gogogogogo!

I've officially entered the homestretch.

Monday: I returned Food, Inc. to the VRC and spent much of the afternoon editing the contextualizing statement. I also read chapter six (which wasn't part of the readings for APC) from Of Cigarettes, High Heels and Other Interesting Things. And I finally got my contextualizing statement back down to seven hundred and fifty words (while I got it down to that number for the rough draft, I wrote about a hundred more than I needed when writing the final draft and had to whittle it down, just as I did for the rough draft. This time, though, I was able to do it on my own.).

Tuesday: I had another meeting with Joan.

While I finally had the time to make it to a Feminist Collective meeting, no one else except Kelly (the woman who runs the meetings--she's a fellow student) showed up and the meeting was cancelled. An hour later I went to what was billed as material-making for an event to welcome the new provincial government but that ended up being event planning for said welcome--at least while I was there: I eventually had to leave because I had to be up early the next day.

Wednesday: We met at the Port Loggia gallery this week instead of our usual classroom to discuss the show and what the students who are in charge of talking with the gallery people found out. Afterward, we wended our way back to Granville. I spent the rest of the day in the computer lab, where Adrian helped me fix the colour in some of my images--which took a while and I finally felt some of that old finals-induced stress as, for a while, I felt that the images would never be finished. We did a dress rehearsal of sorts and had a look at one of the corrected images on the classroom's G5 iMac(!) and projector. I had several moments throughout the day where the realization that my final photography course was almost over hit me. I felt very nostalgic for my time as a photography major and had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't over yet. Even when I'm done my photography courses, I'll probably still come to the photography dept. next semester, as I like the feel of the place, it's easy to get to (which is saying something, given the maze that is the Granville Campus) and it has a regular laser printer (which is important when you're writing essays). And I'll have access to the photo printers until mid-April. I then went over to the Academy Building to replace the old, yucky images with the newer ones.

That night there was a huge storm in Halifax, with high winds. The gusts hit 115 Km/h around 1:30 Thursday morning, and from when I got home that evening to when I went to bed around 2:00 AM, the gusts were powerful enough that they were causing the glass in my bedroom windows to bend in toward my room, which scared me. I could also hear the windows shifting around on their tracks (they're mostly glued shut--mostly) and could feel the building swaying slightly.

Thursday: Before I left my building that day, I paid a visit to the rental office and asked one of the landlords about what I'd experienced the night before. She reassured me that what I'd felt was completely normal. Wednesday night is officially my first time regretting my decision to live as high up as I do: I haven't been that scared of a storm since I conquered my fear of thunder and lightning when I was seven.

I didn't do a whole lot that day, though I did come a little closer to making my final decisions for the photos that I want to print and give as Christmas presents. I also noticed just how off my laptop's calibration is (factory--I've never calibrated it myself), as I had it open next to one of the Photo Dept. computers (which are properly calibrated). My computer has a very blue colour cast, whereas the school computers have a slight magenta colour cast. I asked Alex what the Photo Dept. has for calibration equipment. They have two options, one of which won't work with OS X Lion (what I have on my computer). The other does, and I made a note to calibrate my computer when I come back next semester. Because my computer's a laptop, the colours will never match those of a desktop, but once it's calibrated they will be closer to the colours on a calibrated desktop monitor.

I could tell that finals were in full swing, as the Photography Dept. was a hive of activity that day. I kind of liked it, though: plenty of people around, we were all doing our thing and flitting around...

That afternoon, a friend, Laura, posted on Facebook that she would be going to Elsipogtog (pronounced El-sip-pug-tug) on Sunday. I expressed interest, and that evening we messaged back and forth on FB, figuring things out.

Friday: I devoted the day to doing the final edits on my contextualizing statement. It isn't due until Wednesday (due with the project), but as I knew I would lose a whole workday by going to NB, I wanted to make sure it got done and that I didn't have to stress about it. I printed it off about half an hour before The Cage closed.

