playoffs.

Seeded fourth in the OUA East Division, the Gaels started round one with a home ice advantage against the fifth place Concordia Stingers.

The Gaels already beat Concordia twice this season, with scores of 3-1 and 3-0 on Jan. 20 and 26, respectively.

Game one was played on Feb. 14 at home, where the Gaels lost 3-1. Two days later, the Gaels traveled to Concordia’s home rink in Montreal where they lost in a tough 4-3 overtime game.

“It’s just getting back to what we’re good at. What we’re good at is getting pucks loose, working hard, [and] not turning pucks over,” Head Coach Brett Gibson said following the Feb. 14 game.

“You learn from these games, and you got to learn quick,” he said.

The Gaels ended their 2023-24 run with a 19-8-1 regular season record. This was a big step up from their 2022-23 season when they went 12-12-2 and missed playoffs entirely.

Goaltender Christian Purboo, ArtSci ’25, had a phenomenal season with multiple OUA and U SPORTS Athlete of the Week nods. He was second in the OUA for Goals Against Average with 1.82, third for save percentage with a 0.934, and third for win percentage with 0.737, all in 19 games played.

Dalton Duhart, ArtSci ’26, was an offensive force for the Gaels this year. He was second overall in the OUA for points with 44 and led the league in assists with 27. Jonathan Yantsis, ArtSci ’24, played a prominent role in Queen’s offensive unit and he was fourth in the OUA for goals with 18.

Yantsis is one of six graduating players from the Men’s Hockey team, including teammates Thomas Stevenson, ArtSci ’24, Jacob Paquette, ArtSci ’24, Scott Gervais,

and you really get to see and run with what you want to learn,” Tordoff said.

The team had a lot of ups and downs this season, with new rule changes, difficulty scheduling additional meets, and getting many rookies up to speed, but O’Connor said the team found success in the change.

“We ended up doing a lot of kind of mixing and matching [with pairings], and in the end, it ended up working out really well,” O’Connor said. “It was a very long process, and a lot of mornings were spent with long, hard hours, but it ended up paying off in the end.”

As co-captains of the team, Tordoff and O’Connor played pivotal roles within the team and helped build an environment are proud of.

“What we really did an excellent job of this year was getting everyone in the moment. When everybody got off the ice this year,

ArtSci ’24, Alex Robert ArtSci ’24, and Jakob Brahaney, ArtSci ’24

Among the graduating players, three have signed to ECHL teams. Yantsis will join the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Brahaney joins the Kansas City Mavericks, and Paquette joins Trois-Rivières Lions.

Women’s Basketball

Queen’s Women’s Basketball lost the OUA gold medal game on March 2 against the Carleton Ravens, 63-55. This comes after a 68-51 quarter final win against the Guelph Gryphons Feb. 24, and a 67-49 semi-final win against the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold on Feb. 28.

Their regular season saw a record of 18-4 where two of those loses were against Carleton on Jan. 6 and Feb. 17.

“It takes 12 players to win at this point in the season,” Head Coach Claire Meadows said. “Everyone on our team has bought into what we’re doing, and they show up every day, one through 12, and everyone shows up with a great attitude.”

Top players on the Gaels included Bella Gaudet, Comm ’24, who was first in the OUA for three-point percentage with a percentage of 43.1. Laura Donovan, Nurs ’24, was third with 36.6.

Julia Chadwick, MIR ’24, was the biggest standout player for the Gaels, leading the OUA in rebounds per game with 11.3 and was fourth for points per game with 18.4.

Chadwick was recently named a USPORTS First Team All-Canadian and broke multiple Queen’s Women’s Basketball program records including the singleseason record for points with 405, and points-per-game with 18.4. She broke the Queen’s single-game points record with 43 points on Jan. 13.

The Gaels’ season isn’t completely over however, as they travel to Edmonton, Alberta for the U SPORTS National Championships which take place March 7 to March 10.

Their first game is at 4:30 p.m. on March 7 against the Saint Mary’s University (SMU) Huskies.

they were very proud of the skate they had, no matter what the score ended up being,” Tordoff said.

Tordoff will be graduating this year, but O’Connor will be returning to Queen’s for the 2024-25 season.

“Looking ahead to next year, I think there’s going to be even more time and opportunity to experiment a little bit with cross disciplines [and]

people trying out new things that they hadn’t done this year or in past years,” he said.

