Greetings, faithful Myles Files readers who have received almost zero examples of real content for like the past six months. When this blog started last summer, it seemed like the right time: Cultural Learnings was coming into its own, I was really starting to dig into my thesis projects, and there was some upcoming Acadia news that seemed ripe for the blogging.

Of course, those final two projects veered off into rather time-consuming directions, with my thesis turning into a time-consuming monster and the faculty strike becoming a rather phenomenal blogging experience. The result of all of this, however, was that The Myles Files didn’t really serve any sort of particular purpose: my life was never interesting enough to maintain a steady flow of content, a majority of my entertainment viewing was television and handled by the other blog, and any thoughts I had about various Acadia goings-on have largely been relegated to the sidelines in favour of finishing this bloody degree.

But now the degree is over – the final thesis edit is complete, and by and large it appears that I have a fairly loose summer ahead of me. I have no full-time employment, plenty of movies to watch, and a number of exciting and bloggable projects in the works. So, clearly, the Myles Files is back in action, right?

Maybe. Or, well, maybe not.

You see, my summer includes the potential for (Brace yourself) two new blog projects, multiple facebook groups, and Masters’ Research Work. While I am still expecting that I will have a fair amount of free time compared to previous summers, a lot of that free time will go towards various new media outlets wherein I will be discussing those subjects elsewhere.

However, part of the summer may well necessitate blogging, as I might actually be forced into trying new things (And this is always entertaining as far as I am concerned). I will admit to having SOADD (Sudden Onset Attention Deficit Disorder) merely 24 hours after finishing off the undergrad – I can’t maintain one activity for too long, whether it is watching a television show, a movie, or even playing a video game. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’ve lost interest in these things, but rather that I am branching out in search of entertainment and self-fulfillment.

Where that road will take me I am not quite sure – I’m actively pondering a particular month-long project in May, and have a goal that I will have developed some form of podcast about some sort of subject by the time the summer is over. I’ve spent the last three summers doing the same thing over and over again, so it should be interesting to see a summer where personal discovery is par for the course (Oooh, that reminds me – I also want to golf more).

So, while I’ll be pulled into a variety of different directions, I do plan on sticking around the Myles Files – whether it’s to describe these other ventures or to vent about this that or another, this blog shall live on. However, as always, for more consistent updates, Cultural Learnings gets first priority.

In working on this creative project, it was an issue of inspiration: in reading through hundreds of sources, what jumped out at us as the stories to tell, as the perspectives to take? Ultimately, the form it took was the same as the form of this posting: blogs.

Now, there are advantages and disadvantages to using a blog format for an online project.

The Advantages

• Ability to ask “What if” questions about modern communication in non-modern settings
• Easy to create, easy to manage
• Myles is addicted to them (Also a disadvantage!)

The major disadvantage, however, is more apparent – they read backwards, so for people looking to read the whole story they need to scroll down the page and read in a strange fashion.

However, this is really an advantage: it reminds us that history doesn’t always start at the beginning, and that you have to search for those starting points in our look back into the past. We feel as if we have found some of these starting points, and are proud to be presenting these blogs as our final Class Project.

Notes for Reading “Blogging the Plague”

• You will notice comments on a number of the blogs – these are part of the story, and help emphasize the benefit of communication and the importance of dialogue. They also allowed us to contribute to one another’s projects, and to create a connection (however coincidental and convenient) between our separate works.
• Each blog has a “Sources” page which features references to documents, both primary and secondary, which inspired or informed our postings.
• As noted, blogs are read backwards – each blog fits onto one page, so a simple “End” will do the trick.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Myles A. McNutt, B. Alexander Fage, Amandine Clairo, Jennifer Huizen

About “Blogging the Plague”

“Blogging the Plague” is a project designed to ask a series of “What if?” questions about the outbreak of plague in the United States of America, specifically in Honolulu and San Francisco at the turn of the 20^th century.

What if the stories of the people close to the plague, be it victims or medical professionals, made it to public at large through mass media sources?

What if the reasons and explanations behind the decisions of J. Kinyoun had been made public, allowing the public to view what was behind his public image as the “Wolf Doctor?”