I also discussed show stuff with a classmate, also named Alex. He and another classmate, Caitlin, are in charge of talking with the gallery people. I will be showing my project at the Anna Leonowens Gallery instead of the Port Loggia Gallery, where everyone else will be. While it sucks to be separate from my classmates, it's better for my project, as the Anna has monitors and media players, is insured and I won't have to go and turn on said equipment every day, which would be a pain.

Saturday: Another day of hard work. This time I focused on doing the final version of the video, also due to the loss of a workday. My day started with going to the Academy building and doing some tweaks on the video (the original plan was to just export the most recent version as a QuickTime file--turns out, I had a few edits to make before that step) and then exporting the final version. I then went to the Photo Dept. where I had a look at the video on one of the computers (I'd made some edits to a photo and wanted to make sure everything looked okay on the computers that I'd used to do all the other edits, as I don't know what the calibration situation is at the Academy Building). I was bothered by some of the photos, as there was some really noticeable white in the upper-right-hand corner. No one had mentioned it in crits, but it was bugging me. Besides--when I did a Freeman Patterson/André Gallant workshop in '08, one of my photos had some white that was out of place and André and Freeman noticed. Getting rid of the light spots might translate into a better crit.

Sunday: Up bright and early on a Sunday (which is amazing for me) and off to NB. I waited at my favourite coffee shop for Laura to pick me up. After what felt like forever (because I was eager to get going), she arrived. We stopped at the Granville Campus and she picked up a six-pack of film (each roll has thirty-six exposures) and then we headed off to NB. Due to staying up too late the night before, I snoozed for over an hour on the way to Elsipogtog. Because a picture's worth a thousand words, I'll share some of the photos that I took at the encampment. Not seen in these photos is an SWN truck parked right next to said encampment.

Yes, that's Maude Barlow.

We spent a couple hours there, talking with the people at the camp, taking photos (Laura shot a couple rolls for a school assignment--she's also a NSCADian), listening to the singing and drumming, listening to Maude's speech... Laura was interviewed by APTN. People driving by honked their horns (the protest has a lot of support from people in the surrounding area, settler and aboriginal alike). We then drove back to Halifax, where Laura dropped me off at the school. On the way, she asked me what I thought. I'd come with an open mind, not knowing what to expect--and it turned out to be an amazing experience. When she dropped me off, we talked some more, discussing my desire to learn more about First Nations issues and history (which can be a challenge, as one sometimes has to dig through a bunch of racism in order to find the truth). We agreed to meet sometime next semester and she'll share what she knows (she's Dene, BTW). I also plan to speak with the woman who's teaching Contemporary Indigenous Arts next semester, Carla Taunton, and meet with her, as I've heard from at least one former classmate that she's a really good resource for that kind of thing (I'd want to discuss everything--not just art). I just want to learn as much as possible and be able to sort the truth from the racism and myths.

PPS

I've been thinking even more about my personal boycott of the Olympics (maybe overthinking, but I don't care--it's my first time consciously ignoring the Games). I may keep an eye on if and how the anti-"gay propaganda" law is put into effect--for example, some athletes have pledged to wear rainbow pins during the Games. Would they be arrested for doing so? Though I'll try to stay away from official broadcasters (CBC, NBC, BBC, etc.).

PS

While I'm not in favour of moving the Olympics back to Vancouver (sorry, George Takei--while I agree with him that action must be taken, finding accommodations for that many people and making other arrangements when Vancouver hasn't planned for it and would have only five-and-a-bit months to do so just isn't practical, even though the athletic facilities are there), I am in favour of a boycott, like what happened the last time Russia hosted the Games (Moscow, 1980). Yes, it would suck for the athletes and some might not get another chance at Olympic glory, but if it could happen in '76, '80 and '84, it can happen in '14.

losing faith in the Olympics one nutty move at a time

For the first time since I started watching the Olympics in '98 (Nagano), I will be completely ignoring the Games come February.