Tordoff said the fourth place finish was QVFS’ best finish in years. Though Queen’s hasn’t won an OUA Championship since 2006, the team is building momentum to bring an even higher level of competition to next season.

Co-Captains Tordoff and O’Connor reflect on the 2023-24 season. IMAGE SUPPLIED BY STEPHAN LEITHWOOD

Queen’s Men’s Basketball win OUA Championships

Cole Syllas wins gold at the buzzer

AIDAN MICHAELOV Assistant Sports Editor

This story first appeared online on March 4.

The atmosphere at the ARC was explosive this past weekend when students, parents, and community members celebrated a buzzer-beater for the Men’s Basketball team the Gaels secured a buzzer beater to win the Wilson Cup.

The Gaels faced off against the Brock Badgers for the OUA Championship on March 2. In what could have been a worst-case scenario, the Brock Badgers started the game on an 11-0 run, giving the Gaels a mountain to climb to win the Wilson Cup hardware at home.

Although the Gaels closed the gap within the first quarter, Brock maintained control of the game, knocking down three-pointers and seeing little-to-no contest when grabbing rebounds.

Not allowing the Gaels to fall too far behind, Cole Syllas, Sci ’24, went two-for-two from the three-pointrange,withBrockleading by a score of 28-23 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, both teams were visibly looking to limit their defensive mistakes. The Badgers ability to hold onto the ball, allowing only one turnover to the Gaels’ three, is what allowed

the Badgers to grow their lead by another four points, sending the Gaels back to the locker room down by a score of 47-38.

The Gaels mounted their comeback in the third quarter, with Kingston local Michael Kelvin II, ArtSci ’25, going two-for-three from three-point range and going two-for-two at the line.

Beginning to finally gather their rebounds, and getting some help from OUA Defensive Player of the Year Luka Syllas, ConEd ’24, and Kelvin, who picked up huge blocks throughout the quarter, the Gaels were within reach.

The fourth quarter was the most electric competition seen at the ARC in a long time. For almost the entirety of the quarter, the entire crowd was on their feet, with students lining the gym windows and trying to get a peek of the soldout event by any means necessary.

Locking in when it mattered most, Isaac Krueger, ArtSci ’24, and Kelvin II stepped up big time, with Luka Syllas and defensive stable Fofo Adetogun, MIR ’25, both fouling out.

Both shooting 100 per cent and locking down all rebounds coming their way, Krueger and Kelvin were massive contributors in the Gaels’ efforts to tie the game with about four minutes remaining.

...Story continued online at journal.ca/sports

Gaels Volleyball sees opposing outcomes in OUA semi-finals

The women’s team concludes their OUA season, the men’s team advances

GILLIAN GREEN Contributor

Women’s Volleyball

In a highly anticipated semi-final match on March 1, Queen’s Women’s Volleyball faced off against the visiting McMaster Marauders in front of a sold-out crowd for a chance to compete in the OUA championship game.

Coming off a 12-game winning streak, the Gaels came out strong in the first set, leading 8-3 when McMaster called their first timeout of the game. Strong serves from Aimee Lemire, ConEd ’25, Amanda Siksna, ConEd ’25, and Mary Stewart, ConEd ’25, helped lead the way in the opening frame.

Lemire was consistently strong at the net, with huge swings that the Marauders couldn’t return.

The Marauders kept the game close, with their first lead of the game coming at 23-22 in the first set. They stayed within a point or two throughout most of the set.

At the end of the first set, out of back court, Hannah Duchesneau,

ArtSci ’24, led the way for the Gaels with multiple strong serves and back row attacks.

The first set ended in favour of the Gaels, with a score of 34-32.

“We probably couldn’t have done it without the fans there and the continuous support for us,” Gaels Head Coach Ryan Ratushniak said.

In the second set, the Marauders battled for redemption, finding a lead of 13-5 following the Gaels second timeout of the set.

The Gaels came out fighting late in the second set and tightened the score, but it was ultimately the Marauders who came out on top with a score of 25-22.

Once again, the Marauders started out the third set strong, shutting down Queen’s offence early.

Gaels Setter Shea Baker, ArtSci ’24, wasn’t rattled by this. As a strong presence at the net—making smart plays with a handful of big blocks—Baker carried this momentum into her serves and throughout the set.

The Gaels fed off the energy from the crowd in the

AIDAN’S ANGLE

How can the Gaels keep the ball rolling at Nationals?