What if there had been a news source that cut through the pacts of silence to reach a broad worldwide readership, spreading the plague stories worldwide?

If all of these, or one of these, would have happened, how would this have changed the question of how plague spread? Would the government have felt more accountable, providing more resources to Kinyoun and others? Would the residents of these cities accept the treatment, and their efforts, considering this new scenario: or would such a free flow of information have organized them against it more quickly?

This project does not attempt to answer this question, but rather poses it while offering different timelines and perspectives on the arrival and infestation of plague in the Southwest U.S. The hope is that these people that we have inhabited will bring some element of posterity to these events, and provoke further investigation.

About PlagueWatch

http://plaguewatch.wordpress.com/

PlagueWatch is a community watchdog blog designed to provide a perspective into the rise of plague in Hawaii and California during the Victorian era. Its structure is fictional, but the events of each post are based on facts and sources.

It is designed to point out the nature of government corruption during this period, and the inability for the traditional forms of media to engage with such issues. There was a huge opportunity for media to help confront the problems of plague through aggressive action, but their decision to pander to big business ultimately held them back.

In modern societies, we see similar actions, but the spread of information has made it impossible for news to stay buried. This blog uses many of these methods, from podcasts to open letters and conversations, to demonstrate how this type of communication could have raised awareness amongst the public as to the importance of this process. If the people are aware, perhaps plague stops sooner – or, perhaps, it simply ignites civil conflict.

The creation of PlagueWatch was overseen by Myles A. McNutt (100073201).

About A Saving Grace

http://kinyounsdiary.wordpress.com/

A wonderfully intelligent doctor who experiences a delirious fall from grace, J. J. Kinyoun guarded over the port city of San Francisco, vigilantly watching for any sign of his greatest foe – Yersinius Pestis, or plague.

A Saving Grace provides a personal and dramatic view of one of the most devastating and detrimental government scandals that San Francisco would ever experience. Kinyoun’s anguish and anger serve as a poignant reminder of the human experience that accompanies these great tragedies, and allows us a glimpse into the mind of a man scorned.

This is a glimpse not shared by his contemporaries, who drove him out of town with little appreciation of his efforts and the difficulty of his position. These entries are designed to humanize Kinyoun’s struggle, and to ask the question of whether everything would have been different if the people only knew his true thoughts.

The creation of A Saving Grace was overseen by B. Alexander Fage (100083618).

About Plague on the Island

http://madokasstory.wordpress.com/

I chose to write about the life of a Japanese immigrant woman who is widowed by the Hawaiian plague of 1899 and 1900. The life of Madoka Sukuichi is fictional, but she became very real to me the more I researched the lives of Asian immigrants in Honolulu and all the trials they went through at the turn of the century.

I found the Japanese community to be especially interesting. In 1900 they constituted nearly 40% of the total population of Hawaii (61,111 out of a total of 154,001 according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census), thereby making up the largest minority group by far. The Japanese were noted as being a particularly progressive and adaptive immigrant population; they also had ties to the plague in particular through Kitasato Shibasaburo and were more accepting of the idea and principles of bacteriology than any other ethnic minority (as noted numerous times in James C. Mohr’s book Plague and Fire which formed the basis for my recreation).

The place where Madoka’s home would have been (based on the death record of her husband) has now been paved over and made into a parking lot, according to Google Earth, but I found it fascinating to try to imagine what her life might have been like during such a time of extraordinary upheaval and trauma. She was a very level headed, intelligent woman, caught up in a few months of intense crisis.

Plague on the Island was overseen by Amandine Clairo (100084898).

Yechunwo’s Diary

http://yechunwo.wordpress.com/

This blog is from the perspective eyes of a 20 year old Chinese nurse working at the New Oriental Dispensary, at 828 Sacramento Street. She lives with her father, often here referred to as her Ba, and her two younger brothers and sisters. She is trained as a traditionalist, a nurse who uses medicine such as herbs and acupuncture to help heal and prevent illness. She is overwhelmed with this new sickness which is being spoken of all around her in scientific terms and references she cannot comprehend.

