New Year Same Reality

It seems like every day there is a new headline highlighting the issues that our southern neighbors are facing after the US elections results. Social media has become a boxing ring between Trump supporters and non-supporters, each side delivering a blow that stings as much as the last. With an estimated 900,000 to 2 million US citizens living in Canada[i] we must recognize our position as a neighbor and declared ally to the US. We must also recognize that we are not innocent ourselves.

We have never elected a female Prime Minister, and our very nation has been built on cultural genocide. We cannot change the past, and it feels as though we may not be able to change the future as much as we had once thought…. Canada and the US are not quite as different as we like to think.

Even though I raise my hand in class every time one of our professors asks who is American, and every time I go unnoticed, I am in fact American…. AmeriCanadian if you’d please. Going back to the US and spending the break there was a strange mixture of holiday cheer and utter shock. Although the election hit me hard while up in the land of my mother, I was not prepared for the emotional edifice that I was to face coming back.

But, I am not going to make this post about my personal grief or stomach churning sensation I get every time the orange-faced you-know-what stands up as a representation of my country. In fact, it is actually difficult not to use the colorful-almost-made-up vocabulary I possess from my art history days to paint the portrait of a man who is so brilliantly portrayed on Saturday Night Live (if you have yet to see Alec Baldwin in his what I believe to be an Oscar worthy portrayal of the President Elect, click here).

I am angry, I am offended, I am disgusted, but I am also optimistic, I believe in the common good and common decency of humanity despite that every time I open the ‘news’ app on my iPhone it is constantly tested. I commend everyone I know who has used their position to speak out against what has happened, I know multiple people who have written letters, marched in protest, and have actively spoken out on every social media platform. I also know people, people I love and admire, who voted for Trump.

So after weeks of reflecting, fighting with people I don’t agree with, being flabbergasted by the reality of violence and hate in the US, and a complete emotional roller coaster over the month we had off… I want to share with all of you my New Year resolution…

TO LISTEN: We do not need to become angry and shut out those we disagree with. We need to listen, we need to lead through our actions, we must maintain the values and cultures of our workplaces, social circles, educational arenas. This coupled with actively raising our voices against the injustices that have been committed as those who have been waiting to unleash their pent-up intolerances think that power has just been handed to them, is the fight that is our responsibility to stand up in. Regardless of who you support or did not support, regardless if you are American or not, this election has affected people worldwide and has instilled a sense of fear of what is to come. The culture of fear is a funny thing; it can paralyze or mobilize.

So for 2017 I have decided to listen, to speak, and to show that despite any individual’s political alliance, Love Trumps Hate. We mustn’t allow fear of others’ political views to destroy who we are as individuals, and as a community. This is an opportunity to fight harder, push further, and demonstrate that as Americans & Canadians living in a multi-cultural world, we are not innocent, but we can take hold of our futures. Listening and acting is where we can start.

Stay healthy, my friends.

 

Written by Kristen Underwood, VP Events ’17

 

[1] http://www.walkingwithcake.com/?attachment_id=8011

[1] http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000

Study, Play, Volunteer!

As an MM student, it’s easy to get bogged down by the academic workload or our personal job-hunts, but taking the time to get together as a cohort and be present in our community is something many of us felt was important. There have been countless bar nights and study sessions that I have shared with my classmates, however, my favorite cohort experiences have been the three volunteer opportunities organized by our VP Internal, Sarah Maciejewski.

The first volunteer opportunity we took on was a trip to Ronald McDonald House BC, where a group of MM students, joined by Chris Gorczynski (MM Program Manager) and Margot Fraser (MM Program Assistant, spent a few hours giving back. As a group we organized (by every colour of the rainbow) and sanitized what must have been millions of pieces of donated Lego! This may sound tedious (it was!), but having the opportunity to give back to the community in which we study, work, and play, was really rewarding. While sorting the Lego, we were met by many curious young faces wondering what we were doing with their toys. We also chatted with parents who were happy to pass along thanks for our involvement with the house, which only made the whole experience that much more memorable.

Our next volunteering day was spent sorting yet again, but this time it was less reminiscent of childhood playtime cleanup! A group of seven MM students and I spent an afternoon sorting cans, produce, and other donated foods at the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. We had a surprising amount of fun doing this together and while we only made a dent in the masses of food at the warehouse, by the end of the day we managed to pack away a significant amount of food to be sent to families in need.

The third and final volunteering session we participated in as a cohort was the Shoreline Cleanup at beautiful Kits Beach. You could not ask for a better location to spend a morning. We are spoiled to live in this spectacular place and it’s easy to forget the impact we have on our environment. Maintaining the shores of this spectacular landscape was an invaluable experience. We later rewarded our efforts by relaxing as a group at the beach, playing a bit of soccer, and a few of us (not me!) ventured into the chilly ocean for a swim!

I didn’t seek out many volunteering opportunities during my undergraduate like I should have. I went to Ronald McDonald House BC for our first volunteering session thinking I was simply going to spend time with my classmates. I left that day with a sense of accomplishment and an excitement for the next volunteering opportunity. A bit of advice for the Class of 2017: if you haven’t volunteered much before and don’t know the impact it can have on you personally, don’t think for a second your other priorities are more important to your success! Volunteering didn’t make me worry that I didn’t use the time to secure a job, it made me more motivated and inspired in my other initiatives. Spending time away from your notes, projects, and job hunt is not only important for your well-being, but if volunteering is how you choose to spend that time, you can have a positive impact on the world around you, and THAT is time well spent.

– Lauren O’Sullivan

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