AIDAN MICHAELOV Assistant Sports Editor

This year, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams put up solid seasons, each finishing in the top two in the OUA, with the Men’s team winning the Wilson Cup in dramatic fashion.

By finishing in top spots in their respective divisions, the Gaels earned themselves the opportunity to compete for the national championship. The Women’s Basketball U SPORTS Championships will take place in Edmonton, Alberta, while the Men’s Basketball U SPORTS Championships will take place in Quebec City.

This week, I’m recapping the Gaels’ playoff efforts thus far, as well as identifying and proposing possible areas for improvement

ARC throughout the third set, but it was the Marauders who once again topped the Gaels with a score of 25-19.

Knowing the next set could determine who goes to OUA finals, the Gaels came out playing hard.

Despite the Gaels’ efforts, the Marauders won in the fourth set with a score of 25-19 and will continue their playoff run.

“[Queen’s] continued to battle and fight really hard. I thought they stayed together, supporting each other, well. That’s part of our culture,” Ratushniak said.

Although it wasn’t the outcome the Gaels had hoped for, Queen’s Women’s Volleyball had a historic season with a record of 18-2, and a 12-game win streak going into the semi-final game.

...Story continued online at journal.ca/sports

or reinforcement should the Gaels hope to secure a national title.

Men’s Basketball

The Men’s Basketball team had nothing short of a magical OUA playoff run, overcoming steep deficits twice to secure wins in their OUA semi-finals and finals games.

With the semi-final game going into double-overtime, there should be no doubt the Gaels can offensively keep up with anybody. However, should the Gaels hope to secure wins against teams like the Victoria Vikes, who have had killer seasons, the Gaels have to ensure they never find themselves down by more than a possession.

Part of this is buying in. There’s a particular commitment to defence when watching players like the Syllas brothers (Cole Syllas, Sci ’24, and Luka Syllas, ConEd ’24), Michael Kelvin II, ArtSci ’25, or Fofo Adetogun, MIR ’25, who are constantly putting themselves in the position to make big plays on the defensive side of the court.

With OUA Coach of the Year Steph Barrie on the bench, I have no doubt he’ll get each of his players to buy in, but looking past this, it’s the off-ball work that was most troubling for the Gaels in the OUA final against the Brock Badgers.

Rebounding was a massive issue for the Gaels on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. Giving up second-chance opportunities to a team like Brock almost burned them. Imagine what an even more elite team like the Vikes would do with extra opportunities on every possession.

You can expect the teams travelling to Quebec City to be well-studied, knowing about the offensive threats the Syllas duo bring to the court. With this, it might be smart to prepare some of the secondary scoring options, such as Cameron Bett, ArtSci ’24, or

Connor Kelly, ArtSci ’24, should the Syllas brothers be shut down.

Ultimately, the Winnipeg Wesmen—the Gaels’ quarter finals competitors—average 16 turnovers a game. If they can keep up the defensive pressure, I have no doubt the Gaels will have success throughout the entire U SPORTS National Championship.

Women’s Basketball

The Women’s Basketball team has a very rare look this year. With a superstar on the team like Julia Chadwick, MIR ’24, backed by a playmaker like Emma Weltz, Nurs ’24, and having a secondary option who is a threat from everywhere in Laura Donovan, Nurs ’24, Head Coach Claire Meadows has the ability to be creative in her playmaking.

This Gaels team doesn’t have to run their play through or centre it around one player, aside from the previously named all-stars, the Gaels can knockdown three-pointers should they get open.

A bit lesser appreciated is the duo of rookie Katrina Renon and Mikayla McFarlane, Kin ’25. Coming off the bench, this front court has shown flashes of dominance, serving too much height and playmaking for most defences’ appetite.

In terms of the matchups the Gaels will be getting at nationals in Edmonton, Alberta, the Saint Mary’s University Huskies average nearly 30 three-point attempts per game. While only 30 percent of these shots fall, there is focus to be directed towards rebounding and being quick in closing out and contesting these shots.

Ultimately, both our Gaels teams are in prime positions to shock the nation and upset the top talent in Canada.

SpringHoroscopes:Cleaning

How should you be springing into the new season?