She struggles throughout her time in San Francisco to come to terms with possibly leaving her own ways behind to adopt Western medicine, while also feeling extreme sympathy and compassion for her own people. Her story is important, because it is not one that is recorded in books or articles or archives. It is a story that shares insight into why the culture responded the way they did the plague, and what effect this had on the way the white population of San Francisco and the United States in general perceived them. She was a person on the ground floor of this whole ordeal, and a vision into what went on behind closed doors. This is her story.

The creation of Yechunwo’s Diary was overseen by Jennifer Huizen (100083194).

I’ll be heading back tomorrow for a more detailed go-round with the various vendors, but today I stopped into the Acadia Laptop Showcase at the Fountain Commons in order to get a glimpse at what the various vendors have to offer. I’m not going to offer my own opinion in full detail (That’ll be for the Ath, it seems), but I will say this much: thanks to everyone who came out. The future of the Acadia Advantage is important to this university, and a student voice is integral. Too often I think students are left out of this process, so this is a great opportunity to test and see if these computers meet your needs.

Personally, I’ll disclose that if I return to Acadia next year I will be buying an Apple laptop – this was going to be the case before they were one of the potential vendors, and nothing I saw today really changed that fact. I heard a few rumblings here and there about the representative being a bit prickly, but in the end a fair number of students were gravitating towards the shiny boxes.

But let me pose a few questions about each model, in an attempt to gather some information and stir up some discussion.

Apple:

• What knowledge did you gain regarding operating a Windows environment through Boot Camp?
• How much are you willing to spend for a MacBook?
• Did you leave the table with a sense of the difference between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro? And compared to PCs?

HP:

• Were you as put off as I was by the lack of pricing/specifications on the models?
• Did you think the tablet PC was cool, or just a distraction from the rest of their presentation?
• Is a Biometric thumb scanner SERIOUSLY a selling point for anyone?

Toshiba:

• How concerned were you about the specifications on the Toshiba laptops?
• Is size an issue for you? (I don’t think Toshiba had a laptop under 15.4″)
• Do you feel that these models were designed for student use?

Dell:

• Are you willing to pay $1500 for an upgraded version of the current Acadia laptop?
• Are you interested in a high-end gaming rig, or was that not of any interest?
• Do you feel wary about Dell in general based on the performance of the existing laptops?

If you want to take some time to answer any of these questions, or offer your own comments, feel free to post below! And if you haven’t yet visited the Laptop Showcase, it is on tomorrow (Wednesday) from 10am to 7pm.

The earlier than expected departure of Gail Dinter-Gottlieb, president of Acadia University, was met with a variety of different reactions. Many of these, expectedly, reflect back on her tenure of president with a certain skepticism, and view her removal as vindication for their past criticism of her efforts. Others, meanwhile, view this as yet another sign that Acadia is “falling apart” and that the downward spiral continues to destroy the university at the administrative level. While I perhaps have more sympathy to the former rather than the latter, which I think is sensationalist and frustrating, I would contend that the real reaction here is one which is forward-looking – Gail’s departure allows Acadia to define a new path sooner, rather than later.

By the time September rolls around, Acadia should have a new President in place. The final two projects of Dr. Gottlieb’s time at Acadia, the Biology Building originally scheduled to open this month but now delayed (again) and the revamped Acadia Advantage, will have been completed and launched respectively. The result will be an opportunity for Acadia to stop worrying about internal struggles and faculty strikes and focus on the future. We all knew that Gail wasn’t returning, so now we can move on faster and while some of the university’s problems are still fresh in our memories.

While returning from the holidays is always somewhat bittersweet, this year is particularly interesting. For me, it’s (potentially) my last semester at Acadia, and at least the conclusion of my undergraduate degree. For first year students, however, this will be their first full semester – their first time writing two sets of midterms, or their first time watching as four months goes by in the blink of an eye even without a four-week break. It makes for a unique environment, and one where we’re all trying to stop thinking about the past and move forward.