Russia recently passed a law that makes "promoting" homosexuality (e.g., waving a Pride flag) illegal, which in turn makes it dangerous for gay and lesbian athletes. For a while it looked like the athletes and spectators would be exempt from that law, but then the Kremlin backtracked: just because you're a guest who's competing here or watching the Games doesn't mean that you can wave that Pride flag. What makes it worse is that the IOC intends to do nothing.

Looking back through the history of the Games, though, I'm not surprised. My favourite example is the 1936 Berlin Games. While Berlin won the bid two years before Hitler came to power, the IOC did nothing--the Games went ahead as planned and Hitler tried to use them as a way to showcase the supposed superiority of white-skinned, blue-eyed, blonde-haired people, though that didn't quite work out. By still letting Sochi host the Games, the IOC is giving Russia (which doesn't exactly have a great human rights record) the go-ahead to validate the country's beliefs.

What also drives me nuts is Team USA's reaction: "While we strongly support equal rights for all, our mission is sustained competitive excellence and our focus will be to deliver a well prepared team and to put our athletes in a position to be the best they can be." In other words, winning is more important than equal rights and the safety of gay team members.

As mentioned earlier, the IOC's current plan is to do nothing--but by doing nothing they are complacent in Russia's actions. They're saying it's okay to beat people to a pulp just because of who they love and to deny them the right to said love. These are not just gay rights--they're human rights.

Over the years, I've become more aware of the issues surrounding the Games: who the sponsors are behind their glitzy façades, what actually happens to make the Games happen (people being told to move--which, sadly, seems to happen a lot when the Olympics come to town, and naturally the poor are the ones who are affected the most--spending money on the Games that would be better spent eradicating things like poverty, etc.). I fully support the ideals of the Games--but I don't support what actually happens and who benefits (the corporations, even more than the athletes). It's enough to drive me up the wall.

...as does Russia's anti-gay propaganda law. We all deserve to be allowed to love who we love and to say, "hey, I'm proud of who I am" without the fear that we'll be thrown in jail for displaying that pride or kissing or holding hands with our partner, regardless of the partner's sex. I've never wanted to go to Russia, but I want to go even less since this law came into effect. As someone who is definitely not straight (I currently identify as an asexual lesbian, though I'm living proof that sexual orientation is fluid), I would not feel safe in that country, even if I wasn't wearing anything with the gay pride colours on it (as a matter of fact, I bought my first gay and asexual pride pins this summer, and am in the process of designing an anti-Sochi '14 pin with--you guessed it--the gay pride colours).

I know that Russia isn't the only country with anti-gay laws: almost a hundred countries have laws that make it illegal to be gay--but those other countries won't be hosting the Olympics (and the world) next year.

By the way, I don't hate the country itself: Russia is home to two of the greatest ballet companies in the world (the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Ballet Companies--there are others in Russia, but those are the top two. From 1909 to 1929 there was also the the Ballets Russes, which is still highly-regarded in the ballet world.) and some of the greatest dancers ever--including my favourite, Rudolf Nureyev, who was gay. Tchaikovsky, who composed my favourite ballet (The Nutcracker) and other awesome gems was also Russian (and gay). And I support the ideals that the IOC supposedly stands for (their actions speak louder than words, unfortunately).

36 Photos from Russia that Everyone Needs to See (heartbreaking)
Gay Tourists in Russia Face Jail Time, Deportation
IOC Prohibits Athletes from Challenging anti-gay Russian law at Olympics
Russia and the IOC Agree: Athletes and Spectators shouldn't be openly gay at the Olympics

we won't shut up

After I-don't-know-how-many ridiculously busy weeks, this weekend felt almost too good to be true.

Monday: We started the first round of Electronic Culture presentations.