The Psychic Scholar Staff Writer

It’s officially spring, and what better way to celebrate than with a little spring cleaning. There’s no better time to declutter your mind, space, and your spirit. Here’s what the signs should clean out of their lives to make sure they sparkle this spring season.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

End the situationship, Aries. If they can’t commit to you after six months, they never will. Do yourself a favour and run away before you become a laughingstock who put their heart on the line for someone that can’t even text you back outside the hours of 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. You deserve someone who values you consistently, not just when it’s convenient for them. Don’t settle for being an option in someone else’s life when you deserve to be their priority.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Ditch your dead-end job, Taurus. Your boss doesn’t value you and your dedication and effort would be much better spent elsewhere. Don’t let fear hold you back from seeking out new opportunities where you can thrive and make a real impact. Take the leap, but don’t jump too far.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

Clean up your communication, Gemini. Clear up any misunderstandings and prioritize honest, open dialogue with those around you. Staying silent doesn’t make you mysterious, it just leaves room for confusion and missed connections. Embrace clarity in your communication and take the time to actively listen and engage in meaningful conversations

that foster understanding and connection. Stop being a coward and just say what’s on your mind. Believe me, you’ll thank yourself in the long run.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Let go of the emotional baggage weighing you down, Cancer, and create a space for love, joy, and self-care in your life. Focus on nurturing your emotional well-being by surrounding yourself with supportive relationships, engaging in activities that bring you happiness, and practicing self-love every day. Rather than throwing yourself a pity party, use this spring to change yourself and your life for the better, or at least for the next month.

Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22)

Toss out the jealousy, Leo. Whether it’s your neighbour with the cooler car, your ex with the hotter new beau, or your classmate with the better grades, constantly comparing yourself to others just isn’t serving you anymore. In case you haven’t heard, “comparison is the thief of joy.” Channel that energy into bettering yourself—lord knows you need it.

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22)

Small changes can lead to big transformations, Virgo. It’s time to get your sh—t together. Stop doom scrolling on TikTok, declutter your mind, and channel all your unreleased energy into doing something productive. Start by setting small, achievable goals and gradually build momentum towards larger transformations. Whether it’s organizing your space, pursing a hobby, or working towards your dreams, every step forward counts.

Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)

Get rid of others’ opinions of you, Libra. You take the negative things people say to heart and it’s harming your ego. This Spring, invest in your self-love and confidence. Focus on nurturing your strengths and stop letting other people get to you.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)

It’s not too late to turn yourself around, Scorpio. For the sake of everyone in your life, take the time to reflect on your actions and intentions. Spring offers a perfect opportunity to shed old habits and embrace positive change. Gossiping is fine occasionally, but be mindful of the impact your words can have. Instead of spreading negativity, strive to cultivate an environment of kindness and understanding. Who knows—you may even gain a couple of friends in the process.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)

Get rid of the victim complex, Sagittarius, not everything is about you! Nobody is out to get you or holding you back. It’s time to grow up and start taking responsibility for your actions and choices instead of playing the blame game. Remember, as much as you think it does, the world doesn’t revolve around you and sometimes, it’s actually your fault.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19)

Clear out the negativity in your life, Capricorn. Nobody likes a Debby downer. The sun is finally out so you no longer have an excuse to dwell. If the Spring blooms on Uni Ave. can liven up the student district, there’s no reason why you can’t brighten up your attitude.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb 18)

For God’s sake, Aquarius, clean your room. There’s a difference between being messy and just plain dirty. Don’t be the latter! You’ll find that a clutter-free environment fosters peace and productivity—exactly what you’ve been missing in your life.

Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20)

It’s time to ditch your sh—tty boyfriend, Pisces, he’s only bringing you down. You deserve a partner who uplifts and cherishes your unique spirit. Your intuition knows when something isn’t right, so trust your gut. You deserve happiness and fulfillment in your relationships, so don’t settle for anything less. It’s not cute and you deserve better.

Need a place to write down your thoughts?

journal_lifestyle@ams.queensu.ca

Celebrating the forgotten women behind International Women’s Day

Embracing intersectional feminism is imperative in current feminist discourse

Allie Moustakis Senior Lifestyle Editor

This International Women’s Day (IWD), it’s important to celebrate the women left behind who have paved the way for gender equality.

The roots of IWD can be traced back to the early 20th century when women around the world began organizing and mobilizing for their rights.

The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States on February 28, 1909, in honour of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where 15,000 women protested against unlawful working conditions and demanded better pay and shorter hours.

Inspired by this movement, the idea of an international day to celebrate women’s achievements gained momentum.

In 1910, Clara Zetkin, a German socialist and feminist, proposed the idea of an International Women’s Day at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. The proposal was met with unanimous approval, and the first IWD

was celebrated the following year in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on March 19.