And while I won’t attempt to speculate regarding Gail’s departure, and the ever vague “personal and family reasons” description, I have to commend this decision because it helps all of us push forward. The strike did not exist as something which will define our university careers, but as an intriguing test of the student body’s ability to adapt and react to such scenarios. I think that a lot of people became engaged with university issues for the first time, whether in regards to academic concerns or student politics. This residual benefit from the strike has yet to be realized, but it now has the potential to show itself.

Over the next few months, next year’s ASU Executive will be elected and appointed, and it will be an incredibly important time. I am hoping that the election does not become about the strike, but rather becomes a contest about a new Acadia that maintains those values important to students. I am personally considering applying for a position on this executive due to my own desire to be a part of creating this new Acadia, but more importantly I want everyone else to want to do the same. So often student elections are ignored, but now is a time for change.

And there can’t be any change if people aren’t willing to step up and make it happen. It doesn’t need to be part of the ASU elections – applying to become an RA is another option that can certainly play an important role in the development of this university and its students in the years ahead. I know that I wish now that I had done more in my first year, and now I feel like I’m playing catchup – if you don’t want to be in the same position, get out there now before it’s too late.

But it’s not yet too late – it’s only the first day of classes, which means that there’s plenty of time to make a difference. Gail leaving may have been met with cheers initially, as is the departure of most authority figures, lets focus on what stands in front of us. I’m tired of hearing about decreased enrollment and administrative deconstruction – we can ultimately create and define our own Acadia, and that is the power we hold in our hands in the new year. While my workload is mildly ridiculous this month, and next month, and pretty much all term, I’ll be working on providing at least some analysis of the ASU Elections to attempt to increase engagement.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Myles

[Moving] Images of Women:

Feminist Criticism and Reality in Television

Toril Moi’s Sexual/Textual Politics spends very little time on ‘Images of Women’ criticism; despite representing a turn to a political discourse within feminist literary theory, “it is easy today to be reproving of this type of criticism: to take it to task for not recognizing the literariness of literature” (Moi 47). While acknowledging Moi’s valid criticisms of the theory, I believe that the emphasis on realism and reflection within ‘Images of Women’ criticism has gained new relevance within the world of television. In the wake of the birth of reality television, the question of “real” in television has risen to the surface, and has resulted in a wave of series which call this into question. I want to take a look at two examples: a non-traditional television drama (HBO’s Tell Me You Love Me) and a “reality” series (MTV’s The Hills). In doing so, I want to investigate whether this medium for reality, nonexistent when Moi’s text was written, results in a similar deconstruction of ‘Images of Women’ criticism.

HBO’s Tell Me You Love Me

There are no sensationalist storylines (as seen in primetime soap operas like Desperate Housewives) within Tell Me You Love Me, which purports to be one of the most realistic portrayals of relationships on television. This was originally based on its near pornographic sex scenes, but in reality it extends to the most mundane details: drama is created through therapy sessions and discussions, as opposed to bomb scares, and we see these people doing the most mundane things, including urination. This reflects one of the main contentions, as noted by Moi, regarding ‘Images of Women’ theory, in that “toe-nail clipping and the disposal of sanitary towels…seem neglected as fictional themes” (44).

YouTube – Tell Me You Love Me

However, the series develops into one of the contradictions Moi finds within the theory: she notes that “the feminist reader of this period not only wants to see her own experience mirrored in fiction, but strives to identify with strong, impressive female characters” (46). These are not present within Tell Me You Love Me: all characters, even the therapist, are confused, unhappy and make generally terrible decisions involving their personal relationships. As a result, there are few female role models (to the degree Images of Women criticism desires) to be found here, even as they act in a realistic fashion. The series represents the idealist and contradictory viewpoint of ‘Images of Women’ criticism, even within a new medium – you can’t desire realism when you also desire a narrow portrayal of women.

MTV’s The Hills

However, there is no literary equivalent to reality television (Unless we count James Frey’s false autobiography), so shows like The Hills are uncharted territory. The show shows the lives of high society twenty-somethings who have to deal with relationship drama, friendship drama, and the everyday life of modeling in the Hollywood hills. Moi notes that ‘Images of Women’ criticism is “concerned with nurturing personal growth and raising the individual consciousness by linking literature to life” (42). However, I do not believe that even these theorists could imagine that one day The Hills would emerge as not just a connection between literature and life, but rather purporting to be reality itself.