Tuesday: Once again, the students marched to Province House--this time with red ribbons in hand. We also wrapped the NSCAD lions in red fabric. I was a bit later leaving my place than I'd intended, so I called a cab. When I got to the school (with about twenty minutes to spare), work had already started on the wrapping, so I stopped and watched--and took photos. Slowly a small crowd of students and media gathered to watch and film the wrapping. Some of the SUNSCAD execs were interviewed by CBC. Some students tore red fabric into ribbons and I took a handful. I was asked to carry the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) flag, which I was proud to do. You can see it in this photo from the February sixth manifesto delivery (albeit backwards):

 We then marched over to Province House, chanting the whole way. Once there we tied the ribbons to the Province House gate and chanted some more, playing Red Rover with the provincial government: "RED ROVER RED ROVER WE CALL DEXTER OVER,
"YOUR SILENCE IS PUBLIC, OUR CAUSE WON'T BLOW OVER,

"RED ROVER RED ROVER WE CALL MARILYN'S PHONE,
"OUR NEEDS, AS WE'VE OUTLINED, WILL NOT BE POSTPONED!

"RED ROVER RED ROVER WE CALL NDP OUT,
"YOU SAY YOU VALUE ARTISTS BUT NOW WE'RE IN DOUBT!

"RED ROVER RED ROVER WE CALL NSCAD PROUD,
"YOU KEEP BEING SILENT, WE'LL KEEP GETTING LOUD!"

The last chant was my favourite.

We then headed back to the school. That afternoon, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald published an article about the protest.

You can see photos from the protest here.

I spent much of the afternoon walking around the Granville Campus, photographing for my project for the Writing for the Arts show. I ended up getting completely turned around in North Block. I wandered around, went up and down some stairs and eventually found an entrance off of Granville Plaza that I hadn't known about.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on my Graphics homework.

That evening was the candidates' forum for next year's SUNSCAD executive. Two of the positions are contested and the president (Sarah Trower) is running for a second term (due to the turmoil at NSCAD, having a veteran SUNSCAD exec as president would be easier for the student union: Sarah knows the issues extremely well and because she's done this before, she doesn't need any training).

Wednesday: I took a photo for the Writing for the Arts show catalogue and spent the afternoon finishing my Graphics project.

That evening we had a work-in-progress critique--turns out, the project wasn't due that week as I'd thought. It's due this week. My crit went fairly well, though I had to redo the logo. Thankfully, version two was a lot simpler to do.

Thursday: I did my presentation for Reconfigured on Monica Lacey (NBCCD Class of '11).

I finally finished my stuff for the next day's Writing for the Arts.

That evening we had a council meeting--the first in several months.

Friday: Friday was, to put it mildly, interesting. It started with me sleeping through my alarm by seven minutes, which has never happened before. I ended up being late for class and calling a cab. I then had a close call with my tripod at Starbucks: I thought I'd lost it or someone had made off with it. I started to panic and searched for it, telling one of the baristas when she asked if there was anything wrong, but ended up admitting defeat and left. I got three-quarters across the street before realizing that I'd left my coffee in the café. I went back, got my coffee--and there was the barista with my tripod! I felt like the happiest woman in Halifax: although my tripod probably isn't the most expensive out there, I was not looking forward to breaking the news to my parents. I thanked her and went on my merry way, coffee in hand. I ended up being ten minutes late to class.

After all that excitement, I was glad that Obsolescence was as uneventful as ever (more research presentations).

As for Writing for the Arts, the next group of students presented, and their presentation was on the appropriation of First Nations and Native American culture. It seems that we settlers can never get it right, particularly in the movies (Dances with Wolves comes close, but even it fails in some ways). Also, I didn't know that until white people arrived, native peoples didn't have chiefs--they had tribe mothers. White folks didn't want to talk with the women, hence the chiefs. Since Idle No More started, I've realized just how little I know about First Nations peoples and what they've suffered at the hands of white people. This summer I'm determined to change that.

After the presentation, one of my classmates who's also in my photo classes (and a fellow NBCCD transfer student), Michael, borrowed my camera and tripod and took photos for the students who hadn't yet documented their work for the show catalogue.