Since then, IWD has grown into a global phenomenon. It’s celebrated annually on March 8 to honour the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It serves as a reminder of the progress made towards gender equality while highlighting the ongoing challenges women continue to face.

However, as we celebrate the achievements of women on this day, it’s important to recognize the narrative of women’s rights has often been dominated by the experiences of upper-middle class, white women.

Throughout history, women from marginalized communities, including women of colour, LGBTQ+ women, disabled women, and those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, have faced intersectional oppression that often goes unrecognized. Their stories are a testament to the resilience and strength of women in the face of adversity.

Women of colour have played instrumental roles in shaping movements for social justice and equality, yet their contributions have frequently been overshadowed by the narratives of their white counterparts.

Fannie Lou Hamer was one of the most powerful voices of the civil and voting rights movements,

and Yuri Kochiyama was a Japanese-American activist who fought against racism for all.

Two more notable names include Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. congress, and Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate who bravely advocates for girls’ education worldwide. These are just a handful women of colour who have made invaluable contributions to the fight for gender equality and racial justice.

LGBTQ+ women have faced discrimination and marginalization within both mainstream society and feminist movements.

Women like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who were key figures in the Stonewall uprising, and Audre Lorde, a poet and activist who advocated for intersectional feminism, have paved the way for LGBTQ+ right and visibility.

Their courage and resilience have challenged societal norms and pushed for greater acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals within broader conversations about gender equality.

Disabled women, too, have been at the forefront of advocacy efforts, demanding recognition of their rights and inclusion in all aspects of society.

Leaders like Judith Heumann, the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement,” and Alice Wong, a disability activist

and consultant to the Obama administration, have been tireless advocates for disability rights and inclusion. Their activism hasn’t only challenged ableism but highlighted the importance of intersectionality in addressing the needs of disabled women within the broader feminist movement.

We can’t forget the women from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds who have been instrumental in grassroots organizing and community activism, advocating for economic justice and equity.

Women like Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, have defied odds, mobilized communities, and brought attention to the experiences of marginalized women facing economic exploitation and sexual violence.

As we celebrate IWD, let’s remember to uplift the voices and experiences of all women, not just those who have traditionally held positions of privilege and power.

Let’s honour the courage, resilience, and determination of women from all walks of life who have fought tirelessly for equality and justice. Let’s commit ourselves to amplifying their voices, addressing the intersectional oppression they face, and working towards a more inclusive and equitable society for all.

The dangerous appeal of the Trad Wife

A regression towards homemaking roles divides the Internet

Natalie Viebrock Staff Writer

Whether you love them or loathe them, trad wives’ presence on social media is impossible to ignore.

This International Women’s Week, my explore pages have become overrun with hopeful messages of feminism, neatly packaged in purple Canva templates adorned with empowering slogans and tied together with a resolute #girlpower bow.

I’m reminded of historic days in women’s history when our collective struggle culminated in hard-won victories: the right to cast our ballots, the opportunity

to pursue education, the entrance into traditionally male-dominated professions, and the freedom to control our own finances. With each reminder, I feel a surge of gratitude towards the courageous trailblazers who paved the way for my autonomy, such as the Suffragettes, Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, and Nellie McClung to name just a few.

Yet, amidst this celebration of progress, my thoughts are drawn to the nauseating TikTok trend that has the Internet up in arms, leaving me wondering what the pioneers of feminism would think about the “trad wife.”

“Trad wives,” slang for traditional wife, is an online subculture that’s recently cropped up on social media, where millennial and Gen-Z stay-at home moms, wives, and girlfriends advocate for a return to domesticity and submission

through carefully curated TikTok vlogs and aesthetic Instagram posts. This movement encourages traditional homemaking roles, where women are seen as inferior and submissive to their husbands.

Though much of trad wifery is rooted in religion, made evident through Bible-quotes in Instagram bios and dainty cross tattoos, some trad wives appear to embrace the lifestyle for purely aesthetic reasons. The 1950s pinup appearances and cottage core fashion intersect in a trad wife picture of domesticity, regardless of political or religious motivations.

Some trad wives even self-identify as feminists and view their return to tradition as a reclamation of femininity.

At the end of the day, most Internet-famous trad wives are just another breed of influencer—but instead of

From Liz, With Love: i’m jeaLous oF my Friend’s job!