YouTube – The Hills (Heidi and Lauren Fight)

This fight was, of course, staged and filmed from multiple angles: the show’s stars are celebrities, not real people, and any attempt to claim the series as real are inherently false. However, its female “role models” gain a level of notoriety impossible within “fiction” thanks to the show’s purported realism. By blurring the line between actor and character, ‘Images of Women’ criticism becomes even more interesting: literature and life become one and the same, and the power of the show’s portrayal of women becomes even more important. Despite the fact that these portrayals are controlled and edited by a group of shadowy figures, thus representing an unrealistic portrayal, it is presented as reality and could be taken as such (especially by young women).

In other words, even though reality is what this branch of feminist criticism strove for, that reality as found within the realm of television still does not fit into the theory’s idealistic standards. While I think that Moi’s hyper-criticism is often overbearing, I think that here she is measured: when the subject deserves and welcomes criticism, she seems fit to offer only a well-guided analysis of the theory’s flaws.

What this commentary was designed to do was retest this theory. In Moi’s analysis, she believes that the analysis is unbalanced because it fails to respect “women writers who often wrote under ideological conditions that made it impossible for them to fulfil the demands of the feminist critics” (48). However, now that these ideological conditions are no longer in place, the theory remains idealistic and contradictory; the new post-modern focus on reality still does not reconcile the concerns that Moi has with ‘Images of Women’ criticism. If anything, it is further distanced from that reality by these newfound complexities.

Greetings Myles Files readers,

Wikipedia says of “Selling Out”:

Selling out refers to the compromising of one’s integrity, morality and principles in exchange for money, ’success’ or other personal gain. It is commonly associated with attempts to increase mass appeal or acceptability to mainstream society. A person who does this, as opposed to following the original path s/he laid (or claimed to lay) out for him/herself, is labeled a sellout and regarded with disgust and immediate loss of respect.

And, by definition, one could say that I’ve sold out by agreeing to jump over to the Acadia Student Union’s Strike Website and become their official Strike Blogger. And, on the surface, this might be the case: however, at a certain point, a blogger needs to go where they can make the most difference. And, in this case, this is working in conjunction with the Acadia Students’ Union.

The ASU Strike Information Site

http://www.theasu.com/strike/

The Myles Files’ Strike Mission Statement was designed to inform students and help Acadia get through a strike with good information, solid analysis and a neutral voice. It is not coincidence that this aligns with the ASU’s own stance: like them, I wanted to work to best inform students.As a result, rather than “selling out,” I view this as a partnership between a concerned Acadia student who wants to inform students, and the ASU, who has set forward that as their mandate. I don’t feel like I’m changing or editing my own opinions based on this change, and my initial purposes will in fact be better served under this new arrangement.

So, while I might post to here every now and then depending on the situations, for the most part my strike coverage will be focused on the ASU’s new Strike Website. If you have any comments about what you’d like to see on the site, please feel free to comment here, at the Strike Website (I don’t know if you can actually do this), or send me an email at myles.mcnutt @ acadiau.ca. 

Thank you for your continued support, and hopefully we can get through this strike situation with our heads above the sand.

[For information on the Myles Files' strike coverage, regarding the purpose and intention behind it, please refer to the Strike Mission Statement]

Students at Acadia University are supposed to be worried about midterms right now. As courses begin to pile on the tests and quizzes, and as we reach that lovely point halfway through the term, this is usually a hectic time.

However, most students are able to overcome this deluge of material with some hard work and good study habits. But this year, there is another problem that hours of studying won’t fix, and that students are not currently able to fix. Entirely out of their hands, students are now pondering what will happen if faculty goes on strike on October 15th.

The problem with this is that students are faced with a lack of information: while bits and pieces are making their way into the pipeline, for the most part students are left piecing together whatever they can through MSN and DC++ Conversations. While these have a great deal of value, they are also provided to an extremely limited audience. And I, as well, can’t possibly reach enough of the student body to answer the questions floating around.