I didn't realize this at the time, but that day marked one year since I received my acceptance package from NSCAD.

Saturday: I spent the afternoon getting work done. Unlike the last few weeks, I don't have much to do, and the work that I do have is stuff that I've already started.

Sunday: I'd planned to photograph at the Port Campus and then head over to Granville to work on my Graphics homework, but I decided to only go as far as Port because they also have a computer lab.

On my way over, I stopped at the Seaport Farmers' Market. I didn't buy anything, but I watched a performance by a local Irish step-dance school.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on Graphics homework.

On my way home, I decided to check out some pipes (at least I think they're pipes) that I'd noticed since September but never seen up close. Once I saw them, I just had to photograph them. So I went back to my place, grabbed my camera, changed the lens and went back. Here are two of the photos:

I spent the rest of the evening doing some research for Obsolescence and I started my journal entry for Writing for the Arts.

sol! sol! sol! solidarity!*

This post is dedicated to the awesome members of Unit II of the Faculty Union of NSCAD.

---

This week has been insanely exciting and stressful. Words cannot fully describe what I've experienced and felt, but I'll do my best.

Monday: I applied to graduate! Class of '13, here I come!

We spent much of Reconfigured Image dissecting a reading that Bob had given us on Thursday.

Tuesday: I spent most of the day doing homework and then in the evening went to NSCAD and helped make signs for Wednesday's march to Province House.

Wednesday: Manifesto Delivery Day. By the time I got to NSCAD, I was beyond ready to march. I chose a sign, waited for a bit, and then the Canadian Federation of Students' Maritimes Organizer, Rebecca Rose, led us in our first chant in the student lounge ("we're fired up, can't take it no more"). After that, we headed out and over to Province House, chanting the whole time. I'd brought my point 'n' shoot and I took a few photos. As I chanted, I wondered if I was going to go hoarse from it all.

The first few protesters had some issues getting into the Province House parking lot, but the rest of us were okay (the authorities had figured out what was going on by that point). We presented the manifesto not to Premier Derrel Dexter, but to Leonard Preyra, the MLA who represents Halifax Citadel-Sable Island, which is the riding that NSCAD's in. He made a small speech, but while it sounded okay, it was basically lip service. As we chanted, "Derrel Dexter shame on you! Shame on you for turning blue!" (Blue is the colour of the Conservative Party, and the NS NDP is more Conservative than it is NDP.) And yes, we booed and jeered at a couple of his statements. We then headed back to NSCAD, chanting the whole way. And who was watching us from an upper window but Premier Dexter... We finished in the Granville Campus courtyard and chanted "we support you Unit II!" You can see photos from the march here and here. I found out later that there'd been about two hundred people at the protest. In addition to NSCADians, some folks from King's and Dalhousie universities showed up in solidarity. Although it was a cold day, I didn't feel cold and I ended up not putting on my gloves. I think it was because a. we were in a fairly sheltered area the whole time, and b. I was so focused on the march that I completely forgot about the subzero temperature.

After all that, I spent the afternoon getting work done--and basking in the high that the protest had induced.

In the evening, we had yet another GA--but I had to leave before it had really started because I had Graphics in the Port Campus (apparently the Port computer lab was the only one available).

Class was spent working out the kinks in our projects.

I was so nervous about FUNSCAD II, whether they'd end up with a good deal and whether there'd be a strike that I barely slept that night.

Thursday: As soon as I got up, I checked my school email. SUNSCAD had sent out the minutes from the GA, so I read them--and then I kept refreshing the inbox, hoping for news about FUNSCAD II's strike situation. Nothing. Check again two minutes later: still nothing.