Learning how to cope with failure

Elizabeth Provost Staff Writer

Dear Liz,

My best friend and I recently applied for the same job, and to my disappointment, she was the one who got it. Since finding out, I’ve found myself grappling with a mix of emotions—I can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy alongside genuine happiness for her success. She sees I’m a bit upset and keeps asking me what’s wrong, which I’m starting to find extremely annoying. I know I should be happy for her but part of me is still envious. Should I tell her?

Signed, Jobless and (a tad) jealous

Dear Jobless and (a tad) jealous, I commend you for acknowledging and sharing these conflicting emotions. It’s much better than keeping them in. It’s entirely natural to feel a mix of happiness for your friend’s success and a pang of jealousy. In today’s job market, everyone is vying for the same opportunity, and when the person who happens to have filled the position is your best friend, it can complicate things. These feelings don’t make you a terrible friend; they make you human.

Feeling upset you didn’t get the job doesn’t mean you don’t want good things for her. I think it’s incredibly important to be present and happy for your best friend, just as you would expect her to be happy for you. It’s important to assess this situation and your emotions constructively. Remember, your best friend didn’t apply for this job behind your back, she didn’t sabotage your chances at getting it, and she didn’t rub it in your face when she was the chosen candidate.

promoting Tarte makeup on a Bora Bora trip, they’re promoting a regression to traditional gendered roles, sponsored by the patriarchy.

The telltale signs of an online trad wife are typically mommy-vlog style cooking videos, farmhouse decor, and a generally beige colour palette. As one Tweet says: “I’m in my sourdough baking, homemaking, flower arranging, mocktail drinking, organic whole foods trad wife era.”

If you find yourself thinking embracing the aesthetic side of domestic labour, you’re not alone. The Instagram page @thetradwivesclub has amassed over 26,000 followers, where women share their support for the trad wife lifestyle.

Continued online at queensjournal.ca/lifestyle

Although it’s natural to compare yourself to others, it’s important to always remember everyone is on their own, unique journey. The fact your friend is asking you what’s wrong indicates she’s seen a shift in your energy—you must cure this jealous itch ASAP before it creates a rift between you.

If you do choose to have a conversation, I would keep two points in mind. First, make sure your word choice is focused on your disheartened or disappointed emotions regarding the job itself rather than her. Second, you don’t necessarily need to explicitly say, “I’m jealous,” but rather convey you’re working through some mixed emotions. Being vulnerable and honest will bring you closer together. Who knows, maybe now that she’s on the inside, she can rope you into the same gig!

With Love, Liz xo

The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1910.

GRAPHIC BY ALI SAFADI

A love letter to my lifelong friendship

Cassandra Pao Editorials Editor

I met my best friend Beatrice when we were four years old.

The school where we attended kindergarten hosts a fair every June to celebrate the end of the school year. Two months before we began school, on June 10, 2006, we both attended this fair and met on the playground.

My first memory is encountering each other at the smallest area of the playground, with the woodchips, and migrating together to the area with the red rubber flooring—it’s softer on your bones than concrete would be but burns and scrapes your knees just as badly—to go down the two-lane slide together.

In every photo I have of the day we met, maybe even in every photo from our childhood, Beatrice looks like she’s deeply pondering whatever person, thing, or task lies before her, even a playground slide or pizza lunch.

In part, this is just her resting face. We joke that if she’s not engaged in conversation, she just looks overwhelmingly pensive. But the depth of thought her resting face insists on conveys something greater—a deep-seated, lifelong strength and compassion she summons on behalf of others.

Beatrice is always thinking about her family. She would risk her life protecting any animal, or even insect. She always gives cash to people on the street and waits at crosswalks to see if an elderly person needs her help crossing. She listens to me read the same sentence over and over, changing one word at a time for hours, and throws her weekends away editing her roommate’s personal statement to vet school until she can’t keep her eyes open anymore.

“Everybody who meets Beatrice assumes she’s as good as she is.

Maybe they can see it in her eyes or the sweetness in her smile

Beatrice is outrageously nostalgic and sentimental because she cares enough to find meaning in everything. She watched the show One Day on Netflix in one sitting several weeks ago and remains devastated. I love hearing her tell me she wants me to

Lifelong friendship is the greatest thing in my life

finish it to feel as sad as she did, just as I love knowing people tell her to be a half-hour early to trick her into being on time.

Truly, the sanctity of Beatrice’s presence in my life can’t be overstated. Maybe we feel so close to each other because we’re both only children, and having shared so much life makes us feel like sisters who were never torn apart over closet space or bathroom schedules.