Are they going back to the table? What does a strike mean for us? How long will they be out for? When will we know if there’s a strike? Should we go home?

Those are just an assortment of potential questions, and I will be honest with you: some of them can’t be answered. There are too many variables at stake: the state of negotiations is such that a single comment or statement could fundamentally change the answers. For the short term: Rumours have them scheduled (with no promises) to negotiate tomorrow, a strike could mean a lot of things, no one really knows how long, they have to give 48 hours notice so by Saturday morning, and only if you live nearby in my personal opinion. Not really satisfying, are they?

However, I believe that it is possible for someone, anyone, to start informing students. Because as far as I can tell, those streams of communication are not open as much as they could be.

The Administration has been dead quiet on the strike itself outside of it’s “official presentations.” They have been extremely forthcoming with whatever information is asked of them, as they have been willing to release salary lists and answer questions on the ASU’s website. What we’ve yet to see, though, is an actual communication (with students) about a potential strike. There has yet to be a message to students from administration actually telling students what the frak is going on.

Which I think is quite ridiculous: while I know that it’s all going to be partisan information, I’d at least like to know that the university (And its various departments) are at the very least making every effort to keep a strike from happening, and that they at least purport to be concerned about the students.

Based on the questions Scott Roberts received at the General Meeting on September 28th, people are more concerned than they are angry: a simple comment might help that, at least acknowledging that they are aware of the level of confusion within the student body. It may be easy to sit back and know that a) students are more likely to side with faculty and b) generally view university discourse with a certain level of apathy, but I believe that some kind of acknowledgment would be reassuring.

The faculty, in the meantime, have been more communicative: reports have surfaced of professors discussing the issues with their students and even sending out emails to update them of the situation. I have to say that I dislike the idea of only one side communicating with students: in any conflict where a compromise is the ideal solution, a one-sided perspective does no one any good. But, at the same time, is it really wrong of the faculty to be doing what the other side should be doing as well?

And then we reach the ASU. As a supporter of the neutral stance of the ASU, designed to better facilitate communication, I’m admittedly somewhat disappointed at the quantity of that discourse to date. They have been a solid source for the occasional factual presentation, and Kyle Steele spent some time on AcadiaDC earlier today discussing the issue with students, but I am personally looking for a continuous discourse. I don’t care if it’s emails, or an ASU Strike Blog, or something else altogether: students right now might need a lifeline to wade through a pool of confusing situations.

Mind you, the first day back from Thanksgiving is only half over: there is still time for the ASU to make that statement, or for the university to start a line of communication. Right now, as much as I believe everyone wants answers, those answers are not entirely available: no one can say, for sure, whether there will be a strike, and no side is going to jeopardize their bargaining position.

What they can offer, however, is a reassurance to the students that their education is not going to get lost in the tussle: while the students’ experience may be central to each side’s pitch of sorts, is our short-term future not part of the picture. Sometimes I think students feel that way, and a certain level of reassurance might do a lot of good in these confusing times.

689.

This was the number of students who felt that a possible strike at Acadia University was worth a few hours of their time on a Friday evening. This is, actually, an impressive number, and I would like to extend my personal appreciation to each of those individuals. An especially large amount of appreciation goes out to the Frosh who have had the least amount of time to become part of this community, and yet still came to voice their opinion. Kudos.

I was going to attempt to write this blog post without contributing to the conversation during the meeting, so as to be able to establish my own neutrality, but anyone who stuck around knows that this didn’t last very long (I’m weak). But, first off, I have a fairly simple message for those who didn’t feel the meeting was worth their time:

Your affliction is apathy. We don’t have a cure. We really wish we did.

The people who didn’t show up to the meeting aren’t “stupid,” “ignorant,” or in any way terrible people: they are simply apathetic towards this cause (To those who had other commitments, I’m not including you in this distinction). Actually, I’d argue that most are likely apathetic towards all causes, but that’s another story. This was about the academic future of this university and a potential strike, and quorum could not be reached. My faith in stopping apathy’s slow march across our society is, well, waning.

