MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

A CALL FOR CHANG E

SRC to consider constitutional amendments

ZACH KERSHMAN

Here we are in the thick o au- tumn – a season o changes. Te leaves on the trees are turning red, the rain is start- ing to all and the library is now open on Saturdays. Adding to this list o exciting changes is the SRC constitution review! Spearheading the operation is none oth- er than politically inclined SRC president, Graham Fischer. Fischer has been review- ing the constitution over the past block as part o an independent study and his goal is to amend the existing constitutio n to better suit the school’s many changes. Te constitution is a document that outlines the rules and responsibilities o the Quest Student Association and the Students’ Representative Council. Also in the 12-page document are regulations sur- rounding electoral policies, SRC ﬁnances, and procedures or amendments to the document itsel. Te purpose o the constitution amendment process is to allow the student body to participate in and contribute to the document by which we are governed. With the increasing number o students and the impending departure o Quest’s president, David Heland, it is paramount to the unc- tionality o the SRC that the constitution be adapted. Tis is where we, the students, come in. As stated in the constitution, any member o the Student Association can propose an amendment to the constitution. Tis is a unique opportunity to see real change in the way our student government operates. But I’m not really into politics, you say. I wouldn’t even know what to put orward as an amendment! I sat down with Concentration Representative, Celine Al- len, to get a better idea o what kinds o things the SRC are expecting to see in the amendments. “A lot o it is not anything that was really wrong with the constitution in the ﬁrst place, rather things that have to be adapted as we grow.” Allen elaborated on the concern aced by present and past SRC’s regarding ﬁnancial independence rom the school. “Our autonomy is in our money and having the ability to und the student initiatives that perhaps are unded by the school in bigger universities.” Although Allen made it clear that the administration has always had a healthy relationship with the SRC, it is something to consider as the school aces changes in administration. I you have an amendment you would like to put orward or you would like to get involved in the process you can submit an amendment rom right now un- til the ﬁrst week o December block. At the end o week one there will be a presenta- tion about the amendments drafed, afer which daily review meetings will be held open to all students. Ten rom Tursday to Saturday it’s voting time. More details will be sent out in an all student e-mail in the beginning o December. I you have ideas about how the SRC should run, or want to see things changed in the constitution this is your op- portunity to make it happen.

SRC WATCH OP-ED

Te standard weekend ormula goes like this: You go to a party, you get drunk, you meet someone, you MOPO (make out, peace out) and then the next day you have the classic ‘I was just so drunk’ scapegoat. Unortunately, a lot o the time there seems to be an unspoken assumption that hooking up while you’re drunk means you are no longer responsible or the other person’ s eelings aferwards. Tis approach to hooking up can lead to some pretty nas- ty, shameul eelings. Drunken hook-ups in themselves don’ t have to be all bad (they can be really un i you’re with the right person), but it’ s more how they are handled that is the problem. Communication afer a hook up should be a given, but currently the norm is an awkward, injured silence. A simple check-in the day afer is a great start to having healthy casual sex. Te sense o shame and discom- ort around casual sex that we mentioned above points to a larger social issue. Soci- ety tells women that they need an excuse to have casual sex, while men are applauded or sleeping with as many partners as pos- sible. Tis double standard can produce a diﬃcult dynamic between heterosexual hookup partners when those involved are grappling with such polar expectations. Tis makes open communication even harder to approach. Women tend to be the primary bearers o this kind o se xual shame. Sham- ing women or being sexual beings is color- ully called ‘slut-shaming:’ a phenomenon which can be most brutal between women policing each other’s sexual adventures. With this kind o pressure many women eel more comortable hooking up casually i they can use the ‘i-was-just-drunk’ ex- cuse to their riends. So let’ s be ho nest. Drunken sex usually isn’t as sexy as we’d like to believe, and it shouldn’t be our only orm o hook- ing up. As un as it can be, being drunk means that you are more likely to orget the condom or decide that it’ s worth the r isk to just go or it anyway. People tend to com- municate their wishes less coherently when drunk, and we cannot stress this more: be- ing able to communicate what you want, and how you want it, is essential to having good sex. So what we would like to see is a paradigm shif in the way in which peo- ple hook-up. You can have sex any time you want to, and that means, not just afer parties. Te idea that the only respectable way or strangers or acquaintances to have casual sex is afer some sort o drunken social event is preposterous. Conﬁdence is damn sexy, and alcohol is not the only way one can produce that kind o conﬁdence. You can conﬁdently and respectully ask someone i they would like to have sex with you pretty much anytime you want. And i someone does respectully ask you whether you would be interested in such an adven- ture, make sure you aﬀord them the same respect in your answer. Play sae, Mabel and Caleah

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WOMEN’S SOCCER SCORES BIG WIN