Everybody who meets Beatrice assumes she’s as good as she is. Maybe they can see it in her eyes or the sweetness in her smile. Every teacher in our high school would swear Beatrice was an angel fallen from Heaven.

As right as they are to believe in her kindness, and as consistent as it is throughout all of her character, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to now know all sides of Beatrice.

I know how selflessly accommodating she can be, and that her husband better not feel too attached to the aesthetic of his wedding or the names of his children. I’ve sat alongside her composure in class, and I’ve watched her eat cold poutine for breakfast in her bed; I’ve seen her politely agree with somebody she dislikes and have listened to her rage over a decade-old grudge. Her memory isn’t only good for nostalgia.

“I always say I’ll know I’ve met my husband when a man makes me feel as safe as Beatrice does. She and I have created a gold standard for connection: I know how I want to be treated and just how close I should be able to feel to another person

I’m not someone who finds it easy to be vulnerable with others. It’s very isolating to feel as I have sometimes, like a sealed bottle somehow getting fuller and fuller of thoughts too exposing to share, with nowhere to redirect them.

Without ever having pushed me to reveal anything to her, Beatrice has become a safe place for my every confession.

I always say I’ll know I’ve

met my husband when a man makes me feel as safe as Beatrice does. She and I have created a gold standard for connection: I know how I want to be treated and just how close I should be able to feel to another person.

Wherever that man is, good luck to him. I hope he likes being a third wheel.

My lifelong friendship with Beatrice isn’t valuable to me because of the way it helps me interact with the rest of the world. Far more importantly, it informs the way I interact with myself.

Many people have moments in their lives where they feel they’ve lost themselves. But if I were to ever feel lost, I know I could look to Beatrice and find myself again.

Our other friends and family have different opinions—some argue our similarity while others believe we’re far more different. Regardless, Beatrice and I agree we’re no more ourselves with anybody else than we are with each other. Being with Beatrice requires so little thought, I know I can’t help but be the truest version of myself with her.

“Many people have moments in their lives where they feel they’ve lost themselves. But if I were to ever feel lost, I know I could look to Beatrice and find myself again

Being with Beatrice makes me brave. A couple of summers ago, driving made me so anxious my vision would black out if I looked in my sideview mirror and found another car there—not very convenient to be suddenly blind while driving, wouldn’t recommend. After a year or so of not getting back on the road, I decided I was ready to try again. I asked Beatrice to come with me and we drove in small circles around my neighbourhood for two hours.

Last summer, I got my full license (G-level, for my Ontario readers) and drove us two hours on major highways to Niagara-on-the-Lake, where I spent the rest of the weekend driving us through the scenic parts of town and long swaths of vineyard between downtown and our AirBnB. Beatrice’s presence is always enough reassurance for me to get over my anxieties.

Even when she’s in Montreal and I’m in Kingston, she can bring me comfort over FaceTime. When I feel too worked up over a paper to write it during the daylight and have to stay up all night, she props up her laptop on her desk chair for me to FaceTime her sleeping body for reassurance.

Even as our friendship matures alongside us, it remains laughably childish. We like to sit on the floor or at the dining table throwing things at each other—socks, napkins, edamame beans. Lately, I’ve become obsessed with arm wrestling her, especially first thing in the morning or when she’s about to start being productive.

“Dear Beatrice, I hope you’ll accept this as a belated birthday card to stand in for the others I’ve missed in the past and will miss again in the future. You’ll never write me a card as long as this, so ha

We’ve been friends for almost 18 years now. I can’t wait to watch her take my kids through Lindt for free chocolate samples at the mall or to stand behind her in the mirror on her wedding day adjusting the train on her dress.

Until then, so long as our lives allow it, I hope we continue to spend every birthday and Halloween with each other.

Despite going out of our ways to be a part of each other’s birthday, we’ve been friends for so long, love each other so much, and know it so concretely that we haven’t felt the need to get each other a birthday card in years.

Beatrice’s 22nd birthday was two days ago. We spent the weekend before it together in Kingston—likely her last of many visits before I graduate.

Dear Beatrice, I hope you’ll accept this as a belated birthday card to stand in for the others I’ve missed in the past and will miss again in the future. You’ll never write me a card as long as this, so ha.

You’re a marvellous friend and a marvellous woman who I’ll be so honoured to know for all my life.

Happy birthday and happy International Women’s Day. I love you.