For those who couldn’t make it due to work or illness or any other reason, or to those who want to do something about your apathy, you can still make your voice heard. Contact your SRC Councillor via the ASU website, or go to next Thursday’s council meeting to become part of this discourse (I’ll have a summary of events below).

But I don’t need to harp on about that, because there is one thing I really want to deal with.

Hecklers.

I want to talk about how inappropriate and classless it is to heckle during a public presentation…while apologizing for doing it myself by the end of the meeting. During the presentation of the second motion, I reacted with laughter at a comment and Alex (rightfully) called me on it. I apologize for this, as it was both hypocritical and inappropriate for the setting.

This being said, there is a major difference between laughter and even a short one-sentence remark such as “Do some research.” Rather, what I want to address is those individuals who, while the Director of Public Affairs Scott Roberts was speaking, yelled “Shut up.”

Unlike the apathetic people, I am more than willing to call these individuals classless. It is one thing to stimulate someone for more information in a quick statement, but it is entirely another to inform someone who has agreed to speak to students to shut up. I don’t care if you think that Roberts is nothing but a PR flack or that his stance is the wrong one, but treating anyone willing to step in front of an obviously hostile crowd like that is disrespectful beyond laughter or a short statement. It is disruptive, rude and reflects poorly on our ability, as students, to be willing to at least hear someone out on their side of an issue.

As for the meeting itself, for those who either didn’t attend or left before the presentations finished, here’s what went down from as neutral as perspective as someone with opinions on the issue can offer.

Presentation #1 – Dr. Peter Williams (AUFA)

• Focused on faculty issues as they related to students
• Evoked Letter of Understanding, broken promises, and the Complement issue
• States that University presented an ultimatum: this is our final offer. And then talks broke down.
• Last slide removed due to violation of SRC-mandated purpose of the meeting. Much brouhaha ensued over what was an entirely procedural and non-editorial decision.
• Question period focused on expectations of salary (Wanting a midpoint between regional/national competition), and Dr. Williams questions whether Acadia has been promoting the right message to prospective students.

Presentation #2 – Scott Roberts (Acadia University)

• Offered background information on nature of collective bargaining and the University’s current operating budget in generalized terms.
• Describes series of events differently: says that Acadia presented an offer, expected a counter-offer, and are still waiting at the table.
• Emphasized that Acadia’s goals are to be flexible and balanced in terms of their budget.
• Fields questions about administration spending and salaries (Gives math vastly different than Williams), as well as addressing capital expenditures the university has made (or were gifted). Offers opportunity for students to use the Freedom of Information Act to gain further info, and promises to answer the remaining 25 questions online following the meeting.

Presentation #3 – Kyle Steele and Angela Wilson on Neutrality

• Covered their motion as it would have been presented within a successful General Meeting.
• Outlined the role that the ASU has played in a neutral stance, and echoed views that this could not be done if a side was chosen. Mentioned media awareness, all-student emails and the letter-signing campaign as examples of their proactive behaviour.
• Motion itself focused on the ASU being: proactive, reactive, an information source for students, an advocate for student’s interests first, and to not impede negotiations.
• Students in the audience focused questioning on just how effective neutrality has been if we’ve seen no change in the status of the dispute, and the question of whether students need a filter for this information.
• Answers usually referred to the role of the SRC in setting these initiatives for moving forward, and that without quorum it really became their decision: talk to your councilor, attend the meeting, and have your voice heard through that setting.

Presentation #4 – Alex Redfield and Megan Lickley on Supporting the Faculty

• Supports a pro-faculty motion, but more importantly supports picking a side in order to become the agitator this conflict needs to move towards a resolution.
• Questions focus on a cost/benefit analysis of the possible damage which could be done in taking a stance.
• Answers focus on failure of current ASU strategy, and presenters ask for further student input and development to craft the most representative and effective motion for the SRC meeting next Thursday.

If anyone feels that I have misrepresented what they said, or what was said by someone else, please let me know by leaving a comment below or by contacting me on Facebook or via email or any other form. I do not want this to be a political statement, and I feel I’ve avoided this, but if anyone would like a correction made I am more than willing to do so. I want people who couldn’t make the meeting, or didn’t stay, to know what was discussed and the impact that it had.