When I got to school, I immediately headed to the Photo Dept.'s computer lab because I wanted to print one of my photos from the march and give it to the Photo studio techs because they're awesome. I was in a major rush because the strike would be legal as of 12:42 PM/11:42 AM EST. When I gave it to Chris (one of the four techs) after trimming it, he said that the union and administration had reached a tentative agreement--and that there wouldn't be a strike. I was so relieved and happy that I could barely speak for a few seconds. I then grabbed lunch and went to class, brimming with excitement. I found out later that the deal had been struck at four in the morning. All but one of the Photo techs went home to get some much-needed and -deserved sleep. Alex was the one left in charge, so he was a bit hard to track down sometimes because he was doing the work of four techs. Go Alex! Click here to see FUNSCAD's update/thank-you note that they posted on Facebook. The last paragraph: "Finally, a huge thank you to SUNSCAD and our incredible and active NSCAD students! You came out in impressive numbers to express your support for Unit II, and we couldn't do this without you. Your letters to the NSCAD President and Administration makes clear the importance of Unit II staff, and the indispensable role that Unit II fulfills at this school. We extend our sincere gratitude to each individual student who supported FUNSCAD with their words of encouragement and expressions of solidarity." Aww... You're welcome!

One of the students hadn't presented her last project, so she presented it. We also discussed our current projects and watched a movie that was made completely out of still images.

Several times throughout the day, I wanted to cry. When I got home, I couldn't hold it in anymore and I let loose and sobbed out of overwhelming joy and relief.

Just so you know, the battle isn't over yet: FUNSCAD I (the teachers' union) is currently in conciliation, and the earliest that they could strike is just when the students are coming back after the break.

Friday: Back to earth with a bump. I'd regained some of the sleep that I missed on Wednesday night, but I wasn't back up to 100% yet.

Obsolescence was pretty much the same as usual, though we got to watch a movie, and Bob handed back our first essays (I didn't do too badly). We have to write another one this week as well as a brief proposal for the final essay.

Writing ended up being almost completely devoted to this week's presentation, which was a long (but fascinating) one.

Saturday: NSCAD, like all the other post-secondary schools in Halifax, closed due to winter storm Nemo. I spent the day trying to get myself to tackle that mountain of homework (I managed to get a little of it done) and celebrating FUNSCAD II. Mom called early that afternoon, which was the first time that I'd heard her voice since Christmas Break.

Sunday: Yesterday's celebration was fun and all, but I really needed to get back to work today. And I did: that mountain of homework is looking a little less like Everest and a little more like Katahdin at this point.

Next week I'll be home for the break. I admit that it snuck up on me, probably because I'm so used to NB's first-week-in-March break. This week's non-homework priority: buying my bus ticket.

Here are videos of the protest:







The last video was at the Granville Campus.

The Ode to Joy from Beethoven's ninth pretty much sums up what I felt that day:



*Another of our chants.

I love my school, I love my union

I take back what I said about finals last time (it's going to an intense month): with almost three weeks (two weeks and six days to be exact--the last day is outside NSCAD's normal calendar, more on that later) left, and us NSCADians being super-busy--some even taking advantage of the university's twenty-four-hour access--the final weeks of the semester are going to fly by.

Monday: I spent the afternoon at NSCAD, scanning negatives for my project for Intro.

Tuesday: We met individually with Adrian to discuss how our projects are coming along. He and I went over the contact sheet that I'd done and discussed which ideas were more successful and that I should pursue.

I went to my first SUNSCAD council meeting that evening. Among the highlights, there's a possibility that FUNSCAD 1 (the faculty union) could go on strike next semester. I can't remember all the details, but teachers' salaries is one of the issues. Another issue is the fact that, as a way for the school to save money, a lot of the faculty members are part-timers, which means no benefits and that they're paid a fraction of what full-timers are paid. SUNSCAD will have to decide whether or not to join the faculty in the strike. I think we join in the protest because a. we'll have nothing better to do; b. because of NSCAD's financial issues, we're all in the same boat whether we're students, teachers or studio techs and c. solidarity. Even if SUNSCAD officially says "no" to taking action, I'd probably show up anyway in solidarity. Although the school needs to cough up cash that it doesn't have right now, NSCAD is one of the best art schools this side of Ontario, and no matter how the financial issues are resolved it must remain so--ahem, Board of Governors!