SPORTS

Quest women’s soccer team enjoyed their best season to date

KEVIN BERNA

While many students were en- joying their block break riding the waves in oﬁno, the Quest women’s soccer team was across the Island in Nanaimo ﬁghting or supremacy in the Pacwest Provincial Championsh ip. Afer dominating their semi-ﬁnal game, the lady Kermodes ell just short in the ﬁnals, losing to the Tompson Rivers University Wolpack by a score o 1-0. RU won their third gold medal in as many years and advanced to the National Championship. Joining the Wolpack are the Kwantlen Eagles, who ﬁnished last in the Pacwest but qualiy because o their status as the host team. Despite this unortunate end to what was a historic campaign or the wom- en’s program, Coach Craig Smith remains positive about the state o his team going orward. Smith rem arks on the cohesiv e play o his team this year, stating, “the girls are really believing in . . . [the team] philos- ophy” . Smith also revealed that he is very pleased with their progression throughout his three years at the helm. Adding to this team eﬀort was the work o Quest’s our Pacwest All-Stars: strikers Mari arleton and Paige Ayers earned ﬁrst team honours, while Brianna Powrie and keeper iana Gilchrist secured their spot on the second team. Smith also acknowledged the value o his experienced veteran players. He admired ourth year midﬁelder Gellie Raguin-Licas’ “ability to control the tempo o game” and also spoke highly o his other graduating star M ari arl eton. He praised the ourth year’s consistency in ront o goal, as she led her team in scoring in each o her our years. Although she has alwa ys been the main threat, arleton remains conﬁdent that the oﬀence has been lef in capable hands. She comments on the qu al- ity o young talent, including ellow ﬁrst team All-Star Paige Ayers who, in arleton’s words, “has the potential to be the next star in the Pacwest” , and is hopeul or a break- out year rom one o her ormer striking partners. a rleton is excited or third year  anner Batchelor to ﬁnally play her ﬁrst in- jury ree season, as she has been sidelined with various leg issues or the majority o her Quest career. Te Quest women’ s team looks to be a orce in th e Pacwest next season. Al- though Coach Smith admitted that this was the year he wanted to take his team all the way, he is determined to “keep the level o competition high” next season, even with- out two o the league’s strongest opponents. Because RU and UBC Okanagan are both making the leap to CIS level competition next season, one could label the lady Ker- modes as the Pacwest’s top team in the up- coming year. Te Quest Varsity women’ s socce r program has steadily improved every year since its existence, and this year, all the dedication paid oﬀ in the orm o a silver medal: the best ﬁnish o any Quest athletics program in the school’ s history. With an- other year o consistent coaching, diligent team eﬀorts, and All-Star leadership, it is very possible that we will be cheering our lady Kermodes on at Nationals next No- vember.

MABEL VAUTERAVERS CALEAH DEAN

GETTING OFF

Under a cloudy , dry sky, a pack o swaddled students gathered on the soccer ﬁeld on Wednesday, November 6th to kick oﬀ Quest’s all Community day. Commu- nity day allows the Quest community to gather, reﬂect, and urther build a sense o community, requiring the participation and enthusiasm o students or its survival as a traditional event. In the morning session, students and aculty improvised poems, ormed Q-shapes, struck tree poses, and took group photos. When all was photographed and done, students broke oﬀ into smaller groups and began community work proj- ects and eedback disc ussions. Mentors and advisors were also given an opportunity to connect with their mentees and hold dis- cussions about lie at Quest. Community days have employed varying themes over the past six years , such as stepping outside o your comort zone, or building connections with the Squamish community. Tis semester’s event ocused on community service around campus. Many students enjoyed the com- munity work projects, such as repainting North and South lobbies and cleaning up trash around campus. One ﬁrst year, Shane Beardegroote, appreciated the ocus o community day as a chance to give back, stating that, “the most important thing I got out o that was the act that I wanted to get out in the garden but I hadn’t had the time to. Tis gave me chance to get out.” Te day also succeeded in build- ing community in Beardegroote’s eyes. He commented, “I deﬁnitely eel more invest- ed in visiting the community garden. I eel more connection with the people that are working on the garden. ” Melanie Koender- man, Dean o Students, was pleased by the turnout and enthusiasm she witnessed. Not all students had similar ex- periences to Beardegroote, however. Al- though he admitted that Community Day went better than expected, second year  ed- dy Rose commented that he was araid the community service ocus may have scared students away and lowered participation. “When I received the email, it seemed like 15 bulletpoint chores that I had to do.” An- other student, who chose to remain anony- mous, agreed, adding that, “while there are a lot o students working… to help better the campus and bring that spirit alive, a lot o people weren’t involved because there wasn’t a ‘un’ aspect to it.” Another ﬁrst year student also perceived community day to be a missed opportunity to acilitate bonding between ﬁrst and upper years. Some expressed con- cern around the divide emerging among the incoming class and the upper years. “Community day could have been an in- credible bridge or that, but hardly any third or ourth years showed up, and the ones that did are the ones you knew would, ” she said. Ideas or the Spring Communi- ty Day have already begun percolating. Koenderman hints at the possibility o re- sume-building workshops and interesting talks by utors. Community Day cannot continue to ulﬁll its potential as a com- munity building event without the partic- ipation o students rom all years, and their opinion o it as a valuable event replacing an entire day in the block system. I you have ideas you want to see integrated into the next gathering that will make the day important to you, contact Melanie Koen- derman.

ELISE SCRIBNER

COMMUNITY DAY 2013