And if anyone wants to comment on the plans, the event, the motions, or the strike in general, feel free to leave one below.

It’s Tuesday night, and for the most part things are quiet across campus. There is certainly some people out and about, but tomorrow Acadia turns back to its normal state. Classes will be starting bright and early tomorrow morning, and a campus taken over by raucous celebration will become a place of higher learning once more.

But I think that although higher learning may not have been the goal, Welcome Week is nonetheless a place where a lot of learning takes place. As the campus divides on tribal lines based on one’s residence, and people are assigned names and tasks, it is impossible to avoid new experiences that will challenge even the most out-going individual.

And I would like to congratulate all of the frosh for being up to that challenge. I saw a lot of spirit, a lot of pride, and some really positive developments for certain residences. Whether it’s the small but might Tully, or the veritable army from Chase Court, each group brought to the table their own brand of energy.

While there’s a multitude of albums up on Facebook, I think that each of those residences deserves a chance to have a bit of the spotlight. As a result, throughout the month of September, I’m going to go through each residence (with pictures) and try to express my own appreciation for the efforts of all of the frosh, the NSOs and the RAs in those buildings.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for putting up with me over the weekend. While I know that some people dislike candid photographs, it has always been my belief that the end result will provide better memories. I know this is an abstract thought, and I greatly appreciate the patience shown to me over these four days. Some of you were more patient than you really needed to be, and I am grateful.

A special thanks has to go out to Chipman House, who had to deal with me most of all and yet have been absolutely great to me thus far. We’ll see if this extends to my first duty shift, of course, but for now I am truly impressed by the level of non-aggression I’ve witnessed.

Was I a little creepy? Perhaps. Acadia’s own paparazzi? Sounds about right. But, in the end, was it worth it?

I’d say it was. And, over the next month or so, I want to be able to explain why. In the meantime, I’ve posted a first batch of photos onto Flickr for your perusal. There shall be more to come in the weeks ahead.

2. The Frosh Photo

I have a thing for photographs, as every single RA and NSO is aware of thanks to my incessant photo taking during our training sessions. So, it is perhaps unsurprising that I have a special place in my heart for this particular aspect of Welcome Week. While the weather forecast for tomorrow (Showers) might bring bad tidings for moving day, I’m much happier to report that Sunday is looking a-ok. And this mean that the Frosh Photo, my 2nd favourite part of Welcome Week, should be taken under sunny skies.

My love for the Frosh Photo derives not just from my love of photography, but moreso for my enjoyment of the purpose of that photography. The Frosh Photo is designed to be a keepsake, something that you can purchase once the local photography studio gets it all nice and prettied up. However, more than that, the event itself creates memories and can bring them back at any time.

Looking at my own Frosh Photo (Which I did recently), I can think back to the other frosh in Eaton/Christofor and their own crazy antics and cool frosh names. I start to remember who I was standing by, what was going on, and what we were chanting to various residences at the time.

As has been announced, the university is setting up a Photo Contest where new (and old) students can submit their own photos from the week’s activities. The whole point of this is to be able to remember: to create something that will represent your experience during Welcome Week (For more information, click here or send off an email to welcomeweek2007 @ gmail.com).

Those shots will provide snapshots of you and your new friends, maybe you and your old friends, but the Frosh Photo is definitive. It’s all of the frosh, all of the cheering, all of the coloured shirts, and all of the pride in your residences coming together.

On Sunday afternoon, I want every single one of you to be at the Frosh Photo. While it may seem very simple, it is actually both a huge undertaking and an especially rewarding one. Even if you don’t buy a copy of the picture for yourself, it will always be there to represent your first days at Acadia. When you graduate, that Frosh Photo will be in your Yearbook, reminding you how innocent, naive and wholesome (Or, less satirically, simple at an earlier stage in growth) you were before you arrived.

I guess I like to view the Frosh Photo as a last moment of innocence: people cheering, people waving flags, and people representing themselves. It will be hard to recapture that spirit and energy, so having it documented in the form of the Frosh Photo is without a doubt a fantastic thing.

I’ll be there capturing it all: I do hope you’ll be there as well.