Wednesday: I put together one of the earlier books (until that day, it'd been in two pieces), and worked on another book.

In the afternoon, I shot another roll for Intro and processed it.

Thursday: Turns out, I'm going to be staying in HFX an extra day: we decided to have the final critique on December thirteenth (the day after classes end) because then we can use a room in the Academy Building. We'll arrive that morning to put up our work and spend the rest of the day critiquing said work. We also talked about how we're doing with our projects and watched a couple of movies.

Friday: I spent the morning at NSCAD, scanning negatives. I'm not a morning person, but I actually enjoyed walking to school that day and burying my nose in a computer screen. At least I didn't have to be out the door by 7:30/6:30 EST, which is the case on Wednesdays.

We developed photos on fibre-based paper that afternoon, and then used the remaining time to work on our projects. In case you're wondering, there are two kinds of photo paper: resin-coated (RC) paper and fibre-based (FB) paper. One of the main differences between the two is that FB paper is a lot more work than RC: more time in the chemicals, more time to wash, more time drying, more, more, more... As to which kind is more archival, throughout my post-secondary career, I've heard that FB is the one to beat. We're talking hundreds of years here. Once we had a print that we were happy with, we were free to do whatever we wanted. I went back to scanning.

Saturday: Saturday was about as unproductive as Friday was productive. I got virtually no homework done that day. Though I did go to the Letterpress Gang's Christmas market.

Sunday: I was determined to make up for Saturday's unproductiveness. I worked on my projects for Intro and Beyond the Frame until I could barely take it anymore.

carrément dans le rouge

Crowd by JustinLing via Flickr (Creative Commons Attribution license)

Tonight is Casseroles Night in Canada (and around the world), in protest against Quebec Premier Jean Cherest's plan to raise tuition in that province, austerity and Bill 78, which makes a gathering of more than fifty people illegal in QC--and is therefore unconstitutional (it goes against section 2. (c)--peaceful assembly--of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) and also severely punishes those who support the protest. Since May twenty-second, there have been nightly protests in Quebec in defiance of the bill, and the march on the twenty-second--the one hundredth day of protests--was the largest protest in Canadian history.

Since the Occupy movement started last September, I've become more aware of how the one per cent is attempting to shut the ninety-nine per cent up. They want to control us, and protect their wealth and their ability to do whatever the heck they want. Well, we've had enough--and the Establishment is scared big-time.

Much of the mainstream media outside Quebec has ignored, dismissed or demonized the protests. They say that the students should just shut up, return to class and accept higher tuition. They criticize the protesters for what they deem a "sense of entitlement". But what's so wrong about demanding better than what we're being asked to accept?

As a result, I support the protest because everyone has the right to an affordable college or university education (ahem, US), perhaps even a free education like they do in some European countries--and we should keep it that way--and although Quebec has the lowest tuition fees in Canada, unfortunately we need to fight (nonviolently!) to maintain those rates, especially at a time when Canadian students collectively owe $20 billion in student loans, as of 2011. I support the protest because everyone also has the constitutional right to peaceful assembly. I support the protest because austerity sucks and doesn't work. I support the protest because Bill 78 sucks and is unconstitutional. I support the protest because civil disobedience is traditionally one of the most effective forms of protest--and the bravest. And I support the protest because humanity has finally snapped as of a year ago, with the Arab Spring.

And this is coming from someone who went to a fairly inexpensive school in New Brunswick. I support the protest because although I had it fairly good, I'm in the minority.




English translation:

You tell them
You tell them
That it was instinct that
Drove you up to here.
You tell them
You tell them
That your senses were screaming
Deeply driven
By a strange force
Let it be your base camp.
Let it be your base camp.
You tell them
You tell them
That it was intuition that
Drove you up to here
A carelessness
So necessary every now and then
Let it be your base camp.
Let it be your base camp.

--from Translating the Printemps Érable